Category archives: News

  • Art for Progress arts education programs have been doing great work this winter, with visual arts programs in place at Landmark High School and Quest 2 Learn NY and music programs at Quest, Humanities Prep, Hudson High School for Learning Technologies, and, most recently, at James Baldwin High School, all in Chelsea. The Humanities music program, led by teaching artist and musician Barry Komitor, has added an after school student/faculty jam on Tuesday afternoons to two regular classes per day, enabling students to apply the knowledge and skills they develop during school music classes. In a dynamic group environment, they learn an entirely different set of skills and considerations. The group has learned “Zombie” by The Cranberries, and “Twist and Shout”, among other songs, and has regular blues and freestyle jams. Komitor also teaches drums after school at Quest 2 Learn on Mondays, and has begun offering guitar and piano lessons after school three days a week, subsidized by grant monies thanks to the Sansom Foundation.  These lessons are to serve students from former AFP programs in the Bronx and Brooklyn, which lost support or funding, including: Christopher Columbus High School Campus in the Bronx (which comprises Bronxdale High School and Pelham Prep as well as the Collegiate Institute for Math and Science [CIMS], all providing students that are participating) and The Academy for Conservation and the Environment in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Lessons are available one of the da[...]
  • HOSTED by: NOoSPHERE Arts, Art for Progress, Amber De Vos, Mike Kronenberg, D'stroy And Rebuild, Joseph Meloy, Moody and many more invite you to a be a part of a positive cause. Michael Alan will be showing over 20 new and old works, drawings, paintings and prints for Auction in the project space of NOoSPHERE Arts On Saturday, January 19th at 7pm. The goal of the exhibition is to raise funds to help Alan who has been struggling physically with 2 major injuries in the last year. One of those injuries occurred as a result of a serious car accident in June 2012. Sales on works and donations from friends, family and all attending will be a good starting point to help Alan move on from these hard troubles, and get him the help he needs. It's been an uphill battle after unsuccessful spinal surgery, dealing with permanent nerve damage and a serious brain injury. This benefit will hopefully allow some relief for Alan by raising money towards his outrageous medical bills, and getting better medical attention than what he has received. We hope to see you on January 19th. You can help make 2013 a better year for the New York-born and raised, wild child artist Michael Alan. This show is made possible by the help of NOoSPHERE Arts, a fun non-profit artist space in the Lower East Side. Special Thanks to Klemmens Gasser and Tanja Grunert for their support and concern. Special Thanks to Frames and Framers of Short Hills and Printmor for their help and donations. This show w[...]
  • 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, [...]
  • Art for Progress presents “What’s Your Religion” Group Art Show.  Opening: Friday, December 14th, 7PM – 10PM The exhibition runs through January 3rd “What’s Your Religion” delves into the broad perspective of what motivate/inspires people to approach life in a certain way. The artist’s perspective can be personal or just a general perspective on the topic. Is it religion or faith that leads the way? Is it money, power, fame or being of service to others?  What’s Your Religion? Featuring artwork from Ted Barr, Jef Campion, Hunter Clarke, Bill Claps, Pablo Damas, Lance Dehne, Carmen Ghecca, Berette Macaulay, Juan Manuel Pajares, Jeanne Wilkinson and Kristina Zallinger Gallery Bar 120 Orchard Street New York, NY 10002 (212) 529-2266
  • Art for Progress hosted a student recording project incorporating participants from the 2011-12 Bronxdale High School after school music program, which was open to students from all of the Schools housed in the Christopher Columbus High School campus. The students had written and prepared a song in the weeks before the recording dates, and on August 28th, 29th, and Sept 1, met teaching artist Barry Komitor at Zen Archer Studio in Chinatown. Bassist Jason McFarlane and Guitarist Raymond Moreta were joined by guitarist Randy Rivas, Drummer Jacob Roberts, and vocalists Celeste Pasian and Queen Manson. The group learned about the process of setting up microphones to record all of the instruments, as well as the process of recording a live band. The group learned firsthand about the level of intensity involved in committing work to a permanent medium. Most importantly, the project focused on the cooperation involved in working as a group with a common goal, including taking initiative and making compromises, and overcoming doubts and fears. The project was a great success and the students each received a CD of a mixed recording of the song to take home and enjoy.
  • Another exciting school year has ended and AFP's impact and our programs continue to grow. The Sansom Foundation recently awarded Art for Progress a $20,000 grant which was a thirty percent increase over last year's grant! We are ecstatic that the foundation has increased their support for the program.  Though the funds are very important we believe the vote of confidence from the Sansom Foundation is even more important as we focus on applying for more funds to expand our important work in the NYC Public Schools. A special thank you goes out to Barry Komitor who has been instrumental in the development of the program in many ways. His passion and dedication to the organization and the students is unwavering.  If we just had a few more Barry Komitors, we can do so much more! In the following video, Barry and some of our students at Bronxdale High School offer some insight into AFP's Music Program. Thanks to our intern Fred Hua for doing such a great job working on this video. http://youtu.be/8I7Drhip1JM
  • As we gear up for the launch of our new monthly at The Paper Box, we'd like to share some videos featuring some of the highlights from AFP's Brooklyn Beat Festival. The videos include performances from Ze Luis, Comandante Zero, Lachi, Minnie and Aya and other participating artists. The monthly event will also be a multimedia experience featuring live music performances, performance art from Caridad Sola as well as art and video installations from AFP artists. AFP's DJ Gatto will be the resident DJ with special guests each month. Confirmed dates and live music performances: Saturday, July 21st: Mariami, Morning Fuzz, more TBA Saturday, August 18th:  The Disappointment, Muj more TBA Saturday, September 15th:  Heavy Birds, Ellis Ashbrook, more TBA
  • Day 2 As we arrived on Saturday, we found our friend Gilf in the early stages of her impressive  Wall(Russ) mural in the art garden. We're so thankful for her hard work, as she completed the mural in about 6 hours! Saturday's musical festivities began with a set from DJ Jago. Jago is a young man who we've had the pleasure of seeing develop over the last few years after he won AFP's Clash of the Artists competitions at age 13.  Jake has developed a  forward, high energy sound that appeals to anyone who likes to shake it on the dance floor. Taking the stage around 7:30pm, Minnie and Aya delivered our first live music performance of the day, and they did not disappoint.  Their smooth, soulful sounds were the perfect start to a great night of music.  Next up, was long-time friend of AFP and talented DJ Sal Leone. Sal treated our guests to a mix of deep and classic grooves as we got ready for Lachi and Meridian Gold to perform.  In the art garden, Caridad Sola was preparing for her performance piece, "Deliver us from Eve-Il" which morphs the urban legend of razor blades in apples with the story of the forbidden fruit and original sin.  Caridad has a way of enticing people into her world, and then completely turning the tables on what's expected.  Sherri Aliberti's "Green Cocoon" performance piece was also a crowd pleaser, while Iliana Quander's interactive "Trash Couture" installation involved some unexpected additions. We'll just say that the takers likely puffed away as they st[...]
 
  • After some much-needed rest, we're back at work here at AFP, and we're more than ecstatic about this past weekend's Brooklyn Beat Festival! I'm not sure where to start, but the overall theme and feedback from the weekend was quality.  Personally, and this is something that is always a focus for us is diversity. Diversity is always a big part of what we do. One of the goals of AFP has always been to be inclusive and open to all art and artists.  Art for Progress is not only about providing opportunities and exposure for artists. AFP is also about providing access to the arts and turning people on to new art forms. In other words, expanding and growing the arts in the community. I think we achieved all of this over three days/nights at The Paper Box. Day One Friday's festivities began with an exceptional performance from El Pueblo.  I had the pleasure of talking to some of the members of the band, and they are also educators and involved in charitable projects.  I hope we have the opportunity to work with them again. Our next performance was from Redheadphone. We really enjoyed their international collaboration of sounds and world styles.  Speaking of which, the youthful and prophetic School ov Thought contributed to the increased energy in the room, as Brett from Boundless reminded us of Chuck Brown, go-go music and his eclectic style.  But, Push Method took the stage with a level of energy that was unmatched and their message came through strong, particularly when they perf[...]
  • Italy in June? This sounds like an ideal vacation: amazing art and delicious food, who can say no to that? Hosting this art show is non profit organization Bisazza Foundation, which is devoted to design and architects. For the exhibits, you will find renown contemporary designers including: Tord Boontje, Aldo Cibic, Sandro Chia, Marcel Wanders, and more. Get a glimpse of what to expect here. -Heather Liggins