Tags archives: Frank Jackson

  • For over ten years, Art for Progress (AFP) has been providing vital, exciting music & art programs for students in New York City public schools. Why we need your help: * Public arts funding in the U.S. is suffering more than ever in the current political climate. * Many public schools in NYC do not have the funds to hire full time art teachers. AFP provides financial support to schools with budget shortfalls. * AFP teaching artists provide a safe place within the school environment for kids to learn who they want to be, and the results are astonishing! * AFP's programs are customized to achieve the goals of of each partner school, while focusing on the lives and interests of the students . * Students need to explore their creativity. Art for Progress is able to provide these programs through private grants; but a grant that has been sustaining AFP's programs was cut in half this year, and we're asking for your help to make up the difference. AFP currently works with seven schools across the city with plans to expand into new schools next semester, but without your help we may not have the funding to accommodate these programs. Please help us today with a donation and help keep the arts in New York City’s public schools.
  • It was a cold Saturday afternoon, but I was motivated to trek over to Chelsea to check out the Kitchen Girls & Toy Boys show at Rush Arts Gallery.  Artists Sindy Butz and Sol Kjok are participating artists in the show and have both worked with AFP on various projects. It didn't take long for me to identify Sol's very large piece, "Strings Attached" as I walked into the gallery.  Her figurative work bursts off the canvas with great detail and her use of color brings out the emotion in her characters.  In this piece the characters are strung together and appear to be grasping and climbing over each other while still maintaining a certain co-dependence. I was impressed with the overall quality and diversity of the work in the show.  The work of Reinhold Gottwald caught my attention. His colorful, small, abstract pieces on wood are hung/arranged as if they are a group of  planets sharing the same solar system. I found Markus Fiedler's beeswax sneakers quite intriguing and an interesting piece(s) to be included in the show. I was impressed with the incredible detail he was able to achieve using beeswax. I noticed Sindy crouched down on the floor, but I didn't realize that her performance had already begun. What is she up to this time? Sindy's not afraid to take on the not so obvious social issues of the day. Her thought provoking work continues to evolve and this performance would not disappoint.  The message on the floor read, "The West Tastes like Gold." As Sind[...]