Interpretations in Texture: Virtual Exhibition

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Interpretations in Texture
Virtual Exhibition on View from Thursday, January 5th to Friday, February 12th, 2021
Interpretations in Texture, curated by Tiffanee E. Thompson, is a group virtual exhibition, presented by BxArts Factory, that explores the many ways that we interpret our lives. Through printmaking and the incredible eye of our strong female-led lineup, you, our audience, will have the opportunity to step into how their imagination and personal experiences have developed into works of art that is both relatable and pushes the boundaries of the limitations of life. Mixed with symbolism, collage, historical context, cultural context and the beautiful uses of color, shading and shadow we can explore artwork that honors personal interpretation and experiences with universal themes such as family, immigration, pain, joy, motherhood, design and imagination.
This exhibition will take you on a journey of how important it is to understand the process of creation, the experience of the artist and how that experience has impacted the way in which they share their life’s work with us all.
Participating Artists:
Luanda Lozano
Palén Obesa
Rachel Sydlowski
Yasuyo Tanaka
Tammy Wofsey
Virtual Opening Event/Evento de Apertura Virtual: Thursday, January 7th, 2021 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm
Please sign up to receive the Zoom link for the opening event of our virtual exhibition Interpretations in Texture. You will receive an email the day before with the Zoom link and password. We look forward to connecting with you on this day!
Por favor complete esta hoja para poder recibir la información para nuestro evento virtual por la plataforma de Zoom. Usted recibirá un correo electrónico el día anterior con el enlace y la contraseña para entrar al evento. ¡Esperamos verle!
https://forms.gle/Exbjv1YYJv8dbzpc6
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Reflections: Bronx & West Indies

by Erin Hylton
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As a life-long Bronx resident I was elated and proud to have curated an exhibition that celebrates my West Indian heritage. With the support of BXArts Factory and hosted by the Montefiore Fine Arts program ArtViews gallery, the exhibition was on view July 13, 2017 – Oct 6, 2017 at Montefiore Moses Campus, 90 East 210th St. Bronx, NY 10467.
Reflections: Celebrating 50 Years of the West Indian American Day Carnival celebrates and honors the history of the Caribbean carnival by reflecting on the West Indian population in the Bronx, NY and noting their impact and long-lasting influence on their community and NYC. Through the lens of 5 Bronx-based photographers, the vibrancy, tradition and impact of West Indian Americans are captured by the photographs on display. Artists Trevon Blondet, Ijeoma D. Iheanacho, Jonathan Joseph, Omesh Persaud and Harri “Indio” Ramkishun each take on a subtheme of inspiration from the West Indian community. Together the photographs share the energy and strength of the West Indian population and the groups influence to the political, economic and cultural vitality of the North Bronx.

The West Indian population of the Bronx, NY is 8% or 106,000 people from various islands lying between southeastern North America and northern South America bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic and comprising the Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles and Bahamas.  The largest event in New York City that celebrates and honors Caribbean culture, arts, history and traditions is the West Indian American Day Carnival, which is comprised of week-long festivities and a grand finale. The grand finale Carnival reaches over one million people in attendance during Labor Day weekend with participants and tourists from all over the world.

The turnout for Opening night was excellent, and we had a wonderful reception for the show. Visitors have stated it made the hallways more vibrant and relatable as the images on the walls reflected their own personal and familial histories. In fact, I received a hand written note from my doctor thanking me for my work on the show.

For more information and to enjoy some photos of the event, please visit this link: https://montefiorefineartprogram.squarespace.com/artviews-gallery-1

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Thinking of Home: Story-Telling and Video Stories Community Project

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Saturday, March 26
From 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Bronx Music Heritage Center Laboratory
1303 Louis Nine Boulevard
Bronx, NY, 10459

BxArts Factory, in partnership with the Bronx Music Heritage Center, collaborated with the Neighborhood Shopp Senior Center La Casa Boricua to bring you the stories of a group of senior citizens from our community.
​Poets Peggy Robles-Alvarado, Bonafide Rojas, El David & Andres Chulisi Rodriguez will present original works inspired by their stories, including their journeys to the United States and their lives in the Bronx.

Additionally, artist and videographer Melanie Gonzalez will present a series of short video-stories/documentaries created to further highlight their stories. This event will also be the culmination of our art exhibition, Memories Un-Remembered: Thinking of Home (Longing).

FREE EVENT

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Artists Talk: Memories Un-Remembered: Thinking of Home (Longing)

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Saturday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The Bronx Music Heritage Center Laboratory
1303 Louis Nine Blvd, Bronx, New York 10459

Join us to talk with the artists of Memories Un-remembered: Thinking of Home (Longing) – Francheska Alcantara, Stephanie Mota, Lazarus Nazario and Edwin Torres accompanied by curator Alexis Mendoza.
Our conversation will focus on the inspiration behind all the pieces and personal stories related to the topic of longing and nostalgia for home.
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This is a free event and open to the public.
This event is brought to you in partnership with the Bronx Music Heritage Center Laboratory

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Close to Home: Mi Familia and the Diaspora Photo Screening and Panel

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BxArts Factory in partnership with the Bronx Music Heritage Center (BMHCLab) presents:
Special Photo Project Screening and Panel – Close to Home: Mi Familia and the Diaspora by Edwin Torres (BRIO Winner) will be presenting his project as part of Memories Un-Remembered: Thinking of Home (Longing) sponsored by the Bronx Council on the Arts.

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Memories Un-Remembered: Thinking of Home (Longing)

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​BxArts Factory​ in partnership with Bronx Music Heritage Center​ present our 1st project of 2016!
Memories Un-Remembered: Thinking of Home (Longing).

This Arts Exhibition/Community Project was curated by Alexis Mendoza​ and include artists Francheska Alcantara​, Stephanie Mota​, Lazarus Nazario​ and Edwin Torres​.

Opening Reception: Saturday, February 6th from 6 to 9 pm
1303 Louis Nine Boulevard, Bronx NY 10459
For more details please visit our FB event page:

Francheska Alcantara’s body of work transforms a vacant space into something unique and beautiful without any outside materials, metaphorically speaking to the way immigrants arrive at a new, unfamiliar place with minimal material possessions, and transform the existing area into a beautifully unique neighborhood laden with culture.
Who am I? Where do I come from? How do I place myself in society? These questions are just the start of  Alcantara’s internal dialogue dealing with identity, feminism, psychological states, and cultural background.

The relationships, dreams, hopes, and cultural values that support the series of mixed media sculptures created by Stehanie Mota titled “Mi-Pietā” es nothing less than a personal exploration in which the portrait take a form of a domestic object, a sentimental/conceptual expression of identity. Every material she used in the series (wood kitchen cabinets, stovetop coffee pot, rice, etc) are a further representation of the nuances of her nostalgia associated with her mother. Lazarus Nazario mixed painting with other media such as: printmaking, and found objects to confront social practices concerning her ancestors’ homeland that celebrates cultural differences while underscoring our shared history and humanity. Whether in public spaces or intimate settings, her painting explores the human figure from the intimate osmosis between essences and appearances. Her work shows the fusion of many languages to point out a clear reference of a sense of belonging.

In the same reflection Edwin Torres use as a subject his own family. “I am certain that in conclusive form, this work will have multiple layers of meaning for my family and will serve as a document to the Puerto Rican diaspora. This work is a journey of self-discovery and careful looking, where I will clarify my cultural identity and reconnect family together”. In the on-going series “Close to Home: Mi Familia and the Diaspora” we can feel the overwhelming reflection of two aspects “memory” and “place” negotiating the physical and psychological aspects of acculturation built into immigrants’ daily lives through adaptation and integration. For the past year, Edwin Torres have focused his work on documenting traumatic events and daily life in his immediate family.

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Boricuba: Thank you!

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BORI-CUBA 2X2
November 6 – December 18, 2015, 3:30-7:00pm daily, Abrazo Interno Gallery.

We would like to express our appreciation to all the people that make BORIMIX BORI-CUBA 2X2 possible. We are very thankful for the public’s response, to the 500 plus people present at the opening reception and all the people that continue visiting the exhibition and requesting private viewing of the show.  We would also like to thank the sponsors and all the organization that collaborated with the realization of BORIMIX Festival, which celebrates Puerto Rican Arts and Culture each November. BORI-CUBA 2X2 explores the relationship between the two island nations of Cuba and Puerto Rico and their respective diasporas. Cuba and Puerto Rico have often been referred to as “wings of the same bird,” sharing a strong Taino strand in their pre-Colombian history and common Spanish colonial heritage.

Our sincere appreciation goes to Miguel Trelles, Co-curator of BORI-CUBA 2X2 and Board Member of the Clemente Soto Velez Center for his trust and support. Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude to the staff of the Clemente Soto Velez Center: Jan Hanvik, Executive Director; Dr. Manuel Moran, CEO of Society of the Educational Arts, and Borimix co-creator; Harvey Padilla, Mariana Ortiz, Venues Manager; Yvette Rodriguez, Bookkeeper; Rebecca Weiss, Social Media Manager; Tal Sharon, Senior House Manager for their diligence in compiling all aspects of this project. We are also indebted to the artists in the show for sharing their work and ideas with us: Nelson Alvarez, Diogenes Ballester, Marcos Dimas, Maria Dominguez, Alejandro Epifanio, Elizam Escobar, Juan Si Gonzalez, Josue Guarionex, Frank Guiller, Ivelisse Jimenez, Juanita Lanzo, Alicia Leal, Renelio Marin, Carlos Mateu, Ibrahim Miranda, Juan Fernando Morales, Clara Morera, noba: Nestor Otero, Annex Burgos Jesus Rivera, Luis Stephenberg, Lissette Solorzano, Nitza Tufino, Juana Valdes, Rafael Velez, Raul Villarreal.

Alexis Mendoza
Artist, Writer and an Independent Curator
Co-Founder of BxArts Factory, Vice President CCO, Head Curator

 

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Boricuba: 2×2 Art Exhibition

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BxArts Factory presents BORI-CUBA 2×2 Art Exhibition at
Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center
November 6th to December 6th 2015
107 Suffolk Street, New York

Artists:
Alejandro Epifanio, Alicia Leal, Annex Burgos, Carlos Mateu, Clara Morera, Diogenes Ballester, Elizam Escobar, Frank Guiller, Ibrahim Miranda, Ivelisse Jimenez, Jesus Rivera, Josue Guarionex Colon-Rosado, Juan Fernando Morales, Juan Si Gonzalez, Juana Valdes, Juanita Lanzo, Lissette Solorzano, Luis Stephenberg, MarcosDimas, Maria Dominguez, Nelson Alvarez, Nestor Otero, Nitza Tufino, Rafael Velez, Raul Villarreal, Renelio Marin

BORI-CUBA 2X2 seeks to provide an overview of how visual artists in two contemporary Caribbean cultures, Cuba and Puerto Rico, address the continuous dialogue between island and diaspora. For different reasons, a sizable sector of both islands’ populations has become diasporic, and the ongoing dialogue between both sectors has come to define their identities. It has been repeatedly said that both islands are “wings of the same bird” or mirror images of each other. To begin with, they share a strong Taino strand in their pre-Columbian history and a common Spanish colonial heritage. Both islands were, in fact, the last remnants of the Spanish empire in the Americas and were administratively treated in much the same way. The two islands’ culture was also shaped by a strong African presence and both have acted as ciphers of geopolitical brinksmanship since colonial days. Around the mid 20th century, this situation was reinforced by the relationship each island developed with the United States during the Cold War, with each one assuming a diametrically opposite relationship to its northern neighbor. Cuban visual culture, both that of the Island and that of the Diaspora, has had an overt political tone according to its pro or anti Cuban Revolution stance, reflected in its pro or anti U.S. position. The visual culture of Puerto Rico, on the other hand, has frequently displayed a covert political undertone, frequently addressing its colonial relationship to the United States. Are contemporary Cuban and Puerto Rican artists aware of this common tradition or are they distancing themselves from those concerns? Given the no less contrasting situation of the latest U.S. attitudes toward both islands (while there is a definite rapprochement with Cuba, there seems to be a great indifference toward helping solve Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis), it is certainly pertinent to study whether those attitudes are being addressed in the current art production of both countries, both by the artists who live on the islands and those who are part of their diasporas.

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SOCIAL MEDIA CONTEST ALERT!

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Do you have the 12×12 fever yet?
We are back with our social media contest!  This time we want you to spot 12×12’s everywhere!
Post a picture on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook of the number 1212 around your neighborhood and or in unexpected places (letters, parking spots, house number, lottery tickets, stores, price tags, art work, you name it!) and tag us with the following 3 hash tags #12×12 #BxArtsFactory #ISupportBxAF   

 

Anyone that posts a picture of a double 12 number with the 3 hash tags will enter a raffle to win all access tickets to the Museum of Natural History! (You must follow these instructions and post the picture with all 3 hash tags to enter the contest! ALL 3 hash tags please!!).
This is your chance to enter the raffle for free! We will select the winners during our 12”x12” 2nd Fundraising Event on Saturday, May 16th from 5 to 10 pm at the BronxArtSpace​ (305 E 140th St Apt 1A Bronx, New York).  Raffle tickets will also be sold at this event!!
Help us spread the word about our fundraiser and have fun while at it! Participants must be present to win.  You only need to post 1 picture to enter the contest for free.  For more information email us at info@bxartsfactory.org

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2nd 12″x12″ Fundraising Art Exhibition!

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Join us on Saturday, May 16th from 5 to 10 pm at BronxArts Space (305 E 140th St Apt 1A Bronx, New York) and help us raise funds to restore our, soon to be open, cultural space on 148th and Brook Avenue! We have gathered more than 82 artists and almost 200 pieces of art work and it will all be on sale for a flat rate of $200 each (plus taxes)!!! 40% of the money going directly to the artist and 60% will be your contribution to BxArts Factory!

Why are we asking for your help?  Our future space needs some tender love and care and we need your help to make it happen! Our last event was a great success and you just can’t miss this one! Come on by and enjoy of cool music by DeeJaySoul (Ignacio Soltero), selfie-station, raffle with great prices, great company and lots of great artwork!

If you can’t make it, make sure you get your original piece of art in our online store! 

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