[un]common threads presents two and three-dimensional works where fiber and fabric - new and recycled - are the predominant media and have been knotted, layered, drawn, woven, sewed, or collaged. Despite disparate styles, influences, and intentions, the fourteen female artists included in this exhibition share a heightened sensitivity to the history and expressive possibilities of textiles.


Artist Reception: Wednesday, July 9 @  6pm
Join Michael Rosenfeld Gallery for summer cocktails
with artists Lesley Dill, Nancy Grossman, and Mimi Smith.


Image: Nancy Grossman, Chiron, 1966



Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
24 West 57th Street
7th Floor
New York, NY 10019

Books in Black: A New Page, presented by harlem is ...ART,  is a unique exhibition of sculptural artists' books curated by Ruth Edwards. It pays tribute to individuals of African ancestry who have made major contributions to society.

harlem is... ART explores the rich legacy of art in Harlem with rotating exhibitions that feature works by visual artists from the community and beyond who celebrate the culture and people of this world renowned community.  





Columbia University
Rotunda, Low Memorial Library
116th Street
btw Broadway and Amsterdam
Harlem, NY 10027

Ashok Bhowmik: Alchemy of Enigma
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 10 @ 6:30 pm
On view through August, 15

Juxtaposing images of both the human form in profile and everyday objects with contemporary surrealist visions of nature, Ashok Bhowmik creates haunting and dramatic images which parallel those of Marc Chagall and Gustav Klimt.

With his use of stark, monotone backgrounds, Indian-born Bhowmik strips his subjects bare of any extraneous context and freely explores them through his own perception of time, nature, life, death, and reality.

Image: "Untitled II,"  2007


TamarindArt Gallery
142 E. 39th Street
New York, N.Y. 10016

Ancient Futures: The DNA of Cultures and Civilizations is a revival of the critically acclaimed 1990s Avant Yard underground art movement in Tribeca that took the New York art world by storm. The exhibition features work from several of the previously exhibited artists that started the revolution, as well as newer, emerging artists that are continuing the tradition of pushing the envelope. 



Thursday, July 10th 6-8pm
Artist Talk & Curatorial Discussion
Participating artists : Francks DeCeus, Jamel Shabazz, Kip Omolade, Terry Boddie, William Rhodes, Jennifer Crute & Laura James.


Image: Malik Yusef Cumbo, TRUE




MoCADA
8o Hanson Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Harmonium is the first solo exhibition in New York of leading Ghanaian artist Atta Kwami.

Kwami was born in Accra, Ghana in 1956 and lives in the country's second city, Kumasi. 

Of his home, he says, "More than anything else, I feel my working aesthetic has been shaped by the rich visual culture of Kumasi, Ghana's second largest city where I have lived since 1986. The multitudes of sign painters, whose creative activities have transformed the visual character of the city, have engaged my attention. The diversity of painting in Kumasi also suggests a pluralist that does not make difference an issue."

Howard Scott Gallery
529 W. 20th Street
7th Floor
Chelsea
Manhattan, NY 10011

Grotesque Histories presents the work of three artists - Enrique Chagoya, Aaron Johnson, and Miguel Luciano - who deploy iconographies based in history, both ancient and recent, to address the current world condition.

Each artist projects a distinct visual style, but all draw upon grotesque visual forms to express pointed, often passionate statements about recent history and political memory. They reconstruct identifiable signs of popular culture and mass media to draw attention to the absurdities of history, politics, religion, and society.

Image:  Miguel Luciano, Barceloneta Bunnies, 2007


BRIC Rotunda Gallery
33 Clinton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217

India

Coming from the Advaita Vedanta branch of Hindu philosophy, Neti-Neti means "not this, not this" or "neither this, nor that."  The works assembled articulate  a space that is in between tradition and contemporaneity, straddling cultures both Western and Eastern. Is this American art or Asian art? Critical thinking or multi-cultural confusion?

Happily, we can ascertain that these works are "neither this, nor that." They present the positive capabilities of visual and material forms to express what language is inevitably inadequate to describe.

Bose Pacia
508 W 26th Street
New York, NY 10001

Paolo Pellegrin and Jehad Nga are  contemporary photojournalists who illustrate our world as history is written everyday on the battlefield, in the refugee camp, and along Madison Avenue.

Witness to History
Pellegrin has photographed historical conflicts across the globe from Kosovo to Darfur. Drawn to extreme situations, they are   where he finds the irony of life: the bittersweet intermingling of chaos and destruction with man's innate desire to live. Despite the magnitude of what he sees, Pellegrin doesn't  turn away, he acts as our medium, showing us our darker selves and the depth of capability of the human soul.

Image: AIDS in Cambodia, 1998


In the Red Room
Arresting and poetic, Nga's photographs of Sudan and Kenya offer a
a rare look at those ravaged by years of drought and poverty.  His photographs highlight the individuals themselves by naturally removing them from their surroundings. The profound simplicity of this arrangement speaks volumes about what is left when everything surrounding a life has been taken, and how photojournalism communicates this to the Western World. Nga's work conveys a timelessness not because of what he sees at large, but what is not seen.

Image: Jehad Nga, Untitled


Bonni Benrubi Gallery
41 East 57th Street
13th Floor
New York, NY 10022

China 

How do young black fathers relate to their children, as well as to their own fathers? How do they see  and play  their roles in both family and community? These are some of the questions, Be A Father to Your Child addresses.

Written by both popular commentators and those who have experienced the issues firsthand, the book begins with a discussion on the evolving family since the 1960s, especially within communities of color. Individual selections then examine  the impact of welfare, child support, criminal justice, and employment policies on young men of color.

The book also presents more anecdotal pieces that form a powerful composite portrait of the challenges facing modern communities of color.

Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe
2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd
Between 124th and 125th Streets
Harlem, NY 10027

Saul Williams is a multi-talented spoken word artist
who first rose to prominence as a slam poet honing his skills on the open mic circuit of New York City. In 1996 Williams became Slam Champion of The Nuyorican Poet's Café.

Fame on the spoken-word circuit eventually led to the lead role in the 1998 feature film Slam, the winner of the Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Cannes Camera D'Or. Williams parlayed his success into the music industry, performing alongside such artists as The Fugees, Kanye West, Blackalicious, Erykah Badu, KRS-One, De La Soul as well as legendary poets Allen Ginsberg and Sonia Sanchez.

S.O.B.'s
204 Varick Street
@ West Houston
New York, NY 10014

The Harlem Book Fair  in association with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is an annual forum to discover, experience and celebrate African  American history and culture through books.

The 2008 Book Fair will span two avenue blocks along West 135th
Street with tents, pavilions of books, food, and cultural concessions.
Events will also be held at the Countee Cullen Library, the National Black Theatre, Symphony Space, and other venues throughout New York City.


Harlem Book Fair
West 135th Street from Malcolm X Blvd to Frederick Douglass Blvd.

Join Hattie Mae Williams and the Tattooed Ballerinas for a
showing and discussion of a new work-in-progress, Pig Leg.
With projector footage by Christian Salazar, a landscape has
been created with images of Baptist churches and peaceful cemeteries.The piece is a personal statement about the past, the present, religion and coming to terms with inevitable losses we each face.

The event is a presentation of The Joyce Theater's Dance Talks series, which presents conversations between Artists and Audiences and Open Rehearsals that are illustrated with dance videos and movement demonstrations.

Free Admission. RSVP: (646) 792-8377
 
Joyce SoHo
155 Mercer Street
New York, NY 10012

Africa

Africa: A Journey in Dance is the annual fundraiser for The First Child Society, an organization working to improve the health and education status of children of African-descent throughout the Diaspora.

Proceeds from the evening of dance will  support the organization's educational and health initiatives.








York College Performing Arts Center
94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd.
bet. Archer & Liberty Aves.
Jamaica, New York

Image: Camille Brown, photo by Matt Kara



Dance Theater Workshop
219 W 19th Street
New York, NY, 10011

The Joyce Theater, in partnership with City Parks Foundation, takes dance outdoors this July, presenting three breathtaking performances for five days July 16th- 20th in parks throughout the five boroughs.

Performances will include Michael Schumacher in Dans le Jardin, Transports Exceptionnels by Dominique Boivin, and Contigo by choreographer Rui Horta and solo artist Joao P. Pereira Dos Santos.Each company will tour separately for the week, performing in popular parks that are under-served throughout the city. Bringing dance to unexpected environments, The Joyce  strives to create a meeting ground that serves both new audiences as well as the thriving dance community of New York.

Click here for the full schedule.

 

BAM
Peter Jay Sharp Building
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217

West Africa | Brazil

A breakout hit at this year's Sundance and New Directors/New Films Festivals, the exhilarating documentary Slingshot Hip Hop tells the dynamic stories of young Palestinians who use Hip Hop to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty.

Presented as part of the 10th annual outdoor international film festival in collaboration with Socrates Sculpture Park, the Museum of the Moving Image, and Partnerships for Parks. Each evening focuses on a different country or culture.

Socrates Sculpture Park  
32-01 Vernon Blvd.
Long Island City, NY 11106

The Historic Harlem Parks Coalition (HHPC),  a coalition of volunteer advocacy groups representing Marcus Garvey, Morningside, St. Nicholas and Jackie Robinson Parks presents the  Historic Harlem Parks Film Festival to celebrate the  heritage that makes Harlem so unique and majestic

Screenings include: City Blocks, Stories from the Faubourg Tremé, Marcus Garvey: Look For Me In Whirlwind, Hip Hop Revolution, Trouble the Water, and Promise Land, among others.

France |Italy |Brazil

Vinícius de Moraes's retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Euridice, transplanted to Rio during Carnival season, was a runaway hit, winning the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for France. Equally important was Jobim and Bonfá's exuberant score, which introduced bossa nova to an international audience that was soon addicted to its caressing Brazilian rhythms.







Notes on an African Orestes
Friday, July 11 @ 8:30 pm & Sunday, July 13 @  5 pm

The poet-filmmaker Pasolini scouted locations throughout Uganda and Tanzania for this modern retelling of Aeschylus's Oresteia, among his most riveting and complicated "impure" films. The tragedy, Pasolini suggests, lies in Africa's painful and violent path toward modernity and the eradication of its ancestral roots.


The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
between Fifth and Sixth Avenues
New York, NY 10019

In Beirut, five women meet regularly in a beauty salon, a colorful and sensual microcosm of the city where several generations mix, to talk and confide in each other. In the salon, the women's intimate and liberated conversations revolve around men, sex, and motherhood, in between haircuts and sugar waxing with caramel.


The Two Boots Pioneer Theater
155 East 3rd Street
between Avenues A and B
Manhattan, NY 10009

Brazil 

Premiere Brazil, a collaboration between MoMA and the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, takes its title from a sidebar featured at the festival, where many of these films premiered. This annual series continues to introduce New York audiences to original and accomplished recent films by both new and established Brazilian filmmakers.

Image: Estômago: A Gastronomic Story. 2007. Directed by Marcos Jorge



The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street,
between Fifth and Sixth avenues
Manhattan, NY 10019

The Human Condition is a scathing three-part exposé of the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and of the dehumanization of the individual in war.





Film Forum
209 W Houston St
New York, NY 10014

The first song on Leela James' debut album, A Change Is Gonna Come, reminisces about Aretha, Gladys, and Chaka. Conceived as a throwback to an earlier era of soul music, it builds upon the legacy of 1970s soul singers while incorporating elements of contemporary R&B, funk, and gospel. Her dance floor beats boast lyrical relevance and thematic range that challenge her audience to dance hard and think harder.

The BAM Rhythm & Blues Festival at MetroTech concert stage is located on the lawn at MetroTech Commons. MetroTech Center is situated in the Civic Center / Borough Hall area of Downtown Brooklyn at the corner of Flatbush and Myrtle Avenues.

Cape Verde has been best known for its female artists, from the groundbreaking Cesaria Evora to Lura. But a young man from Santiago, the most African of the archipelago's ten islands, is claiming his place - and with an unexpected sound.

Tcheka has not, as might be expected, reached for the tougher side of tradition in order to make his musical mark. Rather, he has embraced the gentlest rhythms of Cape Verde: the musical form batuku, a beat unique to the island of his birth and primarily the province of women.

Joe's Pub
425 LaFayette Street
New York, NY 10003

Brazil

Nation Beat celebrates the release of its sophomore album Legends of The Preacher, with a live concert at the legendary S.O.B.'s.

Nation Beat is a Brooklyn-based band specializing in Maracatu, the Brazilian music of Recífe, a city located on the Northeastern coast. Led by percussionist Scott Kettner and powerhouse Brazilian singer Liliana Araujo, who sings in Portuguese and English, the band fuses maracatu rhythms with Appalachian-inspired bluegrass, funk, rock, and country.






S.O.B.'s
204 Varick St
@ W Houston Street
New York, NY 10014

 

For more information on of note's editorial contributions, features, and community initiatives please contact  Grace Aneiza Ali at grace.ali@ofnotemagazine.org.