The Arts Paper | April 2018

breakfast ep 4

sofrito 5

uber art car 8

the commons 12

movie man 14

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

CREATIVE

April 2018

AND

CULTURAL

ECOSYSTEM yale institute of sacred music presents

Back-to-BackAprilBach 27 & 28

GIVE ARTS & to your

CULTURE organizations this year

A 36-hour online-giving event to support local nonprofits @GiveGreater

#TheGreatGive

thegreatgive.org

Broadening Our Horizons what’s an ecosystem, anyways?

As we reach the quarter mark of 2018, I’ve been thinking about how broad the arts can be. Yes, there are the fine and performing arts. But there are also the culinary arts, and the folksier or craftier arts, the technical arts, and the social movements that may not seem “artsy” at all, but rely on the arts in their practice. And then there’s culture, so categorically broad it touches everything from swimming lessons to this year’s Women’s March in Hartford.

In this issue, I challenge you to think of your own definition of the arts. What is an artist? How porous are the boundaries of their profession? What does it mean to live in, interact with, and have access to a creative ecosystem? Do you have that in your life? Would you like to?

That’s precisely what our writers have asked in this issue. Leah Andelsmith reports on a nationwide group whose local chapter is making waves in the cultural community, Elizabeth Nearing joins our roster with a new “Arts at Work” series,

and film buff Steve Fortes treks out to Madison, to see how one indie theater is surviving in an era of Netflix.

It’s an exciting time for The Arts Paper, too. This month, reporter and layout editor Stephen Urchick and I are embarking on a new training program called the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative (YAJI) with Co-Op High School, working closely with a cohort of 12 students on the fundamentals of arts journalism, podcast production, and storytelling techniques. Over eight weeks, we’re trying to build out not just what arts journalism means in the region, but who is doing it, and what they are bringing out of the woodwork. Already, it’s been a powerful reminder to me that there is no one way to tell a single story, just as there is no one lens through which to see the arts.

Happy reading, Lucy Gellman Editor

in this issue

The Arts Paper The Arts Paper is the voice of The Arts Council ... and of our community.

Gritz King Serves up Breakfast This listener is already hungry for lunch.

brian slattery.........................4

Sofrito from the Source We got you. You literally know that it’s local, fresh, and organic.

lucy gellman............................5 A SURJ of Resistance White folks need to do that work.

leah andelsmith.....................6 Adam Malec Drives On Behind the wheel is a person, not an instrument to get you from place to place.

allan appel...............................8 Arts at Work Pt. I: Ravenna Michalsen It’s a very carefully constructed house of income.

elizabeth nearing.................10 “I Don’t Want to Half-Ass it Anymore” I’ve found that if I don’t, it will kill me. It’ll kill my soul, it’ll kill my spirit.

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven strives to advance Greater New Haven by providing leadership and support to our diverse arts community. We believe that art, culture, and creativity are fundamental human rights that also advance the economy, health, education, and tourism. The arts matter right now. So does arts journalism.

Serving New Haven and its surrounding towns, The Arts Paper explores, investigates, and invests in the arts that make our cities the cultural hubs they are.

Editor

Lucy Gellman

Layout Editor

Stephen Urchick

Reporters

Leah Andelsmith Thomas Breen Stephen Urchick Malia West

Partners

Inner-City News New Haven Independent WNHH Community Radio

lucy gellman..........................12 Madison’s Movie Man I’ll keep doing this as long as I can.

steve fortes............................14 Foodle Canoodle II We were presented with what looked like an overturned can of cat food.

jennifer gelband....................15

Send citizen contributions, story ideas, comments, or questions to lucy@ newhavenarts.org or mail to:

My Nose is Running A good bad comic.

The Arts Paper 70 Audubon St. fl. 2 New Haven, CT 06511

vyanah campbell...............16 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Eco-friendly fiber art.

marsha borden..................16

For advertising inquiries: write stephen.urchick@yale.edu or jennifer@newhavenarts.org

on the web artspaper.org

artspaper.org/articles For the latest breaking arts artspaper.org/audio newhavenarts @newhavenarts

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For latest calendar information call 203.432.5062 or visit ism.yale.edu

music

Gritz King Serves Up Breakfast A sweet spot on the smoother side of R&B by brian slattery

“Valentine,” the first song off Gritz King’s The Breakfast EP, starts off with drums that strut with confidence, a beat that means business. “I’m walking, I’m drinking, I’m laughing,” a voice intones, as guitar, bass, and organ bubble up from beneath it. “Everyone’s walking.”

The beat rolls on as the vocal turns into a bit of a croon. Then the guitar launches into something that shreds, but it’s just setting the stage for a duet with a saxophone. The energy rises and rises, but there’s that beat, still strutting on, holding everything down.

The prevailing vibe on “Valentine” — that everything’s going to be fine — holds for the rest of the New Haven-based artist’s EP, which finds a sweet spot on the smoother side of R&B without losing sight of a little roughness.

King (first name Stephen) created most of the album himself, doing “original production and sounds on all tracks.” He had “a few people add live instrumentation after.” King’s steady hand makes the album strong. His collaboration with some of New Haven’s finest R&B musicians makes it that much richer.

“Valentine” features Anthony Greco

Love on bass and guitar and Jeremiah Fuller on synth bass. “Sensei,” which features Jason Fitch soloing on alto sax solo, is pure bedroom, with a chorus of voices in the back and scintillating keyboards moving the pulsing beat along.

“Newish” dips into a hip-hop head bob, with Trek Culbreth’s tenor sax and King’s alto swinging behind a heavy, lurching beat and swelling synths. And “Please Don’t” keeps up the sensuousness as King takes center stage on alto, supported by Anthony Greco Love on bass and guitar.

“Spread your wings, but just don’t fly away,” King sings. As the beat drops out and a piano takes over, guest vocalist Laney Lynx toys with the words King used.

No matter what she says, you know she’s leaving in the end. But you also know King will be all right without her, too.

The Breakfast EP is aptly titled, a first taste of what King has to offer. This listener is already hungry for lunch. • This piece is part of our ongoing content share with the New Haven Independent, where it was published earlier this year. Visit them at newhavenindependent.org.

stephen gritz king

4 artspaper.org • april 2018

food

Sofrito from the Source

Land trust food entrepreneur sprints into business by lucy gellman

ian christmann Sadilka Lopez has a to-do list before she graduates high school this year.

One: complete her ServSafe certification in food handling, and line up community college courses in Gateway’s food program. Two: learn more about growing her own produce, skills that she can bring with her wherever she goes. Three: teach New Haveners what real sofrito tastes like, so they’ll never be store-bought again.

It’s that third one that has risen to the top of her list. A senior at Wilbur Cross High School, Lopez is one of 11 ‘Growing Entrepreneurs’ with the New Haven Land Trust, a local nonprofit dedicated to land preservation, environmental education and community gardening.

With the support of the Land Trust last year, she embarked on a business making small-batch, homemade sofrito—a puree of green, red, and hot peppers, garlic and cilantro, salt, pepper, tomato and onions. Now, she is using it to launch a culinary career.

The idea came as she was prowling the aisles of her local grocery store, where sofrito often sits in glass jars by the salsa and bean dips, or is hidden away in a questionably-titled “Ethnic Food” section.

One of nine siblings and half-siblings in a Puerto Rican family, she grew up eating it as a base for meals in her home. She knew that store-bought could probably expedite the cooking process. But what she saw didn’t resemble anything out of her youth.

“In my opinion, it’s not good quality,” she said on a recent episode of WNHH’s “Kitchen Sync” program. “It just looks and smells disgusting. You don’t know where everything’s coming from.”

But for Lopez, the journey to a small culinary business started years ago, during her childhood in New York City.

At Christmastime, her elementary school had gone for a field trip to a cooking class, and she left with an oatmeal cookie mix.

She said she can remember bounding homewards to her grandmother, with whom she was living, to make the cookies.

That simple concoction of oats, cinnamon, sugar and flour opened a culinary portal that hasn’t closed since. From a cookie mix, Lopez began watching her mother in the kitchen, as she conducted a culinary ballet with sofritokissed rice, pork chops, tacos, spaghetti, and a special birthday lasagne.

As the family moved from New York to Connecticut, she she studied her grandfather’s methods as he waltzed around the kitchen, turning simple weekday meals into works of art.

“That man could cook everything,” she recalled . “I swear, his fish is the only fish I would ever eat. He would get the fish frozen, and you would just see that man in the backyard skinning it, because he don’t wanna make a mess inside … all I knew was that it was delicious.”

Years later, she would remember that fish when her grandfather passed away, and she swore off the underwater kingdom because it couldn’t measure up. But as a self-described “creepy little kid” with big culinary plans, Lopez started to experiment herself, grabbing odds and ends from the pantry—eggs, Sazon seasoning, cilantro— to mix together in a pan and serve to her family.

Slowly, she grew into cooking whole dishes, ultimately taking over for her mom most of the time. By the time she was 12, she was cooking most of the meals at home.

Often her mother would get home late, and she started leaving still-warm meals on the counter, “for her not to come home hungry.”

“It happens to me because I have two jobs now,” said Lopez. “I work a night shift and get home around 11 p.m. and I’m starving. It’s really nice to have food ready for you, so you don’t have to stay up longer

to make your own food.”

From taking over cooking operations in her home at 12, Lopez went on to teach her older sister how to cook a few years ago, when she got married and confided in Lopez that “I gotta know how to cook this.” Her new husband—and Lopez’ new brother-in-law— talked a big game about his culinary Ecuadorian heritage, but “that man did not know how to cook for nothing.”

Lopez set aside time for sister-sister cooking lessons, rolling out recipes like a ground beef bacon roll that she said her sister has now almost mastered on her own. Then she turned toward her own interest in cooking, connecting with the New Haven Land Trust through New Haven’s Youth@Work program.

She jumped onboard with the Growing Entrepreneurs program just as it was beginning in 2016.

Sofrito wasn’t on the menu at first.

Her first summer, she and four other entrepreneurs built a fence for the Grand Acres farm on Perkins Street in Fair Haven, and then worked on composting and raised garden beds. Then last summer, Lopez realized that there was a surplus of green peppers in the garden.

It was around the same time that her cynicism around store-bought products was mounting. So she made a pitch to her cohort of entrepreneurs and supervisor Esther Rose-Wilen: developing a food business around an essential taste of her childhood and adolescence, that was sourced 100 percent locally.

“We got you,” she said. “We tell you the process from planting the seeds to transplanting, taking it out, how we made it, and all that. You literally know that it’s local, fresh and organic.”

The cooking was only part of the venture. After she normalized the recipe— green bell and cubanelle peppers became her

fast friends in those months—she also learned how to balance finances, make nutrition labels, and abide by health department regulations. She moved operations into the CitySeed kitchen, splitting washing and chopping duties with her peers.

Since beginning the business, she has sold batches of sofrito at local farmers’ markets, the regulation for which has been easier than local grocery stories. With her cohort of entrepreneurs, she’s expanded that product line to include kale pesto (lemon, lemon zest, walnuts, kale, olive oil) after an excess of the leafy green in the garden last year.

“It’s not just that you’re providing food for the community,” she said. “You’re getting something towards yourself.”

But she also has her eyes on the future.

After she graduates and completes her ServSafe training this year, Lopez wants to pursue the culinary arts full time, ultimately attending the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York and owning her own restaurant. In the fall, she is considering heading to the culinary program at Gateway Community College.

She knows what she wants for it, she said. A New Haven storefront, with red, black and white patterning, a garden out in the back and a jam-packed menu of all her favorite dishes. To plates already in her wheelhouse—rice, tacos, burritos, lasagna—she said she wants to add new recipes reflective of the city’s diverse population.

“I like cooking. I like to eat. Who doesn’t like to eat?” she asked aloud. But, she added, the restaurant definitely won’t be called Sadilka’s.

“That’s tacky,” she said. “It has to be something. Or people won’t remember it.” • To hear more of Sadilka’s story check out a full interview at artspaper.org.

april 2018 • artspaper.org 5

activism

surj

A SURJ of Resistance New Haveners co-conspire against white supremacy by leah andelsmith On the last Sunday in January, members of the New Haven chapter of Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) gathered for a workshop at Neighborhood Housing Services’ Energy Conservation Lab on Sherman Avenue. Their mission: to come together and fight white supremacy, which they define it as a pervasive oppression of people of color that produces benefits and entitlements for white people.

SURJ is a national organization founded in 2009, with a New Haven chapter that meets at the end of each month and a regional presence at rallies and protests throughout the year. The group comes “in response to a call by racial justice activists for white people to

6 artspaper.org • april 2018

get more involved in challenging racism,” according to its mission statement.

Members come from different walks of life, from students to retirees.

But despite that broad range, SURJ’s membership is primarily, though not exclusively, white. And there’s a reason for that.

One of SURJ’s main goals is to educate people about systems of racism and white supremacy. Newcomers get a crash course in SURJ’s values and vision: to create an inclusive community that recognizes and honors class differences; to take on systemic racism not as “charity work,” but because oppression robs everyone of humanity; and to support and uplift the activism of people of color.

Another is to support social justice efforts organized by people of color and to help advocate for anti-racist, equal opportunity policies in local government.

In New Haven and Connecticut alone, these include reforms to incarceration and reentry, police misconduct, immigration reform and protection of New Haven’s sanctuary city status.

Since its own founding in 2015, SURJ New Haven has partnered with local activist groups including People Against Police Brutality, Justice for Jayson, and Unidad Latina en Acción. In lockstep with all of these organizations, the group has supported ongoing efforts for an AllCivilian Review Board (CRB), supporting

fellow activists as they testify before the city’s Board of Alders.

SURJ’s view is that white people have a crucial role to play in the dismantling of white supremacy, partly because they have created the structures that let it exist. That, as activist Bree Newsome said on a recent trip to New Haven, social justice advocates “don’t need white allies, they need white accomplices.”

“White supremacy has had 600 years to develop; it’s hard to combat,” said Jennifer Hernandez, part of the leadership team at SURJ New Haven, at the January meeting. Often, a gentle touch is needed when changing minds and hearts, but SURJ feels it is unfair to ask people of color to be gentle in the face of racism.

“White folks need to do that work,” said Hernandez and fellow leader Gina Rousso.

SURJ’s monthly meetings focus primarily on education. Earlier this year, the group got a jumpstart on Black History Month with an interactive timeline activity.

A chain of ribbons strung across the wide room used different colors to represent different eras in Black history: enslavement, reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement to present day. Centuries from 1500 to 2000 were labeled, and thick envelopes marked with date ranges sat enticingly on a table beside staplers, tape, and clothespins.

I jumped in to participate. As we paired off, facilitator Reed Miller warned us: “This will be horribly incomplete.” To me it sounded messy and wonderful.

I found a partner and we grabbed an envelope. It was full of slips of paper listing events in African-American history from the 1600s.

We pulled from the envelope, expressing in equal turns surprise at facts we didn’t know and outrage at the atrocities of history. Then came the satisfying taping, clipping, and stapling papers to the ribbon. All along the timeline, other pairs did the same, filling out over five centuries of history.

An hour later, the ribbons of time were sagging under the weight of hundreds of dates on paper slips, and our envelopes weren’t even empty. But we had to wrap up.

Each person shared either a specific event that stood out to them or a conclusion garnered from digging deeply into a slice of history. I described how reading individual and highly specific laws that denied personhood and codified oppression illustrated perfectly how racism became institutionalized in our country.

As we marched through history, people chimed in with personal knowledge not already on the timeline and asked questions. We taught each other.

A few days later, chatting with Hernandez over coffee, I found out more about why she is involved in SURJ and how deeply the movement touches her.

Hailing from St. Louis, Hernandez has been involved with SURJ for years. As a college graduate, she began teaching incarcerated youth because to her, “they felt like the kids no one wanted.”

She said that when she started

she was young and naive. Even so, she said her experiences laid bare the inner workings of the school-to-prison pipeline— disciplinary policies that disproportionately push students of color and students with learning or emotional disabilities out of school and into the criminal justice system.

So too, she said, of the prisonindustrial complex—the set of special interests and practices that encourage both the building of prisons and the increase in the number of people incarcerated, disproportionately affecting minorities, people with disabilities, and the poor.

While earning her PhD, she reached a turning point.

“I began to realize there were systems of white supremacy running through all of this and it was like The Matrix: I could either take the red pill or the blue pill,” she said.

So she took the red pill, jumped fully into social justice work, and never looked back.

Hernandez was a director of special education in the Ferguson-Florissant school district just outside of St. Louis when Michael Brown was shot. Though she did not know him personally, she said, “He was one of our students.”

As unrest rocked the city, Hernandez witnessed white activists from SURJ offering tangible, physical support. “I saw that SURJ’s job was to be a ‘white line’ between police and Black Lives Matter protesters and I joined that line,” she said.

When she took a position at Quinnipiac University, Hernandez joined the local chapter of SURJ, which is just 18 months old.

“They are building effective structures and systems, working on it, getting it together,” she said. “It’s a process.”

In that process, one of the group’s main partners has become Citywide Youth Coalition (CWYC), a city-wide youth network that has thrived for over three decades in the city.

Founded in 1976 (it was formally incorporated in 1992), CWYC organizes youth employment programs, provides free breakfasts and lunches to kids in need, and hosts monthly organizing meetings as well as semiannual actions, usually held in schools or on the New Haven Green. The group’s current focus is on nurturing and educating young activists and bringing different generations together to create policy change.

SURJ has worked to aid that mission, said CWYC Director Addys Castillo.

In 2016, SURJ jumped into its role as young members of CWYC rallied around 17-year-old Aymir Holland, a high school student arrested in the alleged group assault of a 79-year-old professor in East Rock. Although Holland said he had not participated in the attack, he faced a $250,000 bail and heavy charges—five felonies, or up to 61 years in prison.

Despite his age and lack of a criminal record—or so much as a suspension from school—the state Superior Court ruled that he would be tried as an adult.

SURJ helped get people on the ground to support Holland, showing up at his court dates, raising money for bail, and using

their resources to help find a lawyer willing to take on the case pro bono. In January 2017, he was released on bail after over a year at a correctional facility, then tried as an adult last summer. He is now serving a reduced sentence after taking a plea bargain last June.

“SURJ has a critical role to play in antiracism work in the city, especially in getting white folks engaged,” said Castillo. She added that SURJ can normalize what are often contentious conversations, helping people understand why action is needed.

“I’m a fan of the way they do their work,” said Castillo. “I appreciate that they make every effort to extend their resources to the community. I appreciate how they include us in holding themselves accountable. They walk the walk and make an intentional effort to reach out to the community they’re trying to serve.”

She said she also appreciates how SURJ members are more active than just “allies,” but they don’t try to take over, either: “They’re not trying to be leaders.

They’re supporters and co-conspirators.”

For Hernandez, this role of coconspirator has always been clear. “In Ferguson, we just physically put ourselves between cops and people of color as a buffer,” she recalled. “We didn’t tell Black Lives Matter what to do.”

It’s true that activism has its ups and downs, said Rousso. “But we can’t just give up because there’s still racism happening.

Not doing anything is being complicit in white supremacy.” •

april 2018 • artspaper.org 7

visual art

Adam Malec Drives On Rocker turned gallerist gives Uber an upgrade by allan appel allan appel

Chika Okoli called for an Uber—and ended up riding to Union Station in an art gallery on wheels.

Okoli, a Yale School of Medicine student, made the call from Madison Towers on Park Street. She and her friend waited as a little grey 2007 Toyota Yaris turned left and pulled into the parking lot. They noticed geometric designs done in white, red, and black tape on the doors, roof, and side view mirror.

And on the inside there was more. A lot more.

To Okoli, and her friend, it was an unexpected—and cool—ride.

The Uber driver, and creator of the designs, was Adam Malec, longtime hard rocker who cofounded the New Haven band Groovski. He has a new gig and calling as a visual artist. And he’s using the instrument of his day (and night) job driving for Uber— his 200,000-mile-old Toyota all colorfully taped especially on the inside from dash to rear seat—as a visual calling card.

Of the 7,000 to 8,000 passengers who have slipped in to ride during the last year and a half, Malec estimated, most have found his artistic take on upholstery and everything else you could cover safely inside a car a pretext for discussing art, psychology, and creativity in general.

A handful of customers have asked him, to his great irritation, how many drugs he has had to take to achieve the all-over taped interior. Only one woman refused to

8 artspaper.org • april 2018

ride, he reported. The reason she offered: She was concerned tape might stick to her dress. On a deeper level, Malec recollected, he thinks that customer, a suburban woman, was simply afraid to ride with him.

Malec got the music bug—or the general urge to express himself through art— in his native Poland, where he described the music scene of the early 1980s as akin to the music explosion in the late 1960s New York.

Malec arrived in Connecticut in 1989 at age 15 with parents who had been active in the Solidarity movement. While he continues to play now and then, he turned, without any formal training, to visual art when he began doing posters for his more recent band, the group Procedure Club.

“I was trying to make straight lines.

You can’t get straight lines, so I started to use tape. And then I began to use tape to fool the eye, to mask that it was tape.”

During a tour of his studio and a ride in his aged but still peppy Toyota to pick up Uber passengers, he shared how that approach to art is on a continuum with the experimental music he had been doing lately with Procedure Club, which he termed “pop infused with a lot of chaos.”

Two years ago, when a section of the interior insulation by the driver’s seat separated from the frame of the car, Malec fixed it with tape, colorful tape. Because he is always expressing himself, he said, what emerged wasn’t merely a repair job but a design.

A passenger saw it and made the passing remark that Malec should cover the interior entirely in tape.

“You’re crazy,” Malec responded.

“No,” the passenger pressed. “It’ll look good.”

Over time, Malec did precisely that, although he avers he wasn’t quite sure what design he was trying to achieve. “I never have clear intentions in my process. I do something and then I see what I’ve done and I ascribe meaning to it.”

That applies not only to the evolution his “Uber Art Car,” as his friend and fellow artist Bill Saunders terms it, but also to the paintings, largely untitled, and sculpture that fill Malec’s studio space from floor to ceiling.

Roll the clock ahead a year from the moment of that passenger’s suggestion, and Malec picked the man up again. He was pleased with how Malec had taken his suggestion and run with it.

“Best decision I ever made,” Malec told him.

Malec, who used to drive for limousine companies, described driving the exhibition on wheels as like being inside a cartoon or a vortex. Sometimes he sees the car as his mobile living room.

That makes the passenger his guest.

He wants the guest to have a good time and engage in meaningful conversation.

Some people prefer to listen to their music

or just be still, and Malec is fine with that.

The art work is asserting his humanity, he said. “Behind the wheel is a person, not an instrument to get you from place to place.”

Interior of the artist’s work space on George Street.

As Malec’s mobile gallery grew, so did his Uber ratings. The car is old, and he is a smoker, so sometimes the passengers complain, he said. However, with the arrival of the tape displays, his commendations from passengers have shot up, he said, with only a complaint registered here and there.

“This is a conversation starter, and it’s often meaningful,” he said of the car art.

He also enjoys the interactions from passers-by. “I get weird looks, then smiles and waves. It’s almost like being in a parade.

If I’m having a bad day, the conversation sometimes takes me away [from troubles] ... and I get to talk about myself. Who doesn’t like to talk about himself!”

Before the tape found its way inside the Toyota, Malec said. He was using it to augment often pixilated images he was creating from paint and collaged elements on canvases in his studio. When they’re done, he sometimes puts a layer of epoxy on them. The result is that the images both draw in, through their complexity, but also push you out with their light and shine. It’s a unique and odd effect.

There are also sculptural pieces, squashed up figures that emerge when

Malec takes gobs of different tapes and “smooshes” them together. He gave this reporter a tour of a lurking menagerie, which included an intellectual with glasses, animal figures, and more recently even a religious figure, “a Mary with spoons.”

To date he’s sold some works to individuals. In the meantime, to earn a living, he heeds the Uber calls; with so many ride-sharing drivers these days, that’s become harder. To help make ends meet

Malec also does Polish translation work.

His hyper-busy canvases are full of the drama of contrasting, bleeding colors.

He suggested his eye might be reflecting images from the early modern church he often visited as a kid in his hometown of Przeworsk, in southeastern Poland near Cracow.

He has also been watching documentaries about art history and has become particularly attached to images of

the Last Judgment done by medieval and Renaissance masters. Malec spoke of the detail these painters lavished on individual faces and bodies as the figures ascend to heaven or descend to hell.

“What they were doing in the Last Judgments, to terrify people and to dazzle them, you have to show each individual torment in a traditional painting, the way I show the torment in each pixel,” he said.

In his work, Malec is limited to

colors available at Home Depot and other stores — the grey, white, black, and red in which duct, plumbers, and electrical tape are manufactured. There’s something satisfying, he said, about having that limit on color freedom. • This piece is part of our ongoing content share with the New Haven Independent, where it was published earlier this year. Visit them at newhavenindependent.org.

april 2018 • artspaper.org 9

music

Arts At Work Pt. I: Ravenna Michalsen A week in the life of a concert cellist by elizabeth nearing

What do you do?

This is usually the first question I’m asked in new situations, when people want to know about my profession. The short answer is community outreach at Long Wharf Theatre, where I act as the Community Engagement Manager. But the long answer—and it’s much, much longer—often gives me pause.

As an artist, arts administrator, producer, director, and organizer, it’s hard to distill that identity into a job description. No two days are the same on the job. And I hypothesize that’s the same for many in the field.

As someone who is constantly asking “Why do this? Why choose the arts?,” I wanted to dig a little deeper. This is the first of a series of interviews on the arts—fine, performing, culinary, and more—and their practitioners at work in New Haven. Work is one of the central tenants of culture in America. This is an opportunity to get a look into the worlds of the people that make art happen in this city.

What follows is an edited version of the conversation I had with Ravenna Michalsen.

Ravenna is a cellist in New Haven, where she teaches at Neighborhood Music School on Audubon Street.

* * * What do you do? What is work for you?

I think about this all the time. My high school teacher really emphasized to me they don’t pay you to practice. So a lot of the work I do is unpaid—except that it leads to all the paid work.

So what I do for money, which I think is slightly different from work, is I teach lessons at Neighborhood Music School, and I coach some chamber groups, and I have a theory class, and then I have some private students, and then I sub in three different orchestras, and I do chamber concerts, and then I do gig work.

Gig work is less preparation, although its more lucrative. You would do a wedding or a fundraiser or a Christmas party, and you are hired to look fabulous and play fabulously but essentially you’re background. Although it very rarely feels background-y, I have to say.

So that’s what I do for money. The work part of it, which I don’t necessarily do for money but leads to all of this, is always contacting people, trying to think of ideas for concerts or for projects … making little videos, finding the right pieces for my students. That’s actually really really crucial

10 artspaper.org • april 2018

to plan their development. And practicing.

And if I actually like a piece that I haven’t played or worked on, trying to learn that.

Even if it’s Ed Sheeran.

There are songs on the radio that I think ‘Oh that would work for cello.’ There are songs I love that I think ‘Oh I love it, but that’s never gonna work.’

Another thing I don’t do for money but I consider a part of my work is I stretch and I workout every day because I am an athlete. I don’t look like an athlete. I’m not an athlete in the sense of sports, but I have to keep my body in good working order. I lift weights and I run and I stretch every single day of my life. And I use heating pads.

What about playing the cello feels athletic?

The repetitive motion … you tighten up. If you teach for six hours and then have a three hour rehearsal, it’s hard on the body. It’s not the world’s most protected profession. What I do is largely contract work. I don’t have what is known as a sick day. November I had bronchitis for a month and I worked every day. I don’t have sick days. I don’t have personal days. Who would give me those days?

I’m extraordinarily lucky to work enough hours at Neighborhood Music School to qualify for health insurance that I buy. But it’s a very carefully constructed house of income.

So when people ask you what you do, how do you identify? What words do you use?

I just say I’m a cellist. And then usually what people do is they say ‘Oh my God I play guitar!’ or ‘I sing!’ And then I try and connect in that way.

I definitely identify as an educator but also a player. I take the education part really seriously. People who last in my studio, I’m super devoted to them. I will move a lot of things to make sure they are growing.

And then there are people who don’t take it as seriously and that fine. I have a solid group of students who’ve been with me for four or five years. And I really like them, I like their families. I have a big cello party every year at my house. We play badminton, we eat food. I make them take selfies with this giant cello that my dad drew for me. I make them do art projects that involve cello.

What is the age range of people at your cello party?

My youngest student now is seven. And my oldest is maybe 65. It’s a whole range.

Could you walk me through a day in the life?

I’ll walk you through a week in the life.

Monday and Tuesday I teach and I start in the afternoon, in the morning I would do something like this [our interview] or go to the gym, pay my bills. Normal home stuff.

Wednesday would be when rehearsal might start. I teach some private students, and if it’s a symphony week I’d have rehearsal 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Saturday morning I teach. Saturday is a big music day. I would go home Saturday afternoon, take a nap, practice, and then do the concert at night. Sunday is church service. Or in the summer, weddings Saturday, Sunday. And then random stuff.

It’s always changing. The teaching doesn’t change unless it conflicts with rehearsal. You have to be flexible. You can just get an email or a text … saying “we’re having this thing” and you do it. Thursdays are usually my half day off, so Wednesdays are like my Friday night.

How many hours a week do you think you work? Do you count?

That’s a great question. Completely depends on if I have a symphony thing or if I’m gearing up for a symphony or a concert.

Then you have a whole bunch of rehearsals in that week. And then [the] concert...does it count, the commute? Does it count, the time you’re waiting backstage? It really varies.

The line between what is and what isn’t gets blurrier. The work that leads to more work is I think all encompassed in the big word. To your point, there’s the work you’re explicitly paid for and the amount of work you have to do to prepare for each of those.

But also continuing to get your name out there. One thing that makes me a little different—and I hope this doesn’t lead to not work—but one thing that makes me different is I do not have any degrees in music. I went to Yale undergrad, I have a B.A. in political science and then I have an M.A. also from Yale in Cultural Anthropology and then I have another M.A. in religious studies where I translated Tibetan Hagiographies.

I’ve always done music seriously. But I don’t have the pedigree. So you absolutely will meet a ton of people in New Haven who have pedigree up the wazoo, and they are amazing players. but it also means they are embedded in this field for much longer. So I feel like it means I engage in more hustle.

What do you think the role of pedigree is in your line of work?

I think it speaks to depth of knowledge. I was stand partners in the Greater Bridgeport Symphony with this amazing cellist named Tom Hudson, who is the assistant principal of the New Haven Symphony. We were playing a Shostakovich symphony—No. 5.

And I asked ‘How many times have you played this?’ I was just chit chatting.

And he said ‘I think I’ve played it ten times.’

And I was like—the face I’m making here … is one of ‘oh I’m out of my league’— and he said ‘How about you?’ And I said ‘It’s my first time.’

His depth of musical decision making and knowledge in regards to that piece is very deep. Mine is not. I can play it, right?

And I hope to play it nine more times.

What do you do when you’re not working?

I have no idea. I literally have no idea.

I’m really heavily involved in the Shambhala Buddhist Community, I have been since I was 14. I go to the Shambhala Center [Shambhala Meditation Center of New Haven] regularly. I have a regular home practice. I run. If someone wanted to call me up and say let’s go to an art exhibit, I’d love to.

Although my hours are strange. I often see things I want to do, like the ambassador meetings … or a book club.

They often don’t intersect with my hours.

Or just Artspace [Artspace New Haven] openings. I always want to go to Artspace openings and I never can.

How did you wind up being a cellist?

I always wanted to be a cellist. From like the second I heard Jacqueline du Pré play, I was like—that’s badass. That’s like the most badass thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And I’ve only ever felt that way maybe occasionally about an Olympic athlete. Like watching Usain Bolt run or watching Steph Curry play or watching the level of mastery and confidence and joy. I was just like: Oh my god I want that. I just want that.

You watch Rostropovich—he’s a cellist … well he’s now dead, but was—he’s masterful and virtuosic and everything you could ever want but he looks miserable. And Jacqueline du Pré looks like she’s having a fantastic time. And I think that immediately had me obsessed with her growing up.

My Buddhist life and my music life has always intersected in strange ways. I did a semester abroad in India studying Buddhism, and then went back and I took a medication called Ciprofloxacin and I was

ravenna michalsen

one of many thousands of people who had a massive horrific immune response to it.

So that by my senior year in college I didn’t have much use of my hands and my my joints and my tendons. While everyone else was starting their careers I was having this health breakdown. I ended up at the hospital for joint diseases in New York City and I was told you have fast moving rheumatoid arthritis, prepare for a life in a wheelchair.

And I was like what? I’m 21—what?

But I knew it my heart, it just didn’t feel right. I started a PhD here at Yale. It was absolutely miserable. I loved Yale as an undergrad, it was miserable as a graduate student. I couldn’t get the help I needed to take notes. I took notes with my left hand, I was just in a lot of systemic pain. So I dropped out and went on a retreat. I lived at a Buddhist retreat center and I started singing.

I ended up recording three albums of what I called dharma song where I basically wrote music about historical Buddhist figures and my own practice. And I sang and sang and sang. I toured the country and I toured Malaysia. And sold actually thousands of CDs and then 2008 happened and I went from lots of bookings to zero point zero bookings.

And lots of CD sales to zero CD sales. I had to take work as a substitute teacher which was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. And that’s when I decided—I’m just going to go back to graduate school, which is what you do when you have no options in life—you go to grad school.

I went to Colorado University for religious studies—except I don’t know anything about any religion except Buddhism. Went to China, went to Tibet, lived in Nepal for a bit—translated.

Were you playing cello at this time?

No cello at all. When my now exhusband and I moved to New Haven, I thought—what is the least harmful thing I can do? And I started playing cello again.

Slowly, delicately. And I started taking a couple students, and then word got around.

Neighborhood [Music School] heard that I was teaching and they really took a chance on me. Maybe I shouldn’t sell myself short.

They hired me without a music degree and I have been very happy there. Neighborhood is an amazing institution—and I’m not just saying that because they employ me. They genuinely are an amazing institution.

I started hosting these play-ins at my house where I just gather cellists and we read through stuff. I have coffee and tea and pastry and they pay me $30 and it was slow going and then I met a couple contractors and started doing symphony contracting which I loooove. It’s just kind of taken off from there. I definitely had missteps. 100%. And then 2 years ago I had an amazing cello built for me, I needed a more professional instrument.

I don’t live hand to mouth—but I live very frugally. I feel incredibly lucky. I do have physical problems. I’ve done a lot of physical

therapy. I’ve done Alexander technique.

That’s why I have to be so proactive about my body—I do have these lingering issues.

Do you still do play-ins?

Yeah, yep.

Where do you hope this work will lead?

I don’t know where it’ll lead. I’d love to be in an opera orchestra, I love opera.

I’d love take lessons—right now I can’t afford them. If there’s an opera conductor

reading this—please let me play in an opera orchestra! It combines my love of singing and my love of classical music.

And finally, why New Haven? How’d you wind up here?

I’m from Hamden. I just needed to be close to family. And I like New Haven in general. I like the people. I like how artsy it is. I’ve lived all over. I’ve lived in New York, Vermont, Boulder. I’ve lived in Asia. I just like New Haven. •

april 2018 • artspaper.org 11

community

“I Don’t Want To Half-Ass It Anymore”

Rafael Ramos

Arts industry voices share out at The Commons by lucy gellman Nikole Jewell

I

t wasn’t clear when the congas came out. A little past 6 p.m., Dooley-O’s set had gotten attendees on their feet, pulled toward the middle of the room by a magnetic mix of Aretha Franklin and Pharell Williams, Camila Cabello and a little Foster and the People. But then there was the staccato, sure beat of drums beneath it.

Through beams of light from the stage, their master came into focus. Rafael Ramos smiled wide.

In Febuary, The Arts Council of Greater New Haven and Breakfast Lunch & Dinner hosted the inaugural The Commons, a monthly meetup for artists, arts enthusiasts, and community members across the New Haven region. The next one is April 26th.

Held at Bregamos Community Theater, the event drew around 50 people, who came out through the wind and rain.

They were visual artists, musicians, actors, educators, and consumers of the arts. Some stayed for the whole event and others dropped by on the way to Sunset Baby at Collective Consciousness Theatre (CCT) next door. A few took the dance floor by storm, watching the artist Tank live paint while tracks filled the theater with sound. Others held back, grooving behind tables and trading arts suggestions.

Here’s what some of them had to say.

* * * Rafael Ramos, Founder & Director of Bregamos Community Theater, New Haven Art imitates life. And art is life.

Everything is art. Life is theater, you know, and it’s therapeutic, informational, inspirational—it’s the best sort of getaway in the midst of all this chaos. It’s necessary to keep your sanity to be able to have some source of reference that has nothing to do with the current events. It’s a release. It keeps us grounded.

Nikole Jewell, Poet/Curator, New Haven I think, honestly, just to get actual energy a lot of the time. Most of the time when I’m practicing writing, I’m becoming

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more mindful and more aware of the world around me. Then in turn, I can actually respond to my community.

I don’t think it’s necessarily the job of the arts to spur social action. I think that is a really dangerous assumption to make, because then politicians aren’t responsible.

It turns it back onto the community members, which seems fucked up to me.

But if I am more mindful and I do have experiences which are aesthetically, and spiritually, and emotionally, and mentally energizing, then I actually can deal with my life on a regular basis.

Jeremy Grier, Photographer, Hartford/Bloomfield/New Haven For me, Nina Simone said the duty of an artist is to reflect the times. So I think regardless of what is going on, art will always be current. It’ll always happen. It’s so important to open up spaces where art isn’t necessarily accessible, specifically for people of color. To make sure that it’s like, more a part of the culture. It’s just— it’s an outlet for people. People live in chaos, and create art.

Stephen Gritz King, Musician, New Haven Because you’re never going to be the best, in my opinion. But like, you don’t wanna be cool with that. Because if you’re cool with that, then you’re never gonna wanna do art. Artists are supposed to never be satisfied, and get better and better and better.”

I feel like—the shitty two years we’ve had? That’s when art is coming together.

You see artists having the same type of vibe, and it’s all like pullin’. I released something after talking about it for two years. I got the push. Paul [Bryant Hudson] got the push. It’s just like, everybody’s coming together. So through this crap, we have great art.

It’s cool to practice, because artists are coming out of the woodwork now.

And you wanna make sure you’re giving the best you can. I don’t want to half-ass it anymore.

Jeremy Grier

Stephen Gritz King

Rebecca Mandell

Rebecca Mandell, Food Justice Advocate, Bridgeport/New Haven It’s how you stay sane, you know?

You get to check out from everything else and be who you want to be and do what you want to do and digest what you want to digest, whether it’s movies or writing or music or food, and enjoy life.

Or learn about it in a different way.

I’m in the food world and I interact with many, many, many different social justice, health economic systems through the lens of food. But that can be … it’s a limited perspective on everything. So it’s nice to see it from a social perspective.

Alexis Crowley

Dylan McDonnell

Alexis Crowley, Visual Artist and Program Coordinator at Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, Windsor I get a lot out of making art myself.

I feel like a lot of other people, across every region, get a lot out of it as well. I’m from Hartford, so I’m trekking [to work] to Torrington. But the idea that people are trying to make things happen that are interesting to them and also others, that creates connection, that’s sort of what I’m interested in.

You can support that anywhere. I don’t really know what I’m doing every morning when I get up. But eventually, I will find the ways that like: ‘Ah! This is something I can get behind!’ And this is why I’m interested in this general thing at all.

Michelle Turner, WNHH Radio Host, Journalist, Media Maven, New Haven Art creates community. I think art also reflects a community—how we come together, outside of whatever constrictions or boundaries we may have, art draws us together. Whether it’s portraiture, whether it’s music, whether it’s a production. You never see one type of person. People are drawn because of the feeling they get or the excitement they have when it comes to the arts.

Kelley Knight

Dylan McDonnell, Musician, New Haven Connection, first and foremost.

You never know who’s going to show up to a show. Being in a band, being in Phat A$tronaut, where Chad [Springer] talks to the crowd often, being personal.

Creating some kind of bridge in this frickin’ tsunami of a political scene is a wonderful thing.

Spaces too—occupying space that isn’t

Thema Graves

Babz Rawls-Ivy lucy gellman

necessarily made for the arts, and making it about expression. So, Sofar in New Haven for example. Being able to be in a barbershop where my friends are playing music with all these people I don’t know.

Let me just say this beautiful thing. I was at a church-related conference at the Divinity School at Yale, went biking down the hill on Prospect Street to Sofar, and happened on Phat A$tronaut playing their set at a fashion studio on Orange Street.

It was Neville Wisdom’s place, before it closed. I jumped right in for the last song, and then joined that band. That’s just stuff that doesn’t happen if people don’t occupy those spaces, make space, and provide opportunity for each other.

If the government, at the highest level, can’t be responsible to the needs of the community—in New Haven, in Westville, wherever you are in New Haven—then we have to do it for ourselves.

Kelley Knight, Actor/Writer, New Haven I’ve found that if I don’t, it will kill me. It’ll kill my soul, it’ll kill my spirit, I won’t have anything to look forward to. In this space that we’re in, the climate that we’re living in, where there’s so much negativity going on, you need something to unapologetically love and enjoy and I love this. This is me.

Thema Graves, Yogi, Reiki Master, and Healer at Holistic Soul Energy, New Haven I think in these times more than any— we find during hard times is where the best art is created. Pressure busts pipes in, or that’s where the diamonds come—all the sayings, right? When we’re at our darkest moments, that’s when people need light, and that’s when people feel the most inspired to be creative.

In one way—yes, we’re going through very hard times. But I’m experiencing so much creativity and beautiful art, and it’s also bringing people together in a different way. To experience art, to experience music with one another, and to experience community. Art is wonderful for that. It’s a wonderful catalyst for bringing community together.

Babz Rawls-Ivy, Radio Host & Publisher of the Inner-City News, New Haven It is society’s way to capture and showcase its humanity. Without the arts, what are we? The arts gives us back to ourselves in loving, thought provoking ways. We need the arts! •

screen

Madison’s Movie Man How Arnold Gorlick keeps a theater running in the age of Netflix by steve fortes Over coffee on a recent weekend, Arnold Gorlick was flying through a laundry list of things he loves. Good coffee and expresso. New Haven’s now-defunct York Square Cinema, his first point of contact for New Haveners who are now close friends. Director Agnès Varda’s Faces Places, his favorite film of all time. His great admiration—and burgeoning friendship— with writer and director Guillermo del Toro, who he met last year at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

But none of those compare to an unconditional love for Madison Art Cinemas, of which he is the current owner and operator.

Standing proudly across from R.J. Julia Booksellers on Madison’s main drag, Madison Art Cinemas first opened in 1912, as a single-screen venue called The Madison Art Theatre. In the later 20th century it was purchased by the Australian company Hoyts Theatres, which twinned the theater.

Hoyts faltered economically in the 1990s, and began selling off acquisitions in Connecticut. When the company sold the theater in 1998, Gorlick was there to keep the building going as a cinema. After major renovations, the space reopened in May 1999 under its current name.

There’s a long, winding history there.

Long before Madison Art Cinemas, Gorlick was a kid in New York, growing up in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood with a love for film. In the 1950s and 60s, he watched in wonder as the grey, slick film reels spun fiction into art.

While attending Southampton College (the campus now belongs to Stony Brook Southampton) he became vice president of the film society. The president was his roommate, Peter Spodick, a native of New Haven. In early 1970 Spodick was running the Cheshire Cinema on Connecticut Route 10 and hired Gorlick.

“I worked six days a week for $110 a week but I loved it,” Gorlick recalled.

But the cinema fell on hard times and closed. By then, Gorlick was a member of projectionist’s union. He found work with Peter’s father, Robert, at the Lincoln Theater on Lincoln Street in New Haven.

He was still working there when Robert opened a new venue called the York Square Cinema in downtown New Haven in 1970.

The cinema had an automated projection system, which gave Gorlick more time outside of the projection booth, mingling with moviegoers and learning about the business end of things from Spodick. When a managerial position opened up, Gorlick applied, and landed it.

In March of 1973, he became the managing director. It was blissful until it wasn’t—Gorlick recalled that patrons began to think of him as the owner, and sought him out for prefilm recommendations and post-film

14 artspaper.org • april 2018

conversations. He said it lead to tensions with Spodick, who ultimately laid Gorlick off. The Arts Paper could not reach the Spodicks for comment on this article.

It could have been a disaster, Gorlick said—but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. With the help of friend Ben Mordechai at the Yale Law School, Gorlick started looking into having a theater of his own.

It was the 1980s, a period of high turnover for New Haven real estate.

The city was looking to revitalize the downtown area, and made him an offer to take over the old Macy’s building for a movie theater. But as Gorlick looked to move ahead with the offer, it fell through.

As it had once before, the timing still worked out: Hoyts Theatres could no longer afford its twin cinema in Madison.

Encouraged by the location between the New Haven and New London markets and the business model of nearby R.J. Julia Booksellers, he put a plan into motion to open a theater based on his specifications. In January 1999, he signed a lease on the building.

“I found that the community was upwardly mobile and I could build an art theater that catered to women and a more mature clientele,” he said. “I lamented the depersonalization of ordinary lives. I wanted to have a venue where people felt appreciated and known.”

“While the theater appeals to adult minds, teens appreciate it when they come,” he added.

Between January and May of 1999, Gorlick renovated the theater, making adjustments to the seats, sound quality and appearance that he hoped would bring visitors in in droves. He put his friend Vladimir Shpitalnik, a set designer at the Yale School of Drama, in charge of a complete redesign, reopening with a new facade and interior.

Since, he has implemented extra incentives to keep things interesting: a variety of Italian coffees and biscotti as well as the usual popcorn, candy and soda. He has installed an art gallery that Shpitalnik runs.

“I look at people’s work and then see if Vlad approves,” he said. “If he does, the work goes up. Lately we’ve been showcasing the work of local talent.”

Now that the theater looks out onto Main Street with a new facade and interior, Gorlick said he also has a symbiotic relationship with his “neighbors”—the bookseller, the nearby restaurant owners, the townies.

“People come to see a movie, go to a restaurant or the bookstore. We’re good for each other,” he said.

As movies get harder to sell, he’s worked harder to compete. With approval from the town’s Planning & Zoning Commission, he has installed a LED marquee that can display information other than just what is playing.

thomas breen

When moviegoers make their choice and come in, he is not afraid to make his opinions known. He said it’s something his most loyal customers have come to appreciate.

“Sometimes I’ll ask what they’re seeing,” he said. “If it’s one of the rare misfires we’re showing, I’ll tell them to see what’s playing on the other screen.”

To maintain an audience in the era of Netflix, he has also added his Sunday Cinema Club. Films are shown without letting the audience know ahead of time what they will be seeing. Yale Professor John MacKay and Yale Film Study Center Director Michael Kerbel take turns hosting.

Last year, Gorlick championed the film Moonlight, which went on to win the Academy Award for best picture.

“I don’t often do this but this was an important film and I thought it needed some help,” he said. “Something that the trailer for the film didn’t impart. We showed the film to our Sunday Cinema Club members. We had a full house and the response was absolutely ecstatic.”

In addition to post-film talk sessions for the Sunday films, he also provides response cards. Some films do extremely well—Moonlight received some of the best

scores ever. Others, like The Florida Project, have received great critical acclaim just to be panned by the club.

As the Academy Awards draw near each year, he showcases films he deems worthy nominees. This year, he showed almost all of them concurrently: The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri during the day, followed in the evening by I, Tonya and Call Me by Your Name.

It’s a love for cinema that sometimes goes beyond professional bounds, and extends into personal ones. During his last visit to TIFF, Gorlick struck up a friendship with director Guillermo del Toro, heralded most recently for his 2017 film The Shape of Water. At a later film festival in New York, they began discussions about having del Toro come to Madison to speak about his films.

Almost two decades in, he’s got the town of Madison on his side. In April of 2012, the town gave him a letter of intent to keep the theater going for another 20 years. He recalled being elated.

“Passion, I run on the passion for what I do and love, not for accolades or success,” he said. “The theaters been running for 19 years through ups and downs. I’ll keep doing this as long as I can.” •

food

Foodle Canoodle II

vincent vodola photography

Cast-iron critique by jennifer gelband On a recent Sunday evening, my permanent dining companion and I popped into The Cast Iron Chef Chop House & Oyster Bar, a self-proclaimed “New York steakhouse with a twist.” The restaurant soft opened around the holidays and cut the ribbon in February.

We had been looking forward to this place opening. My family loves steakhouses, we love cast iron skillet cooking, and we love dining out downtown. The Cast Iron Chef, which inhabits the old Carmen Anthony’s, is an aesthetic departure from local steakhouses of yore. With reclaimed wood walls, Edison bulbs in retro-industrial light fixtures, and no artwork, it is modern and on-trend for new restaurants. And, consequently, a little self-important.

When asked if there was an available table for two: “Do you have reservations?”

In their defense, it was pretty busy. But they were able to sit us at an empty hi-top in the front room, sort of the bar area, not the more formal dining area in the back.

Food-wise, the promise of “old world meets innovative chop house cuisine” and a “5-star rated menu… with a unique spin” is, I think, exactly what New Haven is

missing, and exactly what we so badly look for when given an opportunity to have a fancy night out without kids.

We were eager to order drinks, and an eager young waitress rapidly took my husband’s beer order and ran off before asking mine. When she returned with his Counterweight IPA ($10), she also brought a glass with spiced popcorn as an appetizer. When I asked the flavor, she claimed it was a secret. “But for real, what if we have allergies?” I asked, and she fake-coughed out an indecipherable word. “What?” Then she told us. I won’t repeat it to preserve the secrecy, but it isn’t close to any of my or my husband’s food restrictions if that helps you figure it out.

There was a regular menu and a specials menu. To start, we ordered six blue point oysters (MP) off the regular menu, fried calamari ($14), a chef’s wedge salad, no bacon ($14), and a Caesar salad ($9). The oysters came out first, they were fresh, elegantly plated, and delicious.

The accompanying cocktail sauce was outstanding, perhaps the most complex and flavorful I’ve tasted.

The calamari and both salads,

unfortunately, came out at the same time— all by different servers. We nibbled from each but would have preferred the courses to come out separately. Both salads were prepared well, classic Caesar and blue cheese dressings, generous portions.

The calamari was lightly fried along with peppers, dressed in a lemon aioli.

The entrée menu, aside from the steaks, slants toward an Italian theme more than many other steakhouses. We chose cast iron seared duck breast ($25) and the salmon special. I considered ordering the chicken piccata in a skillet (which has since been removed from the menu), but the waitress told me she disliked piccata and wouldn’t recommend it. The duck was great – perfectly cooked, seared and served with wonderful, creamy, crusty mashed potatoes. It needed salt, however, and this is the kind of place that doesn’t have salt and pepper on the table.

Our waitress was nowhere in sight for too long and too much of the meal was eaten before we could round up a different server for the request. The salmon was also perfectly cooked, medium as requested, seasoned, and sizzling in a skillet with Cannellini beans,

garlic, spinach, and a baked potato.

Our server reappeared and we ordered dessert. They were out of our first choice, the cast iron brownie—but it took the server 20 minutes to return to tell us that—so we decided on the peanut butter pie. Another long pause.

When that finally arrived, we were presented with what looked like an overturned can of cat food—a gelatinous crustless blob with brown and orange (Reece’s Pieces?) flecks atop a semi-dry layer of questionable chocolate sauce. It was neither warm nor cold.

It tasted dense and oily, likely a mixture of peanut butter and cream cheese.

We could not eat that poor pie. The waitress offered another dessert on the house, but we declined. As we waited to pay for our meal, one of the partners, who had visited our table at least two times previously, visited us to apologize.

“We’re trying to figure out the dessert menu,” he admitted.

I expect they will figure out they need to ax the peanut butter pie. And I do believe they will iron out a few more glitches with service and pacing, too.

Though they didn’t really kill it, the food was very good overall. •

april 2018 • artspaper.org 15

contributions

My Nose is Running A three-panel good “bad” comic words and art by vyanah bennett campbell The results are in! Our winning “bad cartoon”—which was not so bad at all—comes from Vyanah Bennett Campbell, a current student at Gateway Community College,. Thank you to all who applied! Campbell writes:

I’m a student at Gateway community college, and I’m graduating this spring. My major is graphic design and photography.

Upon graduating, I plan on furthering my skills in photography and the arts. I plan to be busy.

I’ve been a new haven resident for about 13 years. I chose to enter this contest because I felt it was a grand opportunity. In the past, I won an art contest for Black History Month and was in The Inner City News. •

Thank you to Marsha Borden for her entry to our cover art contest! We were so intrigued by its eco-friendly message that we wanted to include it for our readers. Borden writes:

Instead of the usual embroidery floss and fabric technically used in cross stitch, I constructed it using double-stranded plastic yarn and wire mesh. The plastic yarn was made by cutting strips from single-use bags from the local grocery store and from our town farm market.

My purpose in making this was to help bring greater awareness to the global problem of plastic pollution. Earth Day this year is April 22, but in reality, every day is Earth Day. It is possible to prevent further plastic waste. We can clean up our planet.

We can make the earth a better place. •

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Woven trash bags take on plastic pollution words and art by marsha borden

This piece was made using the traditional cross-stitch techniques.

16 artspaper.org • april 2018

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calls for Artists The Shoreline Arts Trail announces its 17th annual Open Studios Weekend on November 10 and 11, 2018. 40 member artists who live and work in Branford, Guilford and Madison show and sell their work during the weekend. Artists with media such as ceramics and pottery, stained and fused glass, paintings, jewelry, sculpture, weaving, prints, photography, textiles, quilts, paper and wood are invited to apply for this event. Artists will be considered based on their mastery of methods and materials and originality of concept. All considered art must be handmade by the artist.

Among the benefits of becoming a member are: inclusion on the ArtsTrail map and website; statewide publicity via print and online; 13,000 brochures/maps distributed throughout Connecticut; and year-round marketing, networking, and social media opportunities. To apply for this Call for Entry, please register at https://youjudgeit.org/ sat/ by creating a free profile, filling out all the requested information, and uploading three high-resolution images. The entry deadline is April 23, 2018. Jurying will take place in April and artists will be notified

by April 30, 2018. Please contact Barbara Shulman-Kirwin at bsk@bskdesign.net or 203.314.3250 with any questions.

Artists Mills Pond Gallery invites artists to submit works for a juried exhibition June 30 July 28, 2018. Juried by Edmond Rochat, Interior will showcase drawings and oil paintings which express the various meanings found in the spaces we inhabit, the objects we encounter and the people we interact with. The exhibition will accept oil paintings and drawings in graphite or charcoal. The exhibition seeks work that does not separate representational skill from emotional content, but sees both as necessary ingredients for a meaningful work of art. Deadline May 11, 2018. Entry Fee $45/3 images. Awards: $700 Best in Show, $400 Second Place, $200 Third Place. https://www.millspondgallery.org/ upcoming-exhibits-and-calls-for-entry#/ interior-juried-fine-art/ Artists The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery of the Fairfield Public Library would like to invite visual artists to apply to show their work in its dedicated gallery space during the upcoming calendar of rotating exhibitions.

Artists interested in applying should visit the website for full information about submitting an application: http:// fairfieldpubliclibrary.org/our-community/ bruce-s-kershner-gallery/ Also follow us on Instagram to see the gallery and our recent exhibitions: https://www.instagram.com/ the_kershner_gallery/ Artists 6x6x2018 - The International Small Art Phenomenon. Each year Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s 6x6 exhibition brings together thousands of original artworks, made and donated by celebrities, international & local artists, designers, youth and YOU. Entries accepted now through April 15. Go to http://roco6x6.org/faq

Artists First Street Gallery 2018 National Juried Exhibition. Open to artists residing in the U.S. 18 yrs. or older. Exception: Artists currently represented by FIRST STREET GALLERY. Eligible works include ORIGINAL oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, drawings, prints, photography, mixed media, and sculpture in any medium. No video, film, installation, giclées or similar reproductions. Entry fee: $35/1-3 works, $5/ea. additional work, max. 6. Eligible works: oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, drawings, prints, mixed media, photography and sculpture.

Online application only. See prospectus for details: www.firststreetgallery.org/ njeprospectus18. Must be received by April 3, 2018.

Artists Spectrum Gallery announces a call for Representational and Abstract Painters, Sculptors, Illustrators, Photographers, Original Printmakers, Fabric Artists, Glass and Wood Artisans, Jewelry Designers and Crafters for the 2018 Essex Town Green Outdoor Summer Arts Festival!

Open to visual artists working in oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography, pencil and charcoal, paper, mixed media, fabric, glass, wood, stone and clay. The Summer Festival in Essex is Saturday, June 9 (105pm) and Sunday, June 10 (11-5pm) and will be limited to 50 local and regional fine artists and artisans. This event is free for guests. If you are in the Festival, you can also submit work for consideration in our concurrent 6-week long exhibit at the Gallery in Centerbrook, CT (May 25-July 8, 2018), Essex Green Summer Arts Festival Group Show. Receiving for this show is May 14-18. Only artists participating in the Essex Arts Festival are invited to submit for this show. There is no specific theme. Note the Essex Green can only display a limited number of booths so, please, submit early to the festival and then after acceptance into the festival submit as soon as possible to the gallery group show which opens two weeks ahead of the Essex Green Festival.

And finally, another opportunity for those involved in the Gallery Show and Festival is to present and sell work in our online shop and gallery, Spectrum Anytime. Prospectus: http://spectrumartgallery.org/Prospectus2018-Summer-Arts-Festival-GalleryGroup-Show.pdf

information refer to the Call guidelines: http://seagrant.uconn.edu/wp-content/ uploads/sites/1985/2017/10/CTSG_ artsgrant_rfp_2018.pdf Artists & Volunteers The Friends of The Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library, Stony Creek, CT seeks artists to exhibit monthly from September 2018 - August 2019. Drop off 3 pieces representative of work on Friday, April 27, 4-7 pm. Pick up on Sunday, April 29, 1-4 pm. Wall hanging art accepted. Entry Fee of $25. Benefits the Friends of WWML. Questions: 203.488.8702 / 203.481.3921.

Authors and Illustrators 2018 Connecticut Book Awards submissions are open.These awards recognize the best books of 2017 by authors and illustrators who reside in Connecticut. Categories include: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Young Readers.

Entry fee starts at $40 for a 2,000 copy or less print run. Award winners will receive exposure in Connecticut media outlets and personal appearances in Connecticut locations. For guidelines and to submit, please visit http://bit.ly/2018CBA. Deadline is April 20, 2018.

Singers Want to sing Elijah with choirs and orchestra? The Bethesda Choir is calling experienced choral singers to join us for the spring season, as we prepare Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah for a concert on May 23.

Our choir rehearses at Bethesda Lutheran Church, 305 St. Ronan St, New Haven, on Wednesday nights at 7:30-9pm. Please contact Music Director Dr. Lars Gjerde at music@bethesdanewhaven.org for details if you are interested.

Singers Silk ’n Sounds a’ Capella women’s chorus is looking for new members to join us on our amazing journey of musical discovery!

Come meet us (we are very friendly) and our award winning director, Christine Lampe-Onnerud, at one of our Tuesday night rehearsals from 6:15-9:15pm at the Spring Glen Church located at 1825 Whitney Ave in Hamden. You can contact Lynn at (203) 623-1276 for more information or check us out online at www. silknsounds.org or on Facebook.

Artists Singers The Connecticut Sea Grant Arts Support Awards Program awards up to $1000 to an artist through this competitive funding program. The winning submission will be selected on the basis of its aesthetic quality, relevance to coastal and marine environments and Connecticut Sea Grant themes, as well as its potential impact on non-traditional “audiences”. Artists who live in Connecticut, or whose work is related to Connecticut’s coastal and marine environments and/or Long Island Sound are eligible for funding consideration. Previous recipients of Sea Grant Arts awards are not eligible for 5 years. The grant application will be submitted electronically as a compiled PDF file with one additional media file (mp3 or mov file), if needed, via email to SeagrantResearch@uconn. edu for receipt no later than 4:30 p.m.

EDT on Monday, May 7, 2018. For more

The New Haven Oratorio Choir, a community chamber choir, invites singers of all voice parts to audition for a position in the choir. Singers are also welcome to attend one of our rehearsals which are held Wednesday nights from 8-10 pm at Church of the Redeemer, 185 Cold Spring St. in New Haven. For more information please check out our website http://www. nhoratorio.org/sing-with-us/. To schedule an audition please contact Gretchen at 203-624-2520 or membership@ nhoratorio.org.

Volunteers The non-profit Spectrum Art Gallery and its affiliate, Arts Center Killingworth offer numerous opportunities for volunteers! Learn new skills, meet new people, and be part

of a creative organization that gives to the community. Opportunities exist throughout the year for a variety of events and ongoing programs. Teens are welcome and can earn community service credit. Email Barbara Nair, Director, at barbara@spectrumartgallery.org or call 860-663-5593.

Volunteers Interested in working with theatre artists in a thriving New Haven Arts Community?

If the answer is yes, join Collective Consciousness Theatre’s volunteer team today! Ushering, House Management, Social Media Consulting, Marketing. Please email us at ccttheatreorg@gmail.com if you are interested in becoming a part of CCT.

classes Barre Workout Class I can come to you, New Haven to Westport.

203-690-8501. sharonbaily30@gmail.com Private Barre fitness training Offering private Barre fitness training. Get help with losing weight while sculpting and toning all parts of the body with this ballet and yoga inspired workout. See great results right away using isometric movements at the ballet barre. Get personal private training focusing on desired target areas that need muscular toning and developing.

September 25 - October 30 . Choose a time and day private hours are flexible. . $55 for an hour session. 9/1pm 6/9pm Bethesda Lutheran Church 450 Whitney Avenue, New Haven. 203787-2346. bethesdanewhaven.org/dance Free Ballroom Dance Classes Ballroom dance classes are being held at Bethesda Lutheran Church. Singles or couples are welcome, beginners to advanced. Please join teacher Christina Castaneda for a fun, easy, causal lesson. January we start Tango! Email bethesdadance@yahoo.com with questions or to sign up. January 9 May 15 . Wednesdays . Freewill offering.

6:30-7:30pm Mattatuck Museum 144 West Main street, Waterbury. 203753-0381. https://www.mattmuseum. org Yoga in the Galleries Find a calm mind and strengthened body with an all-levels flowing yoga class in the Early American Art Gallery. Instructors may vary. Bring your own mat. February 6 - December 31 . Every Tuesday, 5:30-6:30pm . $8-12.

5:30-6:30pm Tai Chi Move and groove to music with certified Tai Chi instructor Joe Atkins. Tai Chi classes will allow you to find new energy and stamina. Tai chi also helps improve balance, flexibility and mobility, and reduces stiffness and soreness. Wear comfortable clothes. All levels welcome. February 7 - December 31 . Every Wednesday, 10-11:00am . $8-$12.

10-11:00am Yale Center for British Art 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510.

203-432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Artist Demonstration | Still-Life Painting The artist Frank Bruckmann will demonstrate painting techniques depicted in the exhibition The Paston Treasure: Microcosm of the Known World. This is a free, ongoing demonstration, and no registration is required. February 24

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bulletin - April 24 . Saturdays, February 24; March 10, 24; and April 24; 2 - 4 pm Tuesdays, February 27; March 13, 27; and April 24; 2 - 4 pm Please visit britishart.yale.edu for more information. . Free. 2 - 4 pm Youth Gamelan Ensemble Classes Start Open to all children ages 7 to 14, no prior experience necessary. Come for the first class free if your child likes it, sign them up! Classes conclude with a performance with the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble on Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 7pm. Register online at www.wesleyan.edu/boxoffice or call 860-685-3355. January 20 - April 28 . Saturday morning classes are held from 10am to 11am and run from Saturday, January 20 through Saturday, April 28, 2018. 10am-11am $30 for a semester of classes plus a final performance . Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Ave, Middletown.

860-685-3355. wesleyan.edu/cfa/

creative services

and yoga warmups targeting the core, posture alignment, toning and strenthening the arms, legs as well as firming the bottom. A portion of the class utilizes small weights and the class cools down with gentle yoga.. September 17 . Every Sunday 2pm/3pm Every other Friday 6:30pm/7:30pm , Free. 1125 Dixwell Ave, Hamden. 203-690-8501. Check out Barre workout with Yogi Boho Fitness meetu. ps/c/3tCKf/1K3M Barre Workout Class Barre workout class, Yogi Boho Fitness, Yogi Boho Fitness is offering Barre workout classes. Barre is a sculpting and conditioning class inspired by ballet barre and yoga warmups targeting the core, posture alignment, toning and strenthening the arms, legs as well as firming the bottom.. January 22 - January 7 . Every Monday mornin 11am, Free. ANNIE SAILER studio space Erector Square Building 2, 1st Floor, Studio D 315 Peck Street New Haven, CT 065, New Haven . 203-690-8501. sharonbaily30@gmail.com

Express Yourself Susan Lourie’s 40 Years of Teaching Expressive writing & art sessions for healing through grief and life transitions in private and group settings, facilitated

by Amy J. Barry, certified expressive arts educator and bereavement counselor.

For rates and more information, email amyjaybarry@gmail.com, visit www.aimwrite-ct.net or www. rubeesconstellation.com

Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, The Dance Department honors Susan Lourie’s 40 years of teaching at Wesleyan with this tribute performance featuring invited alumni, guests, and current faculty and students.. April 7 . 7pm, Free. 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown. 860685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/

Historic Home Restoration Contractor Spring Senior Dance Concert Period appropriate additions, baths, kitchens; remodeling; sagging porches straightened/ leveled; wood windows restored; plaster restored; historic molding & hardware; vinyl/ aluminum siding removed; wood siding repair/replace. CT & NH Preservation Trusts.

RJ Aley Building Contractor (203) 226-9933 jaley@rjaley.com Web Design & Art Consulting Services Startup business solutions. Creative, sleek Web design by art curator and editor for artist, design, architecture, and smallbusiness sites. Will create and maintain any kind of website. Hosting provided.

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

dance Barre Workout Class Barre workout class, Yogi Boho Fitness, Yogi Boho Fitness is offering Barre workout classes. Barre is a sculpting and conditioning class inspired by ballet barre warmups targeting the core, posture alignment, toning and strengthening the arms, legs as well as firming the bottom. A portion of the class utilizes small weights and the class cools down with gentle yoga floor stretches. . July 26 - July 1 . Every Monday and Wednesday 12:30 -1:30 pm, Free. 1125 Dixwell Ave, Hamden. 203-690-8501.

Barre Workout Class For Women Barre workout class, Yogi Boho Fitness, Yogi Boho Fitness is offering Barre workout classes. Barre is a sculpting and conditioning class inspired by ballet barre

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Cross Street Dance Studio, Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Student dance choreographers present new works created after a full year of dance composition studies.. April 27 - April 28 .

8pm, Free. 160 Cross Street, Middletown.

860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/

exhibitions Boger Hall Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, 41 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Senior Talks in the History of Art Seniors in the Art History Program of Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History will present their talks: Nicole Boyd, Lily Landau, Charlotte Pitts, Sabrina Rueber, and Juntai Shen. In addition, College of Letters major Emily Furnival will also be presenting. Nicole Boyd, Emily Furnival, and Juntai Shen. April 24 . 4:30pm free City Gallery City Gallery, 994 State Street, New Haven.

203-782-2489. www.city-gallery.org For City Gallery’s April show, CUBA ADRIFT, member artist Roberta Friedman has invited quilter Sue Millen and photographer Hank Paper to join her in presenting this visual story of Cuba, its past and present, its ruin and resiliency. Don’t miss this inspiring exhibit! Opening Reception: April 7, 3-6pm; Artists’ Talk, April 22, 2pm. April 5 - April 29 . Gallery hours are Thursday - Sunday, 12 noon - 4pm. Free Cuba Adrift For City Gallery’s April show, CUBA ADRIFT, member artist Roberta Friedman has invited quilter Sue Millen and photographer Hank Paper to join her

in presenting this visual story of Cuba, its past and present, its ruin and resiliency. On view April 5 - 29; Opening Reception: April 7, 3-6pm; Artists’ Talk, April 22, 2pm. Free, open to the public. April 5 - April 29 . Thurs - Sun, 12 noon - 4pm Free Davison Art Center, Alsop House Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, 301 High Street, Middletown. 860-6853355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Artful Lunch Series: Elijah Huge One artwork, one speaker, fifteen minutes. Join the Friends of the Davison Art Center for a presentation by Associate Professor of Art and Environmental Studies Elijah Huge about his favorite work in the Davison Art Center collection. Bring your bag lunch and enjoy homemade cookies and conversation following the talk. April 18 . 12:10pm free Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown.

860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Senior Thesis Exhibition Reception Week One View the talents of the seniors in the Art Studio Program of Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History Charlotte Pierce, Celina Bernstein, Tess Iannarone, William Richmond, Owen Patrick Valentine Christoph, Elena Mehlman. April 4 . 4pm-6pm free Senior Exhibition Reception Week Two View the talents of the seniors in the Art Studio Program of Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History Virginia Johnson, Seamus Edson, Phuong Le, Xhonia Robinson, David Machado, Melissa Joskow. April 11 . 4pm6pm free Senior Thesis Exhibition Reception Week Three View the talents of the seniors in the Art Studio Program of Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History Sophie Sokolov, Chi Chi Wakabayashi, Christina Vyzas, Ray Yiyin Miao, Hanzhi (Phoebe) Chen. April 18 . 4pm-6pm free Senior Thesis Exhibition Reception Week Four View the talents of the seniors in the Art Studio Program of Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History Emily Monforte, Josephine Jenks, James Dietz, Giorgia Sage Peckman, Aubrey Postier. April 25 . 4pm-6pm free Guilford Art Center, Mill Gallery The Artists of Gallery One, 411 Church Street, Guilford. 860-575-9113. www. galleryoneCT.com The Artists of Gallery One & Friends at Guilford Art Center, Mill Gallery The work is by a diverse group of mid-career artists who use current modes of expression in a variety of contemporary media. The hanging intentionally emphasizes connections between representational and abstract work.

Opening reception on May 4 from 5-7 pm.

Closing reception with a performance by The Wild Angels dance troupe on May 20, 2-4 pm. April 30 - May 20 . Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, Sunday from noon to 4 pm. Free Guilford Community Center Guilford Art League, 32 Church Street, 2nd floor, Guilford. 203-488-5768. Guilford Art League Winter 2018 Member Exhibition A show of 32 paintings by GAL members featuring a wide range of mediums and both representational and abstract styles.

February 5 - April 26 . Open 7 days a week unless the room is being used for a class or a meeting. Free and open to the public

Hamden Art League Hamden Art League, 2901 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden. 203-287-1322. www. hamdenartleague.com Hamden Art League Hosts Opening Reception to Its Goldenbells Exhibition The Hamden Art League cordially invites the public to the Opening Reception of its 63rd Annual Goldenbells Art Exhibition and Sale on Tuesday, April 17th. The Goldenbells Exhibition will include original, two-dimensional artworks by both members and non-members, and will be on display for over a month. April 17 . The Goldenbells Art Exhibition and Sale runs from April 11 to May 22nd in the hallways of the Miller Memorial Library Senior Center, 2901 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden ,CT. Visiting hours are M - F, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The reception will take place in the Senior Center Social Hall at the same address. Please enter the library complex around the back. 7 pm - 9 pm All HAL meetings and opening receptions are free and open to the public. In the event the library is closed due to inclement weather, the meeting/reception will be cancelled for the night. Please check the Hamden Art League’s Facebook page for a possible Kehler Liddell Gallery Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave, New Haven, CT. 203-389-9555. www. kehlerliddellgallery.com Far and Wide,

by Marjorie Gillette Wolfe Panoramas and composite photographs are meant to unfold a wide world where separate images are arranged to form a single view.

Both show more than what our eyes let us see in one glance, but that we know is there. Much of this work was composed on a recent trip to Italy, and on the artist’s favorite island, Martha’s Vineyard.

March 22 - April 22 . Opening Reception: Sunday, March 25th, 3pm-6pm Closing Reception: Sunday, April 22nd, 1pm-4pm, featuring Artist Talk @ 2pm Gallery Hours: Thursday & Friday, 11am-4pm; Saturday & Sunday, 10am-4pm; or by appointment.

Free and open to all. Expanded Visions,

by Tom Edwards The spaces created in this multimedia collection are based on observations and memory. They are not intended to represent any single moment in time, but rather to assimilate multiple moments and observations into a dynamic experience. Most of the works were developed over long periods of time, with many changes and shifts of direction.

March 22 - April 22 . Opening Reception: Sunday, March 25th, 3pm-6pm Closing Reception: Sunday, April 22nd, 1pm-4pm, featuring Artist Talk @ 2pm Gallery Hours: Thursday & Friday, 11am-4pm; Saturday & Sunday, 10am-4pm; or by appointment.

Free and Open to All. New Haven Lawn Club Constance Lapalombara, 193 Whitney Ave, New Haven. 203-777-3494. On Site Paintings by Constance LaPalombara March 5 - April 29. Reception Tuesday March 13, 5-7 pm March 5 - April 29 .

New Haven Museum New Haven Museum, 114 Whitney Avenue,, New Haven. 203-562-4183. newhavenmuseum.org 21st-Century Tales from WWI Award-winning comic-book illustrator Nadir Balan creates a series of dynamic, over-sized, graphic-novel style

murals based on the dramatic World War I (WWI) diary of one New Haven serviceman who witnessed firsthand the adventure, horror, and pathos of the front lines. The powerful result is The Courier: Tales from the Great War. November 7 - November 11 . Tuesday Friday: 10 a.m. 5 p.m. Saturday 12 5 p.m. Free 1st Sundays: 1-4 p.m. $2- $4 Spectrum Art Gallery Spectrum Art Gallery, 61 Main Street, Centerbrook. 860-767-0742. www. spectrumartgallery.org Nature in Black and White Spectrum Gallery’s Spring exhibit features works by artists who through a palette of grays, whites and blacks show the detail and beauty found in nature. Show opens, Friday, March 30, 6:30-9pm with an opening reception and closes May 13.

Spectrum Gallery, 61 Main St., Centerbrook.

Visit spectrumartgallery.org or call the gallery for more informat March 30 - May 13 . Opening Reception, March 30, 2018 Gallery Hours - Wed.-Sat 12:00-6:00 Sun12:00-500 6:30 - 9:00 Free Yale Center for British Art Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203-4322800. britishart.yale.edu Exhibition | The Paston Treasure: Microcosm of the Known World The seventeenth-century painting The Paston Treasure (ca. 1663) is an enigmatic masterpiece that defies categorization because it combines several art historical genres: still life, portraiture, animal painting, and allegory. The painting makes its North American debut at the YCBA in partnership with the Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, UK. February 15 - May 27 . Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 5

pm Sunday, noon - 5 pm Free Celia Paul The Center will present an exhibition of work by the contemporary British artist Celia Paul (b. 1959) in spring 2018, the first in a series of three successive exhibitions curated by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hilton Als. Following the final exhibition, the Center will publish a volume of Als’s personal reflections on the three artists. April 3 August 12 . Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm Sunday, noon - 5 pm Free Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven. 203-432-5050. peabody.yale.edu/exhibits/albert-earl-gilbertartist-conservation An Artist for Conservation: Albert Earl Gilbert As a child with crayon in hand, Al Gilbert enjoyed drawing lions, tigers, bears, and birds. Today he is regarded as one of the world’s premiere wildlife artists.

Through the years he as conducted fieldwork across the globe from Africa to Australia to observe and sketch rare and colorful tropical birds in their native habitat. September 2 April 15 . Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday noon-5pm $6-$13

fundraisers 2nd Annual Art Gala Come celebrate an evening of art and culture in support of our artist in residence program.

Featuring award winning artist and cultural shaper Makoto Fujimura and a live auction for a commissioned piece by artist in residence Keng Sen Chong. Cocktails, micro dining, and music. Black tie optional., April 14 . , The Overseas Ministries Study Center , OMSC, 490 Prospect Street, New Haven. 203-6246672. www.omsc.org/2018artgala

A MONTHLY COLLISION OF

ART & CULTURE & COMMUNITY

APR 26 · MAY 31 5PM-9PM • FREE

@breakfastxlunchxdinner

bulletin Artspace Benefit Auction & Gala Join us for a Gala evening to benefit Artspace New Haven with the return of Guy Bennett as auctioneer. , April 28 . , Artspace, Artspace, 50 Orange St, New Haven, CT. 203-772-2709. https:// artspacenewhaven.org

kids & families Paul Mellon Arts Center 332 Christian Street, Wallingford. 203-6972398. https://www.choate.edu/arts/pmac/ event-details/~occur-id/8907002 Readers’ Theater: Wizard of Oz Follow the yellow brick road with all your friends in this Readers’ Theater version of the Wizard of Oz, directed

by Carol Jones. Performed by students of Choate Rosemary Hall, this show will be presented in the Joan Harris Gelb Theater in Wallingford at 66 Curtis Avenue. Parking is free. April 20 - April 21 . Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 2:00pm $10/all ages Yale Center for British Art 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510.

203-432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Family Program | Exploring Artism This is a free program for families with children who are five to twelve years of age and on the autism spectrum. Families look at artwork in the Center’s galleries, which is followed by an activity in a museum classroom.

February 10 - May 19 . Saturdays, February 10, March 10, April 21, and May 19, 10:30 noon 10:30 - noon The program is free, but preregistration is required. Please contact Education (ycba.education@yale.edu | +1 203 432 2858) with your name, number, and a good time to reach you. A museum educator will contact you by phone to complete and confirm your regi

music Greater New Haven Community Chorus Greater New Haven Community Chorus (GNHCC) is a non-auditioned, four-part (SATB) chorus with singers of diverse musical backgrounds—some who have never sung in a chorus before and others who are highly skilled. GNHCC offers a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for all. During the three-week enrollment period at the beginning of each semester (September and Jan.), interested singers are invited to attend three rehearsals before making the commitment to join. Even after open enrollment ends, rehearsals are open to visitors. Rehearsals are held every Thursday from September to mid-December and Jan. to mid-June, from 7-9 p.m, at the First Presbyterian Church, 704 Whitney Ave., New Haven. GNHCC presents a concert at the end of each semester. For more, contact: info@gnhcc. org, (203) 303-4642, or visit gnhcc.org.

Rolling Auditions for 2017-2018 Season The New Haven Chorale will hold auditions throughout the year by appointment with the music director. Interested singers are encouraged to call the Chorale office for appointments or go to our audition website to request more information or to schedule an audition: newhavenchoraleauditions. com. September 11 - May 14 . Monday evenings from 7-9:30 p.m 7 - 9:30 p.m Annual Dues after the first year. New

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Haven Chorale, Bethesda Lutheran Church, 450 Whitney Avenue, New Haven. 203-776-SONG. www. newhavenchoraleauditions.com

Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203-432-2800. britishart.yale.edu

Rolling Auditions for the 2018 Season

Senior Recital

The New Haven Chorale will hold auditions throughout the year by appointment with the music director. If you would like to sing in a good choir, you are welcome to observe rehearsals of the New Haven Chorale on Monday evenings from 7-9:30 p.m at Bethesda Lutheran Church, 450 Whitney Ave., New Haven starting on January 8th.

January 8 - May 7 . Every Monday from 7-9:30PM 7-9:30 PM Dues after first year..

New Haven Chorale, Bethesda Lutheran Church, 5 Hillhouse Ave., , New Haven. 203776-SONG. www.newhavenchorale.org/ concerts/our-2017-2018-concert-season.html

A senior music recital by Jeremy Freeman and AJ Girard. April 7 . 9pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/

Students of Boris Berman Alumni who studied with faculty pianist and Horowitz Piano Series Artistic Director Boris Berman return from international successes to perform at the School of Music. April 4 . Wednesday, April 4, 2018 7:30 pm Bonus Concert: Tickets from $13, Students $7 FREE for Horowitz Piano Series subscribers. Yale School of Music, Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall, 470 College St, New Haven. 203-432-4158. music-tickets. yale.edu/single/EventDetail.aspx?p=17341

Liturgy Symposium Series Creativity in Medieval Church Music in Ghent. Haggh-Huglo is Professor of Music at the University of Maryland at College Park.

She specializes in medieval and Renaissance music, its notation, theory, sources, and archival documentation, and its place in urban life and at courts. April 9 . 4:30pm5:30pm Free. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Sterling Divinity Quadrangle - N100 (Great Hall), 409 Prospect St., New Haven. 203432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar

Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Jin Hi Kim, and Taiko Drumming Ensemble under the direction of Visiting Instructor in Music Barbara Merjan. April 12 . 6pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Amado Conducts Symphonie Fantastique Program to include: Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique Ravel, Piano Concerto Tsontakis, Laconika April 12 . 7:30 - 9:30 pm $15-$74; KidTix Free with Adult; College Students $10. New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Woolsey hall, 500 College St, New Haven CT. 203-436-4840. www.NewHavenSymphony.org Senior Recital Declan Hindman A senior music recital by Declan Hindman, Declan’s Album Concert. April 19 . 9pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Ring Family Performing Arts Hall, 287 Washington Terrace, Middletown. 860685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/

Graduate Recital: David Scanlon Senior Recital Josh Davidoff A graduate music recital by David Scanlon.

April 10 . 8pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-6853355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Brentano String Quartet

A senior music recital by Josh Davidoff, Unfolding the Object. April 14 . 7pm free.

Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www. wesleyan.edu/cfa/

Classical Guitar Graduate students from the Yale School of Music will perform classical guitar music in the Library Court. April 5 . 1 pm Free. Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203-432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Yale Philharmonia with Peter Oundjian Principal conductor Peter Oundjian leads the Yale Philharmonia in a performance of Mahler’s astonishing Symphony No. 9 in D major April 6 . Friday, April 6, 2018 7:30 pm Tickets from $10, Yale Faculty/Staff from $8, Students from $5 $3 surcharge on tickets purchased at the door. Yale School of Music, Woolsey Hall, 500 College Street, New Haven. 203-432-4158. music-tickets.yale.edu/single/EventDetail. aspx?p=17357 St. Luke’s Steel Band The engaging steel drum band from St. Luke’s in New Haven presents an hourlong program at Bethesda. This catchy and moving music appeals to the whole family! Read more about them here: http:// www.stlukessteelband.com/ April 8 . 4pm Freewill offering to Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services in New Haven.

Bethesda Music Series, Bethesda Lutheran Church, 450 Whitney Avenue, New Haven.

203-787-2346. bethesdanewhaven.org/ music/bethesda-music-series/ Paston Musical Treasures Nigel North, lutenist, and James Taylor, Professor in the Practice of Voice and Coordinator of the Program in Voice: Early Music, Oratorio, and Chamber Ensemble, Institute of Sacred Music, Yale University. See britishart.yale.edu for more information. April 8 . 2 pm Free.

The Brentano String Quartet, YSM’s ensemble-in-residence, performs Mozart’s captivating “Dissonance” Quartet and works by Beethoven and Shostakovich.

Mozart: String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465, “Dissonance” Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 12 in D-flat major, Op. 133 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18 April 10 . Tuesday, April 10, 2018 7:30 pm Tickets from $26, Students $13.

Yale School of Music, Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall, 470 College St, New Haven.

203-432-4158. music-tickets.yale.edu/ single/EventDetail.aspx?p=17249 WesFest Concert I A concert featuring short performances on the University organ, Wesleyan’s Concert Choir under the direction of Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Nadya Potemkina, Toneburst Laptop and Electronic Arts Ensemble under the direction of Associate Professor and Chair of the Music Department Paula Matthusen, and other chamber ensembles. April 11 .

7pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Memorial Chapel, 221 Church Street, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www. wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Keyboard Competition A recital featuring the participants of the Elizabeth Verveer Tishler Keyboard Competition. April 12 . 12pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Memorial Chapel, 221 Church Street, Middletown.

860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ WesFest Concert II Wesleyan’s Javanese Gamelan under the direction of Artist in Residence I.M. Harjito and Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Sumarsam, Korean Drumming and Creative Music Ensemble under the direction of

Student Recital Octavia McAloon Student recitals are one hour in length.

April 15 . 5pm-6pm Free. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Sterling Divinity Quadrangle - Marquand Chapel, 409 Prospect St., New Haven. 203-432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar Yale Philharmonia with Marin Alsop Guest conductor Marin Alsop leads the Yale Philharmonia, Yale Glee Club, and Yale Camerata in a per noon performance of Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony, on a program that also includes Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and more. Bernstein: Opening Prayer Bernstein: Chichester Psalms Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D major, Op. 125 April 20 . Friday, April 20, 2018 7:30 pm Tickets from $10, Yale Faculty/Staff from $8, Students from $5 $3 surcharge on tickets purchased at the door . Yale School of Music, Woolsey Hall, 500 College Street, New Haven. 203-432-4158. music-tickets.yale.edu/single/EventDetail. aspx?p=17359 Student Recital Josiah Hamill Student recitals are one hour in length.

April 15 . 7:30pm-8:30pm Free. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Woolsey Hall, 500 College Street, New Haven. 203-4325062. ism.yale.edu/calendar Kronos Quartet GRAMMY Award-winning Kronos Quartet returns to Wesleyan to perform a wideranging program of music from around the world, featuring adventurous string quartets either written for or arranged for the legendary group. Founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973, the quartet includes John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and cellist Sunny Yang. April 15 . 7pm $35 general public; $32 senior

citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff/alumni, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students, youth under 18 (Reserved Seating). Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ One Sky Concert The Wesleyan University Orchestra under the direction of Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Nadya Potemkina performs the world premiere of Guggenheim Fellow composer and Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Jin Hi Kim’s One Sky II (2018). The performance will be followed by a Q&A with the audience about their musical experiences. April 16 .

7pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Music Department Colloquium At a panel led by John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce, invited scholars, experts, and the consulate of the Republic of Korea will discuss the current political conflict and U.S. and North Korean policy, as well as South Korean urban culture. The discussion will be followed by a film screening of a documentary about the two Koreas. April 17 . 4:30pm-6:30pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Ring Family Performing Arts Hall, 287 Washington Terrace, Middletown. 860685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Faculty Concert Series NMS Faculty Ragtime Ensemble: Chris Radawiec, flute; Reesa Gringorten, clarinet; Gretchen Frazier, violin; Ravenna Michaelson, cello; Joe McWilliams, piano; and Art Hovey, tuba. Works by Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb, Jelly Roll Morton and Turk Murphy sFOURzando 8 Hand pianoVicky Reeve, Margaret Ann Martin, Laura Richling, and guest George Melillo April 13 . Friday, 7 pm 7 pm Free and open to the public. . Neighborhood Music School, Neighborhood Music School, 100 Audubon St, New Haven. 203-624-5189. www. nmsnewhaven.org Beethoven and Berstein

year, concludes with a performance of the Schubert Octet by the Smithsonian Chamber Players, led by Kenneth Slowik, with violinist Vera Beths, clarinetist Charles Neidich, and YSM faculty hornist William Purvis. April 22 . Sunday, April 22, 2018 3 pm Tickets $28, Yale Faculty/Staff and Seniors $25, Students $15. Yale School of Music, Collection of Musical Instruments, 15 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven. 203-4324158. music-tickets.yale.edu/single/ EventDetail.aspx?p=17675 Senior Recital Johnnie Gilmore A senior music recital by Johnnie Gilmore, Capstone Concert. April 21 . 7pm free.

Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Memorial Chapel, 221 Church Street, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www. wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Senior Recital Connor Bennion A senior music recital by Connor Bennion, Not Just Good. April 22 . 3pm free.

Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Memorial Chapel, 221 Church Street, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www. wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Songs by Schubert, Ives, and Bruce A concert featuring eight songs by Franz Schubert; songs by Charles Ives including “Thoreau,” “Walt Whitman,” and “The Circus Band;” and the song cycle Whitman Fragments by John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce.

April 22 . 7pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-6853355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra The Wesleyan University Jazz Orchestra, directed by Professor of Music and African American Studies Jay Hoggard; Jazz Ensemble, directed by Noah Baerman; and the new Real-Time Autoschediasms for Electroacoustic Creative Orchestra, directed by Assistant Professor of Music Tyshawn Sorey; present an exciting evening of classic and contemporary jazz. April 27 . 8pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/

Marin Alsop, guest conductor Yale Philharmonia, Yale Camerata & Yale Glee Club Beethoven: Symphony No 9 Bernstein: Chichester Psalms Presented with Yale School of Music and Yale Glee Club April 20 .

7:30pm-9:30pm Tickets required. Visit http:// music-tickets.yale.edu for tickets and more information. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Woolsey Hall, 500 College Street, New Haven. 203-432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar

First year choral conducting students direct the Yale Repertory Chorus in a one hour program. April 23 . 5pm-6pm Free. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Sterling Divinity Quadrangle - Marquand Chapel, 409 Prospect Street, New Haven. 203-4325062. ism.yale.edu/calendar

Senior Recital Isabelle Csete

Celebrating 100 Years of Monk

A senior music recital by Isabelle Csete, Music Beyond Wesleyan.April 21 . 4pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Smithsonian Chamber Players The 2017-2018 season celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Collection of Musical Instrument’s concert series, which, this

Seating). Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/

J.S. Bach: Mass in B minor Wesleyan Korean Drumming Beginning students of Wesleyan’s Korean Drumming and Creative Music Ensemble, directed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Jin Hi Kim, play new arrangements of samulnori repertoire, performed on two-headed drums (janggo), barrel drums (buk), hand gongs (kwenggari), and a suspended gong (jing). April 25 . 7pm free.

Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www. wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Yale Cellos Aldo Parisot leads the beloved Yale Cellos in an annual program that has long been an audience favorite. April 25 . Wednesday, April 25, 2018 7:30 pm Tickets from $10, Students from $5. Yale School of Music, Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall, 470 College St, New Haven. 203-432-4158. music-tickets.yale. edu/single/EventDetail.aspx?p=17605 Collegium Musicum Spring Concert The Collegium Musicum, under the direction of Pau Rius Valor ‘20 and supervised by Associate Professor of Music Jane Alden, performs music of the English and Spanish Golden Age. Featured composers will include William Byrd, Thomas Tomkins, Juan de Sanabria, Francisco de Penalosa, and Tomas Luis de Victoria. April 26 . 6pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Memorial Chapel, 221 Church Street, Middletown.

860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble A magnificent orchestra of bronze gongs, xylophones, drums, strings, and voices, the gamelan accompanies feasts, ceremonies, and dances. The Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble, under the direction of Artist in Residence I.M. Harjito and Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Sumarsam, presents classical music of Central Java. April 26 . 8pm free. Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/

Yale Repertory Chorus A Night of Music from China and Taiwan

Bandleader T.S. Monk has recorded numerous albums of his own compositions, and those of his father, pianist Thelonious Monk (1917-1982). He toured with his father, and honored him by co-founding the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in 1986.

This concert concludes the 17th annual Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend. April 28 . 8pm $28 general public; $26 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff/alumni, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students, youth under 18 (Reserved

9pm Free. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Woolsey Hall, 500 Prospect Street, New Haven. 203-432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar

Founded in the 1980s, Wesleyan’s Chinese Music Ensemble has continually attracted Wesleyan students and community members to experience the charms of Chinese culture by learning Chinese instruments. Most members are Wesleyan students with diverse backgrounds, who will perform both traditional and contemporary musical works from China and Taiwan. April 29 . on. 8pm free.

Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. 860-685-3355. www. wesleyan.edu/cfa/

Masaaki Suzuki leads a choir of ISM alumni and Juilliard415 in a performance of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor. Presented in conjunction with the American Bach Society Conference. April 28 . 7:30pm-9:30pm Free.

Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Woolsey Hall, 500 College Street, New Haven. 203432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar Organ Improv Showcase Organ students of Jeffrey Brillhart give a one hour improvisatory recital. April 30 . 4pm-5pm Free. Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Trinity Church on the Green, 230 Temple Street, New Haven. 203-432-5062. ism.yale.edu/calendar

spaces Studio/Event Space At Erector Square in New Haven available for dance and theatre rehearsals and performances, events, workshops, and exhibitions. 1,500 sq. ft., 1st floor, 14 ft ceilings, white walls, great light, wooden floors.

Contact Annie at anniesailer@gmail.com.

Studio Space For dance, performing arts, events hall. A 1,500-square-foot space with adjoining rooms in a turn-of-the-century mansion in a historic district. Hardwood floors. Vintage stage with curtains. Mahogany woodwork and glass doors. Ample natural light.

Chairs and tables on premises. Contact whitneyartsctr@aol.com.

special events Book Signing Mystic’s Bank Square Books hosts naturalist Jen Payne for a book signing featuring Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind. Discover this curious collection of poems and photos that NPR contributor David Berner calls “an unflinching account of our unshakeable relationship to the modern world God, nature, and ourselves.” (3chairspublishing. com). April 15 . 1-3pm Free. 53 West Main Street, Mystic. 860-536-3795. www. banksquarebooks.com

talks & tours Architecture Tour Join a docent-led tour of the Center’s architecture, which includes a look at the Founder’s Room. January 27 - April 28 . Tours of the Center’s architecture are offered on Saturdays at 11 am on January 27, February 24, March 31, and April 28.

Please visit britishart.yale.edu for more information. 11 am Free. Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203432-2800. britishart.yale.edu

Yale Schola Cantorum The Paston Treasure David Hill conducts J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, as arranged by Robert Schumann.

Presented in conjunction with the American Bach Society conference. April 27 . 7:30pm-

Join a docent-led tour of the exhibition “The Paston Treasure: Microcosm of the Known World.” March 1 - April 29 . Offered

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bulletin on Thursdays at 11 am and Sundays at 1 pm. Please visit britishart.yale.edu for more information. Free. Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Andrew Carnduff Ritchie Lecture Hilton Als, staff writer and theater critic for the New Yorker and Associate Professor of Writing at Columbia University, was awarded the prestigious WindhamCampbell Literature prize in 2016, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2017.

This Ritchie lecture is held in conjunction with the opening of the Center’s special exhibition Celia Paul. April 3 . 5:30 pm Free but space is limited.. Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Pride, Prejudice, and Portraits Lewis Walpole Library Lecture Claudia Johnson, Murray Professor of English Literature at Princeton University, will examine the controversial reception of the Rice Portrait of Jane Austen, by Ozias Humphry. This illustrated talk ponders the stakes of legitimacy in general as well as the unusual acrimony this portrait in particular has inspired. April 4 . 5:30 pm Free but space is limited.. Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203432-2800. britishart.yale.edu The Renaissance Art of Drinking Marisa Bass, Assistant Professor of Northern European Art, 1400 1700, Yale University, will deliver a thirty-minute gallery talk. April 10 . 12:30 pm Free.

Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203-432-2800. britishart.yale.edu Guilford Poets Guild Guilford Poets Guild Second Thursday Poetry Series features award-winning poet Sarah Freligh, author of Sad Math.

Her work has appeared in Sun Magazine, Hotel Amerika, BOAAT Journal, diode; past recipient of a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Bring your own poem to share at the Open Mic (6:30 p.m.). Refreshments. April 12 . 6:30 8:30pm Free. Guilford Poets Guild, Guilford Free Library, 67 Park Street, Guilford. 203453-8282. www.guilfordfreelibrary.org John Goto’s High Summer Join a docent-led tour of the special exhibition Art in Focus: John Goto’s High Summer. April 15 - April 22 . Sundays; April 15, and 22; 1 pm Thursday, April 19, 11 am Free. Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203432-2800. britishart.yale.edu

and visiting scholars. They are held on most Tuesdays at 12:30 pm. Please visit britishart.yale.edu for more information.

12:30 pm Free. Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203-4322800. britishart.yale.edu Music and Musical Instruments Grant Herreid, Lecturer of Music at Yale University and performer, will deliver a thirty-minute gallery talk. April 24 . These thirty-minute gallery talks are led by faculty, staff, and visiting scholars. They are held on most Tuesdays at 12:30 pm.

Please visit britishart.yale.edu for more information. 12:30 pm Free. Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203432-2800. britishart.yale.edu James Delbourgo “From the Wunderkammer to the Public Museum: Hans Sloane’s Empire of Curiosities and the Creation of the British Museum” James Delbourgo, Associate Professor, History of Science and Atlantic World, Rutgers University Please visit britishart.yale.edu for more information.

This event will be live-streamed. April 25 . 5:30 pm Free but space is limited..

Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510. 203-432-2800. britishart.yale.edu

theater Bright Star Steve Martin produces BRIGHT STAR, the five-time Tony-nominated new Broadway musical that The New York Times called “a shining achievement.” Directed by Tonywinner Walter Bobbie and inspired by a real event, this original musical tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920’s and 40’s April 26 - April 29 . April 26th - 7:30pm April 27th - 2:00pm April 27th - 8:00pm April 28th - 2:00pm April 28th - 8:00pm April 29th - 1:00pm Varies

By Location . 247 College Street, New Haven. 203-562-5666. www.shubert.com

arts council member organizations A Broken Umbrella Theatre abrokenumbrella.org (203) 868-0428 Alyla Suzuki Early Childhood Music Education alylasuzuki.com (203) 239-6026

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Elm City Dance Collective elmcitydance.org (860) 451-9421

Artsplace: Cheshire Performing & Fine Arts cpfa-artsplace.org (203) 272-2787

Elm Shakespeare Company elmshakespeare.org (203) 392-8882

Artfarm art-farm.org (860) 346-4390

Firehouse 12 firehouse12.com (203) 785-0468

Ball & Socket Arts ballandsocket.org

Gallery One CT galleryonect.com (860) 663-3095

Bethesda Music Series bethesdanewhaven.org (203) 787-2346 Blackfriars Repertory Theatre blackfriarsrep.com (646) 461-2445 Branford Art Center branfordartcenterct.com (203) 208-4455 Branford Folk Music Society branfordfolk.org (203) 488-7715 Chestnut Hill Concerts chestnuthillconcerts.org (203) 245-5736 The Choirs of Trinity Church on the Green trinitynewhaven.org (203) 776-2616 City Gallery city-gallery.org (203) 782-2489 Civic Orchestra of New Haven civicorchestraofnewhaven.org College Street Music Hall collegestreetmusichall.com (203) 867-2000 Connecticut Dance Alliance ctdanceall.com Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus ctgmc.org (203) 777-2923 Connecticut Hospice Arts Program hospice.com (203) 315-7522 Connecticut Women Artists ctwomenartists.org (201) 803-3766 Creative Arts Workshop creativeartsworkshop.org (203) 562-4927 Creative Concerts (203) 795-3365

Guilford Art Center guilfordartcenter.org (203) 453-5947 Guilford Art League gal-ct.blogspot.com Guilford Poets Guild guilfordpoetsguild.org (203) 453-5213 Guitartown CT Productions guitartownct.com (203) 430-6020 Hamden Art League hamdenartleague.com (203) 494-2316 Hamden Arts Commission hamdenartscommission.org (203) 287-2546 Hamden Symphony Orchestra hamdensymphony.org (203) 433-4207 Hugo Kauder Society hugokauder.org (203) 562-5200 Imaginary Theater Company imaginarytheatercompany.org The Institute Library institutelibrary.org (203) 562-4045 International Festival of Arts & Ideas artidea.org (203) 498-1212 Jazz Haven jazzhaven.org (203) 393-3002 Kehler Liddell Gallery kehlerliddell.com (203) 389-9555 Knights of Columbus Museum kofcmuseum.org (203) 865-0400

CT Folk ctfolk.com

Legacy Theatre legacytheatrect.org (203) 208-5504

American Guild of Organists sacredmusicct.org (203) 671-9393

DaSilva Gallery dasilva-gallery.com (203) 387-2539

Madison Art Society madisonartsociety.blogspot.com (203) 458-8555

Another Octave-CT Women’s Chorus anotheroctave.org (203) 672-1919

East Street Arts eaststreetartsnh.org (203) 776-6310

Make Haven makehaven.org (203) 936-9830

Arts for Learning Connecticut aflct.org (203) 230-8101

EcoWorks CT ecoworksct.org (203) 498-0710

Mattatuck Museum mattatuckmuseum.org (203) 753-0381

Banqueting Paul Freedman, Chester D. Tripp Professor of History, and Chair, History of Science, History of Medicine Program at Yale University, will deliver a thirty-minute gallery talk. April 17 . These thirty-minute gallery talks are led by faculty, staff,

Artspace artspacenh.org (203) 772-2709

members Meet the Artists and Artisans meettheartistsandartisans.com (203) 874-5672

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

Susan Powell Fine Art susanpowellfineart.com (203) 318-0616

Town Green Special Services District infonewhaven.com (203) 401-4245

Mirror Visions Ensemble mirrorvisions.org

Orchestra New England orchestranewengland.org (203) 777-4690

Theater Department at SCSU southernct.edu/theater

Visit New Haven visitnewhaven.com

University Glee Club of New Haven universitygleeclub.org (203) 248-8515

Westville Village Renaissance Alliance westvillect.org (203) 285-8539

Wesleyan University Center for the Arts wesleyan.edu/cfa (860) 685-3355

Whitneyville Cultural Commons 1253whitney.com (203) 780-8890

Whitney Arts Center (203) 773-3033

Yale-China Association yalechina.org (203) 432-0880

Milford Arts Council milfordarts.org (203) 876-9013

Pantochino Productions pantochino.com (203) 937-6206

Musical Folk musicalfolk.com (203) 691-9759

Paul Mellon Arts Center choate.edu/artscenter (203) 697-2398

Music Haven musichavenct.org (203) 745-9030

The Second Movement secondmovementseries.org

Neighborhood Music School neighborhoodmusicschool.org (203) 624-5189

Shoreline Arts Alliance shorelinearts.org (203) 453-3890

New Haven Ballet newhavenballet.org (203) 782-9038

Shoreline Arts Trail shorelineartstrail.com

New Haven Chamber Orchestra newhavenchamberorchestra.org

Shubert Theater shubert.com (203) 562-5666

New Haven Chorale newhavenchorale.org (203) 776-7664

Silk n’ Sounds silknsounds.org

New Haven Museum newhavenmuseum.org (203) 562-4183

Site Projects siteprojects.org (203) 376-8668

New Haven Oratorio Choir nhoratorio.org (860) 339-6462

Spectrum Art Gallery & Store spectrumartgallery.org (860) 767-0742

Yale Cabaret yalecabaret.org (203) 432-1566 Yale Center for British Art britishart.yale.edu (203) 432-2800 Yale Institute of Sacred Music yale.edu.ism (203) 432-5180

Yale Repertory Theatre yalerep.org (203) 432-1234

Toad’s Place toadsplace.com (203) 624-8623

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

institutional support

HAR OL D S H APIRO over 37 years fine professional photography

community partners Department of Arts Culture & Tourism cityofnewhaven.com (203) 946-8378 Dept. of Economic & Community Development cultureandtourism.org (860) 256-2800 Fractured Atlas fracturedatlas.org (888) 692-7878 Homehaven homehavenvillages.org (203) 776-7378

PRIVATE PHOTO LESSONS h a roldsh a pi r op ho t o@ g mai l. co m

haroldshapirophoto.com

2 03. 98 8 . 4 95 4 G u i lford , C o nne ct i cu t

Billy DiCrosta Vocal Studio billydicrosta.com (203) 376-0609 Hull’s Art Supply and Framing hullsnewhaven.com (203) 865-4855

Yale University Bands bands.yalecollege.yale.edu

COMMERCIAL

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

Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History peabody.yale.edu (203) 432-8987

Yale University Art Gallery artgallery.yale.edu (203) 432-0601

PORTRAITS

business members

JCC of Greater New Haven jccnh.org (203) 387-2522 New Haven Free Public Library nhfpl.org (203) 946-8130 New Haven Preservation Trust nhpt.org (203) 562-5919 Overseas Ministries Study Center omsc.org (203) 624-6672

Executive Champions Yale University Senior Patrons H. Pearce Real Estate L. Suzio York Hill Companies Marcum Odonnell Company Webster Bank Corporate Partners Branner, Saltzman & Wallman, LLP Coordinated Financial Resources/Chamber Insurance Trust Edgehill Realtors Firehouse 12 Fusco Management Company Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven KeyBank Knights of Columbus Metropolitan Interactive Yale-New Haven Hospital Wiggin and Dana Business Members Access Audio-Visual Systems Branford Arts Center Griswold Home Care Foundations & Government Community Foundation for Greater New Haven DECD/CT Office of the Arts Department of Arts, Culture, & Tourism The Ethel & Abe Lapides Foundation Josef and Anni Albers Foundation National Endowment for the Arts NewAlliance Foundation The Wells Fargo Foundation The Werth Family Foundation

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