Who said Shakespeare was for sissies? ‘Macbeth’ at the Secret Theatre, LIC
When was the last time you strolled off the streets of LIC and into a rigorously choreographed punk rock Shakespearean street fight? Well lucky for you, the Secret Theatre’s latest production of ‘Macbeth’ is offering up the kind of environmental theatre that effectively draws the audience in on the action, save for actually picking up a weapon and jumping into the fray.
Director Richard Mazda, who is also the Secret Theatre’s Artistic Director & Founder, made an interesting choice »
Sculpture by Eun Nye Yang, LIC Art Center Open Studios
This weekend was a big one for Long Island City, and Queens in general: the LIC Artists Open Studios, the kickoff of Queens Council on the Arts’ Queens Art Express, and the 100th birthday of LIC’s favorite bridge – the good ol’ Queensboro.
LIC Art Center’s Open Studios reflected the sprawling diversity of Long Island City’s artists »
Long Island City Friday afternoon linkage
Warm weather this weekend, for all the LIC Arts and Queensboro Bridge Centennial events. Don’t forget about the Grucci Fireworks happening off Roosevelt Island on Sunday evening at 9:15. Hunters Point waterfront is one of the prime viewing locations. There are no 4th of July fireworks on the East River this year, so this is the only chance to get your fix.
Also, there was a rumor in the comments a while back about the supposed elimination of the Hunters Point fire station, and nothing really came of it. Until now. The anonymous commenter made reference to the FDNY getting ready to announce cuts, and as far as prophecies go, this one seems to be manifesting accordingly. Hope that is not the case.
City takes control of Hunters Point South [RealDeal]
Douglas Elliman replaces Corcoran Sunshine @ LIC’s Arris Lofts [Curbed]
REBNY prez speaks at LICBDC breakfast [Queens Gazette]
Bloomberg to speak in Astoria about future of NYC on June 11 [Queens Crap]
Profile on Green development highlights LIC’s Avalon Bay [Housing Finance]
Spotlight on Antonio Masi’s QB Bridge art exhibition [Daily News]
LIC’s Vine Wine owner launches My Little Pony charity/art event [FREEwilliamsburg]
Food, drink, and ‘PIG’ at LIC’s Deitch Studios [Short and Sweet NYC]
FDNY union ad mentions loss of 12 NYC firehouses, including LIC? [WCBS TV]
The Chocolate Factory’s new show, Red Metal Mailbox - [ ] opened Wednesday, and is running until this Saturday only. Directed by Sarah Maxfield. Performed by Jillian Sweeney and Rachel Tiemann. Designed by Chloe Z. Brown, Brad Kisicki, Mary McKenzie and Jason Sebastian (Also featuring video by Chocolate Factory Artistic Director Brian Rogers). March 25-28, Wednesday-Saturday, 8:00pm, $15, 5-49 49th Ave., LIC, 718.482.7069
Antigone is in its final week at The Secret Theatre. Read liQcity’s review here. March 25-28, 8:00pm, $15, 44-02 23rd St, LIC, 718.392.0722
Yo Miss: Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide, a multi-media production described as “part documentary, part music, part poetical autobiography, Yo Miss looks back on Judith Sloan’s twenty years of teaching in prisons, alternative schools, and universities,” will be presented at the La Guardia Performing Arts Center Thursday night. Opening Act: Mahina Movement Thursday, March 26, 8:00pm, $5, La Guardia Community College, 31-10 Thomson Avenue, LIC, 718.482.5151
The current exhibition at the Fisher-Landau Center for Art, FIVE DECADES OF PASSION Part One: The Eye of the Collector, 1968-1988 is closing in a week and a half. January 4-April 5, 2009, Thursday through Monday, 12:00-5:00 pm, Admission Free, 38-27 30th Street, LIC, 718.937.0727
Antigone at the Secret Theatre, Hunters Point, Long Island City
You don’t need to go to Broadway, or even Brooklyn, to see great theater. Hunters Point boasts two excellent theaters, The Chocolate Factory whose new show, Red Metal Mailbox - [ ], is opening tomorrow night, and The Secret Theatre, whose latest production with The Queens Players, Sophocles’ Antigone, directed by Greg Cicchino, liQcity attended this past weekend.
The two theaters couldn’t be more different in terms of vision, approach, and repertory. While The Chocolate Factory excels in presenting new experimental and multimedia work, The Secret Theatre presents classics from the theater repertory, whether it’s Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, produced beautifully last fall with just the right proportion of kitch, or the classic Hamlet, coming up in April.
Within a few minutes of the Secret Theatre’s Antigone »
Seen Performance performs ‘Box Shy’ at LIC/Astoria’s new Rèst-âü-Ránt
Last week, liQcity attended a fundraiser for Seen Performance, an Astoria-based modern-dance/interdisciplinary performance collective headed by Esther Palmer, held at a relatively new wine and beer bar, Rèst-âü-Ránt, on the border of Long Island City and Astoria at 30th St and 35th Ave.
As for Rèst-âü-Ránt itself: the atmosphere was cozy, with lots of dark wood on the walls; the sandwiches were tasty (the menu consisted mostly of Paninis, salads, and appetizers); but the beer and wine flights were exceptional. And Rèst-âü-Ránt has also started a series of “Live Music Thursdays,” featuring “diverse and talented musicians from across the globe,” FREE starting at 8:30 pm on Thursday nights. In lieu of a website, you can call them at 718.729.9009.
Palmer has taken a web 2.0 approach to defining community »
Vanessa Beecroft at Deitch Studios, Armory Arts Week, Long Island City
On Friday, liQcity checked out the art studios and galleries in Long Island City participating in the Armory Arts Week. There was so much happening at once, it was hard to catch it all. Despite skipping legacies like Noguchi, PS1, Sculpture Center, the studios and galleries visited revealed a remarkably wide spectrum of contemporary art available in the hood, from the internationally acclaimed to the local and underground. All of it within walking distance of each other and inside the elusive boundaries of LIC.
At the Deitch Studios, interspersing white nude female sculptures with live nude models painted white, international sensation Vanessa Beecroft brought some high-concept art to the table with her performance and sculpture exhibit ‘VB64′. The viewing scene was just as interesting as the exhibition: against the night skyline backdrop, hundreds of people walking back and forth on 44th Drive, and hovering poker faced around the performance. The live models resembled the static statues interspersed among them, and would move occasionally, giving the visual effect of sculpture in motion.
Beecroft frequently collaborates with Kanye West, who was also rumored to have been in attendance. The sculpture exhibit is still on display, with video of the live performance from Friday.
Chocolate Factory’s (re)develop (death valley), Long Island City
This Friday is a big day for Long Island City arts. It’s the Queens day of the Armory Arts Week, which will be touring most of the LIC arts scene. Here’s the local Hunters Point line up »
Tibetan Blessing tonight at the Dean Project, Long Island City
1) In celebration of the book release “King of the Dharma: The Life of Je Tsongkapa”, the Dean Project is hosting a closing reception and blessing ceremony performed by Monks in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The blessing ceremony will begin tonight at 7pm. Dean Project, 45-43 21st St, LIC. 718.706.1462
2) The new Chocolate Factory production redevelop (death valley) opens tonight »
“The Afterparty, 2009 PS1 summer installation, Long Island City. –photo
It’s that time of winter again, when we start looking towards the summer… though it still does feel a little far away. Not for PS1, who announced their winner for the 2009 Young Architects Program’s design for this summer’s courtyard installation. If you’re not familiar, PS1’s Summer WarmUp parties have been happening for over a decade, and these days are met with mixed perspectives »
Long Island City calendar, Art-O-Mat
Art-O-Mat, the LIC gallery and artisan craft store on Vernon Blvd, has released a Long Island City 2009 calendar exclusively featuring the work of local artists.
There will be a Opening Party for the calendar this Sunday, Dec 7th, from 7-10pm at Domaine bar a vins, 50-04 Vernon Blvd. The artwork featured in the calendar will be on display at Domaine for two weeks following the Opening Party on Sunday. Refreshments will be served, but of course.
New Development Long Island City/Astoria, near Vernon Blvd
Some quick LIC linkage coming at you right now »
Swoon’s ‘Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea’ at Deitch studios, LIC — photo credit
Don’t let it be said that development is depriving LIC of its artist community… ok, well someday that might happen, but for now LIC still has some un-condofied industrial spaces currently left to the whims of local artists »
Pigs Fly on 5th St, between 49th & 50th Aves, Hunters Point, LIC
Well, if Pigs were going to Fly anywhere in NYC it would be here »
Socrates Sculpture Park Outdoor Cinema 2008, Long Island City
Every Wednesday night through the summer, Socrates Sculpture Park presents an outdoor international film festival, featuring a film from a different country each night, along with food and occasionally a related live performance.
Hanging at Gantry Park for ‘Live at the Gantries’ by the QCA, Long Island City
The ‘Live at the Gantries’ summer performance series brought to us by the QCA continues tonight at Gantry Park with Blue Pipa, Chinese folk music.
“Along with her accompanying musicians, Min Xiao-Fen of Blue Pipa is renown for her exploration of traditional and modern music from all cultures. Famed for her virtuosity and fluid style on the pipa, she has recorded and performed with Björk.”
The show starts at 7pm.
Legal streetart coordinated by Chashama, Vernon & Borden Ave, LIC
5pointz may have been the first legal walls for streetart in Long Island City, but now they’re not the only ones. Simone Development, the developers behind the Hunters Point Condos double whammy, have collaborated with Chashama, an non-profit arts group, to beautify their construction site walls with streetart created by local artists.
Under Public Farm One aka P.F.1., at P.S.1., Court Square, Long Island City
Nothing marks the arrival of summer in LIC quite like the PS1 Warm Up parties. If there is any entity that can lay claim to putting LIC on the mainstream radar, it’s PS1. While many complain about the nuisance factor of the Warm Up party attendees’ disruptive passage from PS1 to Water Taxi Beach in their endeavor to continue partying, it’s really a cool event. This year, the courtyard installation kicks up more than a few notches with an urban farmland installation entitled ‘Public Farm One’. Aka P.F.1.
Having checked out the installation sans throngs of swaying hipsters »
Proxy/Fiction by Jonathan Lev opens tonight at Art-O-Mat
From Art-O-Mat gallery:
Just a reminder to ignore those threats of rain & come join us tonight. (Well, maybe bring an umbrella.)
You are invited to an Opening at Art-O-Mat TONIGHT, June 26 from 6 to 9 pm.
Art-O-Mat is pleased to present Proxy / Fiction - Paintings by Jonathan Lev
Our First Summer exhibition will open tonight, Thursday June 26, with a reception from 6 to 9pm.
From the Queens Council on the Arts:
“Celebrating the rich musical and ethnic tapestries of Queens in boisterous style, Live at the Gantries, LIC’s new summer performance series begins tonight in Gantry Park at 7pm.”
Graffiti in the making at 5pointz, Court Sq, Long Island City
Here’s the article about the eventual transformation of 5pointz into a 1.2 million sqft high-rise. Accordingly:
“Wolkoff [the owner] is now waiting for the fortunes of Long Island City to change. For now, 5 Pointz will remain what he calls “the largest aerosol art building in the world,” but he is looking to leave a legacy for his grandchildren.
“Eventually we will build there, but in the meantime, we’ll still let the artists go,” said Jerry Wolkoff. “We have some plans and renderings, but nothing concrete.”"
The 5pointz outdoor graffiti gallery. April 2008
Lady Pink aka Pinksmith on 5pointz, Court Sq, Long Island City
I was walking around 5pointz this weekend, and saw some incredible work. The piece in the photo by Lady Pink is a smaller part of the whole.
It’s nice and chill over there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Since it’s getting warm out, we can only assume they’ll be more to come.
If you don’t know what 5pointz is, let’s remedy that right away. It’s the gigantic yellow building covered in graffiti at the corner of 23rd St & Jackson Ave, that you’ve probably seen on the elevated 7 train. It’s very hard to miss. It’s one of the few places (the only?) in NYC where graffiti is a legal expression of creativity, instead of a punishable crime against material property. So it produces an infinitely rotating supply of art pieces created by some of the most celebrated graffiti and street artists in the world.
Bjork lovers: Deitch studios in LIC presents a free public screening of Bjork’s new video ‘Wanderlust’ on Thursday, March 13th. First come, first served.
Deitch Studios
4-40 44th Ave, At the East River, Long Island City
Thursday, March 13th, 7pm
Landscape sculpture and designs by local artist Nigel Rollings entitled An Unexpected Vistor, showing at Art-o-mat, March 20 - May 11th. The muse: Long Island City.
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