Weekend Update: Open Studios and More
It’s Open Studios season in NYC, with hundreds of artists opening their doors for an intimate view of their work and process. Following are some of the upcoming events. Additional public art events are mixed in chronologically.
Saturday, October 7, 2-3:30pm: Esteban Cabeza de Baca and Heidi Howard at Wave Hill
Join exhibiting artists Esteban Cabeza de Baca and Heidi Howard in conversation with Kaitlin Garcia-Maestas, Curator and Director of Exhibitions, Socrates Sculpture Park, who will discuss the works on view in the current exhibition Light from Water in Glyndor Gallery. Presented during Indigenous People’s Day weekend, the discussion will focus on an indigenous perspective to their work, addressing how we can live with the land and the natural world in an ecological, sustainable way. Indigenous Peoples' Weekend event.Above: Esteban Cabeza de Baca and Heidi Howard, "Braiding Sweetgrass", 2023.
Saturday, October 14, 12-1pm: LoVid; 2-3pm: Bel Falleiros
Providing visitors with the chance to engage with artists whose work is inspired by Wave Hill’s site is signature to the arts program here. Over the next couple weeks, meet several artists in their exhibitions and learn about their respective practices, use of materials and the themes that inspire their work.
Wave Hill, 625 West 252nd Street, Bronx, New York Info
Saturday, October 7, 9am-5:30 pm: Festival del Libro/Festival of Books at El Barrio’s Artspace
El Festival is an annual bilingual Latin@ Heritage Month Literary event featuring readings, workshops, and performances. Admission is free to school children and adults. El Festival celebrates the bilingual heritage of Latin@ writers of all genres. The full richness of the Latin@ voice will be on display, from ground-breaking works from young authors to commemorations of our artistic roots. Now more than ever, we need to tap into the resiliency and resistance that the arts provide.
El Festival del Libro wants to help Latin@ writers reach larger audiences. After 4 pm, we will treat our audience to an open mic session. Readings in English or Spanish are welcome. Reading time will be limited to three minutes per participant.
El Barrio’s Artspace PS109, 215 East 99th Street, New York, NY Info
October 7-9, noon-5pm: Sensational Seeds Weekend at NYBG
Join the Botanical Garden for this harvest weekend, with hands-on gardening, crafts, and exploration throughout the state-of-the-art Edible Academy campus.
NYBG guides will offer tours of the African American Garden: The Caribbean Experience, curated by Dr. Jessica B. Harris—a space that celebrates the plants of the Caribbean and the ways they’ve influenced foodways here. Savor culinary demonstrations presented by local chefs and culinary educators using seasonal crops from the garden that will inspire chefs of all ages. Recipes will be shared to take home following each workshop. Enjoy live entertainment with Doc Wallace Trio for live music and entertainment all weekend long as you explore the Edible Academy! Info Photo courtesy of NYBG
New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY Info
Three Saturday, October 7, 15, 28, 1-4 pm: Bodily Book Forms in Sunset Park
Come to Sunset Park to create one-page books and zines inspired by Felipe Baeza’s Unruly Forms, an exhibition of eight paintings currently displayed in hundreds of bus shelters and street furniture across the United States and Mexico.
In this series of free workshops facilitated by Booklyn, Inc., Sunset Park residents, visitors, and the Mixteca community will experiment with collage, pop-up structures, and binding techniques to explore the unruly relationship between the body and the book form. Both containers—bodies and books—hold stories, and the shapes they take will shift to accommodate and tell them. Each participant will create a project that can be easily photocopied and multiplied, echoing the format of Baeza’s Public Art Fund commission.
These outdoor workshops will be conducted in English and Spanish. All materials will be provided. No registration is needed; audiences of all ages are encouraged to drop in!
Sunset Park (near the playground at 44th Street and 6th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY Map
Thursday-Saturday, October 12-14: EFA Open Studios 2023
This annual event that welcomes the public to visit the studios and galleries of the EFA building in Midtown Manhattan. It is an opportunity to see the most recent works by over 70 artists here, and to gain meaningful insight into their process of creation. The EFA Studio Program is a vibrant and diverse community of artists working in a wide range of media and artistic sensibilities. All are professional artists with established studio practices and career honors. The EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and EFA Project Space will be open for tours.
Thursday, October 12, 6 – 9 p.m. (opening night). Friday, October 13, 6 – 9 p.m. Saturday, October 14, 2 – 6 p.m.Free and open to the public; no rsvp
EFA Center, 323 West 39th Street, New Yorl NY Info
Sunday, October 15, 12-5pm: Mana Contemporary Fall Open Studios
Mana Artist Community is looking forward to meeting you! More than 40 artists will have their studo doors open to engage and talk about their art. Maps will be available on-site. Above: Photo by Joe Schildhorn
Several exhibitions are on view within the compound, including:
Serving Face: Collection of costumes worn by Machine Dazzle, Taylor Mac and the Dazzle Dancers. 2015 - Present; Machine Dazzle
Location: 1st Floor, Lobby Hallway
Inner Mirror; Linda Alpern presented by Monira Foundation
Explore personal narratives on identity, self-contemplation, and connection through photography. A collaboration with the AYN Foundation. Location: 2nd Floor.
Between Two Breaths; David Benarroch presented by Monira Foundation
Dive into sculptures and drawings that reveal traces of physical impact and explore the concept of displacement in migration.
Location: Studio #445.
Film Noir an installation by ROQ Initiative
Experience the classic film noir style from old Hollywood and a recreated detective's office. Location: BMST.
Mana Contemporary, 888. Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ Map Shuttle bus info
Saturday-Sunday, October 21-22, 12-6pm: Gowanus Open Studios
Hosted by Arts Gowanus, Gowanus Open Studios is Brooklyn’s biggest celebration of local art and artists. For its 27th edition more than 350 artists and 70+ venues in the greater Gowanus neighborhood will open their doors, giving the public a rare glimpse inside the former factories, warehouses, and studio buildings of this vibrant neighborhood. Artists will be on hand to discuss their work, share their processes, and showcase their latest projects. Partner businesses in the neighborhood will be offering discounts.
Artists Directory Digital map is available on artsgowanus.org.
