The official last weekend of summer 2021 in NYC looks promising, weather-wise—so if you are celebrating by staying, there are some great art escapes on hand. The Riverside Park Conservancy presents its largest art show in the park’s history, RE:GROWTH, A Celebration of Art, Riverside Park, and the New York Spirit, populated with works by 24 contemporary artists. Installed between 64^th and 151^st Streets. You could easily lose yourself there for a day of art, picnicking, and schmoozing. Above: Joshua Goode, Ancient Roman Statues [all images copyright and courtesy of ©BravinLee.com 

Organized by curator Karin Bravin, co-founder of the Chelsea gallery, BravinLee Programs, the show is timed to celebrate the 35^th anniversary of the conservancy’s work in restoring the park. In a recent interview in the New York Times, Bravin said, “I spent so much of the pandemic walking through the park and thought this would be the perfect time to see public art,” said Bravin, who proposed the idea to Daniel Garodnick, president and chief executive of the conservancy, back in November.  Above: Sui Park, Summer Vibe 

With a $2.3 million infusion from the City, the conservancy has been able to focus on areas north of 125^thStreet, where four works are sited. Map Each work includes a QR code that links to info about the work and the artists: Vanessa Albury, Blanka Amezkua, Lee Boroson, Dahlia Elsayed, Mark JoshEpstein,, Rico Gatson, DeWitt Godfrey, Joshua Goode, Valerie Hegarty, Wennie Huang, Beth Krebs, Sadie Laska, Niki Lederer, Wendy Letven, LoVid, Mary Mattingly, Joir,, Minaya, Sui Park, Shuli Sadé, David Shaw., Jean Shin, Glen Wilson, Letha Wilson, WOOLPUNK  Above: DeWitt Godfrey, Stuk

KOHA-Gift  continues at West 132nd Street Community Garden

A hop on the serpentine M135 bus will get you to an intimate art experience at West 132nd Street Community Garden. Curated by Francine Rogers, the exhibition KOHA-Gift features eight sculptures and installations by six local artists. Inspired by the indigenous Mori people’s custom of Koha, which means 'a gift from the heart’. 

A way to express gratitude, Koha centers around acknowledging people and showing respect and can take the form of a physical gift, donation, offering, contribution, or something intangible like a story, or a piece of advice. 

The exhibiton continues through September 30^th at 108-114 West 132^nd Street; hours: Fridays-Sundays, noon-7 pm. Public art workshops will be offered on weekends: francinernyc@gmail.com. Images courtesy of and ©Natsuki Takauji. Artists: Yeon Ji Yoo, Natsuki Takauji [a DART subscriber], Santel Rose Miller, Patricia Talbot, Haksul Lee, Bruna D’Alessandro.

This just in from LIC-A: Annual Member-Artists’ Showcase, with two opening nights: Thursday, September 2, 6-8 pm and Saturday, September 4, 2-6pm. The in-person exhibition is curated by Jorge Posada, the online show by Carol Crawford, with overall coordination by Nancy Bruno, Alexis Mendoza and Jon Garfield. Left: Monique Allain, November Muse Palette, 2020

Through September 26^th at Plaxall Gallery/ Culture Lab in LIC, 5-25 46th Ave, LIC NY (entrance through the parking lot) Info

Notes from the Home Office } American Photography Open