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11 years ago
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On Tuesday March 12, the AFP music program at Humanities Preparatory Academy was fortunate to host Jeremy Danneman of ParadeOfOne for a special multimedia presentation to students. Mr. Danneman is a truly unique artist with a poignant social message that made a palpable impact on the students and their perspective on art, music and world events. The presentation involved showing students slides, playing both live and recorded music, and discussing his experiences having visited Rwanda and Cambodia, two countries that have been recently ravaged by genocide. He shared stories about and recordings of musicians he was fortunate to encounter in these locales, and collaborations he performed with them, despite having possessed no other means of communication with them save for an interpreter. His enthusiastic explanations of his motives for doing this type of work and colorful retelling of his experiences illustrated beautifully the potency of music and arts to bridge social divides, and to introduce a new, living meaning to cultural exchange and painful, but important world events. The presentations culminated with live performances by Mr. Danneman on saxophone and clarinet, and in one case included myself playing guitar in an impromptu musical improvisation that tied together the power of all the skills that students have been learning in class for the past semester. AFP would like to thank Mr. Danneman for visiting our classes, and look forward to hosting him again soon along wi[...]
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11 years ago
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This week's update on the Art for Progress art education programs features a brief introduction to some of the students in the AFP music programs, as well as some photographs by Paula Parker from the AFP visual arts programs, including student artwork. Sherif, a senior at Humanities Prep, moved to New York City from Cairo, Egypt last summer, and was always an eager student in my music class throughout the past semester.
Sherif spent most of the first several weeks of the semester playing a D chord rather roughly on the electric guitar. Although I continuously suggested that he learn another chord, he continued to focus on the D chord, lifting one finger at a time to hear the variations. Since he seemed to derive such joy from that one chord, I encouraged him to listen to the tone of the strings and demonstrated to him that there were different sounds that could be evoked coaxing them out of the instrument rather than hacking at the strings. Sherif has since developed his D jam into a more coherent developing piece, and after I lent him one of AFP's classical guitars, he recently exchanged it for an electric guitar and is avidly practicing at home. Sherif fulfilled his arts requirements last semester, but continues to come by the music room at every opportunity and is a regular participant in the Tuesday afternoon student/faculty jam, playing drums, guitar, and occasionally gracing the microphone with his own inimitable brand of freestyle rapping/storytelling. Ever the eager[...]
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11 years ago
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Thanks to all who attended our opening at Gallery Bar this past Friday. It was an exceptional night, and we were pleased to have many of the participating artists in attendance. The show will run through January 3rd. If you have the opportunity to check it out, please do. We also have some photos below for your viewing pleasure.
It's been a very busy year for AFP. In March, we leased the Armory on Lexington Avenue in partnership with Fountain Art Fair to produce one of the largest art exhibitions in NYC during Armory Week. This past summer we hosted AFP's first annual 3 day music & art festival- Brooklyn Beat Festival and then launched a 3 month series of music & performance art at the same venue.
In November, we were thrilled to host Michael Alan's "Living Installation" and work with his crew of incredible artists. The show was a great success, and we look forward to working with Michael in the future.
To round out the year as we began, "What's Your Religion" opened on Friday night at Gallery Bar. As mentioned above, the exhibition will run through January 3rd.
AFP's Art Education Program continues to grow and flourish. We are currently working with 5 schools and hundreds of students providing music, visual art and theater classes. We just received this new promotional video that was created by Jewel Fiore, a college level film student.
As of January 1st 2013, AFP will no longer charge a fee for artist memberships. Applications will still need to be approved, [...]
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12 years ago
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New York City Non Profit to host Michael Alan’s “Living Installation” Friday, November 9th at ABC NORIO
Art for Progress (AFP), a NYC 501C (3) nonprofit, is proud to announce its hosting artist Michael Alan’s “Living Installation, Family Misfit Healing” on Friday, November 9th at ABC NORIO in NYC’s Lower East Side.
The epic art performance piece which has been featured in The Huffington Post, Marie Claire, Gothamist, Hyperallergic and many others, is the creative genius of artist Michael Alan. As described by Alan, The Living Installation Project is a human activist art mission. The main goal is reinforcing that humans are living installations by creating a space for people to open up, come together and are all equal through the process of creating art.
After 8 years of creating performance art, Michael Alan was recently severely injured and suffered major spinal damage as well as a concussion. His injuries have affected his ability to walk and perform.
Despite his physical challenges, the Living Installation Project will return November 9th @ ABC NORIO for a special 8 hour healing show.
Family Misfit Healing: No matter how different and odd we all might be we all have the power to heal. Alan while healing after intense spinal surgery will team up with 7 performers to create a world based on acceptance and growth. A strong dynamic family portrait will be born, created from scratch. The 8 hour mega show, a true experience/happening, will be an escape where guests can d[...]
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12 years ago
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Here's some select photos from recent performances.
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12 years ago
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Ellis Ashbrook, Idgy Dean, Liquid Sound Lounge, Caridad Sola to Perform
It's been a true pleasure bringing together so many great artists over the past few months for our Mixed Greens events at The Paper Box. There really is an immense amount of talent in our city, and we're here to share it with you.
With that said, to kick off the fall season, we're bringing you the biggest and best Mixed Greens party yet. Ellis Ashbrook, Idgy Dean, and Heavy Birds are set to perform on the main stage while the garden will be in full dance party mode with LSL's Jeannie Hopper, TONY's Bruce Tantum, Sal Leone and AFP resident DJ Gatto. And what will Caridad Sola come up with to engage, entice, or shock us with her latest performance piece? If that's not enough for you, Daniel Maldonado of Gashouse Films will be taking the night off from his feature film production to surprise us with some live video creations.
Brooklyn based progressive, exploratory rock band Ellis Ashbrook will headline our live music performances on Saturday night. We've had this date marked on our calendar for a while now as Ellis Ashbrook is known for amazing live performances. The bands latest album, Meridia, garnered an 8 out of 10 rating by Music Connection Magazine Check out some of their videos and music. The super-talented Idgy Dean, the solo project of Brooklynite Lindsay Sandwald, will also take the stage on Saturday. Lindsay who was invited to perform her haunted rhythm-driven pop songs at The Deli's B.E.A[...]
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12 years ago
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Here's a link to our September newsletter:
September Artist Happenings
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12 years ago
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Just as summer becomes fall, AFP is back at The Paper Box with an excellent line-up on Saturday, September 22nd. Check back for more details and artist information.
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12 years ago
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Excitement is building for AFP's tasty menagerie of music & art at the super cool Paper Box this Saturday night. Otherwise known as Mixed Greens, it happens every third Saturday of the month.
In our last post we shared some late information about the participating artists.
Here's the schedule..
9:00pm - El Pueblo
10:00pm - Muj
11:00pm - The Coffin Daggers
in the garden: Sindy Butz performance piece
12:00am - DJ set - Elliot Dehoyos
Caridad Sola performance piece
Throughout the evening, in the garden, we'll feature a video installation created by filmmaker Scott Nyerges. Between live music sets, Gatto will be spinning a fun, eclectic mix of tunes to keep you hopping around.
Come out and support AFP's mission, the artists and this great new venue!
Doors: 8pm - Music: 9pm - Cover: $8
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12 years ago
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Mixed Greens returns this month with a new date, but you can expect the same fresh, diverse music, brilliant performance art and thought-provoking video installations you've come to expect at AFP events. Plus, The Paper Box is in the coolest neighborhood in Brooklyn and the tacos can't be beat!
What more can you ask for on a Saturday night?
Our original opening band for the evening, The Disappointment have another commitment, but El Pueblo has been added to the ticket. They're a fantastic reggae, dub band (latin and jazz influences) who are known for their powerful performances. We are sure El Pueblo will get the night started properly.
Not walking the line between na trapeze, epic-symphonica, and electropunk, the music duo Muj is a mish-mash of musical styles. In their performances, they are known for playful improvisations and unexpected intense instrumentations. Muj segues seamlessly from ferocious, soaring guitar jams to moving melodic departures. They are now working on a feature-length documentary including an original soundtrack.
When The Coffin Daggers take the stage, get ready for an all out assault on your senses. A staple on the New York live music scene, The Coffin Daggers forge a new sound that will both overwhelm and delight the senses. The NY based surf-punk, instrumental rock band has released a full length album and two singles to critical acclaim.
The super-talented, creative, architect, performance artist Caridad Sola has rightfully become the r[...]
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