The Arts Paper | October 2017

leigh busby 4

lucy gellman 7

blind sushi 8

city-wide open studios 10

The Arts Paper a free publication of The Arts Council of Greater New Haven • artspaper.org

n e v a H w e N l a u n n A 2nd

l a v i t s e F t r A k l Cha at The Shops at Yale

October 2017

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 12:00–4:00pm 56 BROADWAY, NEW HAVEN

across from Apple / J.Crew / Urban Outfitters

Face Painting • Magician • Live Jazz Prizes • Special Offers to Retailers & Restaurants Grand Prize: $1,000 Hull’s Art Supply & Framing Gift Card

The Arts Paper october 2017

4

Artists Next Door Hank Hoffman Interviews Painter & Photographer Leigh Busby

staff

board of directors

Daniel Fitzmaurice executive director

Rick Wies president Daisy Abreu vice president Wojtek Borowski vice president

Winter Marshall operations director Megan Manton development director Jennifer Gelband marketing director Amanda May Aruani co-editor, the arts paper design consultant Lucy Gellman co-editor, the arts paper

7

The Arts Paper’s New Editor Lucy Gellman Introduces Herself to Readers

8

Blind Sushi Hank Paper Reviews the Short Documentary

10

Ken Spitzbard treasurer Mark Potocsny secretary

directors Robert B. Dannies Jr. James Gregg Todd Jokl Mark Kaduboski Greg Marazita Rachel Mele Frank Mitchell Greg Nobile Eileen O’Donnell John Pancoast Caroline Smith Genevive Walker

Maria Gaspar’s Collaborative Sounds of Liberation and More

The Arts Council is pleased to recognize the generous contributions of our business, corporate and institutional members.

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven promotes, advocates, and fosters opportunities for artists,arts organizations, and audiences.

Because the arts matter.

The Arts Paper is published by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, and is available by direct mail through membership with the Arts Council.

For membership information call (203) 772-2788.

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The Arts Council of Greater New Haven 70 Audubon Street, 2nd Floor, New Haven, CT 06510 Phone: (203) 772.2788 Fax: (203) 772.2262 info@newhavenarts.org newhavenarts.org artspaper.org

City-Wide Open Studios

business members Access Audio-Visual Systems Brenner, Saltzman, & Wallman, LLP

executive champions Yale University senior patrons L. Suzio York Hill Companies Marcum Odonnell Company Webster Bank Wiggin and Dana corporate partners Firehouse 12 Fusco Management Company Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven Knights of Columbus Yale-New Haven Hospital business patrons Albertus Magnus College Gateway Community College Lenny + Joe’s Fish Tale Newman Architects

honorary members Frances T. “Bitsie” Clark Cheever Tyler

foundations and government agencies AVANGRID The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven DECD/CT Office of the Arts The Ethel & Abe Lapides Foundation First Niagara Foundation NewAlliance Foundation The Wells Fargo Foundation The Werth Family Foundation media partners New Haven Independent WPKN

In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, The Arts Council now prints The Arts Paper on more environmentally friendly paper and using soy inks. Please read and recycle.

n e v a H w e N l a u n n 2nd A

l a v i t s e F t r A k Chal at The Shops at Yale

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 12:00– 4:00 pm 56 BROADWAY, NEW HAVEN

across from Apple / J.Crew / Urban Outfitters

No cost to enter. Register online at TheShopsatYale.com/ChalkArt. View elaborate chalk art designs by more than 70 talented artists, including a special piece by local chalk artist Andrea Casey.

Free and open to the public — kid’s freestyle zone, magician, face painter, special offers to retailers and restaurants, Neighborhood Music School’s Premier Jazz Ensemble and more!

Second artists location in front of the Yale University Art Gallery. Rain date is October 22.

Original chalk art by event judge Andrea Casey.

2 • newhavenarts.org

Located in the heart of the Yale University Campus, in historic Downtown New Haven.

For directions and FREE parking for this event, visit TheShopsatYale.com/chalkart

october 2017 •

The Arts Paper october 2017

Letter from the Editor Hello! Is this thing on? Can you hear me over the crunch of leaves? Welcome to the October issue of The Arts Paper. This is the last issue that I will be editing. After five years at The Arts Council and a move across the country, it’s time to pass the baton. Read incoming Editor Lucy Gellman’s open letter to readers on page 7. She’s been one of our freelance writers for years, and is the perfect person to take the publication in a bold new direction. She’s already been writing up a storm on artspaper.org. Check it out.

In this issue, you will meet Leigh Busby, a local photographer and painter. He is a relative newcomer to New Haven and latecomer to the art scene, but is making up for lost time with his emotive photographs, acrylic paintings, and freehand iPad paintings.

Hank Paper of Best Video reviews Blind Sushi, a documentary about Ryan Knighton, a blind writer, and Bun Lai, the chef and owner of the incredible Miya’s on Howe St. in New Haven.

If you haven’t been to Miya’s yet, get there ASAP, even if just to read the creative menu.

Lucy Gellman wrote the City-Wide Open Studios piece, centering on Maria Gaspar’s Sounds of Liberation New Haven, which was made in collaboration with inmates at the New Haven Correctional Center as well as local students. The center is right next to the Armory, which will host many, many artists the weekend of the 14th and 15th. She also goes over what went wrong last year. Read more on page 10.

You’ll also find stories about the New Haven Academy of Performing Arts, the upcoming Nasty Women Film Festival, and a new book of short stories, New Haven Noir.

On the Cover

I’ll leave you with a tip. My last suggestion for you would be to check out the podcast A Piece of Work with Abbi Jacobson.

Jacobson is half of the dynamic Broad City duo (with Illana Glazer). While I love it, Broad City might not be for everyone— but this podcast definitely is. Jacobson visits works at the MoMA with friends like the musician Questlove and essayist Samantha Irby (plus MoMA curators and conservationists).

She asks all the questions you’ve always wanted to ask and tears down the notion of “getting it.” If there is one takeaway from the 10-episode series it’s that its okay—and outright encouraged—to view artwork and simply feel how you feel.

Does it make you angry, sad, nostalgic, bored, or simply in awe? You’re doing it right. No matter what, you’re doing it right. Definitely an idea I can get behind. I think it’s especially important to demystify “high art” and make it accessible to everyone. New Haven has several galleries that everyone should visit without a whiff of intimidation despite their seemingly formal spaces. Art is there to be seen, heard, and felt. No matter what that feeling is. Life is too short to pretend you understand or to feel the way you’re “supposed” to—looking at art or otherwise. That said, get out there, experience some art and feel all the feels. You’re doing it right.

A view from last year’s City-Wide Open Studios. Read more about this year’s month-long festival on pages 10 & 11. Photo courtesy of Artspace.

In the Next Issue …

It’s been a pleasure,

Amanda May Aruani, Editor, The Arts Paper

The November issue of The Arts Paper will ask—and seek to answer— what it means to give thanks in this nation of immigrants, as we grow divided on immigration. Look out for stories on New Haven author Jake Halperin, a take on indigenous cuisine, and a new exhibition at the Mattatuck museum by Nnenna Okore (a past work pictured here).

Image courtesy of the Mattatuck Museum.

Fall SALE FRAME

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Free and open to the public 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven 1 877 BRIT ART | britishart.yale.edu @yalebritishart #BritishStudioPottery Lucie Rie, Bottle with Flaring Lip (detail), 1970s, mixed stoneware and porcelain with glaze, Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, © Crafts Study Centre, Farnham 2017

• october 2017

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The Arts Paper october 2017

artists next door

Finding Himself in Art leigh busby harnesses his creative energy hank hoffman artworks by leigh busby For Leigh Busby, art was literally a saving grace. After years of homelessness, crippling bouts of anxiety, episodes of schizophrenia, and paralyzing thoughts of suicide, Busby found in art a meaning and purpose to life.

“It saved my life. Every day I look forward to getting up and creating something else,” Busby said in an interview at his home.

Now 54, Busby has been haunted by mental health issues since he was 10. But in the past four years, since he came to New Haven, he has found in his artistic vision a tool with which to embrace life. Busby currently works in three mediums—iPad paintings, acrylic paintings on canvas, and photography. His imagery—primarily portraits but also urban and rural landscapes—has appeared in shows both locally and internationally.

“It seems like overnight, but it’s been a long time coming. This stuff was in me and is just now starting to peek out,” Busby said. “There’s so much creative energy now that’s being released.”

Although Busby had decades of bad experiences with the mental health system, he found doctors he could trust at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center. Still, four years ago, he felt he was reaching the end of his tether.

“I was contemplating suicide. ‘There’s nothing here for me on Earth. God left me with no gifts to use,’” he recalled thinking. But his wife, Darlitha, reminded him he could draw.

He thought, ‘But who is going to buy pencil work?’

He went to his last appointment at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, planning to kill himself afterwards. But as he was leaving, he spotted a flyer for an art contest to design pages for the center’s calendar. He told his wife that if he won the contest he would enroll in Gateway Community College to pursue art.

And he was a winner, his colored pencil and ink drawing chosen for January.

“God blessed me to find art. Art found me,

Leigh Busby. Photo by Chris Randall.

I should say,” Busby said. “God used art to change my life.”

In his portrait paintings, Busby strives for caricature and realistic tones. He tries to capture his subject’s “soul,” with an emphasis on his depiction of their eyes.

“I’ve had people come to visit me at CityWide Open Studios and one after another they’re crying over the eyes. I’ve always had that. Even when I did pencil, my art teachers said the eyes were expressive,”

Ships (freehand iPad painting).

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Busby said. “It’s probably because of the depression I’ve faced. I’m very sensitive to that. All the things that I thought were really bad for my life are now being used to understand people and put it in my pictures.”

When it comes to photography, Busby prefers to capture subjects in candid shots rather than posed. People often don’t like how they look in photographs. But Busby says to them, “Let me show you how I see you. And then they go, ‘Wow!’” A key epiphany in the past several years was the realization that the rote learning approaches of most schools have failed him, but that he is a strong visual learner.

With each successive tool he has picked up—the iPad, acrylics, photography— Busby has honed his chops devouring hours of instructional videos on YouTube.

Largely self-taught, Busby also credits Betty Turner, an art teacher he had at Hackensack High School in New Jersey, for teaching him exercises in contour drawing, gradations of tone, and other fundamentals that resonate for him to this day. Turner told him that he would be a famous artist one day.

“How did she see that way back then, and I didn’t see it until four years ago?”

Busby wondered.

Painting on the iPad overcame his fears of working in color. Shedding concerns about wasting paint that he couldn’t afford, Busby was able to experiment. Making

ample use of the “undo” feature in an app like Procreate, Busby absorbed the fundamental principles of painting.

“I use exactly what I can afford at each stage. The whole philosophy behind that is to use what you have wherever you are,” Busby explained.

He paints on the iPad with a Sensu Brush, a tool that mimics a real paintbrush.

“People see me doing it in the train station and are fascinated by it,” Busby said. “It took away the fear of painting.”

Busby wields the iPad as a traditional artist would. Not working over a photo— although he uses photos for reference— Busby draws a freehand sketch, refining his composition. “Everything I paint, I don’t use digital tricks or computer tricks. It’s just good old-fashioned painting,” Busby said.

He often gives demonstrations at local schools. With a number of his paintings, he has saved the process of creation as a video that shows each mark sequentially from initial line work to the painting’s completion.

“All the things I didn’t have when I was a little kid, and wanted, I can now pass on to these kids,” Busby said. He demystifies the process of art making.

In learning how to paint with acrylics in six weeks, Busby also took advantage of the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art. Paying regular visits, Busby would get up close to the paintings to understand the brush strokes and how

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The Arts Paper october 2017

artists layered color.

“I started acrylics because, as an iPad artist, people were challenging me, saying, ‘That’s not art,” because there is no original to keep,” Busby recalled. Showing that his skills transferred to canvas silenced doubters.

Busby’s enthusiasm recently has focused on photography. Originally employing the camera simply to take reference shots for his paintings, compliments he received from professional photographers inspired him to take it further. He is a regular contributor to Chris Randall’s I Love New Haven website. As a way of giving back to the community, Busby often photographs events for churches and community organizations like Musical Intervention.

His struggles are not over. Busby has been involved in a 10-year-long battle with Social Security to get his disability benefits restored. On disability from the time he was in high school due to his mental health issues, Busby left the system to try and work. But when his problems flared up again, Social Security froze him out. Busby hopes to use his talents to bring this issue—which is not his alone—to public attention.

“I’m trying to be what I want people to be to me,” he said. n

Untitled (digital photograph).

Check out Busby’s work at the Goffe Street Armory as part of City-Wide Open Studios October 14 & 15.

Spent (acrylic on canvas).

Grand Ave. Mansion (freehand iPad painting).

Join The Arts Council of Greater New Haven!

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• october 2017

investigating life

Judy Sirota Rosenthal info@sirotarosenthal.com www. sirotarosenthalart.com www.sirotarosenthal.com families ~ events ~ education ~ documentary

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The Arts Paper october 2017

Committed to the Craft

new haven academy of performing arts

ken carlson In the arts, young performers are flooded with symbolic quotes and expressions of advice matching their desire for success and the journey it requires.

Follow your heart.

Follow the yellow brick road.

Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.

But for an increasing number of people in New Haven County and beyond interested in improving their performance skills or those of their children, a new, more direct route is starting to be heard, “It’s up the stairs, past a hair salon in East Haven.”

It is over that hair salon, where the gray wooden outdoor staircase leads you to the New Haven Academy of Performing Arts (NHAOPA, pronounced “new hope, uh”).

To say NHAOPA is making some noise in the local performing arts scene would be an understatement. That noise could be heard when visiting their recent summer camp program that was bursting at the seams with loud, raucous children, hard at work in their recent production of James & the Giant Peach. Like the peach that grew exponentially in a very short period of time, NHAOPA has thrived, catching the attention of many in the community as a performance studio offering acting, vocal, and music lessons.

NHAOPA was developed initially by Billy DiCrosta, an actor and singing coach who grew up in the New Haven area. DiCrosta had made his living performing, primarily on cruise lines, where he also took an interest in training fellow singers and dancers.

Before creating NHAOPA, DiCrosta was working with a handful of students from his home office, Billy DiCrosta Vocal Studio. He followed two steadfast rules for performers when he expanded his operations: He stayed committed to his craft, and he chose to work with people who shared his goals.

His space in East Haven is shared with Broadway Dance, training young dancers for 24 years, with a friend he’s know since he was 14, Gina Helland; and he co-owns NHAOPA with his husband, Neil Fuentes.

Fuentes, who grew up in Venezuela, is well known to New Haven residents from his many television appearances on

Left to right: Billy DiCrosta, Neil Fuentes, and Jacob Shumway. Photo by Ken Carlson.

WTNH, Channel 8, and The Food Network.

Two years ago, Fuentes and DiCrosta officially created NHAOPA. Twenty four months later they have a summer camp program, private vocal lessons (with accreditation from the International Voice Teachers of Mix), private music lessons, and weekend acting classes for kids and adults. Their performances range from cabaret-style to musicals. Their students have traveled together for outside private gigs and appearances on New England affiliates for Telemundo. Their active role of students has grown to 250. Their summer shows drew enough this year to seek a larger venue, Whitneyville Cultural Commons in Hamden.

DiCrosta and Fuentes make no secret of how they have grown so fast; they have worked hard and expect the same of their students. No matter their the student’s inherent abilities, they don’t lower the bar.

“It’s a little shocking for kids when they arrive the first time,” Fuentes said about his summer camp program with an accelerated timetable—producing a musical for grade

James and the Giant Peach. Photo by Cory Miguel Camargo, courtesy of NHAOPA.

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schools designed for twelve weeks in just 15 days.

“When you talk to kids about summer camp; they think, ‘Fun, yay, play all day!’

But it’s a lot of work. We put enough pressure on them, good pressure. At the end of the day, when they’re doing a show, that’s when it clicks, ‘Oh, that’s why they were pushing so hard,’ he said. Theatre is life. It’s bringing to the stage life—different ways of seeing life—imagination, real, sad, happy, serious. Also, it’s giving someone the opportunity to have confidence. In order to play a character properly and successfully you have to fully let go of whatever anyone has to say or think about you. You just have to go for it.”

For DiCrosta, whether it’s working with kids in groups, or one-on-one, he often falls back on what he’s learned from years of performing and how that translates to life skills off stage. “They have it tough today,” DiCrosta said of kids interested in going into the dramatic arts for a living. “The competition has increased. Twenty years ago if you wanted to get into a performing arts program [in college] you just went. If you were a boy who could sing, move, and do a monologue, you were in. Now, forget about it. There is such an audition process.

You can’t be just a singer or dancer. If you aren’t a quadruple threat where you can’t play an instrument while rubbing your belly and lighting a fire you don’t have any chance. Plus they want extremely high grades. The really good BFA programs see thousands of kids, but have spots maybe for ten. They have to decide and want the best of the best. My kids ask, ‘Why do I need high grades if all I want is to perform?’

Because directors look at this girl and that girl; they look the same with great voices.

The one with B’s and C’s doesn’t have a good work ethic, is a pain, and they have to live with her for the next four years. The A student is a go-getter with a good work ethic and won’t bust their chops.”

As attendance has grown for the classes at NHAOPA, both for children and adults, one must keep in mind that the decision rarely comes down to the students, but the parents.

Doug Berson from Branford has a son, Robby, who has attended NHAOPA for weekend acting classes for a little over a year; “Neil’s done an amazing job with these kids. Robby’s confidence level has affected other parts of his life; his interactions with his parents, his responsibilities.

He takes it [his roles at NHAOPA, including that of James in James & The Giant Peach] more seriously and yet has so much fun with it.”

Rachel Manemeit from Clinton has a son, Tyler, who has worked with DiCrosta for five years for voice, acting, and dance.

“Billy and Neil have actually given Tyler opportunities outside of kids’ theatre. Tyler’s been on TV, lots of auditions, and he got a job at the Goodspeed [Opera House in East Haddam]. They’ve spent extra time with him and they’re very supportive. Everybody needs to have one person in their corner all the time, so it kept Tyler coming, whether it was trying something new [like singing and dancing] there was always support, support, support from the two of them.”

When Dicrosta and Fuentes spoke to The Arts Paper in late summer, they were tired from the work of their summer camp program, but smiled in recounting how quickly NHAOPA has grown. DiCrosta spelled out his philosophy as to why in pragmatic terms, along with advice for young performers. “We live in an age of instant gratification. Find a way to be committed to the craft. It doesn’t happen overnight. You have to be passionate about it. Put the video game down and do it. It’s a very rewarding field. Put the work in. It pays off time and time again.” n For more on the New Haven Academy of Performing Arts, visit nhaopa.com.

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The Arts Paper october 2017

Introducing Lucy Gellman as Editor Dear Readers, Hi there. Thank you for picking up The Arts Paper, and for taking a moment to linger on this page. As I write this from a gnome-sized chair in my office, I am trying to picture all of you—maybe fingering this newsprint over coffee or tea, holding it in your offices, sharing a copy with a friend or student. I am hoping that some of you have made it to our new, daily website— artspaper.org, and are perhaps scrolling through those articles with a mousepad in one hand and this ink-scented copy in the other.

Some of you may know my byline from my work in these pages, or as a reporter at the New Haven Independent. But if you don’t—or even if you do—let me introduce myself. I came to New Haven in 2013, for a two-year fellowship with the Yale University Art Gallery. I had just finished my masters in art history and had every intention of putting in two years—to the date—and then leaving for a doctoral program in art history. My life was based on being a temporary resident of New Haven: I owned very few dishes, had even fewer friends, and worked long hours. It wasn’t becoming, and it wasn’t fair to the city.

And then I met an avid reader of the New Haven Independent. It was fall 2013, during a mayoral election that exposed the city’s

racial cleavages, and I was spellbound by this hyper-local outfit chugging away with a tiny staff, trying to unravel New Haven’s every last knot before another one (or 10) appeared. It would be months until I met Editor Paul Bass or wrote for its fledgling arts section, but I sensed an inner shift: The more I read, the less I wanted to leave the city. I wanted to stay, to go spelunking in its nooks and crannies, to meet its longtime residents and become, truly, one of them.

That kind of shift, dear readers, is what I hope to create for you each month in print, and each day online at artspaper.org. Since leaving the Yale University Art Gallery in 2015, I have worked full-time for both the Independent and its radio affiliate, WNHH Community Radio, and hope to bring skills from both of those positions—timeliness, quirky and underreported stories, unending curiosity, and fair and unbiased coverage, all in the name of community engagement—to these pages, and to a new and growing team of Arts Paper freelancers. I am excited to announce a content share with the New Haven Independent, WNHH Community Radio, and the Inner-City News, which I hope will grow more robust with each issue.

I also want to shake things up. Going forward, you’ll see two things that have been missing from these pages. The first is hard-hitting arts criticism that holds in-

Lucy Gellman. Photo by Judy Sirota Rosenthal.

stitutions responsible, and travels far and frequently beyond downtown New Haven to get a story. The second, and closest to my heart, is reporting for and by our arts community. Reporting that lifts up voices The Arts Paper has bypassed for years.

New Haven and the Greater New Haven area are made strong through their diversity. In print and online, it is my hope and my promise to you that we will do our best to reflect that. Not because we should, but because our debt to this community—and

to its continued readership—is a matter of survival for the paper.

My ask to you, then, is to hold The Arts Paper accountable. My hands, heart, and door are always open. There’s another gnome-sized chair right next to mine if you’d like to stay a while. Please reach out with story ideas, with absences you’ve seen or felt acutely in these very pages, and with feedback on what I, The Arts Paper, and The Arts Council of Greater New Haven can do to better serve you. Let’s do this. n

FOMO? Sign up for The Arts Council’s enewsletter and don’t miss a thing.

newhavenarts.org • october 2017

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The Arts Paper october 2017

film review

Blind Sushi

Ryan Knighton and Bun Lai dragnet for bait in Blind Sushi. Video still courtesy of Eric Heimbold.

hank paper

H

ere’s a superhero film I actually liked (in addition to Wonder Woman), and not just because it was short (only 17 minutes).

In this ecologically hopeful saga, two superheroes come together to save our planet’s fauna and flora from alien invasive species that have come long distances to prey on our indigenous species that have every right to their peaceful existence.

“Invasive species are highly destructive, abundant, and…super-tasty!” Bun Lai says in Blind Sushi. Lai owns Miya’s in downtown New Haven, the very first sustainable sushi restaurant, and one that has garnered a James Beard Foundation Award nomination as well as a White House Champion of Change award.

The heart of this story—and of the film—is that part of Miya’s sustainability

mission includes an “invasive species menu.”

Every superhero story has its “origins” myth, but Miya’s is actually true! The original, and by now legendary, uniqueness of the Lai family’s restaurant is that it offers sushi exactly as it used to be made: with wild instead of farmed ingredients (many of which are contaminated with antibiotics and fungicides) and caught in a way that isn’t devastating to the ocean. For Lai, scanning the surface of the land and the bottom of our waterways, it’s ever a new and opportune world out there filled with wild creatures and veggies that no one has otherwise given much thought to, but which Lai, with his tactile dexterity and ever fertile imagination, refashions in his kitchen for our treasured delectation.

Lai’s fellow protagonist in the saga of this filmed foray is the blind writer Ryan

Ryan Knighton in the sea. Video still courtesy of Eric Heimbold.

8 • newhavenarts.org

Knighton. Along for the ride and the subsequent feast, he concurs with Lai’s view on the problem of invasive species: “Why not use ourselves as superpredators as the solution and eat our way out of it that problem?” Knighton asks in Blind Sushi.

Knighton has written two humorous memoirs and received numerous awards and nominations for his journalism, including a National Magazine Award nomination and a Thomas-Lowell Travel Writing Award. Writing is the way for Knighton to go out into the world and “see,” that is, to record his sensations and subsequent thoughts. Lai has brought him to this new world whose entry for both, it so happens, is necessarily tactile. For both forager and writer, chef and eater, the solution to the ecological problem is culinary.

“As a blind guy, I’m into eating,” Knighton says in the film, “It’s how I do my ‘sightseeing.’”

Looked at in one way, this is an action film, and it opens as the duo avidly search the rocky shore and go after tiny invasive crabs that have likely come over on the hull of a freighter docked in New Haven harbor. “Everything I do is about changing perspective,” Lai says, as they wade into the water. Knighton’s perspective—his blindness a constant reminder to avoid the twin pitfalls of safety and boredom—is likewise always open to change and opportunity. The world lies ahead with many potential food courses.

Once in the water, and following Lai’s directions and philosophy, they dragnet for bait and make that the catch they want—in this case, smelts. Diving into

the dark water, they feel their way along the bottom rocks and fauna, searching out the crabs and hard-shell clams to add to their fresh and live larder. Underneath the dark water is certainly where the perspectives of the two men intersect. As Lai guides Knighton’s hands over rocks interspersed with surprising yet enticing

“For both forager and writer, chef and eater, the solution to the ecological problem is culinary.” items, the purpose of their expedition becomes palpable. “They have no advantage on me, those sightees!” the blind writer proclaims.

One of the goals of the foodie movement, in which Lai’s enterprise is foundational, is to have our expectations upended and exceeded. So: If tiny Asian

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shore crabs are wiping out our precious New England crabs and oysters, and bait is underappreciated for its human culinary potential, and—in addition—the wild bottom clams are so bountiful, why not gather them all up and ultimately serve them for dinner, along with tamari, chili peppers, kelp, seaweed, and other savory ingredients? And that is exactly what they do, proceeding to Lai’s house and—once again with Knighton’s tactile help—cook up some mouth watering dishes for family and friends. Lai and his sister, Mie, throw some things in pots and pans while, under Lai’s ever-guiding tutelage, Knighton learns how to form rice and seaweed sushi balls. Lai finally sits down outside to feast on the results of his and Knighton’s expedition while our own feast, alas, must remain solely visual, albeit tantalizingly captured by filmmaker Eric Heimbold.

Knighton has dedicated his life to stories, which he arrives at when he learns something compelling he didn’t know before. With Lai he’s certainly found a story.

And Eric Heimbold, a highly accomplished and creative filmmaker, has eloquently and tantalizingly brought us this story, capturing it all with several cameras on land and sea (as well as beneath the water!), along with accompanying New Age music to help maintain the flow (so to speak).

Heimbold’s EH Studio and Marabou Pictures is an idea studio and production company located in Venice, CA, another watery place. His writing and directing has garnered numerous awards and nominations for his commercial, narrative, and documentary films. We should all be grateful for this one.

Eric Heimbold shooting Blind Sushi. Image courtesy of Eric Heimbold.

While informative and truly eye-opening, the film also has a kind of propulsive momentum that, in the wilds of one’s own imagination, might suggest a potential series or franchise with varying locales and antagonists to be defeated and devoured—not unlike Anthony Bourdain’s

No Reservations. Indeed, as a screenwriter for Sundance Labs and several Hollywood Studios, perhaps Knighton might one day write that pilot. In any event, until it possibly premieres, you can access this short film along with much more of Heimbold’s exciting work on ericheimbold.com. Re-

quest a password to view Blind Sushi and Heimbold will promptly reply.

Finally, one might ask with some deep and serious introspection, how does it all truly end? I suppose we’ll have to wait for the conclusion of our planet’s own ongoing drama. n

Ryan Knighton and Bun Lai enjoy a meal together in Blind Sushi. Video still courtesy of Eric Heimbold.

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The Arts Paper october 2017

The Power of Being Heard sounds of liberation new haven and more at the 20th annual city-wide open studios lucy gellman

I

n a white-walled room at the New Haven Correctional Center (NHCC), Daniel Watts was preparing for his first City-Wide Open Studios. In one hand, he held a small microphone to his mouth, checking his p’s to make sure that they weren’t popping too hard. Seated inches away, artist Maria Gaspar clutched a recorder.

“Puh, puh, puh,” Watts started. “That sounds good. Oh, that sounds really good.”

Then, after a breath, “I want to talk about liberation. We gon’ talk about liberation, and we gon’ have some fun.”

Watts, 34, hasn’t worked with City-Wide Open Studios (CWOS) before. Born and raised in New Haven, he’d heard rumblings of it, but never investigated further, or considered exhibiting. But he’s a close fit for this year’s festival: A passionate musician and DJ, lifelong family guy, and an inmate at NHCC, where he landed after violating his probation on a gun charge earlier this year.

With nine other inmates—some of whom will have been released by the time this story runs—Watts is a member of Sounds of Liberation New Haven, an audio commission from Artspace and Chicago-based Gaspar. A mix of prison radio, oral history, and public art installation, the piece will premiere during CWOS’ Armory Weekend, held Oct. 14 and 15 at the city’s Goffe Street Armory.

The project dovetails with this year’s theme of fRact/fiction, based on the “too tidy distinctions we make between ‘reality’ and ‘illusion,’ ‘fact’ and ‘fiction,’ and ‘history’ and myth.” Meant to be played on loop and in multiple locations, it comprises recordings from ten inmates at the NHCC, and from 11 students from James Hillhouse High School, Metropolitan Business Academy, New Haven Academy, Wilbur Cross High School, and the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA).

In late August, Gaspar worked onsite with both groups to solidify her understanding of the area around the Armory,

Conceptual photograph of Best Thing to Hold in Your Hands, an Artspace-comissioned piece for CWOS by Adam Niklewicz. Image courtesy of Artspace.

from sprawling De Gale Field to the nearby Saint Martin Townhouses to the NHCC itself. To each group, she posed the same questions: What does liberation in New Haven sound like? What does liberation to you sound like? And what do those sounds even mean?

For Gaspar, opening those questions up to the community is at the heart of the project. Born and raised in Cook County, Ill., Gaspar said she grew up aware that her neighborhood wasn’t seen as a luxe tourist destination, but as the site of a major prison. Several years ago, she began interviewing inmates at the Cook County Jail, asking them to record their own “sounds of liberation” in song, spoken word, poetry, letters, and rap. After meeting Artspace Director Helen Kauder at an “Arresting Patterns” conference in New Haven in 2015,

Maria Gaspar in New Haven in August. Photo by Lucy Gellman.

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she signed on to take the project to New Haven.

In the lead-up to Armory Weekend, she has done three site visits to the Elm City, meeting students, residents, inmates, and community management team members in the Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hills (WEB) neighborhood. She has also been working with the state’s Department of Correction for the better part of two years, to ensure the project’s wellbeing in the NHCC. “We’ve spent quite a bit of time really thinking through not only the art project, but all of the various elements of making a strong project that is relevant and meaningful to the community that it’ll be taking place in,” she said via phone in August, just before her trip to New Haven. “Because it’s gonna be public, because it’s gonna take

place during an open studio … it was really key to identify: What are the communities that exist in and around that space? Who is the audience, and maybe even … who do we want the audience to be? Who is missing and who do we want to draw to the conversation?”

It is also an earnest attempt to regain the neighborhood’s trust—and the city’s—after a chain of CWOS missteps last year. In 2016, the organization selected Gordon Skinner’s painting and collage Cops as one of its commissioned works, mounting it outside the Goffe Street Armory without consulting any city employees. In the work, a fat, grinning pig bats its lashes, cocking its bright pink head just slightly to the side.

On top of that head sits a blue, black, and yellow police hat. Around that head are various collage elements: glossy, disassembled

Unique Jones interviewing Catherine Moore about the Goffe Street Armory’s history. Photo by Lucy Gellman.

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The Arts Paper october 2017

photographs of Marilyn Manson and an unspooled cassette tape, all attached to a milk crate.

It didn’t take long for the work to draw attention. After a police officer complained about it to Parks, Recreation, and Trees Director Rebecca Bombero, the piece came down and was moved back to Artspace’s 50 Orange St. gallery for viewing. From October to December, the organization held a number of public discussions around the decision, drawing hundreds of artists, organizers, and city officials to its downtown offices to discuss what exactly had gone wrong.

The verdict: all parties involved had been reactionary, but Artspace also hadn’t taken the requisite steps to alert the neighborhood or the New Haven police that patrol it by foot, bike and car each day. Nor had the organization talked to the NHCC, which the piece faced from Hudson Street.

“We’ve done a lot this year to kind of make the process more community-based,” Kauder said in an August interview, noting that there’s been renewed attention toward diverse neighborhood involvement. “I think we need to be in close communication with the city. The Goffe Street Armory is a city property, and I think Gordon’s project—which certainly responded to current, keenly felt issues—was maybe one of the projects that didn’t go through the same process as some of the other commissioned pieces.”

“I think the city felt a little blindsided by that project,” she added. “This year, all the projects are getting an early screen with the city.”

“I think it’s important to recognize that we’re a partner with the city in the City-Wide Open Studios festival,” added Artspace Curator Sarah Fritchey. “I mean, the city is in the title itself. We really share a set of interests in supporting multiculturalism in New Haven, and giving voice to people that aren’t necessarily celebrated as leaders in their community.”

Voices like those at the NHCC, which primarily houses prisoners awaiting trial and finishing their sentences. On a sticky Wednesday in August, Gaspar arrived at the building with a tote on one arm and Trader Joe’s bag filled with recorders and microphones in the other. Four sliding doors and a tote bag deposit later, she entered a small white room, the walls lined with sturdy chairs and old computer monitors. Nine faces (one of the participants was sick for the session) greeted her with wide smiles and widened eyes.

“How’s everybody feeling today?” she asked. It was the final day of the Sounds of Liberation New Haven recording.

The room came alive. “Optimistic,” bubbled up from one corner. “Disappointed,” from another. “Anxious.” “Grateful.”

“I’m feeling mixed,” Joseph Paris said. He brought a bound notebook over to Gaspar, opening its black and white cover with a flourish. Inside, careful handwriting filled each page in blue ink, words dancing even in the marginalia. In his three weeks at the center, he had written an entire album on those pages, titling it Render. He wasn’t planning to read it because he wanted to record the whole thing when he gets out, he said.

Others had already made their record-

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Bike tour participants explore Private Studios Weekend 2016. Photo by Defining Studios courtesy of Artspace.

ings, and were reflecting on the week they’d had with Gaspar. On one side of the room, Watts was deep in conversation with 27-year-old Omari Jones, recounting an interview that the two had done with each other the day before.

Jones came to the NHCC after violating his probation on a 2014 gun charge. Living at Blake Street and Osborn Avenue, he had purchased a firearm illegally to feel “safer in that neighborhood” a few years ago. He carried it in his backpack. Which did make him feel safer, until he was arrested for it.

“First off, there’s a lot of intelligent and talented people here,” Jones said. “She’s [Gaspar] opened our eyes to that and made us hopeful again. There are things that go on in the hearts and minds of inmates, especially guys—and you see that there are other people in the world that do care.”

“The fact that she would show up, that the news would show up, shows that somebody other than our family cares. I’ve been—I am—grateful,” Watts added. Born in the Quinnipiac Terrace housing projects,

Watts said he has lived “just about everywhere in New Haven,” including close to the Armory on Orchard Street.

Of the interview he and Jones had done as their signature “sound” of liberation, he said it had helped him think about how he would address larger audiences about crime, recidivism, and the prison industrial complex.

The two weren’t alone. “It’s pretty amazing to me that nine of us could come together and create these,” said Tobias Wise, a 21-year-old who violated his probation on an armed robbery charge and is now serving a five and a half year sentence. He paused for a moment, his eyes saucer-like and soft as he spoke. “I’ve really enjoyed it, I see things different.”

Originally from Fayetteville, NC, Wise moved to New Haven in 2009 to be closer to family. Last year, he was arrested for an armed robbery in the Willow Street area of East Rock, a crime for which he said officials “got the wrong guy.” In recording his own sounds of liberation, he said his thoughts have drifted to his kids: Malchi,

who is 5, and Torryn, who is four months.

“I shouldn’t be in jail right now,” he said.

“I should be with them.”

Earlier that same day, Gaspar’s team of high school students had worked hard to collect narratives from the surrounding neighborhood. After a “Sounds of Liberation” boot camp at Stetson Library, the 11 headed out in the Armory’s general direction, fanning out over Goffe, Hudson, and Orchard Streets and Sherman Avenue. Just outside of Bethel AME Church on Goffe, Hillhouse student Unique Jones approached Catherine Moore, whose senior committee meetings are held at the church.

“Hello,” she said. “I’m a student with Artspace and we’re doing a project about this neighborhood.”

As Moore spoke to Jones about the Armory’s past life, Hillhouse junior Devon Smith trekked across De Gale Field, chasing down Hilhouse teacher Alex Sinclair for an interview about the neighborhood’s young people.

Others in the group chose to write poems, original music compositions, and letters for the project. ECA, Wilbur Cross, and Metropolitan Business Academy trio Anton Kot, Jennifer Lopez, and Winter von Kohler got into the nitty gritty of writing a song. Leaning over her notebook, Hillhouse sophomore Janyel Campbell reworked a few lines in preparation for a recording session at Baobab Tree Studios the next day.

Learning right from wrong/teaching myself how to be strong/The city that was first here is now long gone.

So how do I stay strong? How do I fight on?

How do I push back? How do I live on?” n Sounds of Liberation New Haven runs October 14 & 15 at City-Wide Open Studios’ Armory Weekend. Artspace is partnering with WNHH Community Radio (103.5 FM New Haven) to play the recordings to a wider audience before and during that weekend.

Visitors check out the artwork at the Armory during last year’s CWOS. Photo by Graham Hebel courtesy of Artspace.

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Nasty Women Film Festival W brandi fullwood

hen Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton “such a nasty woman,” during a 2016 presidential debate, he probably did not intend for it to become a rallying cry.

And yet almost immediately, it did. Female voters declared themselves “nasty women,” posing with eponymous apparel before the election. They organized and protested under “nasty” monikers after Donald Trump won the presidency in November.

And in early 2017, they began a national string of “Nasty Women” exhibitions, mounting multimedia shows to reflect their “nastiness.”

In New Haven, artist, mom, and proud immigrant Lucy McClure has been leading that charge. In March, she served as one of three co-curators of the Nasty Women New Haven exhibition. This month, she is the organizing the city’s first annual Nasty Women Film Festival, set for November 7 & 8 at the Ely Center for Contemporary Art. I had a chance to catch up with McClure before the festival for The Arts Paper. Selections from our interview are below.

If you could start with a little bit about yourself as an artist and organizer that would be fantastic.

I’ve been an artist a photographer for probably over 15 years and photography has always been my main media. I’ve always been interested in women’s issues and activism, but I didn’t become as passionate about it until recently, when the administration changed completely and I realized that our rights, everything that every person, every generation before us has worked so hard to give us could be taken away. Not only for me, but from my children. I decided that I couldn’t just not do anything about it.

I saw that there was this national movement happening, starting in New York City, a “Nasty Women” exhibition and I decided to start one in New Haven. That was my first experience … really using the arts as a tool for activism.

How do you see New Haven tackling this issue, and why through this festival in particular?

As an artist I feel like the contribution I have to give is to shed light on those issues by using the arts. I think the arts also are in crisis at the same time. I feel like it’s important to show people the relevance of it and that we can use the arts as a tool for social change. New Haven, it’s the perfect place for it. The arts are so strong here, but at the same time I feel that we could be doing more to utilize the arts to make a change that everyone can be part of.

Could you speak more about the relevance you just mentioned? What exactly is that for you?

I think the arts for the longest time made everyone wonder: Why do we make art?

Are we making art for selling? Are we making art because we want it to be in a museum?

I think now, more than ever, I think we can use the arts to really engage the community

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and give them an opportunity to speak up about what’s happening and what’s affecting them. I think in this case … [that means] any group that feels like they’re being personally marginalized under our current administration—women, immigrants, and refugees.

You need to find the people that are willing to support the ideas, but that are also willing to believe in the cause—that the arts really can be utilized to make social change.

I think New Haven definitely has a very diverse community of people, but the arts community—from what I’ve gathered—is not the most diverse. So, I’m wondering how your festival is going to approach this intersectional need when you’re trying to organize so many people.

One of the ways that we’re trying is that this time we’re using film—so moving image—as a way for people to tell their story. We’re inviting people to either tell a personal story or to create a narrative in any way. The guidelines are very limited: we’re only specifically asking people to focus on women’s issues, immigrants, and refugees.

These are current issues that need to be talked about. Especially because by people sharing stories or telling, it’s one way for us to maybe educate everyone that this is something that we need to be talking about.

There’s too much separation happening.

And, hopefully by people sharing stories, by doing our part, it’ll bring us together a little more as a nation in general. I hope to … achieve this with something as simple as a film festival. And to bring understanding to local organizations that are very important, that need funding, that need our help, that also need to be understood. Planned Parenthood, Make the Road CT, IRIS. These are local organizations, nonprofits, that could be gone, but they’re needed.

McClure, at this point, pointed to the value of an open call for submissions.

We’re not even saying “Oh, you have to submit in this format.” No, I don’t care if people do a film that’s 15 seconds on their iPhone. It’s about giving people a chance to have a voice. And if they want it, we’re opening the way. I just hope people will do it.

What kind of stories do you hope to get?

Personal stories. I’m hoping that people tell how this [administration] is affecting them. I’m hoping [for] immigrants, actual immigrants, actual refugees—people that have stories within themselves, their families, or someone they know, or even somebody they wish they would see that could make this better. Someone that could shed light [on these] issues in some way.

I think film has been very successful in doing that in the many years that it’s been around and I’m hoping to bring forth such power. … Every bit of action matters. We’re just trying to do our part and we’re hoping people understand a need for this to happen. I hope they join us, support us, come to the opening, listen to these stories, submit the work, and continue the dialogue— openly.

Is there a particular group of people that you really hope to extend this festival to?

The packed reception for the Nasty Women New Haven exhibition in March of this year. Photo by Judy Sirota Rosenthal.

I think that everyone that seems to be opposed to these issues, those are the people I’m hoping to reach.

Which issues in particular?

Reproductive rights, immigrants, refugees, and the idea of making a sanctuary city. The idea of deportation.

I hope people that are opposed to that, the ones that are opposed to women having a right [sic] over their own bodies, people that don’t even understand this film festival or [why] making art is even relevant in a political sense. I hope these people come, whether they’re curious or whether they feel they’re desperate or ‘cause they just want to see us all come together.

This past election has definitely enhanced—or rather revealed—divisions in the country. How will this festival extend itself to people who still support President Trump or even people who regret supporting him? How will this event get to them?

I think every single person knows a person they don’t agree with. I think we all have a family member, friends that have a different stance on what’s happening right now. I think we stopped talking about it or talking to each other because of that.

Hopefully this will create a common place for people to see that there are people being marginalized right now and they shouldn’t be marginalized because of their differences.

We’re more connected than we think we

are, and I think we need to be able to see that and realize what we’re teaching our future generations. So I’m hoping to shed light on these issues. I’m hoping to create a place where people can at least listen to stories and maybe bring them closer to each other, so that we can make a change at least starting in New Haven.

I don’t think you can make a global change without starting in your own neighborhood, in your own city.

I worry that when people take on political projects it’ll be one sided, and I try to be as understanding as possible of the “other sides.”… Film can be so grounded in tropes, what we’re familiar with when we watch TV or a movie, but when its hyperlocal it’s possible to teach one another a bit more about our own communities.

Will you be able to reach out to the least likely participant, that isn’t in the arts community?

I think we’re going to be able to reach out to the entire state of Connecticut. I’m hoping we get submissions from all over the state. I’m hoping we get people that are not artists. You don’t have to be an artist to tell stories. n The Nasty Women Film Festival will be held at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art November 7 & 8. For more details or to submit a film, visit filmfreeway.com/ festival/NastyWomenFilmNH. Deadline to submit a film: October 9.

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CALENDAR Classes & Workshops

prints in their own way. Artist’s talk on Sunday, October 1, 2 p.m. On view through October 1.

Gallery Hours are Thursday through Sunday 12-4 p.m. Free and open to the public.

CWOS at City Gallery As part of New Haven’s City-Wide Open Studios, City Gallery presents its member artists featuring work in painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, paper-making, encaustic, and mixed media. Reception on Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22, 12-6 p.m. On view October 5-October 29. Regular gallery hours listed above.

Annie Sailer Studio Space Erector Square, 319 Peck St., Building 2, 1st Floor, Studio D, New Haven.

(347) 306-7660. anniesailerdancecompany.com Modern/Contemporary Dance Classes Adults of all ages welcome! Come dance with us in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. Release tight muscles, increase flexibility, and strengthen your body.

Integrate your movement. Experience dance as an art form. Classes ongoing through December 22. Beginning level classes: Tuesdays, 6-7:30 p.m.

Intermediate level classes: Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30-7 p.m. Beginning/intermediate classes: Fridays, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Ten class card: $150.

Single Class: $18.

Modern Dance Classes for Teens A special 12-week session tailored specifically for teens will offer modern dance technique, improvisation, and composition, culminating in a studio showing. Young dancers will work together in a friendly, non-competitive, body-affirming environment to discover the joy of movement and the creative process.

Register now: anniesailer@gmail.com. September 14-December 7. Thursdays, 4:30-6 p.m. $180.

Clark Memorial Library 538 Amity Road, Bethany. (203) 393-2103. bethanylibrary.org The Six is an exhibit featuring works of six New Haven area artists working in a variety of media.

They are Peggy Bekeny of Hamden, Rosemary Benivegna of North Haven, Martha K. German of Woodbridge, Georgia Jennings of Hamden, Sharon R. Morgio of West Haven, and Elizabeth Hundt Scott of Bethany. Opening reception on Thursday, October 12, 5:30-7 p.m. On view October 10-November 2. Library hours are Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 2 p.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Artsplace 1220 Waterbury Road, Cheshire. (203) 272-2787. artsplacecheshirect.org Fall classes Artsplace offers wide selection of art classes for seven-week sessions and one- or twoday art workshops for students at all artistic levels and currently for ages 3 to 100, taught by professional fine artists. All supplies included. Easy parking. Register online, by phone or in person.

Classes run September 16-December 18. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Some Sundays, 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

Prices vary from $25 to $160.

Fairhaven Furniture River St. Gallery, 72 Blatchley Ave., New Haven. (203) 776-3099. fairhaven-furniture.com Threefold showcases work by Amy Arledge, Paulette Rosen, and Karen Wheeler. Arledge’s encaustics, Rosen’s multimedia drawings, and Wheeler’s drawings and mixed media pieces offer uniquely inventive approaches and inspired expressions of the artists’ vision. On view through October 21. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday 12- 5 p.m.

Closed Tuesdays. Free and open to the public.

Branford High School 185 East Main St., Branford.

(203) 488-5693. erace-adulted.org/CourseCatalog/ScheduleView. asp?ScheduleId=8874 Computer-Generated Fine Art This computer-generated fine arts program will introduce and engage participants to the exciting and ever-evolving world of graphic design. Students will learn and practice industry standard techniques and skills in both 2D and 3D platforms. Tuesdays, September 19-November 21, 6-8 p.m. $200 for members of the general public and $125 for students.

Yale Center for British Art 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Art Circles A museum educator will lead a 30-minute discussion in the Center’s galleries that explores a highlight of the collection. The work of art changes every session, making each visit a new experience. Thursdays, Oct. 5-Dec. 14, 12:30 p.m.

Free. Please visit the Center’s website for details.

Sketching in the Galleries Enjoy the tradition of sketching from original works of art in the Center’s collection and special exhibitions. Jaime Ursic, artist and Assistant Curator of Education, will offer insights on drawing techniques and observational skills. Drawing materials are provided, and all skill levels are welcome. October 18, November 8, and December 6 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The program is free, but preregistration is requested for each session. (203) 432-2858.

Yogi Boho Fitness Soulcraft Studios, 1125 Dixwell Ave., Hamden. (203) 690-8501.

Barre Workout Class Yogi Boho Fitness is offering barre workout classes. Barre is a sculpting and conditioning class inspired by ballet barre warmups targeting the core, posture alignment,

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Message in a Bottle #13 by digital collage artist Brian Flinn. His works will be at Kehler Liddell Gallery October 12 – November 12. Flinn will also be the guest artist at the Hamden Art League’s October meeting. Image courtesy of Kehler Liddell Gallery.

toning and strengthening the arms, legs as well as firming the bottom. A portion of the class utilizes small weights and the class cools down with gentle yoga floor stretches. Every Monday and Wednesday 12:30-1:30 p.m. Free but preregistration is required.

Exhibitions Artists Live 23 Royce Circle, Mansfield Storrs.

(860) 933-6000. kathleen-zimmerman-artist.com Artists Live is a visual arts program that was awarded a Regional Arts Grant. It features month-long exhibitions starting the 1st Friday of each month March to December (except for August). The final Friday of each month the exhibiting artist and Kathleen Zimmerman will have an artist conversation at 5 p.m. followed by a reception at 6 p.m. On view 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Artspace 50 Orange St., New Haven. (203) 7722709. artspacenewhaven.org One of the largest events of its kind, Artspace’s City-Wide Open Studios is now in its 20th year.

Artists from across Connecticut will open their doors and exhibit their work in their own studios, at the Goffe Street Armory, and at Erector Square in Fair Haven. Saturdays and Sundays, October 6November 9, 12-6 p.m. at festival locations.

Artspace’s downtown location is open Wednesdays and Thursdays 12-6 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 12-8 p.m. Free and open to the public.

City Gallery 994 State St., New Haven. (203) 782-2489. city-gallery.org Gatherings is an exhibition of figurative monoprints by Michael Zack that explore relationships and interactions between individuals and groups of people, both friends and strangers. Viewers are encouraged to interpret the world of the

Kehler Liddell Gallery 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven. (203) 389-9555. kehlerliddellgallery.com Vanishing An exhibition of photographs by Penrhyn and Rod Cook from recent journeys to Kenya and Tanzania. The artists explain: “African wildlife is vanishing. The reasons are numerous ...

We are not experts on the incredibly complex issues that threaten the region. We can only attempt to visually represent what we saw and how we felt about it.” On view through October 8. Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., or by appointment. Free and open to the public.

Brian Flinn & Roy Money: Messages & Meditations Kehler Liddell Gallery presents two new concurrent solo exhibitions. Digital collage artist Brian Flinn explores themes of impermanence, mourning and hope in his show Message in a Bottle. Simultaneously, photographer Roy Money explores the “myriad manifestations of clouds” in Clouds.

Opening reception on Saturday, October 21, 4- 7 p.m. Artist talk and closing reception on Saturday, November 11 at 3 p.m. On view October 12-November 12. Free and open to the public.

Marquee Gallery 74 State St., New London.

(860) 575-9113. galleryonect.com Revive/ Reset/ Respond: The Artists of Gallery One displays the collective body of work by a diverse group of mid-career artists who utilize current modes of expression in a variety of contemporary media. On view through October 7. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 12-6 p.m.; Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday by appointment, 12-6 p.m. Free and open to the public.

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The Arts Paper october 2017

New Haven Lawn Club 193 Whitney Ave., New Haven. (203) 777-3494. nhlawnclub.com Anna Held Audette: Selections From The Artist’s Portfolio Original drawings and prints on paper and oils on canvas showing three phases of the artistic career of a well-known New Haven artist and educator. Detailed, sensitive drawings of animals and botanicals; colorful abstract paintings representative of the artist’s most significant work, characterized as part of the Precisionist art movement. On view through October 28. Gallery hours are Monday-Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free admission and parking.

Yale Center for British Art 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Things of Beauty Growing Bringing together nearly 150 ceramic objects from Europe, Japan, and Korea—including jars, bowls, pots, chargers, vases, and monumental urns—this exhibition surveys the array of forms that have defined the British studio pottery movement from the 1890s to the present by exploring the connections between form and function. On view through December 3.

Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 12-5 p.m. Closed major holidays. Free and open to the public.

Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven. (203) 432-5050. peabody.yale.edu/exhibits/ albert-earl-gilbert-artist-conservation An Artist for Conservation: Albert Earl Gilbert As a child with crayon in hand, Al Gilbert enjoyed drawing lions, tigers, bears, and birds. Today he is regarded as one of the world’s premiere wildlife artists. Through the years, he has conducted fieldwork across the globe, traveling from Africa to Australia to observe and sketch rare and colorful tropical birds in their native habitat. On view through April 15, 2018. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 12-5 p.m. Entry is $6 to $13.

Galas & Fundraisers 18 Wednesday A Conversation with Harry Belafonte The award-winning entertainer and social activist will be the featured speaker at Christian Community Action’s annual fundraising event. Daphne Brooks, Yale Professor of African-American Studies and Theater Studies, will moderate. All proceeds from this fundraising event will support CCA programs for families that are homeless or at risk of homelessness in New Haven. October 18, 7:30 p.m.

Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven.

(203) 562-5666. shubert.com.

Kids & Families Music Together Classes First Presbyterian Church, 704 Whitney Ave., New Haven. (203) 691-9759. musicalfolk.com Music Together Classes for Children is a fun creative music and movement program for babies through 5 year olds and the ones who love them. Come sing, dance, and play instruments in an informal and fun setting. Classes are ongoing through the year and are held in New Haven, Hamden, Woodbridge, Cheshire, and Branford. Held every day at various locations. Morning, afternoon, and weekend classes available. 11-week semester is $232 and includes songbook and CD. Each semester is a new collection of music. Four semesters a year.

Demo classes are free.

Shubert Theater 247 College St., New Haven.

(203) 562-5666. shubert.com Family Fun Day – Free Shubert Open House Free family-friendly activities including arts and crafts projects, temporary tattoos, Halloween film shorts, snacks, and refreshments. Children are

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der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV 79; Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80; Mass in G Major, BWV 236; and other instrumental music. October 12, 7:30-9 p.m. Free admission. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Trinity Lutheran Church, 292 Orange St., New Haven. (203) 432-5062. Repeat performance on Sunday, October 14, 7-8:30 p.m. St. Michael’s Church, 225 West 99th St., New York City. ism.yale.edu/calendar.

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A Conversation with Harry Belafonte will take place at the Shubert Theatre on October 18. Photo courtesy of the Shubert.

welcome to wear Halloween costumes for trickor-treating in the Shubert lobby. Sunday, October 29, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Yale Center for British Art 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Exploring Artism: A Program For Families This is a free program for families with children who are 5 to 12 years of age and on the autism spectrum.

Families learn to look and respond to artwork in the museum’s galleries. Saturday, October 21, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. The program is free, but preregistration is required. Please e-mail ycba.education@yale.edu or call (203) 432-2858 with your name, number, and a good time to reach you. A museum educator will contact you by phone to complete and confirm your registration.

Film 6 Friday Screening & Discussion: African and British Legacies in American Ceramics: Ladi Kwali and Michael Cardew An evening of discussion with the celebrated studio potter Mark Hewitt (a former apprentice to legendary British potter Michael Cardew) and art historian and potter Sequoia Miller will be followed by the screening of two documentary films from the 1970s about Ladi Kwali and Michael Cardew. October 6, 5 p.m.

Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

Theater The Book Of Mormon This outrageous musical comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the “good word.” The Book of Mormon has truly become an international sensation. The New York Times calls it “the best musical.” Performances September 26-October 1. September 26-28, 7:30 p.m. September 29, 8 p.m. September 30, 2 & 8 p.m. October 1, 1 & 6:30 p.m. Ticket price varies by seat location. Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven. (203) 5625666. shubert.com.

Mike Epps Comedian Mike Epps has appeared on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam Tour, as Day-Day Jones in Friday and Friday After Next, and as Black Doug in The Hangover. Saturday, October 7, 7 p.m. Ticket price varies by seat location. Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven. (203) 562-5666. shubert.com.

Fireflies: A World Premiere Romance This beautiful new romance by Matthew Barber, Tony Award-nominated author of Enchanted April, shows that connection can be found in the unlikeliest of places and in the unlikeliest of ways. October 11-November 5. Times and ticket prices vary.

Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven.

(203) 787-4282. longwharf.org/fireflies.

Girls Night: The Musical This touching and hilarious “tell it like it is” musical takes audiences on a journey into the lives of a group of female friends.

Audience members can’t help but laugh, cry, and even find themselves singing and dancing in the aisles to the popular hit songs from the 80s and 90s. Saturday, October 28, 7:30 p.m. Ticket price varies by seat location. Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven. (203) 562-5666. shubert.com.

The Second City’s The Cure for The Common Comedy Are you sick and tired of jokes that make you feel sick and tired? The famous comedy troupe has the fix with their new show, The Cure for The Common Comedy. Edgy, thought-provoking, and always spectacularly funny, The Second City is known for nearly 60 years of political and social satire. Sunday, October 29, 6:30 p.m. Ticket price varies by seat location. Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven. (203) 562-5666. shubert.com.

Music 3 Tuesday Oneppo Chamber Music Series The revered Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble performs a compelling program of music

by Antonin Dvorák and George Enescu. Dvorák: Sextet in A major, Op. 48. Enescu: Octet for strings in C major, Op. 7. October 3, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $26 for adults and $13 for students. Yale School of Music, Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. (203) 432-6245. music-tickets.yale.edu/single/ EventDetail.aspx?p=17239.

8 Sunday Evening Ragas A concert of Hindustani music featuring evening ragas. Sitarist Rabindra Goswami has been a professional musician for 40 years and is recognized as one of the senior-most artists in the musically rich city of Varanasi, India.

Tablaist Ramu Pandit is a long-time professional performer of classical, semi-classical, folk, and popular music. October 8, 5-6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Battell Chapel, 400 College St., New Haven. (203) 432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar.

11 Wednesday Horowitz Piano Series Presents Angela Hewitt Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt, whom The New York Times has described as “an artist of consummate technical skill and refinement,” performs Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations, BWV 988.

October 11, 7:30 p.m. Tickets from $21 for adults and $11 for students. Yale School of Music, Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. (203) 432-6245. music-tickets.yale.edu/ single/EventDetail.aspx?p=17327.

12 Thursday Yale Schola Cantorum, Reformation Concert Masaaki Suzuki, conductor, with the ensemble Juilliard 415. Cantatas for Reformation Day: Gott

Yale Philharmonia Guest conductor David Robertson leads the Yale Philharmonia and violinist Laura Park, a winner of the 2017 Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition, in a performance of Walton’s Violin Concerto, on a program that also includes Rouse’s Rapture and Strauss’ breathtaking tone poem Ein Heldenleben. October 13, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets from $10 for adults, $8 for Yale faculty and staff and $5 for students. $3 surcharge on tickets purchased at the door. Yale School of Music, Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. (203) 432-6245. music-tickets.yale.edu/single/ EventDetail.aspx?p=17347’.

14 Saturday Haven String Quartet Free concert celebrating 10 years of Music Haven featuring selections from Schubert, Mozart, Telemann, and more. Featuring student performers, guests and residents. Haven String Quartet, Unitarian Society of New Haven, 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamden. (203) 7459030. musichavenct.org/programs-performance.

20 Friday-22 Sunday Guys and Dolls in Concert The NHSO celebrates the American tradition of musical theatre with Frank Loesser’s celebrated comedy about rolling the dice and falling in love under the bright lights of Broadway.

October 20, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tickets are $15-$74.

KidTix free with adult; college students $10. New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at SCSU, 501 Cresent St., New Haven. (203) 392-6154. newhavensymphony.org.

October 21, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 or $49. KidTix free with adult; college students $10.

New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Hamden Middle School, 2623 Dixwell Ave., Hamden. (203) 865-0831. newhavensymphony.org.

October 22, 3-5 p.m. Tickets are $35 or $49.

KidTix free with adult; college students $10. New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Shelton High School, 120 Meadow St., Shelton. (203) 865-0831. newhavensymphony.org.

22 Sunday Student Recital David McNeil, choral conducting.

Student recitals are one hour in length. October 22, 5-6 p.m. Free. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Church of the Redeemer, 185 Cold Spring St., New Haven. (203) 432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar.

22 Sunday Tangeman Lecture: Jennifer Bloxam on Music of the Reformation Preconcert talk for Cappella Pratensis performance at 7 p.m.. On the faculty of Williams College, Bloxam’s research interests include early music and its cultural context, interactions between plainsong and polyphony, narrative and exegesis in 15th and 16th century sacred music, musical borrowing, and composition. October 22, 6-7 p.m. Free and open to the public. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Christ Church - Parish Lounge, 84 Broadway, New Haven. (203) 432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar.

Cappella Pratensis: Missa Lutherana The Dutchbased vocal ensemble Cappella Pratensis—literally ‘Cappella des prés’—champions the music of Josquin Desprez and the polyphonists of the 15th and 16th centuries. The group combines historically informed performance practice with inventive programs and original interpretations based on scholarly research and artistic insight. October 22, 7-8:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Christ Church, 84 Broadway, New Haven. (203) 432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar.

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The Arts Paper october 2017

24 Tuesday

14 Saturday - 15 Sunday

Oneppo Chamber Music Series The Endellion String Quartet, “arguably the finest quartet in Britain,” according to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, comes to Yale. The performance will include works by Haydn, Bartók, and Beethoven. Haydn: String Quartet in G major, Op. 54, No. 1. Bartók: String Quartet No. 6, Sz. 114.

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat major, Op. 127. October 24, 7:30 p.m. Tickets start from $26 for adults, $13 for students. Yale School of Music, Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. 203-432-6245. music-tickets. yale.edu/single/EventDetail.aspx?p=17241.

Book Launch: Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind Celebrate the publication of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind, a collection of poetry and photographs by Branford’s Jen Payne.

October 14, 3-6 p.m. The launch will be followed by and artist talk with Jen Payne and Martha Link Walsh on Sunday, October 15, 12-2 p.m. For details: wordsbyjen@gmail.com or 3chairspublishing.com. Martha Link Walsh Gallery, 188 North Main St., Branford. (203) 4835353. 3chairspublishing.com.

27 Friday

Dance

Concert: Graduate students from the Yale School of Music Students will perform classical guitar music in the library court. Seating is limited.

October 27, 1 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

Yale Philharmonia Alumni Concert Percussionists Georgi Videnov and Sam Um, winners of the 2017 Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition, return to YSM to perform faculty composer Martin Bresnick’s concerto for two marimbas, Grace. This program also features the world premiere of the International Bruckner Society’s new edition of the composer’s Eighth Symphony. October 27, 7:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $10 for adults, $8 for Yale faculty and staff and $5 for students. $3 surcharge on tickets purchased at the door. Yale School of Music, Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven.

(203) 432-6245. music-tickets.yale.edu/single/ EventDetail.aspx?p=17349.

29 Sunday Bach Cantata Bach Cantata 80, Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress), with choirs of Bethesda and Spring Glen Church, soloists, and orchestra.

Directed by Lars Gjerde and Terese Gemme. October 29, 4 p.m. Freewill offering. Bethesda Music Series, Bethesda Lutheran Church, 450 Whitney Ave., New Haven. (203) 787-2346. bethesdanewhaven.org.

Yale Camerata: To the Field of Stars Music of Gabriel Jackson, Mohammed Fairouz, Hindemith, and Victoria. Marguerite L. Brooks, conductor. October 29, 4-5:30 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Church of the Redeemer, 185 Cold Spring St., New Haven. (203) 432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar.

Special Events 3 Tuesday Meet The MATT at Highland Brass Join Mattatuck Museum staff at Highland Brass Company (HBC) and celebrate the exhibition #IBelieveInWaterbury.

Sip a special cocktail created by HBC and inspired by artwork in our collection and chat with staff about arts and the city! October 3, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Mattatuck Museum, 144 W. Main St., Waterbury.

(203) 753-0381. mattmuseum.org/calendar/ meet-matt-highland-brass-co.

10 Tuesday Hamden Art League’s October Meeting Refreshments and socializing begins at 7 p.m. on October 10, followed by a brief business meeting at 7:15 p.m., and the guest artist’s presentation at 7:30 p.m.

Guest artist Brian Flinn will present “Digital Collage,” Mr. Flinn will demonstrate how he combines mixed media and digital imagery to create fine art works. Our meetings/opening receptions are held the second Tuesday of the month from 7 to 9 p.m.

Our meetings are free and open to the public. If the library is closed due to inclement weather, the meeting will be cancelled. For further info on the Hamden Art League, please visit hamdenartleague.com. 2901 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden. (203) 287-1322. hamdenartleague.com.

• october 2017

14 Saturday - 15 Sunday Annie Sailer Dance Company & Dancers Site-specific work Rush Flow Still and Color at CityWide Open Studios’ Armory Weekend. Saturday, October 14, 1:45-2:30 p.m. and 3:15-4 p.m. Sunday, October 15, 1:45-2:30 p.m. and 3:15-4 p.m., Free but preregistration is required. Goffe Street Armory, Drill Hall, 290 Goffe St., New Haven.

(347) 306-7660. anniesailerdancecompany.com.

28 Saturday - 29 Sunday Annie Sailer Dance Company & Dancers Site-specific work Rush Flow Still And Color at CityWide-Open Studios’ Erector Square Weekend, with an exhibition of new paintings by Annie Sailer. Saturday, October 28, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Sunday, October 29, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Free but preregistration is required. Erector Square, 319 Peck St., Building 2, 1st Floor, Studio D, New Haven. (347) 306-7660. anniesailerdancecompany.com.

credible history of the legendary Shubert Theatre.

Please meet at the main lobby doors. No reservations required. October 4 & 7, 11 a.m. Free and open to the public. Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven. (203) 562-5666. shubert.com.

Marta Kuzma, Dean at the Yale School of Art, will deliver a 30-minute gallery talk. October 17 and 24, 12:30 p.m. Free. Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

7 Saturday

19 Thursday

Artist Talk & Closing Reception Join us for a discussion with the artists of Vanishing, an exhibition of photographs by Penrhyn and Rod Cook from recent journeys to Kenya and Tanzania in which the artists “attempt to visually represent” the disappearing African wildlife. The discussion will take place during City-Wide Open Studios’ Westville Weekend. Refreshments served. Saturday, October 7, 3 p.m. Free. 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven.

(203) 389-9555. kehlerliddellgallery.com.

Kavanagh Lecture: Father Edward Foley Preaching in an Age of Disaffiliation: Respecting Dissent while Keeping the Faith Edward Foley is the Duns Scotus Professor of Spirituality and ordinary Professor of Liturgy and Music at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he was the founding Director of the Ecumenical Doctor of Ministry Program. October 19, 2-3:30 p.m. Free. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Sterling Divinity Quad N100 (Great Hall), 409 Prospect St., New Haven.

(203) 432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar.

8 Sunday Gallery Talk: Yankees or Red Sox Join sports lover and guest curator Neil Scherer for an informal chat on the items featured in Yankees or Red Sox: America’s Greatest Rivalry. October 8, 1-5 p.m. $10.

Mattatuck Museum, 144 West Main St., Waterbury. (203) 753-0381. mattmuseum.org.

10 Tuesday Art in Context: Studio Pottery and Popular Culture in Britain Sequoia Miller, PhD candidate, History of Art, Yale University, will deliver a thirty-minute gallery talk. October 10, 12:30 p.m. Free.

Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

17 & 24 Tuesday Art in Context: Clare Twomey’s Made in China

26 Thursday Lewis Walpole Library Lecture: The Many Lives of Horace Walpole George E. Haggerty, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of English, University of California, Riverside. See the Center’s website for more details. October 26, 5:30 p.m. Free. Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

31 Tuesday Art in Context: From the Inside of the Vessel Out: The Logic of the Wheel Edward Cooke, Professor in the History of Art at Yale University, will deliver a 30-minute gallery talk. October 31, 12:30 p.m.

Free. Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

Talks & Tours Introductory Tours Docent-led introductory tours of the Center’s collections are offered on most Fridays at 2 p.m., Sundays at 11 a.m., and Wednesdays at 6 p.m. during the academic year. Please visit the Center’s website for more information.

Free and open to the public. Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 4322800. britishart.yale.edu.

Exhibition Tours: Things of Beauty Growing: British Studio Pottery docent-led tours of special exhibitions are offered on most Thursdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m. through December 3.

Please visit the Center’s website for details. Free.

Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

Student Guide Tours Tours led by student guides are offered on select Saturdays at 2 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. through December 9. See the Center’s website for details. Free. Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

Architecture Tours Tours of the Center’s architecture are offered on Saturdays at 11 a.m. through December 16. Free. Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

3 Tuesday Art in Context: Memorandum of a Sky: John Constable and William Oram Nicholas Robbins, PhD candidate in the History of Art at Yale University, will deliver a 30-minute gallery talk. October 3, 12:30 p.m. Free. Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu.

4 Wednesday & 7 Saturday Free Shubert Backstage Tour The Shubert’s hourlong tours are the perfect activity for any theater or history enthusiast. You’ll be amazed by the in-

The Yale Schola Cantorum’s Reformation Concert with Masaaki Suzuki, conductor, and the ensemble Juilliard 415 will be at Trinity Lutheran Church, 292 Orange St., New Haven on October 12, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free. Repeat performance in New York City Sunday, October 14. Image courtesy of the Yale Institue for Sacred Music.

newhavenarts.org • 15

The Arts Paper october 2017

BULLETIN BOARD

The Arts Council provides bulletin board listings as a service to our membership and is not responsible for the content or deadlines.

Call For

for more information, or check us out at silknsounds.org.

Artists All professional and amateur artists are invited to participate in The 2nd Annual New Haven Chalk Art Festival. All artwork will be judged by local chalk artist Andrea Casey for the grand prize, a $500 gift card to Hull’s Art Supply & Framing.

Prizes will be awarded in each age division by people’s choice: teen (13-17); adult (18 and over); adult group (minimum 2 artists 18 and over). Artists will be given a 4’x4’ square, on a black asphalt or granite pavers. Saturday, October 21, 12-4 p.m.

There is no cost to participate. Preregistration is required. Please contact Stephanie McDonald at Stephanie.mcdonald@yale.edu. The Shops at Yale, Broadway Island, 56 Broadway, New Haven. (203) 982-0676. theshopsatyale.com/chalkart.

Singers Men like to sing? Sing with us. The University Glee Club of New Haven is an all-male chorus looking for new members. We are a non-audition group singing with the rich blend of men’s voices: tenor I, tenor II, baritone and bass.

Our feel-good repertoire ranges from glees to classical to Broadway and more. Information at universitygleeclub.org or call (203) 248-8515 for more information. Rehearsals are 7:15-9:30 p.m. on Monday evenings. Location: Bethesda Lutheran Church 305 St. Ronan St., New Haven. Winter concert on December 10, 4 p.m.

Dancers Annie Sailer Dance Company is looking for dancers experienced in modern/contemporary technique, improvisation, and performance.

Adults of all ages will be considered. Rehearsals will be held at Annie Sailer Studio Space at Erector Square in New Haven. Rehearsal schedule to be arranged. No pay for dancers. For further information contact Annie: anniesailer@gmail.com. anniesailerdancecompany.com.

Singers Sing Elijah? Calling choral singers. The Bethesda Lutheran Church Choir is calling experienced choral singers to join us for a season that includes a fall concert featuring Bach’s Cantata 80 and a spring concert with Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

We sing weekly Sunday morning service music by composers, ancient and modern. Our choir consists of a mix of professional and amateur musicians. Basic music reading skills needed. Contact music director Dr. Lars Gjerde for more information: music@bethesdanewhaven.org.

Singers Silk n’ Sounds a’capella woman’s chorus is looking for new members to join us on our amazing journey of musical discovery! Come meet us (we are very friendly) and our award winning director, Christina Lampa-Onnerud, at one of our Tuesday night rehearsals from 6:15-9:15 p.m. at Spring Glen Church located at 1825 Whitney Ave., Hamden. You can contact Lynn at (203) 623-1276

Student Monologues Drama Notebook is holding an ongoing monologue contest for students ages 6-18. We are building a huge collection of fantastic original monologues for kids and teens entirely written by students. dramanotebook.com/ monologues-kids-teenagers for more info.

Volunteers Arts for Learning Connecticut, a statewide arts in education organization, is seeking board members and volunteers. Please call Eileen Carpinella, Executive Director, at (203) 230-8101 or email ecarpinella@aflct.org regarding your interest. aflct.org.

Volunteers and Interns Volunteering at the Institute Library is a great way to meet your local community, have fun, and make a major difference at one New Haven’s great treasures. More volunteers means more (and longer) hours that we can stay open! Contact us if you are interested at home@institutelibrary.org. Our internship program is also expanding! Let us know if you are a high school, college, or continuing ed. student looking for credit and a meaningful professional development experience.

Volunteers The non-profit Spectrum Art Gallery and its affiliate, Arts Center Killingworth offer numerous opportunities for volunteers! Learn new skills, meet new people, and be part of a creative organization that gives to the community. Opportunities exist throughout the year for a variety of

events and ongoing programs. Teens are welcome and can earn community service credit. Email Barbara Nair, Director, at barbara@spectrumartgallery.org or call (860) 663-5593.

Creative Services Historic Home Restoration Contractor Period appropriate additions, baths, kitchens; remodeling; sagging porches straightened/leveled; wood windows restored; plaster restored; historic molding & hardware; vinyl/aluminum siding removed; wood siding repair/replace. CT & NH Preservation Trusts. RJ Aley Building Contractor: (203) 2269933, jaley@rjaley.com.

Web Design & Art Consulting Services Startup business solutions. Creative, sleek web design by art curator and editor for artist, design, architecture, and small-business sites. Will create and maintain any kind of website. Hosting provided.

Also low-cost in-depth artwork analysis, writing, editing services. (203) 387-4933. azothgallery@ comcast.net.

Space Events and Parties With 2,000 sq. ft. of open exhibition space, Kehler Liddell Gallery is a unique venue for hosting events. We tailor to the special interests of private parties, corporate groups, arts organizations, charities, and academic institutions.

Our inviting, contemporary atmosphere provides the perfect setting for your guests to relax, mingle, and enjoy the company of friends. We provide a warm atmosphere filled with paintings, drawings and sculptures by CT contemporary artists and free parking, with front door wheel chair access.

Contact roywmon@gmail.com or Roy at (203) 872-4139.

Studio/Event Space at Erector Square in New Haven available for dance and theatre rehearsals and performances, events, workshops, and exhibitions. 1,500 sq. ft., 1st floor, 14 ft. ceilings, white walls, great light, wooden floors. Contact Annie at anniesailer@gmail.com.

Studio Space for Dance, Performing Arts, Events Hall A 1,500 sq. ft. space with adjoining rooms in a turn-of-the-century mansion in a historic district.

Hardwood floors. Vintage stage with curtains. Mahogany woodwork and glass doors. Ample natural light. Chairs and tables on premises. Contact whitneyartsctr@aol.com.

Jobs Please visit newhavenarts.org for up-to-date local employment opportunities in the arts.

Upcoming Ad & Calendar Deadlines: The deadline for advertisements and calendar listings for the November issue of The Arts Paper is: Monday, September 25 at 5 p.m.

Future deadlines are as follows: December 2017: Monday, October 23, 5 p.m.

Calendar listings are for Arts Council members only and should be submitted online at newhavenarts. org. Arts Council members can request a username and password by sending an e-mail to communications@newhavenarts.org.

The Arts Council’s online calendar includes listings for programs and events taking place within 12 months of the current date.

Listings submitted by the calendar deadline are included on a monthly basis in The Arts Paper.

The Bethesda Lutheran Church Choir will sing Bach Cantata 80, Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress), with the choir of Spring Glen Church, soloists, and orchestra on October 29, 4 p.m. at Bethesda Lutheran Church, 450 Whitney Ave., New Haven. Image courtesy of Bethesda Music Series.

16 • newhavenarts.org

october 2017 •

The Arts Paper october 2017

The Underbelly of the Elm City new haven noir launches at the institute library dan hajducky Wedged between Evolution Tattoo and Nim’s Jewelry on Chapel St.—like something out of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix—sits the Institute Library. Founded in 1826, having sat on this exact spot for the last 139 years, the library has welcomed all-time American luminaries: Frederick Douglass’ stirring baritone once echoed off New Haven walls; Ralph Waldo Emerson and Anna E. Dickinson gave speeches at the Institute; even Abraham Lincoln spoke in the Elm City, invited to town by an Institute member, five years before his death. Busts of Isaac Newton and William Shakespeare watch over the library, illuminated by natural light beaming through the sunroof. An ineffable magnetism courses through the Institute, and New Haven on the whole—under the weight of such history, perhaps—calling out to strangers and calling home those who hold it dear.

When New Haven Noir (Akashic Books, $11.96) was announced, the newest in the noir short story collection series from the Ellery Queen Award-winning press—the series includes installments set in Belfast, Copenhagen, Paris, and Venice, to name a few—it seemed fitting that Amy Bloom,

one of the nation’s finest writers who calls Haven haunt: Union Station (“Crossing Connecticut home, would be at the helm.

Harry” by Chris Knopf), Chapel Street Bloom, a National Book Award nominee, (“The Man in Room Eleven” by Pulitzer was a longtime lecturer at Yale and has Prize and PEN/Faulkner-winning author been the Kim-Frank Family Writer in Resiand Yale lecturer Michael Cunningham), dence at Wesleyan University since 2010.

Dwight Street (“A Woe for Every Season” It was also fitting that the first night of the

by Hirsh Sawhney) and Wooster Square book tour—a humid evening that tumbled (“Silhouettes” by Chandra Prasad) among into a breezy night— others. Roxana Robwriters, readers, litinson, once called erature enthusiasts, “John Cheever’s heir former and current apparent” by Laurel New Haven residents, Graeber of The New crammed into the InYork Times Book Review, stitute Library to hear stops by to give the ominous tales about Beinecke Rare Book & the city they love.

Manuscript Library its New Haven, Bloom due and Bloom herself (the editor of New spins a sultry East Haven Noir) points Rock yarn entitled “I’ve out in the collection’s Never Been to Paris.” introduction, is more As each writer than just Yale and spoke, under the chan-Amy Bloom Pepe’s: “If noir is about deliers of the Institute, corruption, absurdity, anxiety, the nighta similar thread emerged: “I’ve been in and mare of bureaucracy, New Haven […] is a out of New Haven my whole life. I was born noir town.” Bloom goes on: “We may be here, worked at the New Haven Register, a noir town but, even though noir usually now I work at Yale,” said author Karen E. manages not to, we have heart.”

Olson, who wrote about Fair Haven (“The Each story takes place in a specific New Boy”) in the collection. “I just can’t seem to

“If noir is about corruption, absurdity, anxiety, the nightmare of bureaucracy, New Haven […] is a noir town.”

stay away.” They preached about the New Haven’s inescapability throughout September at literary hotspots such as R.J. Julia in Madison, and McNally Jackson in New York City, two of the finest independent bookstores in the country.

The sense of community—for the strangers, the newly initiated, the residents, and the returnees alike—is profound when folks gather to appreciate New Haven. Both before and after the readings, handfuls of folks waved across the room, hailing down old friends before launching into what they’d both been up to since they last spoke.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it.

Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

It’s hard to imagine truer words spoken about New Haven Noir or the Institute Library. n For more info about New Haven Noir, visit akashicbooks.com/catalog/new-haven-noir.

A copy of New Haven Noir at the Institute Library launch. Photo by Daisy Abreu.

• october 2017

newhavenarts.org • 17

BEYOND THE FRONT LINES April 6, 2017Dec. 30, 2018

In Concert Three Performances! October 20 - 22 New Haven • Hamden • Shelton NewHavenSymphony.org • 203.865.0831

1 State Street, New Haven • 203-865-0400 kofcmuseum.org • Free admission & parking

The Arts Paper is Hiring!

Part-Time Advertising Sales Representative Email cover letter and resume to Marketing Director at communications@newhavenarts.org

yale institute of sacred music presents

Adam Kirsch

Becoming a Jewish Writer

Yale Literature & Spirituality Series

thursday, november 9 · 5:30 pm The Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale (80 Wall St., New Haven)

The Lana Schwebel Memorial Lecture in Religion and Literature



Contemporary Perspectives on War

Yale Schola Cantorum

Through December 31, 2017

Path of Miracles

YA L E U N I V E R S I T Y A R T GA L L E RY

David Hill, conductor

Joby Talbot’s work inspired by the Route of Santiago de Compostela Both events are free; no tickets required. ism.yale.edu

Before the Event/After the Fact

friday, november 10 · 7:30 pm

Christ Church New Haven (84 Broadway at Elm)

Free and open to the public | artgallery.yale.edu 1111 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut | 203.432.0600 @yaleartgallery

Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, Tze’elim Military Base, Negev Desert (Chicago #2), from the series Chicago, 2006. Digital chromogenic print. © Broomberg & Chanarin, courtesy the artists

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newhavenarts.org • 19

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