Author Archives: Christina

Kate Walter
Westbeth Feels Like a Ghost Town

photo: Village Sun

Westbeth feels like a ghost town
MARCH 14, 2020
BY KATE WALTER |

The community room is closed. The gallery is dark. The spring flea market has been postponed. The community room and the gallery are the heart and soul of Westbeth Artists Housing. Everyone looks forward to shopping at the busy flea market in the basement.

The main lobby, normally bustling with activity and conversation, is somber. Management recently issued a memo that residents should only use the lobby for essential activities — no hanging out. I really feel bad for the seniors with mobility issues who use the lobby as a place to sit on a bench and socialize. Thankfully, it will get warm soon and they will be able to go outside into the courtyard. Westbeth is a NORC, a naturally occurring retirement community, with many senior citizens in their 70s and 80s.

It’s hard to believe that only two weeks ago I gave a reading with three other writers in the community room. About 50 people were in attendance and later we talked about the work and drank champagne. I read the first chapter of a novel in progress and everyone told me they wanted to know what would happen next. The feedback was super-encouraging. Just what I needed. It was the kind of interaction that makes Westbeth a great place for artists to live.

I’ve been a resident here since 1997. One of the best things about this complex is all the free and inexpensive activities that take place in the community room — classes, readings, concerts, puppet shows for the kids, under the auspices of the Westbeth Artists Residents Council. I often write in my gratitude journal, “I’m grateful to live in Westbeth.”

Read the complete article at The Village Sun

Judith Moss performs in Border Crossers – A Festival of Art to Celebrate Immigrant Lives on March 14 at Goddard Riverside NYC

When: March 14, 2020 at 7:30PM

Where: Goddard Riverside
The Bernie Wohl Center
647 Columbus Ave, NYC

Westbeth Resident JUDITH MOSS dances her solo “Undocumented/Border Crossings”, which honors the legacy of her parents who were born in Berlin and fled Nazi-occupied Europe during WW ll.

Border Crossers – A Festival of Art to Celebrate Immigrant Lives: In an evening of theatre, dance, film and discussion. “Crossing borders illegally, living in the shadows, undocumented… dangerous times now and then.” Saturday, March 14th @ 7:30pm.The Bernie Wohl Center, Goddard Riverside, 647 Columbus Avenue at 92nd Street.

Tickets:
General Admission $20
Students and Seniors $15
Eventbrite

More info: Goddard.org/WHAM

Karin Batten ‘s new paintings at June Kelly Gallery NYC opening March 6th

Show Dates: March 6 – April 14, 2020

Reception: Friday March 6 from 6pm – 8pm

Where: June Kelly Gallery
166 Mercer St NYC
212 266 1660

“My new series of work is inspired by the evocative and distinct places I find while traveling. In 2018, I went to Puerto Rico and Costa Rica to find inspiration for my new works and I help with the relief effort. While there, I visited Playa Negra, a black sand beach, formed from an earlier volcano. Inspired by the magma, I brought some back and integrated its rich mysterious color and texture into this body of work. Seeing the uniquely colored feather patterns of Costa Rican birds first hand while surrounded by fauna and butterflies left me with a feeling for intense color that I work to capture in my paintings. These authentic discoveries and moments help enrich each work with its own story and its own unique world.”

– Karin Batten

Valerie Ghent sings original soul/blues songs from her recent albums at the Frame Brasserie in Paris, Feb 27, 2020


Valerie Ghent
LIVE IN PARIS
New York recording artist Valerie Ghent kicks off 2020 with a concert in Paris! In a beautiful venue literally right next to the Eiffel Tower, in the same Paris arrondisement where her mother grew up as a child, Valerie will perform original soul/blues songs from her recent albums Velours, The French Sessions and Day to Day Dream, with Pierre Sibille, Jerome Buigues, Danielle Mendez, plus special guest Tri Nguyen on dan tranh (Vietnamese zither) for intimate ballads in duo from their upcoming new album.

Powerhouse recording artist VALERIE GHENT wows audiences with her emotive, evocative voice, piano chops to match, and “soul-stirring, uplifting songs full of vitality and joy.” A native New Yorker with a bluesy, funky piano style and a stunning 3 1/2 octave range, it’s no surprise she has toured with music legends Ashford & Simpson and Debbie Harry (Blondie) and performed/worked with artists as diverse as Dr. Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Sir Cliff Richard, Roberta Flack, Iggy Pop & Billy Preston. Working closely with R&B royalty Ashford & Simpson for over two decades, Valerie learned from the best of the best. An outstanding live performer, Valerie has released 5 solo albums and had a smash #1 hit song with Love Enough for a Lifetime. Soultracks awarded her album Velours one of the Top 50 Albums of 2016. Valerie also regularly tours and records in France where her 2018 single, Feelin Alright, hit #1 on Jazz Radio France. valerieghent.com

Pierre Sibille – keyboards, harmonica, vocals
Jerome Buigues – guitar, vocals
Danielle Mendez – drums
& special guest Tri Nguyen – dan tranh

Frame Brasserie
28 Rue Jean Rey, 75015 Paris, France
Reservations:

01 44 38 57 77 / resa@framebrasserie.fr

Valerie Ghent
valerieghent.com

Feel the Music!
feelthemusic.org

New York Internal Arts
internalartsinternational.com