Jeff Newell, a musician and music historian, teaching the kids about how music of the early 20th century relates to music they may hear today. He has a studio in Vinegar Hill.

Samara Gaev, a NY-based poet and educator, working with the 5th graders to brainstorm as they write (and at the end of the week record) their original songs. Samara is on the board of Project Rhythm, which was founded by Jamin Gilbert, president of Ishlab Music Studio in DUMBO.

Blake Harrison of DUMBO-based Flocabulary, teaching the 2nd graders vocabulary words by rapping about a cat named Biggie. Blake and Alex Rappaport talked to the kids about how music sticks in your head and can help you learn.

(Photos courtesy of Jam On DUMBO)

Jam On DUMBO provided the first Music Week at P.S. 307, five days of music programming for the elementary school’s students, from May 21st to May 25th, 2012.

During Music Week, Jam On DUMBO is bringing more than a dozen musicians, educators and performers to P.S. 307 (209 York Street, Brooklyn). Students will be exposed to different types of music and movement and have the opportunity to explore the importance of music in their own lives.

“We understand the value of children having access to the arts. At a time when budgets are cut so drastically from schools, community partnerships like the one with Jam On DUMBO are crucial,” says P.S. 307 Principal Roberta Davenport. “This event is at the core of what we believe – this idea of expanding the worldview of children, and bringing to them unique experiences that they otherwise wouldn’t have.”

The week culminates in a Friday assembly where the fifth graders will perform their original songs. Funmilayo Chesney, an award-winning Congolese dancer and instructor at the Cumbe Center for African and Diaspora Dance, will also perform.

More from the press release after the break.
Read the rest of this entry »

The 2012 New York Photo Festival opens to the public today, Thursday, May 17, 2012 (11am). Tickets are not required to view exhibitions, but will be required for presentations and receptions to be held at The POWERHOUSE Arena. For tickets, go to nyph.at/tickets. NYPH’12 tickets also function as Dumbo Amenities cards, allowing bearer one-time discounts and samples of foodstuffs, candies, drinks, and durable goods in the area (value: $45+). Tickets are $15 in advance (order here), $20 at the door. Tickets ordered in advance can be picked up during the festival at Will Call May 16-May 20.

For full programming schedule, go to nyph.at/explore.

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Photoville (photovillenyc.org) is a new Brooklyn-based photo destination – a veritable village of freight containers transformed into temporary exhibition spaces, taking place this summer from June 22 to July 1, 2012 at Pier 3 of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Photoville will feature a mix of exhibitions, lectures, hands-on workshops, nighttime projections, a photo dog run, a camera greenhouse, and a summer beer-garden with food trucks that will create a photography destination like no other. And best of all, Photoville is FREE for all to attend and participate (beer & food sold separately ;)

Occupying more than 60,000 sq. feet in the heart of Brooklyn Bridge Park, Photoville will be located on the uplands of Pier 3, along the Brooklyn Waterfront between DUMBO and Atlantic Avenue.

Photoville will be a FREE community event, but they need your help with this large scale event. They are asking the community for support on Kickstarter:

We are humbled by the extraordinary outpour of support that we have received from our community & programming partners in our quest to raise most of our capital – but we need your support to carry this project to the finish line and create a photographic destination like no other.

United Photo Industries is a Dumbo based, Brooklyn-born, art-presenting cooperative dedicated to identifying, harnessing, and occasionally conjuring unexpected exhibition opportunities. Their mission at United Photo Industries is to promote and showcase emerging photographers through curated exhibitions both locally in DUMBO, Brooklyn and around the world.

The NY Times gave a mention of this event yesterday, which wrote “The ultimate aim, he said, is to create a whole environment for photography: Photoville will be immersive, which means it will provide some basic perks (beer, food trucks, dog run) and more elaborate ones (a greenhouse where plants sprout tiny cameras).”

From the Dumbo BID on First Thursdays (tonight from 6pm):

We know you’re heading to DUMBO for First Thursday – but please head back on Saturday May 5th for Smack Mellon’s Kentucky Derby Party fundraiser. Horse-betting, mint juleps, bluegrass music, silent auction, hat contest, and every ticket in the door gets you & a date into the party and a work of art off the gallery wall for your collection. As if that wasn’t enough, your ticket purchase supports Smack Mellon’s incredible free exhibition programs (like this).

And don’t miss Creative Week 2012 in DUMBO May 7-11. Featuring a major GE Hologram Installation, the Creative unConference, and many other programs throughout the week in DUMBO, including a Jim Henson retrospective, independent film premiers and creative talent from across the globe. Use the code *GOdumbo12* for a discount on tickets courtesy of DUMBO.

May’s First Thursday Picks: Check out GREEN | RED, a site-specific installation for The Archway by Peter Burr and Friends courtesy of the Brooklyn Arts Council. This immersive audio-visual experience features scrolling and cascading video “frames” provide the viewpoint into a computer wilderness, with an accompanying surround-soundtrack. GREEN | RED is part of Scene: Brooklyn: Independent Film and Media Arts, which runs May 2-6.

All First Thursday events are open to the public; most events listed below are free.

Local bars and restaurants also get in on the action – AlMar has 2 for 1 drink specials from 4-6pm. Water Street Restaurant & Lounge has 2 for 1 cosmos for ladies at the bar. Superfine‘s Happy Hour features $3.50 select tap beers, $3.50 well cocktails & $3 Bud/Bud Light. Bubby’s has $5 beers and well drinks at the bar all night long.

From the Dumbo BID on First Thursdays (tonight from 6pm):
Come out for April’s First Thursday Gallery Walk, a festive night in DUMBO that offers visitors the opportunity to see gallery shows from a variety of disciplines. Retail businesses also join the festivities with extended hours and in-store events. Maps with participating galleries and shops will be available throughout the neighborhood. All events are open to the public; most events listed here are free.

For the First Thursday Gallery Walk, artists Sandy de Lissovoy and David Kelley will show their single-channel video, Survival Based Camp, filmed at various sites in Brooklyn and Northeast Los Angeles, under The Archway. The video will be shown at 7:00pm and 8:00pm.

Local bars and restaurants also get in on the action – AlMar has 2 for 1 drink specials from 4-6pm. Water Street Restaurant & Lounge has 2 for 1 cosmos for ladies at the bar. Superfine‘s Happy Hour features $3.50 select tap beers, $3.50 well cocktails & $3 Bud/Bud Light. Bubby’s has $5 beers and well drinks at the bar all night long.

Abundant Learning is excited that the DUMBO Einsteins Pre-K alternative classes are growing right along with their students. While they will continue to offer drop off classes for early and late 3 year old students, they are adding classes this summer and fall for 4-year-old’s. AL will continue their literacy, art, math, and chess curriculum for all of their Einsteins. However, the 4’s classes will begin to explore a mind body connection through yoga and breathing exercises, and they will begin to embark on mini field trips in the neighborhood to develop a sense of community. Additionally, AL is pleased to offer French and Painting classes starting this summer for 3 and 4 year olds – and in the fall AL will have a French Immersion and Painting add on class for the 4’s.

The Abundant Learning Chess program continues to grow with the Thursday Chess Club and private lessons. This summer they are offering a Tournament Chess Boot Camp for children ages 5*-12. Starting in the fall of 2012, Abundant Learning will be offering Chess Memberships for private lessons spanning the entire school year.

In early February, AL partnered with Karma Kids Yoga to offer yoga for children and their families on Sundays. So far the response has been wonderful.

This school year AL expanded the Tutoring program to include 4-year-old children. The one on one tutoring is individually designed for children and adults and is based on multi sensory techniques similar to Lindamood-Bell. The tutoring can be either proactive or remedial.

If you have any questions about the current offerings or requests for future offerings, please contact Liz@abundantlearning.org.

The application for 2012 Dumbo Arts Festival 2012 is online. This year, the Dumbo Arts Festival (DAF) will take place on Friday, September 28th, Saturday, September 29th and Sunday, September 30th. Application is due for projects in the artwork/installation or exhibition categories on April 1, 2012.

The Dumbo Arts Festival attracts 200,000 visitors over 3 days with participation from artists from a variety of disciplines, 100 studios, 50 galleries, and stages. Go to the Dumbo Arts Festival 2012 website for full details.

File this under, random street art or ‘only in Dumbo Brooklyn’.

February 18 – March 4th 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday Feb. 18, 2012 6-9pm

Tony Ingrisano, Sylvia Jeffriess, Jebediah Long, Troy Lovegates, James Moore, Fumi Nakamura

Kunsthalle Galapagos is pleased to present Ocean Size, a group exhibition of six artists who question our perceptions of reality. Their works coax us to join them in fantastical worlds of bold colors, precise lines, and mutated patterns. Distorted characters and fragments morph and fray into an ordered chaos. Disjointed narratives, found memories and alter-egos situate us, then shift our perceptions of our own state of being. The work compels us to reach beyond our own comprehension to something bigger than ourselves, something “ocean size”.

Ocean Size is curated by Julie McKim, Erik Hougen, Albert Shelton, Gracie Kazer

Kunsthalle Galapagos (www.kunsthallegalapagos.com)
16 Main St, Brooklyn, NY

Gallery Hours: Thurs – Sun 1-6pm

There is a trunk show at Ehvonnae in Dumbo by Freshly Given. Freshly Given hand makes limited edition accessories from repurposed leather. Her style is elegant, classic, vintage, and retro. To view some items, go to shop.freshlygiven.com.

Who | What: Freshly Given | Trunk Show NYC
When: Thursday, February 16, 2012 | 6-10pm
Where: Ehvonnae 145 Front Street, Unit B, Brooklyn, NY 11201 718.310.3686