The Arts Paper September 2015

artists next door 4 get creative 6

folk festival 10

season highlights 18

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

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September 2015

The Arts Paper september 2015

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Artists Next Door Hank Hoffman Interviews Julie Fraenkel

staff Cynthia Clair executive director Debbie Hesse director of artistic services & programs Kyle Hamilton director of finance Matt Reiniger communications manager Winter Marshall executive administrative assistant David Brensilver editor, the arts paper Amanda May Aruani design consultant

board of directors Eileen O’Donnell president Rick Wies vice president Daisy Abreu second vice president Ken Spitzbard treasurer Wojtek Borowski secretary directors Laura Barr Susan Cahan Robert B. Dannies Jr. Todd Jokl Mark Kaduboski Jocelyn Maminta Josh Mamis Rachel Mele Elizabeth Meyer-Gadon Frank Mitchell Mark Potocsny David Silverstone Dexter Singleton Richard S. Stahl, MD

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Get Creative Arts Organizations Have Plenty of Offerings

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Folk Festival Della Mae Headlines in Edgerton Park

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.

To advertise in The Arts Paper, call the Arts Council at 203.772.2788.

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 www.newhavenarts.org

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Season Highlights Gregory Porter at the Lyman Center is One Not to Miss

The Arts Council is pleased to recognize the generous contributions of our business, corporate and institutional members. executive champions The United Illuminating Company/Southern Connecticut Gas Yale University senior patrons Knights of Columbus L. Suzio York Hill Companies Odonnell Company Webster Bank corporate partners AT&T Coordinated Financial Resources/Chamber Insurance Trust Firehouse 12 Fusco Management Company Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven Yale-New Haven Hospital

honorary members Frances T. “Bitsie” Clark Cheever Tyler

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.

business patrons Albertus Magnus College Gateway Community College Lenny & Joe’s Fish Tale Newman Architects Quinnipiac University Wiggin and Dana

business members Brenner, Saltzman & Wallman, LLP Duble & O’Hearn, Inc. Griswold Home Care The Lighting Quotient United Aluminum Corporation foundations and government agencies Carolyn Foundation The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Connecticut Arts Endowment Fund DECD/CT Office of the Arts Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation The Ethel & Abe Lapides Foundation First Niagara Foundation The George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation, Bank of America, N.A. and Alan S. Parker, Esq. Trustees The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation NewAlliance Foundation Pfizer The Wells Fargo Foundation The Werth Family Foundation media partners New Haven Independent New Haven Living WPKN

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september 2015 •

The Arts Paper september 2015

Letter from the Editor September, for all intents and purposes, marks the beginning of the season for most arts and cultural organizations.

We can credit or blame school calendars for that. It’s a great time to get involved in the arts — to get creative — whether that means exercising one’s creativity for the first time or picking up a long-unexplored artistic interest. I recently spoke to a number of folks at arts organizations throughout the Greater New Haven area, from educational organizations to

art galleries, dance and theater companies, and vocal and chamber-music ensembles, about their various offerings.

Those with whom I spoke represent just a handful of the extraordinary people and organizations in our region, and I encourage you, dear reader, to have a look at the list of member organizations and partners included near the back of this publication, and to reach out and get involved.

This issue of The Arts Paper also includes information about a handful of performing-arts programs that I think are worth checking out. Again, this list is far from comprehensive. There’s much more going on in our region than any one preview article can possibly highlight. Those

On the Cover

included herein should inspire you to look at the Arts Council’s online calendar and ANDI smart-phone application to see just how rich and diverse our region is in terms of performing-arts programming.

This month, the annual Connecticut Folk Festival takes place in Edgerton Park. In addition to information about the music lineup and the Green Expo that takes place as part of the festival, this issue of The Arts Paper includes an article

by Hank Hoffman about the five finalists who’ll perform as part of the CT Folk Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition.

Hank also interviewed visual artist Julie Fraenkel about her work and creative process, and I spoke with new

Music Haven Executive Director Mandi Jackson about leading that extraordinary organization into the future.

Next month, we’ll preview Artspace’s annual City-Wide Open Studios festival.

We hope you enjoy the stories presented herein and that you’ll remember to recycle this print publication once you’ve finished reading it. n Sincerely,

David Brensilver, editor The Arts Paper

In the Next Issue …

Correction A photograph of Isabella Mendes on page 10 of the July-August issue of The Arts Paper should have been credited to Corey Lynn Tucker Photography. Also, São Paulo was misspelled.

Amir Elsaffar will appear at Firehouse 12 this fall Photo by Ed Berger.

See story about this and many other season highlights on page 18.

Discover the Hopkins Community

The October issue of The Arts Paper will preview Artspace’s 2015 City-Wide Open Studios festival. In this photo, University of Connecticut professor Deborah Dancy leads a tour through Erector Square during CWOS 2014. Photo (detail) by Graham Hebel.

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The Arts Paper september 2015

artists next door

Tiny and Secret Civilizations julie fraenkel’s artwork explores the human condition hank hoffman

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naked woman kneels with her hair tied behind her head. In the sweep of her left arm, she cradles four birds against her chest while reaching out toward the bodies of three more sprawled on the surface before her. The woman has neither hands nor feet.

Artist Julie Fraenkel’s papier mâché sculpture “Figure #3” is stark. But what does it mean? That’s for the viewer to decide. Fraenkel enjoys discussing her work with others but resists imposing her own interpretations.

“I think it makes it so closed. It doesn’t leave an opening for anyone else’s connection to it,” Fraenkel said in an interview at her Erector Square studio.

“Figure #3” is part of a series Fraenkel did on our relationship to nature. Humans are both part of nature but also separate from it. The interpretation I offered was not necessarily how she thought of the work.

“That’s why I would never have wanted to tell you what it might have meant to me at any given moment,” she said. “Maybe that’s what it will mean to me now.”

Duality is central to her work, whether it is her drawings, sculptures, hand puppets, or wall fetishes. Innocence and unease.

The macabre and the playful. Anxiety and joyfulness. Sadness and humor. Darkness and light.

“I don’t want to be pegged as one thing or the other. That duality is something I like communicating,” Fraenkel said. “We all contain both, and more.”

Drawing is at the core of all her work.

She uses her sketchbook to churn up ideas, drawing “silly little cartoons” or pictures of

people from magazines doing things other than what they are pictured doing. “They’re like seedlings,” she said. “I cull from that and harvest it for my other work.”

Fraenkel might begin a work with a vague idea “but the process changes everything.”

It’s through working on a piece that she finds its psychological or emotional center.

Whether it is a drawing or a sculpture, her efforts involve a lot of revision and reworking.

“I partly like papier mâché because there is so much give and take. I could never imagine carving stone where everything you’ve taken away is taken away forever,” Fraenkel said. “My thought process is very much like I’m collaborating with myself from two minutes ago.”

In an artist statement for one of her shows, Fraenkel wrote, “I have an abiding interest in the physical embodiment of psychological states … The revelation of these states exposes how we are each tiny and secret civilizations unto ourselves.” Much of the means to this end is embodied in her process — layering imagery, stripping imagery away, coaxing a work into revealing its own emotional truth.

Gesturing toward three large drawings from her After series — two of girls and one of a boy — Fraenkel noted, “The marks I made were like marks left by experiences or things that accrue in you or have damaged you or formed you.” The layering is a way of conveying the complexity of emotional states, the way our psychologies are formed by a multiplicity of experiences.

The process involves a push and pull dynamic. “I might leave and say, ‘This is here and this is what I want,’ and come back the next day and say, ‘No, that shouldn’t be here at all,’” Fraenkel explained. She attributed it to a “function of my own layers and possible complexity.”

Fraenkel often makes scratches in her works, using a scratchboard nib, which she describes as her “favorite tool.”

“It’s part of that whole putting things down and taking them away,” Fraenkel said. The physical engagement of making scratches in the work is one of the attractions.

“Part of this is that there are two sides to me — something that is smooth and nice

A detail of Julie Fraenkel’s “Figure #3.” Image courtesy of the artist.

4 • newhavenarts.org

Julie Fraenkel. Photo by Judy Sirota Rosenthal.

and pretty and something that disturbs that. That’s kind of a theme in my work,” Fraenkel said. “Maybe I’m trying to scratch through to something under the surface.

Things aren’t smooth or simple.”

Among her influences are medieval and old Christian art and folk art. On one wall of her studio is a series of wall sculptures inspired by ex-votos from an old Italian church she had seen during a visit to the Venice Bienalle two years ago. Fraenkel found the offerings, brought by parishioners in supplication and gratitude, beautiful, and she loved the idea of them. She created her own, “each for a different kind of person. I thought of them as offerings for different people who had gone through different things.”

As for folk art, Fraenkel admires its “solidity and simplicity.” While much folk art appears straightforward, “there’s almost always symbolism because people were closer to that, with superstition and using symbols for the way they thought about the world,” Fraenkel told me.

She views her own work through the prism of poetics — metaphor and allegory.

Her figures, she said, are always symbols or stand-ins for thoughts or feelings. Of the series of ex-votos, she said, “The fact that they are all doing something or having something done to them feels to me like the way the world affects people.”

She has her own artistic language, an array of recurring imagery freighted with symbolic weight. Fire. Arrows. Things pinned to someone’s chest or body. Halos and other religious-derived imagery. Explosives, including a suicide bomber’s belt.

Injuries like broken arms and scars are symbols for people who have been damaged by their experiences.

The symbolism of rocks in her work, Fraenkel said, is multifaceted. A sculptural figure standing in a pile of rocks is “standing on their own piece of ground, their piece of earth.” But the rocks can also signify a situation that is “isolating, desolate,

entrapping.”

Fraenkel began this body of work a decade or so ago after her mother died. “It wasn’t really a decision. It was a necessity,” Fraenkel said. “A way to get emotional things out.” Even then, though, the works weren’t specifically “about” the loss of her mother.

“I avoid doing things that are too literal.

I have a fear of that,” Fraenkel said. “I want to be known but don’t want to be known.

I’m putting all this stuff out but don’t really want it to say, ‘This is about my mother and this is what I felt.’”

Fraenkel’s work has depth, mystery. Filled with emotion and animated with style, it touches something elemental in the human condition. n

Fraenkel often makes scratches in her work, explaining, “Part of this is that there are two sides to me — something that is smooth and nice and pretty and something that disturbs that. … Maybe I’m trying to scratch through to something under the surface. Things aren’t smooth or simple.”

Image courtesy of the artist.

september 2015 •

The Arts Paper september 2015

the ac sounds off on...

John Slade Ely House

Ball & Socket Arts Center

debbie hesse

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old way that we would play outdoors, between trees, declaring a room here, a grand staircase there, a secret passageway to a kitchen where you could have your favorite foods. The difference is that the Ball & Socket Arts Center is planning to spend 12 million dollars over the next few years to make those dreams a reality.

So when Kevin shows me the site for a future teaching kitchen, dance studio, theater, coworking space, food court, shops, and more, I imagine the decayed floors, broken windows, and partially excavated foundation transformed into a modern arts complex the likes of which Connecticut has not seen before.

In the meantime, Ball & Socket has already turned another nearby space into a realized vision. Art Garage is just across the street — a former tow truck garageturned-art gallery with white-washed walls and contemporary art. Revolving shows are happening there at least until October, with open hours on weekends.

On October 3, Ball & Socket plans to raise money with an art auction at Art Garage.

Visit ballandsocket.org for more information about the auction and upcoming events at Art Garage, and some that will take place at the factory, even before the renovation is completed. If you find yourself near West Main Street in Cheshire, check in on Ball & Socket as the vision unfolds. n

rtists have always gravitated to communities of like-minded creative types to nurture and support one another’s lives and art.

Artist colonies, residencies, critique groups, open studios, and corner bars have long provided support for creative types. I have always found New Haven to be a very “user-friendly” and inviting place for artists to live and work. This is especially apparent to those moving here from larger cities. If you have the energy, vision, focus, and time, you can pretty much accomplish anything here.

Recently, I learned that one of my favorite art spots in New Haven, the John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art, the beloved historic mansion-turned-art gallery and “home” to hundreds of artists over the past 50 years, announced plans, via its trustee, to close its doors.

Saddened by this disturbing news and the way it strategically pitted local arts organizations against one another, I was uplifted to see how many artists reached out to offer support to Paul Clabby, the curator who lived at the gallery (he also was the super for the place) for 20 years, suddenly evicted with no roof over his head and no pension or other resources.

So many artists stepped up, offering to share their living spaces and studios, even though many have very little space themselves. Two artists invited Paul to move in and share their home. To make it all work, they are renovating their home and established a way for the larger arts community to help out by donating resources in the way of money to buy lumber. Volunteers are helping to build out the space. It’s an authentic, modern-day artist barn-raising!

The Ely House situation got me thinking about all the ways artists connect to find meaningful, creative communities, where they can genuinely help and support one another’s work. I believe that artists have a responsibility to help one another with whatever resources and skills they have. True goodness begets goodness. Do artists really need to feel like they’re in competition with one another? The sparrows and finches that line up on a branch near my kitchen bird feeder take turns approaching the feeder before flying back to their perches; they innately know that cooperation trumps competition. I think artists work in a similar vein; together, we can raise a barn. n

Matt Reiniger is the Arts Council’s communications manager.

Debbie Hesse is the Arts Council’s director of artist services and programs.

The interior of the former Ball & Socket factory.

matt reiniger “We used to always walk by and wonder about this place as kids. So when it went up for sale, we wanted to see the inside more than anything else. But once we came here, we started to imagine what this could become.” This is what Kevin Daly told me as he clicked open the padlock and swung out the chain-link fence surrounding the future home of the Ball & Socket Arts Center, in Cheshire. Kevin is the cofounder and artistic director of Ball & Socket, along with childhood friend and cofounder Jeffrey Guimond. Kevin was giving me a tour of the factory, which was established around 1850 to produce buttons for Civil War uniforms, with continued production until the 1990s, when the company cleared out and moved to another location.

We strolled through a linked network of cavernous spaces as Kevin transformed each new vista with a description of what it is to become. A large windowed hall with old buttons embedded in the wide-planked floor is the site of a future art gallery, “maybe with some moveable walls,” Kevin tells me. Down the hall, an old furnace stands intact, ornamented with a handsome Ball & Socket insignia.

The furnace will be preserved and the immediate area will become a whiskey bar.

A triangular wing of that building may become the future home of a bike shop — appropriate, since the room exits onto a nearby rail trail.

I grew up not far from the Ball & Socket factory, just over the town border, in the Milldale section of Southington. In fact, the same rail line that swings by the factory ran by my neighborhood (we could hear the trains at night) and I still have a penny that was flattened after resting overnight on the track. Behind the tracks were the closed old Clark Street factories, which piqued our curiosity just as the old Ball & Socket building inspired Kevin and Jeffrey. In fact, as Kevin and I explored the complex, it felt like the

An old furnace, in what’s slated to become a whiskey bar.

• september 2015

newhavenarts.org • 5

The Arts Paper september 2015

Getting Creative for Recreation arts organizations have plenty to offer

david brensilver

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eople frequently say to Rachel Shapiro Alderman,” I want to play with you guys,” referring to A Broken Umbrella Theatre, a company that creates site-specific plays in, around, and about New Haven. This year, as the company develops a new play, reflects on the successes it’s had since being launched in 2008, and lays out a plan for the future, its members are planning to invite the community into the play-making process. Alderman, a Broken Umbrella ensemble member and producer, said the group is thinking about hosting a workshop designed to introduce people to the company’s creative process and, in turn, to introduce Alderman and her colleagues to artistically inclined individuals whom they might not otherwise meet. What Alderman has in mind is a stand-alone “come play” workshop that offers participants “an immersive Broken Umbrella experience,” geared, on the company’s end, toward exploring “how our artistic community will thrive and be sustained.”

These kinds of introductions are necessary, of course. Creative Arts Workshop’s executive director, Daniel Fitzmaurice, is determined to make sure that his organization’s doors are open to those who want to exercise their creativity but lead busy lives and might be reluctant to commit to a semester of classes. As Fitzmaurice described it, CAW offers two basic sizes for creative expression: classes, which run this fall, for example, from September 21 through December 12, and workshops, the latter being CAW’s “solution to time being a factor” in people’s lives. Daylong workshops, “bite-size pieces,” as Fitzmaurice described them, are typically offered on weekends and don’t require a lot of advanced planning.

“You could sign up for a Saturday workshop on Friday,” Fitzmaurice said.

There’s also a renewed emphasis at CAW, of late, on open-studio time. While in past years one had to register for 10 to 12 weeks of open-studio time, those interested in figure drawing and sculpting can now just show up, pay a nominal participation fee, and get creative. CAW’s

got sculpting materials and live models, which, Fitzmaurice pointed out, most people don’t have at their disposal. He likened open-studio sessions to artistic “jam sessions.” There’s no instruction per se, but plenty of time for expression and socializing.

Fitzmaurice said that instead of hosting its annual open-house event this fall, CAW is planning to offer an open-enrollment week during which people will be able to audit various classes to see what suits their interests and lifestyles. In addition to giving folks a chance to plan for childcare and tuition, the “shopping week,” as Fitzmaurice called it, will give people an idea of who their classmates would be. The social aspect of being creative is an important one, as evidenced by the popularity of “Drink and Draw” events.

Reynolds Fine Art has been hosting such monthly events for about two years. The gatherings are “social as well as creative” events at which wine and refreshments are served and “there’s barely any instruction,” though gallery

owner Robert Reynolds is often on hand to offer guidance and help people “trust their hands and eyes,” Jessica Kelley, the gallery’s manager, said. The “Drink and Draw” events, which feature nude models, attract those who don’t need instruction and also welcomes those who are new to drawing. They offer an outlet to those who don’t always make time to be creative. “We’ve scheduled that for them,” Kelley said. “We’ve seen some really beautiful work come out of ‘drink and draw.’”

Katelyn Chapin, a designer at the New Haven-based architecture firm Svigals + Partners, attended a “Drink and Draw” office event her company held at Reynolds Fine Art. It was a figure-drawing session that she said was fun and got some creative juices flowing other than those she exercises during the day at work. “It’s reacting to what you’re physically seeing in front of you,” she said, as opposed to creating from an idea.

Folks at the Guilford Art Center and the Milford Fine Arts Council understand how important the social aspect

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Gelatin silver print. Yale University Art Gallery, Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund. © Donald Blumberg

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september 2015 •

The Arts Paper september 2015

of these events is. Maureen Belden, the Guilford Art Center’s executive director, said, “People engage in the arts because they’re social.” Her organization hosts a weekly “Art and Bubbly Social Night Out” artist-led workshop series, as well as a “Friday Nights in the Gallery” series, open-house-like events at which visitors view the current exhibition and socialize. The Milford Arts Council’s “BYOB Paint-In” events bring people into the Milford Center for the Arts who aren’t regular visitors to the venue, the organization’s business and marketing manager, Richard Stephen, said. For the Arts Center Killingworth, a “Sunday Afternoon with an Artist” series, artist-led workshops in a variety of media, has helped the organization grow class registration. “We basically build our classes on some of that interest,” Executive Director Barbara Nair said, explaining that the workshop series wasn’t designed with that in mind.

Noah Bloom, Neighborhood Music School’s director of programs and community engagement, views the competition he faces for people’s time and interest as an opportunity to diversify his organization’s offerings. “We’re absolutely going to be workshop-focused this year,” he said, less commitment-centric and more specialized. “Fifteen weeks is a long time for people to commit” to lessons or classes. Workshops, he said, are a great way to introduce people to the NMS experience and a way to offer intense, specialized experiences in various disciplines. “We have to give somebody a very compelling reason to come here,” Bloom said, pointing out how many options people have. That’s not to say that offering people the chance to register for lessons, classes, or ensembles isn’t equally important. “We need both experiences,” Bloom said, referring to programs that require either long- or short-term commitments.

While various choirs in the area, including Silk’n Sounds Chorus, Another Octave: Connecticut Women’s Chorus, the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus, and the Greater New Haven Community Chorus require a commitment, they don’t put a lot of pressure on potential new members. Kia Lampe-Onnerud, Silk’n Sounds’ artistic director, described that women’s group as a “super supportive, super nurturing” ensemble. “If you’ve never sung in a chorus but you love to sing, come and check it out,” she said.

“If you can carry a tune, come and check it out.” Karen Kriner, Another Octave’s membership and publicity coordinator, said her group is made up of “a wide variety of women,” some of whom read music and others who don’t. “We look at it as an escape from reality,” she said.

Greg McMahan, artistic director of the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus, said his group is actively looking for new singers, those who express a “willingness to join the group and have a great time.” The ensemble is open to men of all orientations.

“It’s a really great group of guys that just enjoy doing this stuff together,” he said.

All three above-mentioned choruses invite potential new members to attend a few rehearsals before arranging a very

• september 2015

A “Drink and Draw” event at Reynolds Fine Art. Photo submitted.

low-pressure audition. And each offers plenty of resources to help individuals be successful. The Greater New Haven Community Chorus, a non-auditioned ensemble numbering about 100 voices, is also encouraging potential new members to attend rehearsals in September to experience singing with the group with an eye on joining the organization.

Similarly, the New Haven Chamber Orchestra invites interested string players to attend a few open rehearsals to see how it feels to play with the group.

“If they think they can handle the music, and it’s seeming like they can,” the orchestra’s president, Jessica Sack said, instrumentalists have an opportunity to play with a really decent ensemble.

Collective Consciousness Theatre, a social-change-focused organization, is pretty discerning in terms of what its principals look for in potential collaborators. Still, the company does, from time to time, have opportunities for those less experienced. Dexter Singleton, the ensemble’s executive artistic director, said in an email, “We are always looking for community members who are actors, directors, stage managers, designers and playwrights. We require that people have prior experience with most of our projects, but do take some beginners for the right opportunity. We have auditions for our season twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. We especially encourage minority artists and female artists to audition as we have lots of roles for both.”

All these organizations, and plenty of others, reflect our community inasmuch as they are of our community. They are sustained by creative individuals as much as they cater to the same. Lindsey Bauer, Elm City Dance Collective’s programming director, said her organization offers a few different drop-in-type class opportunities: a “Beginning Contemporary Dance” class, and a “Club Fusion” class, which she said is a “great workout,” both taught by company dancer/ choreographer Luis Antonio Rodriguez.

Neither requires prior experience. “We want people to know about dance and to appreciate dance and not be intimidated by dance,” Bauer said. In fact, ECDC’s invitation to the public transcends dance.

“We want everyone to be a patron of the arts,” Bauer said. The better educated we

are, in terms of the arts, she said, “the better New Haven is.” n Website and contact information for these organizations and others can be found toward the back of this publication. Please inquire directly about schedules and fees.

Join the Arts Council!

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven is dedicated to enhancing, developing, and promoting opportunities for artists, arts organizations, and audiences throughout the Greater New Haven area. Join us today! newhavenarts.org/membership The Arts Paper Read our feature articles and download the latest edition. issuu.com/artscouncil9 #ARTNHV Blog The Arts Council’s blog, which covers all things art in Greater New Haven. artNHV.com Arts Council on Facebook Get the inside scoop on what’s happening in the arts now! facebook.com/ artscouncilofgreaternewhaven Creative Directory Looking for something? Find local creative businesses and artists with our comprehensive arts-related directory.

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The Arts Paper september 2015

Somewhat Off the Wall Somewhat Off the Wall, a unique art exhibition and party from which guests take home original works of art, will be held on Saturday, September 12, from 5-9 p.m., at The Gallery at EleMar, 99-107 Shelton Ave., New Haven. This year’s event features drawings, jewelry, paintings, wood, pottery, and prints by 50 outstanding artists who have each donated three pieces of their work. These works will be on display to the public starting August 31. At 7 p.m. on the night of the party, numbered premium tickets will be drawn at random. As each premium ticket holder’s number is called, he or she will select a piece of original artwork to take home. Each of the 50 participating artists will be given a premium ticket making only 100 premium tickets, at $100 each, available to the public.

An unlimited number of tickets to the party are available for $45 (these do not include artwork). Participating Somewhat Off the Wall artists include Cheryl Albaine, Michael Allison, Cat Balco, Laura Barr, Hayne Bayless, Marion Belanger, Susan Bender, Alexis Brown, Joy Bush, Eileen Carey,

arts council fundraiser includes art raffle

Alice Chittenden, Karen Ciocca, Pauline Clifford, Greg Cochenet, Ted Culotta, Jessica Cuni, Jennifer Davies, Anne Doris-Eisner, Paul Duda, Roxanne Faber Savage, Joan Fitzsimmons, Joyce Greenfield, Larissa Hall, Keith Johnson, Charles Kingsley, Karen Klugman, Mary Lesser, Vanilia Majoros, Barbara Marks, Michael Marsland, Kiara Matos, Irene K. Miller, Christopher Mir, Jay Misencik, David Ottenstein, Liz Pagano, Shanti Rittgers, Ronnie Rysz, Gerald Saladyga, Mark Savoia, Inger Schoelkopf, Harold Shapiro, Alan Shulik, Judy Sirota Rosenthal, Marjorie Sopkin, Thomas Stavovy, Katro Storm, Alison Walsh, and Trevor Youngberg. Call the Arts Council at 203-772-2788 for more information or to purchase tickets. Images of artwork will be posted at newhavenarts.org as they become available. Somewhat Off the Wall is sponsored by Suzio York Hill, Walter and Martha Maguire, Thomas A. Martin and Harold S. Spitzer, and EleMar New England Marble & Granite, with additional support from Affiliated Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

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september 2015 •

The Arts Paper september 2015

Mandi Jackson Begins Tenure at Music Haven

Mandi Jackson, center left, with Tina Lee Hadari and Music Haven students. Photo by Kathleen Cei.

david brensilver

A

week into her tenure as Music Haven’s new executive director, Mandi Jackson was eager to peek into the organization’s rehearsal space, where Colin Benn was helping to run a steel-drum summer camp organized by the adjacent St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Benn teaches viola, violin, and bass at Music Haven and is the violist of the Haven String Quartet, the organization’s musical foundation.

That same morning, Jackson spoke proudly of a successful Kickstarter campaign Music Haven’s resident pianist, Miki Sawada, oversaw to raise money for a new commission from composer Gabriel Bolaños — not for the quartet, but for the students. Like Benn’s involvement with the steel-drum camp, into which he brought some Music Haven students, the commission, Jackson said, “speaks to a lot of the fundamentals of our mission.”

When she first heard about the Music Haven job, Jackson knew only that the organization gives free music lessons to young people in the city’s Empowerment Zones and to those who attend schools in those neighborhoods. She didn’t know

• september 2015

about the resident-quartet model, and logged on to YouTube to watch videos of Music Haven students performing, soon thereafter asking herself, “How could I not want to do this?”

Last fall, after nearly 10 years with the organization, Tina Lee Hadari, who founded Music Haven in 2006, and her husband, Netta Hadari, announced that they’d be stepping down as executive director and development director, respectively. They’d begun to plan their departure in May and June 2014. Tina had stepped down from her position as a violinist with the quartet at the end of 2013, to spend more time running the organization. In October 2014, Tina told The Arts Paper, “The organization is in a great place,” with the strongest board it’s had to date.

Jackson, who’d been working for a little more than a year on a consulting basis as a strategic planner and policy expert, is a practiced community organizer. She viewed the position as an opportunity to tap into the social-justice advocacy she’s been doing for years, primarily with Unite Here (first as an organizer and later as an analyst), which represents workers in this country and Canada. Jackson got involved

with the labor movement upon arriving in New Haven in 2001, to study at Yale University, where she earned a Ph.D. in American studies. She earned an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, where she took clarinet and saxophone lessons from students at the Bienen School of Music.

“Until I went to college, I’d never seen music played at that level,” she said. “I really understand how powerful that is.” In addition to the extraordinary talents of the Music Haven faculty, which includes the Haven String Quartet’s personnel — violist Benn, violinists Yaira Matyakubova and Gregory Tompkins, and cellist Philip Boulanger — and pianist Sawada, Jackson was drawn to the fact that Music Haven works with young people who live and attend school in the above-mentioned Empowerment Zones, neighborhoods about which she wrote in her book Model City Blues: Urban Space and Organized Resistance in New Haven (Temple University Press, 2008).

At its core, she said, Music Haven is “about the kids having the opportunity to be part of something really amazing and to be part of that in their own community.”

What the organization is saying to young

people “by giving them the best teachers, is they actually are very valuable,” she said. It doesn’t even matter if a student has much musical talent. In fact, there’s no screening for musical potential. The point is for them to be proud of what they’re doing.

What Music Haven needed in a new executive director was not another gifted musician. It needed “somebody to help build on the great work they’ve done,” Jackson said, to build more access to what the organization is doing. Her goal is to make sure that every young person who wants to play an instrument has that opportunity. In the short term, Jackson plans to leverage her connections in the community to create more access for young people to learn and play music, and more opportunities for people in the local community to see and hear what Music Haven and the students the organization serves are doing.

At Music Haven, Jackson said, “all of the kids see the teachers as somebody who thinks they’re great.” And that comes from the way they’re treated. Music Haven is “more than just music lessons,” she said. n Visit Music Haven online at musichavenct.org.

newhavenarts.org • 9

The Arts Paper september 2015

The Singers and the Songs

finalists vie for top honor at ct folk grassy hill songwriting competition

Carrie Ferguson. Photo by Glenn Koetzner.

Elaine Romanelli. Photo by Greta Larson.

hank hoffman New York-based songwriter Elaine Romanelli pens “catchy tunes for searching souls.” Carrie Ferguson, who hails from Massachusetts, said her music is “on the folk spectrum.” While “folk pop tends to be a dirty word,” she confessed to a “love of pop music and the catchiness of melody.”

Mark Stepakoff, also from Massachusetts, creates music in the vein of John Prine and Loudon Wainwright. “I go for a mix of humorous material and more poignant material,” he said.

Graydon James, who leads the Canada-based Young Novelists with his wife, Laura Spink, said, “We often describe ourselves as John and June” — referring to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash — “meet Simon and Garfunkel.” They play lush acoustic music with harmonies.

Grant Maloy Smith, from Rhode Island, described his music as falling within the “Americana” genre. “There’s no strict definition,” Smith explained. “Mine is halfway between folk music and old-style country slash bluegrass music.”

All five songwriters are finalists in the CT Folk Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition.

They’ll perform their song entries — with one accompanist, if they wish — the morning of the Connecticut Folk Festival, which takes place on Saturday, September 12. The free festival, which attracts upwards of 3,000 people depending on the weather, is held in Edgerton Park in New Haven.

A five-judge panel determines the competition winner, who gets to perform as part of the evening program. The winner is also guaranteed a spot on the main stage the following year. The winner and finalists benefit from being able to add the recognition to their bios.

The festival is sponsored by CT Folk, which “seeks to educate, entertain, and inspire a diverse audience through music and conversation to create a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable community.” The organization itself is an outgrowth of the festival, “rebranded to be more inclusive,” according to the festival’s director, Coleen Campbell.

The songwriting contest is in its fourth year; the festival in its current incarnation began in 1999. (The original festival took place annually from 1991 through 1995.)

When the festival switched from being a ticketed event to a free event, organizers surveyed attendees to see what improvements could be made to the format. High on the list was a desire for more local artists. Over the past several years, festival organizers have responded to that desire by adding an auditions night in April for local and regional artists, with attendees helping to choose the performers they wish to see play the event. The

10 • newhavenarts.org

Grant Maloy Smith. Photo by Christian de Rezendes. The Young Novelists. Photo by Jen Squires.

songwriting contest was the other response.

“Because so many people approach us to play, we wanted to find ... different people who are great songwriters,” Campbell said in a phone interview.

Campbell noted that the word “folk” used to refer to “old-fashioned folk music.” But the term has “morphed to include a lot more genres.” The parameters of “folk music” now encompass bluegrass, the work of singer-songwriters and rootsy “Americana” music in the style of groups like Mumford & Sons.

“We wanted to include a lot of that and part of the way we do that is open up the competition to see what’s out there,” said Campbell.

If the number of submissions is any guide — each entrant had to submit at least two songs—there is a lot out there. Campbell said there were about 80 entrants this year. “It’s quite a large number to listen to and I can tell you because I did it,” she said, laughing.

Most of the finalists are from nearby states, although one husband-and-wife duo hails from Canada.

Besides Campbell, the others on the committee to determine the finalists were musicians and other folk-music fans. Campbell said the group churns up a healthy diversity of opinions with members focusing in on different elements of the songwriting craft.

A scoring sheet rates compositions on lyrical creativity and poetics; originality; contrast, structure, and dynamics; melody; and hooks.

“The old style was verse and chorus,” Campbell said. But now there is a preponderance of poetry set to music. “It’s not as strict a structure of verse and chorus and I happen to like that a lot.”

The contest expands the talent pool from which the festival draws and affords performers who are unknown locally the opportunity to play. “We get hundreds of people wanting to play and it’s really hard to choose,” Campbell said.

Finalist Romanelli, echoed by the other four, said she heard about the contest through the folk network. Folk music boasts a large infrastructure of festivals, conferences, song circles, and jams. Aspiring artists make a point of tuning into the diverse opportunities to get heard. Organizations like the New England Regional Folk Alliance (or NERFA) post notices about events like the CT Folk Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition.

“It feels good, validating. Validation is not rare but it’s hard to come by,” said Ferguson.

“It’s nice when you get your moment in the sun to get recognized for something.”

“The wider community takes notice. They know how many songwriters are out there,” Romanelli told me. “There are lots of benefits whether you win or don’t win, from building community or being inspired to practical considerations like getting booked for paying gigs.”

“The main thing is it helps to give you some visibility, which is key in today’s market,” said

Mark Stepakoff. Photo by Amy Lithimane.

James, who fronts the Canada-based Young Novelists. “The next time you come through, people have heard of you.”

Beyond validation and exposure, the finalists also look forward to the networking opportunity. Meeting and trading ideas about songwriting with fellow finalists is part of the reward of participating in the contest.

“The CT Folk organizers are true music lovers, fans, and supporters. They treat songwriters with value and respect. It sets a tone of respect and joy about music,” said Romanelli. “And meeting with other participants, you make connections, talk about songwriting, get ideas from talking with each other. Re-energizing with the community can be fulfilling.”

For many of the finalists, playing music full time is their occupation or their goal. Ferguson cobbles together a living teaching, writing, and performing. Not long ago, James quit his day job to have more time for touring; his wife, Laura, hopes to do the same in the next six to eight months.

“Whether performing or recording or writing, they are all moving parts in the same machine,” Smith said. Playing music currently takes up half his time but he is “working day by day to be a full-time musician.”

“That’s my goal — to be able to do that all the time and not have to do anything else,” he said. “And not starve.” n Visit CTFolk.com to learn more about the Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo.

George Stubbs and the Art of the Thoroughbred Visit the George Stubbs paintings on loan from the Yale Center for British Art On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through Nov. 8, 2015 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York City Gallery 629, Drue Heinz Gallery

George Stubbs, Turf, with Jockey up, at Newmarket (detail), ca. 1765, oil on canvas, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

september 2015 •

The Arts Paper september 2015

Della Mae to Headline Folk Festival amanda may aruani The 2015 Connecticut Folk Festival is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 12, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Edgerton Park in New Haven. As always, the festival is free and open to the public.

This year’s headliner will be the all-female bluegrass band Della Mae. Despite being a relatively young band, having been formed only six years ago, the group’s popularity is on the rise, thanks in part to a 2014 Grammy nomination for their 2013 album This World Oft Can Be. In the morning, the festival will present performances by CT Folk Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition finalists Carrie Ferguson, Elaine Romanelli, Grant Maloy Smith, Mark Stepakoff, and the Young Novelists. In the early afternoon, last year’s songwriting competition winner, Paddy Mills, will perform a full set. Eighteen-year-old Hayley Reardon will also perform, as will the acoustic rock duo Lords of Liechtenstein.

Next up will be the Bob Dylan-influenced singer-songwriter Matt Borrello, ukulele-enthusiasts Jim and Liz Beloff, the six-piece ensemble Echo Bloom, and

the self-described folk/Americana/Celtic band The Ebin-Rose Trio.

Taking the stage later in the afternoon will be the country blues duo Piedmont Bluz, the Professors of Bluegrass — featuring Yale University President Peter Salovey — and Tangled Up in Blue, a folk choir made up of Yale University students.

The evening lineup will feature performances by Minnesotan John Gorka and bluegrass pioneer Roger Sprung, who’ll appear with the Progressive Bluegrassers.

The winner of the 2015 CT Folk Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition will also perform a short set before headliner Della Mae takes the stage.

This year’s festival welcomes back Bill Fischer, who’ll call a contra dance with music provided by the local group The Fiddleheads.

The 2015 Green Expo, which will feature more than 75 “green living” exhibitors, educators, and vendors, will be presented in Edgerton Park in conjunction with the festival. n For more information, visit ctfolk.com.

One True Palette Proudly Presents

A Universe at Home

Della Mae will headline the 2015 Connecticut Folk Festival. Photo by Crackerfarm.

Acrylics by Peter Lanouette Every Sunday in September 1-5pm 943 Dixwell Ave Hamden, CT 646-379-5051 Opening Reception September 6 at 1:00 2014 CT Folk Grassy HIll Songwriting Competition winner Paddy Mills. Photo courtesy of the Connecticut Folk Festival.

• september 2015

newhavenarts.org • 11

The Arts Paper september 2015

CALENDAR

“Sphere of the Unknown — A Terrestrial Model” is part of The City of 7 Billion, an exhibition on view through November 14 at the Yale School of Architecture that’s designed to “evaluate the relationship between resource consumption, population growth and urban development.” The exhibition is part of a larger project — by faculty members Joyce Hsiang and Bimal Mendis — in which the entire world is modeled as a single city. Image submitted.

Classes & Workshops 1253 Whitney 1253 Whitney Ave., Hamden.

203-780-8890. 1253whitney.com.

Lively Minds: An Art History Salon Series. A presentation to stimulate the mind and awaken the senses. Episode 1: “Finding Her Way,” with presenter Rena Tobey. Rena will lead us through the lives of women artists in America, by engaging with seven paintings by seven female artists. renatobey.com/art-history-salon/ finding-her-way. September 16. 2-3:30 p.m. and 7-8:30 p.m. $5, free for 1253 Whitney Members.

ACES ECA 55 Audubon St., New Haven. 203777-5451. aces.org/schools/eca.

Creative Dramatics. Quality acting classes for kids and teens offered on Saturdays through May. Ages 8-11 and 12-16 years. Call Ingrid Schaeffer, chair, theater department, at 203795-9011 or send email to ingrids@optonline. net. Classes are held 9-10:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Acting Classes for Kids and Teens. Pantomime, improvisation, theater games, movement, and the staging of a one-act play. Age groupings: 7-11 and 12-15 years. Performance at end of session. Call Ingrid Schaeffer at 203-795-9011 or send email to ingrids@optonline.net for more

12 • newhavenarts.org

information. September 12-May 7. Please call for specific class fees. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Corina Studio at Erector Square 315 Peck St., New Haven. 203-871-9146. corinadotdash.blogspot.com/p/ encaustic-workshops.html.

Visual Arts Class. For those of you who want to work independently but surrounded by other creative minds, you will benefit from this monitored ongoing classes. Instructor always available for guidance, and/or critique if/when needed. You can work from photographs; we can set up a still life. From portraits to the figure, still lifes, landscapes, or abstract work. Tuesdays, through October 27. 5-8 p.m. (adults), 4-6 p.m. (pre-teens).

For adults: $75, or $675 for 10 sessions (good for three months). For pre-teens: $50, $400 for nine sessions (good for three months), or $225, good for five sessions (good for two months). Some materials include.

Institute Library 847 Chapel St., New Haven.

203-562-4045. institutelibrary.org.

Storysharing at the Institute Library. This group gives its members an opportunity to share stories in a very informal atmosphere. The stories may be of any kind — traditional folk tales, myths, stories of personal experience, etc. The group is open to all levels of experience, so people with no formal experience of storytelling can try things out in

a supportive atmosphere. Ongoing through December 17. The third Thursday of each month.

Free, registration requested. eventbrite.com/e/ storysharing-at-the-institute-library-tickets-16262893753. 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The Company of Writers The Grove, 760 Chapel St., New Haven. 203-676-7133. companyofwriters.net.

Fiction, Poetry, and Memoir Writing Classes We offer supportive, challenging workshops for writers to cultivate their individual voices.

Classes offered in New Haven and online, September 9-November 18. Special one-day seminars feature such nationally known writers as Amy Bloom. Classes every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. $450-$475.

Dance Thursday Social Dance A rotating schedule of contra, square, and swing dance. Beginner friendly, always live music from local musicians, refreshments, dance callers and teachers, and a fun time at a local culture center with a beautifully renovated dance hall. Come meet your neighbors with a social dance, a traditional way to meet new people. Dances

take place on Thursdays, 7-10:15 p.m., through December 24. $10 general admission, $5 students, seniors, and 1253 Whitney members, free for anyone younger than 18. 1253 Whitney, 1253 Whitney Ave., Hamden. 203-780-8890.

1253whitney.com.

La Luna Milonga Music and tango dancing with professional tango dancer and instructor Mariana Fresno. Lessons from 7-8 p.m., with the dance beginning at 8 p.m. Mariana will DJ the music. Refreshments will be provided. Dance the night away in our renovated dance hall.

Second Saturday of every month, through December 12. Call for additional details, including fees. 1253 Whitney, 1253 Whitney Ave., Hamden. 203-780-8890. 1253whitney.com.

Swing Dance with Live Big Band Swing dance to Connecticut’s popular 18-piece big band New Additions, which plays classics from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. Beautifully renovated dance floor. Refreshments will be provided, and potluck additions are encouraged. Band plays from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Fourth Thursday of each month through September 24. 7-10 p.m.

Call for additional details, including fees. 1253 Whitney, 1253 Whitney Ave., Hamden. 203780-8890. 1253whitney.com.

september 2015 •

The Arts Paper september 2015

yale institute of sacred music presents 2015–2016 season

Great Organ Music at Yale Yale Camerata

Yale Schola Cantorum

Yale Literature and Spirituality Series & more

Information online at ism.yale.edu All events free; no tickets required.

Public Masterclass

Yale choral conductors and ensembles with visiting faculty from the Zürich University of the Arts

september 10 thursday | 12 pm and 3 pm

(two sessions) ISM Great Hall · 409 Prospect St.

Yale Schola Cantorum

Evensong · David Hill, conductor

september 19 saturday | 5 pm

Christ Church New Haven · 84 Broadway at Elm

Great Organ Music at Yale Renée Anne Louprette

september 20 sunday | 7:30 pm Woolsey Hall · 500 College St.

Branford Alps Farmers Market The best of CT GROWN products under one Big Top Tent !

A community event

every Thursday 4:00-7:00 PM

thru October 29. 17 Alps Road, Branford, CT. See us on Facebook.

Art Installation Specialists, LLC Design, Installation, and Art Shipping

artinstallationspecialistsllc@gmail.com artinstallationspecialistsllc.com

Make an educated senior living decision.

We believe access to extraordinary cultural events is just as important as access to hospitable service and excellent healthcare.

We invite you to learn how you can continue enjoying the finer things in life – art, music and theater – while living an affordable, maintenance-free lifestyle.

Gabriel DaSilva 203 982 3050 | Paul Cofrancesco 203 752 8260 PAINTINGS • TAPESTRIES • EXHIBITIONS • SCULPTURE

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• september 2015

Guilford 203 533 8512 2496 Boston Post Road

Call us today for a FREE retirement information kit kit, or to learn about upcoming events at Whitney Center.

203.883.4109 200 Leeder Hill Drive | Hamden, CT 06517 WhitneyCenter.com

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newhavenarts.org • 13

The Arts Paper september 2015

Exhibitions Artspace 50 Orange St., New Haven.

203-772-2709. artspacenh.org.

Arresting Patterns. This exhibition brings together a group of artists who seek to uncover the often-overlooked patterns of racial disparity in the United States’ criminal-justice system. The selected artworks use serial repetition as a strategy for showcasing how one action, repeated over time, may evolve into another version of its original self. On view through September 12. Open Wednesday and Thursday, 12-6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 12-8 p.m. Free.

City Gallery 994 State St., New Haven.

203-782-2489. city-gallery.org.

American Landscapes by Mary Lesser. New work by gallery member Mary Lesser combines digital and traditional art processes, including drypoint, carborundum prints, and painting on archival digital prints with etching ink. Reception: September 12, 2-5 p.m. Artist talk: September 27, 2 p.m. On view September 3-27. Gallery hours: Thursday-Sunday, 12-4 p.m. Free.

DaSilva Gallery 897 Whalley Ave., New Haven.

203-387-2539. dasilva-gallery.com.

Jeffery Starks: Contemporary Abstract Oil Paintings.

On view September 4-30. Gallery open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. Artist reception: Saturday, September 5, 6-8 p.m. Free.

Dehn Gallery 903 Main St., Manchester.

860-647-6030. manchestercc.edu/mcc-on-main/dehn-gallery.

Violent Nature. A group exhibition featuring work

by Corina S. Alvarezdelugo (painting), Dave Barowski (installation), Jim and Ruth Bremer (sculpture), Richard Harden (painting), Linda Lighton (sculpture), Olu Oguibe (sculpture and photography), Jane Rainwater (drawing), Margaret Roleke (sculpture), Rita Valley (books), and Mark Williams (painting). On view through November 14. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Free.

Environmental Science Center, Yale University 21 Sachem St., New Haven. 203-689-5342.

Many Voices, One Song. The creative process for Ava Orphanoudakis is an act of contemplation inspired and guided by her love for nature and her deep concern for the environment. Painting is one way that she honors and give thanks to the earth. In this latest series of mixed-media works, Ava focuses on the earth’s elements. Her aim is to express the interconnectedness within nature.

On view September 11-December 18. Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday, 12-6 p.m., October 17-18, as part of Artspace’s City-Wide Open Studios festival. Free.

JCC of Greater New Haven 360 Amity Road, Woodbridge. 203-387-2522. jccnh.org.

Dorit Gur Exhibit. See the stunning kabbalistic paintings of Dorit Gur, an Israel artist whose work is inspired by Jewish mysticism and traditional Hebrew calligraphy. On view through September 30. Hours: Monday-Thursday, 5:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday, 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

Kehler Liddell Gallery 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven. 203-389-9555. kehlerliddell.com.

Chased by the Wind, Standing Tall and other paintings by Ava Orphanoudakis are part of Many Voices, One Song, on view September 11-December 18, at the Yale School of Forestry’s Environmental Science Center.

Image (detail) courtesy of the artist.

Families ~ Events ~ Community

Photography

Judy Sirota Rosenthal info@sirotarosenthal.com www.sirotarosenthal.com 203-281-5854

14 • newhavenarts.org

september 2015 •

The Arts Paper september 2015

New Member Exhibit. Kehler Liddell Gallery introduces its newest artists in this exhibit, on view September 10-October 11. Opening reception: September 13, 3-6 p.m. The show features works by Laura Barr, Roy Money, Liz Antle-O’Donnell, Jaime Ursic, and Kathleen Zimmerman, and runs concurrent with Mexicans, a photography exhibit by Sven Martson.

See website for gallery hours. Free.

Mexicans. Kehler Liddell Gallery is pleased to present this photography exhibit by New Haven artist Sven Martson. It will be on view September 10-October 11, with an opening reception scheduled for Sunday, September 13, 3-6 p.m.

See website for gallery hours. Free.

Knights of Columbus Museum 1 State St., New Haven. 203-865-0400. kofcmuseum.org.

Answering the Call: Service and Charity in the Civil War. As America marks the 150th anniversary of the end of its Civil War, the Knights of Columbus Museum commemorates the event with an exhibition featuring the involvement of Catholic soldiers, chaplains, and nurses during the four-year conflict. On view through September 20. Open daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free admission and parking.

Mystic Arts Center 9 Water St., Mystic.

860-536-7601. galleryonect.com.

The Artists of Gallery One at Mystic Arts Center.

The work is by a diverse group of mid-career artists who utilize current modes of expression in a variety of contemporary media. The hanging intentionally emphasizes connections between representational and abstract work. On view September 25-November 7. Gallery hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m., daily. Free.

New Haven Museum 114 Whitney Ave., New Haven. 203-562-4183. newhavenmuseum.org.

From Clocks to Lollipops: Made in New Haven. FAn exhibition at the New Haven Museum, highlights an astonishing variety of goods that were, and some that still are, produced in the Elm City. Featuring more than 100 objects, advertisements, trade cards, photographs, and other items, with a wide-ranging and sometimes humorous look at the products made in New Haven. On view through December 31. Visit website for hours. Adults $4, seniors $3, students $2, those younger than 12 admitted free.

Paul Mellon Arts Center at Choate Rosemary Hall 333 Christian St., Wallingford.

203-697-2423. choate.edu.

Mirrors and Windows. An exhibition of mixed-media paintings and sculptures by artists Corina S. Alvarezdelugo and Kari Cholnoky. On view through October 24. Reception: October 2, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Hours: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Free.

Nature Speaks. An abstract mixed-media show of work by Betsy Ratner. On view September 1-October 31.

Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven. 203-432-5050. peabody.yale.edu.

Samurai and the Culture of Japan’s Great Peace.

Through more than 150 objects, many of which have never been on display, this exhibition explores the fascinating history of the samurai from their violent beginnings to the 250-year Great Peace that marked the final period of their reign.

On view through January 3, 2016. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 12-5 p.m. $5-$9.

Galas & Fundraisers 12 Saturday Somewhat Off the Wall 2015 Somewhat Off the Wall: A Fine Art Exhibition & Fundraising Event hosted by and benefiting the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. Buy a ticket. When your number is called, choose art off the wall! The Gallery at EleMar, 99-107 Shelton Ave., New Haven.

203-772-2788. newhavenarts.org.

Kids & Families Neighborhood Music School 100 Audubon St. New Haven. 203-624-5189. neighborhoodmusicschool.org.

Open House — Fall 2015. Connect your kids to music and dance! This free event includes an “instrument petting zoo,” where children can try out real instruments; a children’s concert; beginner jam band; drum circle; a scavenger hunt; an opportunity to win a free trial lesson; a chance to observe classes, including dance and early childhood music and movement; and consultations about lessons. September 26. 10a.m.-1 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Music 3 Thursday Haven String Quartet at CitySeed Fair Haven Farmers’ Market Listen local, shop local! The Haven String Quartet shares music of our fresh season as you shop for fresh foods. For more information about Music Haven, see musichavenct.

org. For more information about the farmers’ market, see cityseed.org. 3-4:30 p.m. Free. CitySeed Farmers’ Market, Fair Haven, Quinnipiac River Park (Corner of Front Street and Grand Avenue), New Haven. 203-745-9030. musichavenct.org.

9 Wednesday Balkan Music and Dance Extravaganza A live concert with traditional Balkan dance bands the West Philadelphia Orchestra and Harris Brothers’ Band.

The night will start with a lesson in traditional Balkan dancing, then the WPO will play its first set, locals the HBB will play a set, and the WPO will finish out the night with a second set. Refreshments will be served.

Doors open at 7 p.m., lesson at 7:30 p.m., music at 8 p.m. $10. 1253 Whitney, 1253 Whitney Ave., Hamden. 203-780-8890.

1253whitney.com.

12 Saturday

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Tom Chapin appears at Trinity Episcopal

Church on the Green (corner of Temple and Chapel streets) on September 27 as part Jay Unger and Molly of the “Music for Music” concert series, which benefits the church’s music programs.

Mason in Concert TimePhoto courtesy of the artist. less renditions of hard-driving Appalachian melodies, with close looking at art. 12:30 p.m. Free. Yale Cajun and Celtic fiddle tunes, swing and country, University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. stunning waltzes, and original works. An exciting 203-745-9030. musichavenct.org. evening that cheers the heart and feeds the soul.

Their performance of Jay’s haunting composition 19 Saturday Ashokan Farewell, from the Civil War PBS series Hispanic Heritage Concert with the Haven won a Grammy Award and was nominated for an String Quartet Celebrate National Hispanic Emmy Award. 8-10:30 p.m. $20 non-members, Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) with $15 members, $5 kids 12 years and younger. the Haven String Quartet! This program features Branford Folk Music Society, First Congregational the music of Ástor Piazzolla (Tanguedia III); Javier Church of Branford, 1009 Main St., Branford. 203Álvarez (Metro Chabacano); and Paquito D’Rivera 488-7715. folknotes.org/branfordfolk.

(Wapango), plus an “instrument petting zoo” for kids who want to try out an instrument! 2 p.m.

16 Wednesday Free. Fair Haven Branch Library, 182 Grand Ave., Playing Images with the Haven String Quartet New Haven. 203-745-9030. musichavenct.org.

An exploration of music and art with the Haven String Quartet and Jessica Sack, the Jan and 20 Sunday Frederick Mayer Senior Associate Curator of Playing Images with the Haven String Quartet Public Education at the Yale University Art GalAn exploration of music and art with the Haven lery. Explore how combining sound and sight can String Quartet and Jessica Sack, the Jan and Fredenhance what you see and hear. Featuring live erick Mayer Senior Associate Curator of Public music, this talk connects close listening to music Education at Yale University Art Gallery. Explore

Stone Gallery at Maple and Main Fine Art Gallery 1 Maple Street, Chester. 860-526-6065. mapleandmaingallery.com.

Abstract Imaginings. Victoria Sivigny of Meriden, an abstract painter, and Ashby Carlisle of Old Lyme, a sculptor, are award-winning artists exhibiting major bodies of work during the month of September in Chester in the Stone Gallery. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Saturday, September 12, 5-8 p.m., with live music by The Jazz Circle.

On view September 2-30. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free and open to the public.

The New Haven Lawn Club 193 Whitney Ave., New Haven. 203-777-3494. nhlawnclub.com.

One Source. Black-and-white paintings by Anne Doris-Eisner and photography by Roy Money. Two artists use the same source, the natural world, to reveal the interconnectedness of all being. Open daily, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. On view through September 8.

Free.

Town Hall Gallery 617 Orange Center Road, Orange. 973-266-4000.

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The Arts Paper september 2015

how combining sound and sight can enhance what you see and hear. Featuring live music, this talk connects close listening to music with close looking at art. 3-4 p.m. Free. Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. 203-745-9030. musichavenct.org.

27 Sunday Music for Music: Tom Chapin in Concert Chapin’s career spans five decades, 23 albums, and three Grammy Awards. Chapin began performing in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs with siblings Harry and Steve as The Chapin Brothers and launched his solo recording career in 1976.

The “Music for Music” concert series benefits Trinity Church’s music program. 7 p.m. $20 per person or $60 per family in advance. $25 at door. Trinity Episcopal Church on the Green, Corner of Temple and Chapel streets, New Haven. 203-776-2616.

Trinitynewhaven.org.

Special Events 8 Tuesday September Meeting and Artist Demonstration Artist Joan Jardine will be doing a palette knife demonstration in oils titled “Painting the Impressionist Landscape.” She will focus on light and form, recognizing large masses and breaking them down into smaller masses using color. Composition, perspective, and working on first color notes to achieve a cohesive landscape painting will be discussed. Coffee and conversation at 7 p.m., brief business meeting at 7:15 p.m., artist demonstration at 7:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. 2901 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden.

203-494-2316. hamdenartleague.com.

12 Saturday Whitneyville Fall Festival Join us in celebrating the Whitneyville Fall Festival. Local vendors, local musicians, local businesses, food, families, and fun. What more do you need? 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. 1253 Whitney, 1253 Whitney Ave., Hamden. 203-780-8890.

1253whitney.com.

18 Friday Greater New Haven Community Chorus Art Auction Art in all media and price ranges. Conducted by Marlin Art, the oldest fundraising art auction company in the Northeast. The Marlin auctioneers create a low-pressure atmosphere, putting even the most inexperienced bidders at ease. Proceeds benefit Greater New Haven Community Chorus (501c3). Door prizes, silent auction, entertainment, and dessert. 7-10 p.m. $25 per person or $40 per couple. 75 Washington Ave., Hamden. 203-303-4642. gnhcc.org.

The Nicholas Payton Trio featuring Vicente Archer and Herlin Riley appears at Crowell Concert Hall at Wesleyan University on September 18. Photo of Mr. Payton by Gus Bennett.

30 Wednesday 2015 Annual Meeting Join us for “Why Old Places Matter,” a talk by Tom Mayes, a senior official at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. This is Mr. Mayes’ only visit to Connecticut in 2015. His talk will be followed by a reception and silent auction. Silent auction preview at 5 p.m.; program at 6 p.m.; reception at 7:15 p.m. $10 suggested donation. 310 Orange St., New Haven. 203-562-5919. nhpt.org.

Talks & Tours 16 Wednesday Fall Preservation Lecture “The Babies and the Bathwater: The Loss of New Haven’s Modernist Heritage,” a talk about the early popularity and subsequent disenchantment with New Haven architecture of the Modern Era by Alan Plattus,

professor of architecture and urbanism at Yale University. Reception at 6 p.m.; lecture at 6:30 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Presented by the New Haven Preservation Trust. Graduate Club, 155 Elm St., New Haven. 203-562-5919. nhpt.org.

BULLETIN BOARD

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

Call For Artists For Arts Center Killingworth’s 2015-2016 Spectrum Gallery exhibits, including the October Autumn Arts Festival and Gallery Show. Seeking fine artists and artisans in all media. For artist submission, visit spectrumartgallery.org or send email to barbara@spectrumartgallery.org. Spectrum Gallery and Store, 61 Main St., Centerbrook.

Artists The Gallery Review Committee of The New Alliance Gallery at Gateway Community College is looking for artists to submit their resumes and images for possible exhibition in the 2015 and 2016 calendar years. Please send your resume and cover letter along with a DVD of no fewer than 20 and no more than 25 images to: Gallery Review Committee, Gateway Community College, 20 Church St., Room S329, New Haven, CT, 06510.

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Artists The Tiny Gallery: a very big opportunity for very small art. The Tiny Gallery is a premiere space for “micro” exhibitions in the historic Audubon Arts District, located within the lighted display “totem” outside Creative Arts Workshop, at 80 Audubon St., in New Haven. The Tiny Gallery is open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Submissions will be considered on a rolling basis and should include a written proposal, artist statement, and images of artwork. Call 203-562-4927 x. 14, send email to gallery@creativeartsworkshop.org, or visit creativeartsworkshop.org/tiny.

Artists To celebrate the Nutmeg State, Two Roads Brewery heralds the return of their “CONNartist” contest. Artists 21 and older can create art in any form (watercolors to sculpture, etc.) celebrating Connecticut. Whether it’s Connecticut’s beautiful geography, its people, the state’s creative inge-

nuity, or anything else, there should be plenty to inspire artistic creativity! Rules and submission guidelines are on the Two Roads website: tworoadsbrewing.com/CONNartists2015. Artists have until October 2 to submit their art digitally (no physical art will be accepted). The winner will have their art displayed on a 30’ high fermenter inside the brewery and will win $1,000. Also, five first-place finalists will each receive $250. The unveiling will take place at the brewery in November.

lockable, and have space for fliers/publications.

Should also be durable and able to withstand summer heat/winter chill without warping/ cracking/molding. Winner will receive $500 and a budget for materials. Applications require a detailed budget, images of proposed design, images of past work, and three references. No application fee. Send to: Sarah Fritchey, gallery director, at sarah@artspacenh.org, with subject line “Display Shelf.”

Artist Members Kehler Liddell Gallery in New Haven is seeking applications from new prospective members. Visit kehlerliddell.com/ membership for more information.

Film Submissions The Yale Film Colloquium seeks short film submissions by female filmmakers for its forthcoming “Bad Girls” season. If you’re a female filmmaker and have made a short film about “bad girls,” please consider submitting it for our special “Bad Girls” short film night. We’re looking for short fiction, documentaries, experimental films, animations, and music videos about any kind of “bad girls.” If you’d like to submit a short

Design Proposals Artspace seeks proposals from carpenters/designers/furniture-makers/sculptors for a wheeled display shelf to roll out to our storefront each day. Should be sturdy, easy to roll,

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The Arts Paper september 2015

film for consideration, please send email to kirsty.dootson@yale.edu for more information.

Musicians The New Haven Chamber Orchestra has openings in the violin, viola, and bass sections for the 2015-2016 season. The orchestra rehearses on Tuesday evenings at the Fair Haven School, 164 Grand Ave. Rehearsals begin after Labor Day. To sit in on a rehearsal or to audition, contact the orchestra via email at info@newhavenchamberorchestra.org.

Photographers Are you a fan of photography? A program of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, the Photo Arts Collective aims to cultivate and support a community of individuals who share an interest in photography through workshops, lectures, exhibitions, portfolio reviews, group critiques, and special events. The Photo Arts Collective meets the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven.

Singers The award-winning Silk’n Sounds Chorus is looking for new members from the area. We invite women to join us at any of our rehearsals to learn more. We enjoy four part a cappella harmony in the barbershop style, lively performances, and wonderful friendships. Rehearsals are every Tuesday from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Spring Glen United Church of Christ, 1825 Whitney Ave., in Hamden. Contact Lynn at 203 623-1276 for more information or visit silknsounds.org.

Singers The Greater New Haven Community Chorus, a non-auditioned, four part (SATB) chorus is currently inviting singers to join its choral group for the 2015-2016 season. The chorus is accepting all voice parts, but currently has a special need for tenors and basses. GNHCC’s December concert, “Holiday Collage,” will be held on December 12, 2015, at 8 p.m., in Battell Chapel in New Haven. Rehearsals for the upcoming season will begin September 3 and are held every Thursday, 7-9:15 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church, 704 Whitney Ave., New Haven. Interested singers may visit any rehearsal during the fall enrollment period from September 3–September 17. No audition is required for singers who join the chorus during the enrollment period.

For more information about GNHCC, please visit gnhcc.org or send email to info@gnhcc.org.

The Arts Paper advertising and calendar deadlines The deadline for advertisements and calendar listings for the October 2015 edition of The Arts Paper is: Monday, August 31, at 5 p.m.

Future deadlines are as follows: November: Monday, September 28, 5 p.m.

December: Monday, October 26, 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 mreiniger@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.

• september 2015

Singers The New Haven Oratorio Choir is hollding auditions for choral singers. We are a chamber ensemble that rehearses weekly (Wednesday nights) at Church of the Redeemer, New Haven, under the leadership of Daniel Shaw. We perform a varied repertoire of sacred and secular classical music, including contemporary composers, with two main concerts per season (December and May). Our 2015-16 season will include works by Tavener, Gardiner, and Brahms. An audition consists of meeting with Artistic Director Daniel Shaw, doing some general vocalizing and performing a one-to-twominute unaccompanied selection chosen by the singer. Visitors are welcome to join us at our open rehearsal on September 16, at 8 p.m. An audition may be scheduled at that time. Visit nhoratorio.org to learn more about the NHOC and to schedule an audition.

Sound Designer Artspace seeks a project sound designer to create and deliver aural elements of a show. Must record and edit 10 soundscapes to accompany artist visuals. Show includes work by 10 artists, each a soundtrack played on loop on 10-speaker sets. Goal: each sound to occupy an independent space. Challenge: set up exhibition without using headphones. Experience with system engineering, acoustics, computer networking, and component integration required. Submit as PDFs. Proposal of how you would create audio portion of the show. Include any special equipment/technology we would need to purchase/rent. Proposed fee and availability over coming year. Professional CV/ resume. Three references. Send to: Sarah Fritchey, gallery director, at sarah@artspacenh.org, with subject line “Sound Designer.”

Volunteers Learn new skills, meet new people, and be part of a creative organization that gives to the community. Upcoming volunteer opportunities: Jazz Night Out Concert at The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook and October Outdoor Autumn Arts Festival on the Madison Town Green. Teens are welcome and earn community-service credit. The Arts Center Killingworth is a nonprofit arts organization. Visit artscenterkillingworth.org for more details or call 860-663-5593.

Volunteers Volunteers are a vital part of Artspace’s operations. Volunteering with Artspace is a great way to support the organization, meet new people, and develop new skills. Our volunteers provide a service that is invaluable to making Artspace function smoothly. We simply couldn’t operate without the tremendous support of our volunteers. To find out more about volunteer opportunities, please contact Shelli Stevens at shelli@artspacenh.org.

Writers The Perch, the arts and literary journal of the Yale Program on Recovery and Community Health, is looking for submissions for its third issue.

The journal aims to present a wide range of voices on mental health and recovery both from established writers and from new, emerging authors and artists. Visual art, poetry and prose (fiction and essays) are welcome. See theperch.submittable.com/ submit for more information.

Services Art Consulting Services Support your creativity!

Low-cost service offers in-depth artwork analysis, writing, and editing services by former arts newspaper editor, current art director of the New Haven Free Public Library, and independent curator of many venues. Call Johnes Ruta at 203-387-4933, visit azothgallery.com, or send email to azothgallery@comcast.net.

Art Installation Art Installation Specialists, LLC An art handling company serving homeowners, art professionals, offices, galleries, and museums, offers packing, long-distance or local shipping, and

installation of paintings, mirrors, plaques, signage, tapestries, and sculpture, as well as framing, pedestals, exhibit design, and conservation. Call Paul Cofrancesco at 203-752-8260 or Gabriel Da Silva at 203-982-3050, send email to artinstallationspecialistsllc@gmail.com, or visit artinstallationspecialistsllc.com for more information.

Art Supplies For Sale Artist downsizing. For sale: stretchers, primed and unprimed canvas rolls, stretched canvases, frames, glass, studio furniture, huge beautiful paper, and more. Please contact scousinsartist@yahoo.com. Formerly Bethany Art Studio, now located in Hamden.

Birthday Parties Did you know that Creative Arts Workshop is available for birthday parties? Have your birthday party in an art studio. CAW faculty members will lead the party in arts or crafts projects, lasting approximately 1 1/2 hours, leaving time for cake, presents, and memory-making. Choose from a variety of themes and projects. For more information or to schedule a party, call the office at 562-4927. A fantastic idea for children of all ages.

Chair Repair We can fix your worn-out chair seats if they are cane, rush, Danish cord, Shaker Tape, or other woven types! Celebrating our 25th year!

Work is done by artisans at The Association of Artisans to Cane, a project of Marrakech, Inc., a private nonprofit organization that provides services for people with disabilities. Open Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m,-4 p.m. 203-776-6310.

Creative Events / Crafting Parties Our beautiful light-filled space in East Rock is the perfect spot to host an intimate creative gathering or party. We’ll work with you to provide the programming, snacks, drinks, and decorations that will make your event memorable. Rent our space for up to three hours. thehvncollective.com.

Historic Home Restoration Contractor Period appropriate additions, baths, kitchens and remodeling; sagging porches straightened/leveled; wood windows restored; plaster restored, historic molding and hardware, Vinyl/aluminum siding removed, wood siding repaired/replaced. Connecticut and New Haven Preservation Trusts. RJ Aley Building Contractor, (203) 226-9933, jaley@rjaley.com.

Japanese Shoji Screens Designed for Connecticut homes. Custom built for windows, doorways, or freestanding display, they allow beautiful filtered light to pass through while providing insulation. For a free quote, contact Phillip Chambers at 203-8884937 or email pchambers9077@sbcglobal.net.

Modern/Contemporary Dance Classes Taught by Annie Sailer. Ongoing adult and intermediate level classes. Mondays, 6-7:30 p.m., and Thursdays (time to be announced), in the New Haven area.

Contact Annie at anniesailer@gmail.com for location. $15 per class. anniesailer.com.

Private Art Instruction For adults and children.

Learn in a working artist’s studio. Ideal for artists, home-schooled youngsters, and those with special needs. Portfolio preparation offered. Draw, paint, print, and make collage in a spacious light-filled studio at Erector Square in New Haven. Relaxed and professional. I can also come to you. Lessons created to suit individual. References available. Send email to lizpagano@snet.net.

Professional Art Installation Professional art installer for residential and commercial work. More than 17 years’ experience in museums, galleries, hospitals, and homes in New York City, Providence, New Haven, Chester, etc. Rate is $30-$40 an hour, no job too small or large. Contact Mark at (203)772-4270 or livepaint@aol.com. More information and examples at ctartinstall.com.

architectural, and small-business sites. Twenty-five years’ experience in database, logistics, and engineering applications. Will create and maintain any kind of website. Hosting provided. Call 203387-4933, visit azothgallery.com, or send email to azothgallery@comcast.net.

Writing Workshops The Company of Writers is a new creative community for writers of all ages and levels of experience. We offer prose and poetry workshops, in-person and online services, a summer writers’ conference for teens, and a manuscript consultancy for book-length material. All our faculty are published authors, and many are teachers, editors, or publishers. Course descriptions available online at companyofwriters.net, or by contacting Terry at 203-676-7133. We all have a story to tell.

What’s yours?

Space Artist Studio West Cove Studio and Gallery offers work space with two large Charles Brand intaglio etching presses, lithography press, and stainless-steel work station. Workshops and technical support available. Ample display area for shows.

Membership: $75 per month. 30 Elm St., West Haven. Call 609-638-8501 or visit westcovestudio.org.

Community Living Space Rocky Corner, the first cohousing community in Connecticut, is seeking new members. It’ll be built on 33 acres in Bethany, near New Haven, and will feature 30 homes (including 13 affordable ones), a 4,500-square-foot common house with workshop/kitchen/etc., and an organic farm. Visit rockycorner.org or send email to welcome@rockycorner.org to learn more.

Live/Work Space ArLoW (Arts Lofts West). Fabulous lofts in New Haven’s first artist-housing development. The units contain high ceilings with flexible options for living and working spaces. Great natural light and interior spaces. Please contact Lynn Calabrese c/o Wm. M. Hotchkiss, management agent, at 203-772-3200 x. 20 for a rental application.

Studio Space Thirteen-thousand square feet of undeveloped studio space available in old mill brick building on New Haven harbor. Conveniently located one minute off I-95, Exit 44 in West Haven.

Owners willing to subdivide. Call (609) 638-8501.

Studio Space Branford Center. Artist Co-Op, 1229 Main St. Sixteen-hundred square feet of retail space on historic Main Street in downtown Branford. Total turnkey co-op space for up to five artists. Unique space includes two overhead garage doors and storage. In addition there will be a “pop up” space that will allow for a four-month rotation of space throughout the year. Tremendous visibility, strategically located at three-way traffic signal. Pricing includes Internet, POS, Facebook, and website. Pricing starts at $495 per month.

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

Web Services Startup business solutions. Creative, sleek Web design by art curator for art, design,

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The Arts Paper september 2015

Mark Your Calendars david brensilver

The Book of Mormon Shubert Theater

Shakespeare Festival.

The Yale Repertory Theatre presents Indecent October 2-24. Visit yalerep.org for schedule and ticketing information.

Lash/Voynich Project New Haven Symphony Orchestra

The Shubert Theater presents The Book of Mormon October 13-18. Photo by Joan Marcus.

In October, the Shubert Theater presents The Book of Mormon, the Tony Award-winning musical by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez.

It’s a show that has brought new audiences to the theater since opening on Broadway in March 2011 and is every bit as irreverently humorous a production as one might expect from Parker and Stone. The Book of Mormon is a snarky satire whose target is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which reacted to the musical upon its opening with what has widely been described as a “measured” response, later buying advertising space in program books encouraging theatergoers to explore the religion. Upon receiving the 2011 Tony Award for “Best Musical,” Parker, with tongue planted in cheek, thanked “co-writer” Joseph Smith, who founded the LDS Church in 1830. Not surprisingly, The Book of Mormon has what the Shubert Theater’s director of marketing and community relations, Anthony Lupinacci, described as a “built-in fan base.”

The Shubert Theater presents The Book of Mormon October 13-18. Visit Shubert.com for show times and ticketing information.

Indecent Yale Repertory Theatre

Paula Vogel (left) and Rebecca Taichman. Photos courtesy of Yale Repertory Theatre.

The Yale Repertory Theatre opens its season next month with the world-premiere production of Indecent, a work by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, created with and directed by Rebecca Taichman, that examines the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s The God of Vengeance and the aftermath of the work’s premiere. In Asch’s play, a brothel owner’s daughter has a dalliance with one of the working girls. So controversial was the drama that the cast was arrested and charged under obscenity laws. Taichman, who graduated from the Yale School of Drama in 2000, created as her MFA thesis a work titled The People vs. The God of Vengeance. Vogel is a former chair of the playwriting department at the Yale School of Drama. Indecent, which explores themes of identity and expression, is a co-production with the La Jolla Playhouse and was commissioned by the Yale Repertory Theatre and American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle at the Oregon

18 • newhavenarts.org

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Photo by Joe Crawford.

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra kicks off its season on October 1 with a program that includes the first movement of a work-in-progress by composer-in-residence Hannah Lash, a member of the faculty at the Yale School of Music. What attracted NHSO Music Director William Boughton to Lash’s music, he said, is “the extraordinary breadth of color and use of instrumentation in her compositions. I find it immediately captivating.” Instead of introducing audiences to Lash’s music by way of a short, new piece, Boughton said, “I wanted her to do the Sistine Chapel.” What Lash is working on is a symphonic work in four movements that will be presented over the course of this season, with the whole work being performed in fall 2017.

The work is inspired by the mysterious Voynich Manuscript, a document at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library that the Beinecke describes on its website as “a mysterious, undeciphered manuscript dating to the 15th or 16th century.” “In some sense, any piece of new music is very mysterious to new audiences,” Lash pointed out, explaining that she chose to present audiences with something whose inspiration is clear. The inspiration, in this case, is largely abstract, she said, which “translates pretty easily for me in a sound world.”

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra opens its season with a program that includes “Herbal,” the first movement of Lash’s forthcoming symphonic work, alongside Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor with Michael Brown, and Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela. Visit newhavensymphony.org for more information.

Jazz Series Lyman Center for the Performing Arts

Gregory Porter performs at the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts on September 25. Photo by Shawn Peters.

For more than 10 years, the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at Southern Connecticut State University has presented a fall jazz series that attracts exceptionally talented artists. It started

A Few Programs Not to Miss

with a 1993 concert featuring saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. and evolved into what it is today. That 1993 program marked the beginning of Larry Tomascak’s tenure as the venue’s director of programming, marketing, and event management. At this point, Tomascak said, “I think nationally the artists know us now. … They’re going to have a good experience when they’re here.”

The series, presented in four concerts from September through early December, features performances by Grammy Award-winning vocalist Gregory Porter, saxophonist Gerald Albright and vocalist Peabo Bryson, BWB—a trio featuring guitarist Norman Brown, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, and trumpeter Rick Braun—and saxophonist Vincent Ingala with keyboardist Gregg Karukas and guitarist Steve Oliver. Ingala, who hails from Waterbury, is “starting to make his way, very successfully,” Tomascak said.

The Lyman Center for the Performing Arts’ fall jazz series takes place on Fridays, September 25, October 23, November 13, and December 5. Visit southernct.edu/ lyman for details.

Fall Jazz Series Firehouse 12

The George Colligan trio—pianist Colligan (pictured), bassist Vicente Archer, and drummer E.J. Strickland) appears at Firehouse 12 on October 23. Photo courtesy of Firehouse 12.

Firehouse 12, which is celebrating its 10th season, has earned a reputation among performers and audiences alike as a unique, sophisticated venue.

Concertgoers are there to listen, which creates an intense dynamic between performers and their audiences. “It’s very quiet and it’s very small,” owner Nick Lloyd said, and “it sounds really good,” with “very little to distract” from what the musicians are doing. After 10 years, Lloyd said, “people are coming now to these shows … knowing what to expect. … They’re there to have a deep musical experience.” Audiences are attentive and responsive to what the artists are playing, thanks in part to Lloyd creating what he described as “an atmosphere where that relationship can happen.” This year’s Fall Jazz Series includes 12 programs featuring a mix of returning performers and those appearing at the venue for the first time. One show that Lloyd is looking forward to is being billed as “John Zorn’s Simulacrum” and features keyboardist John Medeski (one of Lloyd’s musical heroes), drummer Kenny Grohowski, and guitarist Matt Hollenberg performing Zorn’s music (with the composer directing but not performing).

Firehouse 12’s Fall Jazz Series runs September 18 through December 11. Visit firehouse12.com for a lineup and show details.

Disgraced Long Wharf Theatre

Ayad Akhtar. Photo by Nina Subin.

Long Wharf Theatre kicks off its season in October with Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced, which Gordon Edelstein will direct. In a press release announcing Long Wharf Theater’s 2015-2016 season, Edelstein, the organization’s artistic director, was quoted as saying, “One of the most significant themes of the past 20 years in Western culture is the confrontation of Judeo-Christianity with Islam. … This is a play that deals face to face with the cost of assimilation.” Disgraced tells the story of a young attorney in New York who’s set aside his Muslim upbringing and is pursuing the American dream. When he’s asked to defend an imam who’s suspected of supporting terrorism, his world is brought into conflict. “It’s a tense evening that’s sure to provoke a conversation afterward,” Steve Scarpa, Long Wharf Theatre’s marketing and communications director, said, explaining that “Disgraced does in many ways all the things that theater can do better than any other medium.”

Long Wharf Theatre presents Disgraced October 14 through November 8, in association with the Huntington Theatre Company. Visit longwharf.org for more information.

Listen Here The Institute Library

T. Paul Lowry reads Philip Roth during the early days of the Listen Here series.

In 2009, the Arts Council of Greater New Haven partnered with the New Haven Review and the New Haven Theater Company to present Listen Here, a performance series in local coffee shops in which NHTC actors read short stories selected by New Haven Review publisher Bennett Lovett-Graff. After a few starts and stops, the NHTC, New Haven Review, and The Institute Library are presenting Listen Here on a monthly basis, from September through June, at the library. This year, audiences can expect to hear actors read stories by such writers as William Faulkner, Lorrie Moore, Shirley Jackson, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Amy Hempel, among others. “People love to be read to,” LovettGraff explained, describing the free series as an ideal sort of book club, with no reading required of audiences. People can show up, hear two stories read by actors, and discuss the work over refreshments. “It’s a holistic experience,” he said. “You don’t have to do homework.”

Log on to newhavenreview.com and/or institutelibrary.org for detailed information. n

september 2015 •

The Arts Paper member organizations & partners

Arts & Cultural Organizations 1253 Whitney 1253whitney.com A Broken Umbrella Theatre abrokenumbrella.org, 203-868-0428 ACES Educational Center for the Arts aces.k12.ct.us 203-777-5451 Alyla Suzuki Early Childhood Music Education alylasuzuki.com 203-239-6026 American Guild of Organists sacredmusicct.org Another Octave CT Women’s Chorus anotheroctave.org ARTFARM art-farm.org Arts Center Killingworth artscenterkillingworth.org 860-663-5593 Arts for Learning Connecticut www.aflct.org Artspace artspacenh.org 203-772-2709 Artsplace: Cheshire Performing & Fine Art cpfa-artsplace.org 203-272-2787 Ball & Socket Arts ballandsocket.org Bethesda Music Series bethesdanewhaven.org 203-787-2346 Blackfriars Repertory Theatre blackfriarsrep.com Branford Folk Music Society folknotes.org/branfordfolk

Center for Independent Study cistudy.homestead.com

Gallery One CT galleryonect.com

Chestnut Hill Concerts chestnuthillconcerts.org 203-245-5736

Greater New Haven Community Chorus gnhcc.org 203-624-1979

The Choirs of Trinity Church on the Green trinitynewhaven.org City Gallery city-gallery.org 203-782-2489 Classical Contemporary Ballet Theatre ccbtballettheatre.org Connecticut Dance Alliance ctdanceall.com Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus ctgmc.org 800-644-cgmc Connecticut Natural Science Illustrators ctnsi.com 203-934-0878 Creative Arts Workshop creativeartsworkshop.org 203-562-4927 Creative Concerts 203-795-3365 CT Folk ctfolk.com DaSilva Gallery gabrieldasilvagallery.com 203-387-2539

Guilford Art Center guilfordartcenter.org 203-453-5947 Guitartown CT Productions guitartownct.com 203-430-6020 Hamden Art League hamdenartleague.com 203-494-2316 Hillhouse Opera Company hillhouseoperacompany.org 203-464-2683 Hopkins School hopkins.edu Hugo Kauder Society hugokauder.org

Lyman Center at SCSU www.lyman.southernct.edu Madison Art Society madisonartsociety.blogspot.com 860-399-6116 Make Haven makehaven.org Marrakech, Inc./Association of Artisans to Cane marrakechinc.org Meet the Artists and Artisans meettheartistsandartisans.com 203-874-5672 Milford Fine Arts Council milfordarts.org 203-878-6647 Music Haven musichavenct.org 203-215-4574

New Haven Preservation Trust nhpt.org

The Second Movement secondmovementseries.org

Creative Businesses

New Haven Symphony Orchestra newhavensymphony.org 203-865-0831

Theater Department at SCSU/ Crescent Players southernct.edu/theater

Access Audio-Visual Systems 203-287-1907 accessaudiovisual.com

New Haven Theater Company newhaventheatercompany.com

Vintanthromodern vintanthromodernvintage.com

Blue Plate Radio 203-500-0700 blueplateradio.com

One True Palette onetruepalette.com

Wesleyan University Center for the Arts wesleyan.edu/cfa

Orchestra New England orchestranewengland.org 203-777-4690 Pantochino Productions pantochino.com Paul Mellon Arts Center choate.edu/artscenter Play with Grace playwithgrace.com Reynolds Fine Art reynoldsfineart.com

The Institute Library institutelibrary.org

Musical Folk musicalfolk.com

Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, New Haven Branch nhrscds.org

International Festival of Arts & Ideas artidea.org

Neighborhood Music School neighborhoodmusicschool.org 203-624-5189

Shoreline Arts Alliance shorelinearts.org 203-453-3890

International Silat Federation of America & Indonesia isfnewhaven.org

New England Festival of Ibero American Cinema nefiac.com

Shubert Theater shubert.com 203-562-5666

Jazz Haven jazzhaven.org

New Haven Ballet newhavenballet.org 203-782-9038

Silk n’ Sounds silknsounds.org

Elm City Dance Collective elmcitydance.org

John Slade Ely House elyhouse.org 203-624-8055

Elm Shakespeare Company elmshakespeare.org 203-874-0801

Kehler Liddell Gallery 203-389-9555 kehlerliddell.com

Encore Music Creations encoremusiccreations.com

Knights of Columbus Museum kofcmuseum.org

Firehouse 12 firehouse12.com 203-785-0468

Legacy Theatre legacytheatrect.org

• september 2015

Long Wharf Theatre longwharf.org 203-787-4282

Linda S. Marino Art lindasmarinoart.com

New Haven Chorale newhavenchorale.org 203-776-7664 New Haven Oratorio Choir nhoratoriochoir.org New Haven Museum newhavenmuseum.org 203-562-4183 New Haven Paint and Clay Club newhavenpaintandclayclub.org 203-288-6590

Silk Road Art Gallery silkroadartnewhaven.com Susan Powell Fine Art 203-318-0616 susanpowellfineart.com Site Projects siteprojects.org The Company of Writers 203-676-7133 companyofwriters.net

Fairhaven Furniture fairhaven-furniture.com 203-776-3099

West Cove Studio & Gallery westcovestudio.com 609-638-8501

Foundry Music Company www.foundrymusicco.com

Whitney Arts Center 203-773-3033

The Funky Monkey Café & Gallery thefunkymonkeycafe.com

Whitney Humanities Center yale.edu/whc

Hull’s Art Supply and Framing hullsnewhaven.com 203-865-4855

Yale Cabaret yalecabaret.org 203-432-1566

Toad’s Place toadsplace.com

Yale Center for British Art yale.edu/ycba Yale Institute of Sacred Music yale.edu.ism 203-432-5180 Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History peabody.yale.edu Yale Repertory Theatre yalerep.org 203-432-1234

Department of Arts Culture & Tourism, City of New Haven cityofnewhaven.com 203-946-8378 DECD/CT Office of the Arts cultureandtourism.org 860-256-2800 Fractured Atlas fracturedatlas.org

Yale School of Music 203-432-1965 music.yale.edu

JCC of Greater New Haven jccnh.org

Yale University Art Gallery www.artgallery.yale.edu Yale University Bands yale.edu/yaleband 203-432-4111

Community Partners

Overseas Ministries Study Center omsc.org The Amistad Committee ctfreedomtrail.org Town Green Special Services District infonewhaven.com Visit New Haven visitnewhaven.com

newhavenarts.org • 19

The Arts Paper arts council programs

Perspectives …

Gallery at Whitney Center Location: 200 Leeder Hill Drive, South Entrance, Hamden Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4-7 p.m., and Saturdays, 1-4 p.m.

Shared Resources.

Group exhibition curated by Debbie Hesse and Melanie Carr that examines participatory, relational, and interactive art.

Dates: September 19-January 2, 2016 Reception: Saturday, September 19, 3-5 p.m.; artist talks at 2 p.m.

Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery Location: The Arts Council of Greater New Haven, 70 Audubon St., 2nd Floor, New Haven Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Spectra 2015 Photo Arts Collective (PAC) Annual Members Show Dates: September 11-October 30 Reception: Thursday, September 10, 5-7 p.m.

Arts Council’s Members Show 2015 Dates: November 10-December 23 Reception: Artist Reception and holiday celebration: Friday, November 13, 5-7 p.m.

Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery. Spectra 2015. Sharon Hirsch.

Arts Awards Call for nominations due September 22.

Visit newhavenarts.org for details.

Somewhat Off the Wall A unique fine art exhibition and fundraising event to benefit The Arts Council of Greater New Haven Date: Saturday, September 12, 5-9 p.m.

Location: The Gallery at Elemar, 99-107 Shelton Ave., New Haven Numbered tickets available for $100. When your ticket number is called, you select and take home a piece of artwork! $45 event tickets do not include artwork. Party begins at 5 p.m., drawing of ticket numbers begins at 7 p.m. Call 203-772-2788 for tickets. See page 8 for more information.

Advice from the AC Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery.

Arts Council’s Members Show 2015.

Ellen Hoverkamp.

Arts on Air. Left to right: Brian Slattery, Thomas Duffy, Isabella Mensz, and host Matt Reiniger.

Location: Best Video, 1842 Whitney Ave., Hamden (203) 287-9286 Date: Thursdays, September 10 and September 24, 1-4 p.m Need help finding exhibition space/opportunities, performance/rehearsal space, or developing new ways to promote your work or creative event? Debbie Hesse, the Arts Council’s director of artistic services and programs, will be available for one-on-one consultations. Call (203) 7722788 to schedule an appointment.

Photo Arts Collective The Photo Arts Collective is an Arts Council program that aims to cultivate and support a community of individuals who share an interest in photography, through workshops, lectures, exhibitions, portfolio reviews, group critiques, and events. The Photo Arts Collective meets the first Thursday of the month at the Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whitney Ave., New Haven, at 7 p.m. To learn more, send email to photoartscollective@gmail.com.

Arts On Air Perspectives ... Gallery at Whitney Center. Cynthia Rubin.

Next Show: September 21, 12-1 p.m., on WPKN 89.5FM and streaming on wpkn.org.

Listen to the Arts Council’s Arts On Air broadcast every third Monday of the month during WPKN’s Community Programing Hour. Hosted

by Matt Reiniger, the Arts Council’s communications manager, Arts On Air engages in conversations with local artists and arts organizations. Links to past episodes are available at artnhv.com/on-air.

Writers’ Circle September Date: TBD Location: Arts Council of Greater New Haven, 70 Audubon St. 2nd floor, New Haven Visit newhavenarts.org and the Arts Council’s Facebook page for information about the next Writers’ Circle session.

Somewhat Off the Wall. Vanilia Majoros.

For more information on these events and more visit newhavenarts.org or check out our mobile events calendar using the Arts, Nightlife, Dining & Information (ANDI) app for smartphones.