Artists in Exile is a collaborative effort by Westbeth to provide temporary residencies to artists at risk in their home countries.

Kanchana Ugbabe is a published short story writer and professor of English. She is currently on a joint appointment resulting from a collaboration of Fordham University’s English department, PEN America, and Westbeth Artists Housing. Kanchana has made the transition from India to Nigeria and writes fiction based on her negotiation with the new cultural terrain. Coming from an area torn apart by ethno-religious conflict, she also explores through her writing what it means to encounter terrorism in everyday living. Kanchana comes to us from Harvard where she was a Visiting Scholar in Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies.

Hadi Nasiri is a contemporary performance artist from Iran.

Avri Ohana was born in Casablanca, Morocco and immigrated to Israel at the age of 12, where he was raised and educated in a kibbutz. As a young man, Ohana was an early member of Ein Hod, Israel’s artist village, and it was there that he started to develop his artistic voice. His main influences during his formative years were the European Dadaist Marcel Janco, Dan Hoffner, the director of Bezalel Art School in Jerusalem, the optical and kinetic artist Yaakov Agam in Paris, and primarily –the painter Eric Brauer of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. Ohana’s exhibitions include solo and group shows in Israel, Europe and the United States.

I am a multi style artist for whom the freedom to create in any given manner and subject is of essence. In seeking the mystery of the unknown I respond to inner impulses and ignore intellectual and rational considerations. I am aware of being caught in a magical cycle, a journey that repeats itself again and again. The delicate balance and nuance between color and color, shape and shape, form and color, layer and layer is my interest. What is important to me is not how a painting is defined or classified but if it is breathing and alive.

Jack Dowling

Westbeth Icons is a project sponsored by Westbeth Artists Residents Council from a grant provided by NYC Councilperson Corey Johnson.

The project seeks to celebrate Westbeth’s senior artists who continue to produce work and in so doing provide inspiration for us all.

The first Westbeth Icon is Jack Dowling, who in addition to his painting, and printmaking, and writing short stories for the Hamilton Stone Review, among others, served also as the Westbeth Gallery Director for over 12 years. In that capacity he helped numerous artists with hanging their shows, curating their work, and writing letters of support to grant-giving cultural organizations.

On November 19, 2017, was an evening of celebration. It consisted of a filmed interview by Terry Stoller, heart-felt speeches by Beverly Brodsky, Jayne Holsinger, William Kennon, Christina Maile, and Jack’s brother, Douglas. The evening ended with a presentation of a Tiffany pen from Westbeth Artists Residents Council President, Geo Cominskie.

A video of the evening was filmed by Ted Timreck and Christina Maile, and edited by Tim Timreck

VIDEO

Discovering the desert was for me an extraordinary, visual experience. I found what seemed to be an endless space of golden mornings and more than vivid sunsets. A beautiful place, but also a land of dangerous, cruel heat. What would seem to be a colorless expanse of sand and rock was upon close and extensive study, rich in contrasting color tonalities. A landscape which does not reveal its visual qualities easily but when it does the rewards for painting are infinite.

Ray Ciarrocchi is a New York based figurative painter. Ciarrocchi has presented numerous solo exhibitions in New York, additional US cities and Italy as well as dozens of group exhibitions in varied locations and venues. His paintings, watercolors, drawings and monotypes are in many museum and private collections both nationally and abroad. He is married to painter Sandra Caplan. Their daughter Maya Ciarrocchi is a video artist.

Apply for TOP FLOOR a series of fully produced dance concerts held in Westbeth’s studio currently the Martha Graham Dance Company. Or apply as creative choreographers interested in investigating dance in alternative spaces ALL OVER WESTBETH. Continue reading →

Filmmakers Mark Johnson Harris’ Oscar-winning documentary tells the story of an underground railroad – the Kindertransport – that saved the lives of over 10,000 Jewish children at the dawn of World War 2.

Through interviews and archival footage, the survivors movingly recount being taken from their families and being sent to live with strangers in the relative safety of England.

Judi Dench narrates.

Grove Pharmacy
302 West 12th Street
New York, NY
(212) 242-6193

Grove Pharmacy has been a neighborhood institution in the West Village for many years. Partnering with the Westbeth Artists Residents Councils, this is the 4th in a series of free events that discuss and advise on community health issues.

With Llana Aminov, BSPharm, RPH

More info on Grove Pharmacy HERE

Eve Zanni and the Sing Time Singers will provide live music. Goody bag, and Refreshments.

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS IN THE VILLAGE

“Very simple, and perfect as an introduction to theatre.” -New York Magazine
“Charming.” -The New York Times

Sunday December 17, 2017
Two Shows: 11:00AM and 2:30 PM
More Mother Goose Tales with The Three Little Pigs
More Classic Tales and Fables. Toby returns with more fun for the very young including The Three Little Pigs and the story of Boswell, the Polar Bear (who happens to drift south on his iceberg to chance upon friendly southern animals before he is blown back to the North Pole).

“I like it that such care went into the making of these shows.I was struck by the fullness of detail and the surprising elaborateness of the sets. The three little pigs really looked piggy for a change, with pink, rotund bodies and the right shaped ears and snouts.”
-Village Voice

“Warm, friendly atmosphere for the beguiling presentation.”
-Gannet Newspapers

WATCH THE PREVIEW CLIP ON YouTube
2017-18 REPERTORY SEASON
WESTBETH Home to the Arts
155 BANK STREET
between West and Washington Street in the West Village
Tickets on sale at pennypuppets.org and Eventbrite

or CASH ONLY at the door starting 20 minutes before the show

Tickets are $10 for everyone
Show Times: 11 AM & 2:30 PM
All Ages – Great for 3 to 8

Stroller Parking
Shows Run about 45 Minutes

Information: (212) 924-0525

http://www.pennypuppets.org

BUS AND SUBWAY: M14A, M11, M20, (2 blocks)
A, C, E, L, 1, 2, 3 (5 or 6 blocks)
“A Child’s first experience with theater is important and forming. Quality counts.” – Penny Jones

PENNY JONES & CO. PUPPETS has been a mainstay of children’s theater in New York since the 1970’s. The company specializes in informal puppet shows for children aged three to eight, and puppet ballets with live music for audiences of adults, children or both. The company performs in collaboration with chamber ensembles and orchestras. The repertory includes adaptations of classical works as well as original stories and scores. In schools, the company has performed hundreds of times, and Penny has a wide variety of programs from puppet pageants with a cast and crew of 30 to 90 school children, to workshops for small classes, and Penny’s “One on One” – interweaving puppetry, storytelling, movement and arts.

The company has appeared on television, in the Henson International Puppet Festival at the Public Theatre, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, at BAM with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, at City Center, Avery Fisher Hall, and in museums including The Museum of the City of New York, The Children’s Museum of New York, the American Museum of Natural History, at Emelin, Wave Hill, the Washington Square Music Festival, at venues from Macy’s to Barnes & Noble, and with orchestras at Bargemusic, Casa de España, Greenwich House Music School, with the New Jersey Symphony, and many, many, more…