Arts & Culture

Don’t be fooled by the mainstream media: Arts & Culture is alive in our borough and The Bronx has been at the forefront of arts and culture for decades and isn’t something new to the borough. We’ve been creating and exporting the arts in all its disciplines as long as our borough has been around. From the founding of Hip-hop to fashion designers and major entertainment artists along with the visual and literary arts, we’ve been doing it.

Havana Film Festival Screening of Rumba Clave Blen Blen Blen At The Bronx Museum

Kicking off the 16th Annual Havana Film Festival in New York, The Bronx Museum will host a screening of Rumba Clave Blen Blen Blen, followed by a special performance by Dayramir Gonzalez & Habana enTrance. Music by DJ Asho. By paying homage to the grand masters of the genre, Rumba Clave Blen Blen Blen takes us on a historical journey that traces the history of rumba in New York.

Free admission and bar!

Bronx Fashion Week 2015 Season Kicks Off At The Old Bronx Courthouse

BRONX, NY—March 26, 2015—Bronx Fashion Week, LLC announced today their 2nd event after last year’s successful and historic first Bronx Fashion Week in the borough’s history. This year the event will be held at the landmark Old Bronx Courthouse in Melrose on May 9th from 5:00PM – 9PM sharing space with No Longer Empty’s exhibition ‘When You Cut Into The Present, The Future Leaks Out’

CEO Flora Montes says “Bronx Fashion Week 2015 will bring forth a fashion celebration providing a platform for top designers and models showcasing collections from The Bronx and across the world.”

The event will feature a VIP Reception and pre-fashion cocktail party, product launches from diverse sponsors, as well as several performances.

Bx200 Bronx Visual Artist Directory Launch Party Tomorrow at The Bronx Museum

Join Bx200 tomorrow at The Bronx Museum of the Arts from 6pm – 9pm as they hold their official launch of their directory of Bronx artists. The evening will be a fun celebration of the Arts in The Bronx as the group will have a slideshow from our wonderful, artistic community and John “Crash” Matos of WallworksNY will be on hand as a guest speaker.

Oh and did we mention that Morris Perk will be on hand providing their amazing coffee?

Historic Poe Cottage Now Open 4 Days A Week

The 203 year old house in the village of Fordham where the great poet Edgar Allan Poe spent the last years of his life is now open 4 days a week for all to enjoy and absorb the history of this celebrated man and his life. Visitors can now enjoy a visit to the cottage on Thursdays and Fridays from 10AM – 3PM, Saturdays from 10AM – 4PM, and Sundays from 1PM – 5PM.

More details below in the press release issued by the Bronx County Historical Society who manages this great, historic treasure of our borough:

Press Release: Exhibition opens at Old Bronx Borough Courthouse on April 23

New York, March 20, 2015 – No Longer Empty (NLE) is pleased to present When You Cut into the Present the Future Leaks Out at the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse. Curated by Regine Basha for NLE, the exhibition is one of seven projects to receive the Neighborhood Challenge Award. Built 1905–1914 and attributed to architects Michael John Garvin and Oscar Florianus Bluemner, the Courthouse, once boasting granite floors, lavish stairways, and bronze doors, remains adorned by a statue of Lady Justice. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bronx County, the Beaux Arts-style building has been shuttered for 37 years.

TOMORROW 3/19 at 1040 LOUNGE: THE BRONX IS VOGUING—25th Anniversary of Paris Is Burning

In honor of its 25th Anniversary, the film Paris is Burning will be screened at the Bronx Museum, followed by a Q&A led by BronxWorks’ Sexual Health Promotion Through Youth Leadership youth as well as a Voguing Workshop led by Visual AIDS artist Kia LaBeija. The iconic film provides a dynamic and intimate portrait of the Harlem drag balls of the 1980s, where rival fashion “houses” competed for trophies and cash prizes in categories like “face,” “femme queen realness” and “voguing.” Winner of a Sundance Grand Jury Prize, Paris is Burning celebrates how African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender New Yorkers, for whom racism, poverty, and homophobia were daily struggles, created a world of sustenance and joy. Presented in collaboration with Visual AIDS (visualaids.org) and BronxWorks.
We will be joined by a number of community partners, including HealthPlus Amerigroup, Planned Parenthood, and Tantalizing Productions, Inc., who will offer hand outs and more information on sexual health and wellness.

Welcome To The Bronx: The Bronx Tourism Council’s 2015 Visitors Guide Is Out

Just got a chance to look at the first ever The Bronx 2015 Visitors Guide by The Bronx Tourism Council and I must say they did a pretty good job. Of course not all of our neighborhood favorites made it to the list but nevertheless it’s pretty comprehensive and highlights many of our treasures big and small and off the beaten path ones too.

The guide highlights all corners of our beautiful borough from our greenways, landmarks, cultural attractions and culinary delights to the natural beauty of The Bronx.

Check out the visitors guide below by clicking below!

Open Call For Artists For BxArts Factory Fundraiser at Gun Hill Brewing Co!

Since BxArts Factory announced their launch earlier this year, they have been on fire with event after event and there seems like no stopping them!

Now the group is having a fundraiser and has put out a call for artists and artwork for a fundraiser to be held at Gun Hill Brewing Co on April 17th-18th, 2015 with 40% of any sale going to the artist and 60% to benefit the BxArts Factory, a non-profit arts-based organization. It’s important to note that you can submit 2 dimensional art INCLUDING photographs as long as you follow the guidelines.

Volunteers Needed For No Longer Empty’s Exhibition At The Old Bronx Courthouse

No Longer Empty, the organization which transformed the Andrew Freedman Home 3 years ago into a major exhibition, is in search for volunteers for their latest project, this time at the Old Bronx Courthouse.

The exhibition, ‘When You Cut Into The Present, The Future Leaks Out’, will run from April 23rd through the end of July and feature many Bronx artists as well as artists from beyond our borders bringing what will be an amazing art-filled cultural adventure through what has been one of the most beautiful, yet enigmatic vacant structures in The Bronx.

Experience The Magic of Orchid Evenings At The New York Botanical Garden

This past Saturday was the launch of what’s become a yearly tradition with The Orchid Show at The New York Botanical Garden — Orchid Evenings.

It was my mother’s birthday so what better way to celebrate it than surrounded by the elegance of The Orchid Show: Chandeliers in the enchanting and historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory during the magic of the night?

WATCH: Baz Luhrmann Speaks At The Ghetto Film School About South Bronx Based ‘The Get Down’ Series Coming to Netflix

Australian film director Baz Luhrmann came to The Bronx yesterday for a press conference at The Ghetto Film School in Port Morris along with Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr and New York City Film Commissioner Cynthia Lopez to discuss his latest project, ‘The Get Down’ heading to Netflix.

The focus of the press conference was to talk more about the television series, which has captured the attention of Bronxites all over the world who lived during the era of the 1970s which the series is set in. Baz Luhrmann said of ‘The Get Down’, “It is about a group of teenagers and it’s specifically about a very intense friendship with two guys and there’s a girl involved.”