Push for 323 Wall Street Highlights Performing Arts

September 28th, 2010

Backstage Productions, the performance space at 323 Wall Street whose events have been a highlight of Uptown nightlife for the past decade, has taken on new energy. Owner Teri Rossin, who purchased the 1872 building, which houses a former theater, more than a decade ago, has strived to establish a thriving performing arts center in the space, and her inviting of Sevan Melikyan last month to manage BSP’s production company, 323 Wall Street, is a huge step in that direction.

“My initial goal is to keep this building open for all kinds of use,” said Melikyan, who has put up a comprehensive website of all upcoming events and related initiatives, www.323wallstreet.com. An Armenian who was born in Turkey, Melikyan was a theatre rep in Manhattan before becoming marketing director for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition series in Fort Worth, prior to moving to the mid Hudson Valley with his wife and son. As a musician himself—he plays piano and drums—Melikyan is sensitive to the needs and requirements of performers, and he is active on numerous fronts promoting the space’s multiple facilities:

  • The New York-certified sound stage (meaning a production utilizing the space would receive a 30 percent rebate from the state), which he hopes to rent out to film and TV productions companies comprising the region’s fledgling film industry;
  • The second-floor dance studio. Classes for both kids and adults, held six days a week, recently started up in the space, led by dancer/choreographer Erin Parsch;
  • The 25,000-square-foot theater with its original 19th-century proscenium.  Melikyan said he’s talking to promoters to get live pop and touring acts into the space. Two advantages are its proximity to the Thruway and the lower rental rates, compared to venues in Albany or New York. “I’m contacting people who specialize in these tours and see if their acts could stop by here on a week day.”  The space is also suitable for benefits and larger private events. The Woodstock Film Festival is having its Maverick Award in there this Saturday.
  • The front-room bar and performing space, a perfect venue for private events, corporate events such as mixers and upcoming Holidays parties, open mics (one is scheduled this Thursday, at 8 pm), live music by small bands, and events sponsored by various community groups. Bands performing as part of the O+ Festival on Oct. 9 and 10 will play here, followed by a jazz concert on Oct. 19 and a Halloween bash on Oct. 30.

Melikyan said he hopes to book theater companies and events for children in the space, as well as host art exhibitions. He would also like to present concerts of classical music and has put the word out that he’s looking to obtain a baby grand piano, which would make this possible. If you know of one—or are interested in making a donation–please contact him.

“The potential to bring in hundreds of people is great,” he said. “I feel a tremendous responsibility in succeeding in this neighborhood.”  Clearly, Uptown has the facilities, talent, and ideas needed to thrive.

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Art on the Line at Seven21

September 21st, 2010

October is shaping up to be Kingston’s special month of the arts. In addition to the O+ Positive Festival on Oct. 8-10, which will feature concerts by great, noteworthy bands and the Arts Society of Kingston’s Open Studio Tours on October 2nd, Second Chance 4 Me is hosting a festival of the arts on Oct. 1-3, Art on the Line, at the Seven21 Media Center.

With its warren of small, tech-oriented businesses, the Seven21 Media Center, owned and operated by the Ellenbogen family, has brought a breath of life to upper Broadway. It’s also become a rich center for the visual arts, thanks to the efforts of tenant Lou Spina. Spina operates several businesses from a 2,000-square-foot loft space on the second floor, among them Second Chance 4 Me, an innovative employment incubator, and an art gallery, which each month showcases the works of dozens of artists on the walls of the loft, hall and adjoining galleries.

Now Spina is building on that success with an arts extravaganza entitled Art on the Line, which he describes as “a fantasia of art, music and food.” Held at his Seven21 loft, the festival is part of his plan to attract more culture and economic development to Kingston. “What we’re doing is presenting painters, sculptors, photographers, dancers, singers, musicians, and chefs–artists in every conceivable medium–under one roof,” Spina said. “We’re making it possible for the public to interact and to enjoy these artists in an intimate setting that also serves as the jumping off point for a large-scale vision to showcase arts in our region and boost our economy.” Spina is soliciting sponsors, so if you’re a local business and want to get involved, give him a call at 331-7599.

Beginning in the afternoon on Friday, Oct. 1, more than 500 works of art will be displayed on clothes lines strung throughout the space. The event kicks off that evening with a cooking demonstration by Noah Sheetz, the executive chef for the Governor’s Mansion, followed by performances by singer Lex Grey (accompanied by guitarist Vic Mix), singer-songwriter Roseann Sureda, and bassist and Grammy-winning producer Malcolm Cecil and his band. The festival continues on Saturday evening with “Italy on the Hudson,” featuring an opera performance by Phoenicia’s Festival of the Voice singers, a dance by Linda Diamond and her NYC troupe, an exhibit of Alex Kveton’s sculptures, and delicious food catered by Savona’s Trattoria. On Sunday, a jazz brunch will be served from 1 to 2 pm, with food catered by several Kingston restaurants, followed by music by Stephen Johnson, the Will Smith Trio, and Veronica Nunn. The premises will be open to the general public in the afternoon of each day. For more information, check out www.artontheline.info or call 331-7955.

Spina, a former phys ed teacher at Kingston High School, has had a second career developing jobs for troubled kids and special needs individuals. Second Chance 4 Me seeks to locate jobs for the employment-challenged as well as provide them, through the auspices of Spina’s other ventures. These include The Media Lab, which does video production and has offered Mac and other computer classes, and Our Neighborhood, which aims to help Midtown businesses promote themselves through video productions posted on line. Second Chance 4 Me will play a role in Art on the Line, with staff taping the Friday night cooking demonstrations in conjunction with Green Peas TV, a traveling regional cooking show.

Art on the Line is one of several arts-related events hosted by Spina. Earlier this year, he presented an independent film festival, and coming up, on October 20, he is holding a performing arts forum on applying for grants. Such a diversity of events contribute to making Kingston a thriving arts center.

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New Gallery Opens on Abeel Street

June 1st, 2010

One Mile Gallery, located at 475 Abeel Street, near the railroad trestle, is opening this Saturday with a show by wood turner Josh Vogel. The gallery is the latest entrée to Kingston’s happening art scene. It’s located on the first floor of a charming brick building that was originally purchased a year ago as the weekend house for Janet Hicks, an artists’ agent, and her boyfriend, Eddie Mullins, both of Brooklyn. The couple and their Kingston house were profiled last summer in The New York Times.

Hicks, who holds a master’s degree in art history and previously lived in Oregon, said the gallery was a natural outgrowth of the couple’s interest in the arts.  They plan to show both local and New York City-based artists. Vogel, a resident of Highland, makes drawings and physically imposing sculptures whose sensuousness is heightened by their “woodsy aroma,” according to Hicks. The August show will feature acrylic oceanscapes, followed by an exhibit featuring “the world’s most successful canine artist, Tillamook Cheddar,” which opens Labor Day weekend.  “The dog does amazing work,” said Hicks. “Her process for creating the art is really a treat to watch.”

The gallery is open weekends, 12 to 7 p.m., and by appointment. Hicks said the parking lot across the street at Ulster Marina will accommodate any overflow of cars. She added that she plans to stage events in conjunction with First Saturdays and beyond. “We will be having an event with Tuthilltown Spirits at the gallery in July, and we are hoping to get a vehicle of some kind into the Artists’ Soapbox Derby in August,” she said. “Our dog artist has some ideas up her sleeve for the Labor Day opening that will be really fun.”

Hicks said the couple is spending more time in Kingston than they originally planned. “We fell in love with the city more than we ever thought we would,” she said. “We get a great feeling of being outdoors on the creek. It’s a country feeling yet, has all the conveniences of living in a town. And there’s a tremendous art and cultural scene close by, in the outlying towns.”

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Kingston’s Art and Photo Supply Stores, From Soup to Nuts

March 1st, 2010

Catskill Art & Office Supply, located at 328 Wall Street, has been an anchor of the Uptown shopping district for 24 years and currently has eight employees. “We offer quality products and services at a good price,” said manager Nick Peluso. (Owner Paul Solis-Cohen also operates two stores in Woodstock and Poughkeepsie.)You can easily spend an hour browsing the fine art and graphic art materials, canvas (raw and pre-stretched, in a variety of sizes), gift cards, boxed notes, personal stationery, calendars, instructional art books, and studio furniture (including drawing tables, lamps, and easels). Framer Ginny Ballard, a 16-year veteran of the store, has won a following for her custom framing. There’s also a custom printing division, which includes banners, business cards and laminating, according to Peluso.

 Even compared with the chain office supply stores, “our prices are pretty reasonable,” said Peluso. Xeroxes are 10 cents for a single copy, four cents for 100 copies. “We’re competitive in all those areas. Our copy paper is cheaper and our inkjet cartridges are in some cases $1 more and $1 less” that those sold in the big box stores. Catskill Art also runs frequent specials, with a sale on canvas the next couple of weeks. In addition, it offers a 20 percent discount to art students and professional artists. You can get an additional 10 percent off if you sign up for the custom rewards program ($10 coupon with every $100 purchased).    

 What’s the advantage of shopping at Catskill Art over buying on-line? “Experiencing the product firsthand and being able to ask someone for advice,” according to Peluso. Open Monday through Friday from 9-5:30 and Saturday from 9-5.

 Artcraft Camera & Digital, located at 300 Plaza Road, in Kingston Plaza, has been in the same family since 1972, when it was purchased by owner Todd Fitzgerald’s father. It now has a sister store in Poughkeepsie, with a total of 18 employees. The store sells four lines of cameras, both digital and film, along with darkroom supplies and accessories including flashes, filters and bags. The store’s custom framing division does laminating as well as large-format printing (digital and other) and DVD and CD duplication services (it can also transfer 8 mm film to DVDs). Fitzgerald said Artcraft also has a custom framing division, which is presided over by Elaine Bragg, who has 26 years of experience. 

Todd Fitzgerald

 Fitzgerald said the store does a brisk trade in scanning slides, negatives, and photos digitally, with some people bringing in shoeboxes full of photos that are “scanned in a clip.” Artcraft also has an archiving service to organize all those photos. One growing line of business is creating a DVD, collage, special photo book or 23 x 54 framed image for “Celebration of Life” services when a person dies. The store also can produce registration books, with the photos positioned on the left hand side and a place for signatures on the right.

 Perhaps the fastest growing segment of the business is gifting, in which personal photos are transferred onto mugs, puzzles, T-shirts, and blankets. Most of the photo gifts cost under $40, with a mug starting at $8. Fitzgerald said the store will soon be expanding into printing on dozens of types of textiles, ranging from shower curtains to scarves, as well as glasswork, aluminum and tin. “You won’t buy art at Target, but have your history and family tree printed on the shower curtain, your linens, a pillow,” said Fitzgerald, noting that the store will also print personal photos on a stretched canvas. “Photo décor is where it’s going.”

Fitzgerald said one advantage of shopping at Artcraft is the employee’s expertise.  “You may find cheap cameras at Target, but you won’t find the service.” Plus, no one’s trying to rush customers who come in with a box of photos commemorating a loved one. “When you walk in here, you can sit in one of our chairs for two hours,” said Fitzgerald. “We have compassion for your memories. It’s not just about your photos.” Open Monday-Friday from 9 to 6, Saturday from 10 to 5, and Sunday from 11 to 4.

 R&F Handmade Paints, located at 84 Ten Broeck Avenue, is the industry leader for encaustics, the wax-based paints that were used by the Egyptians thousands of years ago and which founder Richard Frumess helped popularize as a viable medium for contemporary artists. Located in Kingston since the mid 1990s, the business also manufactures oil sticks, and—perhaps not widely known–has a store on the premises that sells a full line of materials for painters, including brushes, Williamsburg oil paint (which is manufactured in upstate New York), canvas, and palettes, in addition to its paints and oil sticks.  

R & F Handmade Paints

R&F also sells artists’ supplies on-line, but the prices in the store are 15 percent less, said director of operations Darin Sein. It sells items in bulk: while linseed oil, for example, is sold in expensive pints at most art supply stores, R&F sells it by the gallon. The store also carries a high-grade, sweet-smelling turpentine (“we spent a long time researching this to find it,” according to Sein). Of course, it also sells a full line of equipment for encaustic painters, including hand-assembled heated palettes and heat guns, torches and electrically heated tools.

The store features holiday and back-to-school sales, said Sein. Besides its three- and five-day workshops, it also offers one-day workshops that are popular with residents, including an encaustic class from noon to four every third Saturday (cost is $40). R&F also runs a gallery, which shows works by distinguished artists in both encaustic and oil. The store is open Monday through Friday from 9-5 and Saturday from 10-5.

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Arts Mean Business

February 1st, 2010

The Shirt Factory

In the early 1900s, when manufacturing in the U.S. was in its heyday, Kingston had two shirt factories employing 265 women and 30 men. While the city’s garment industry has long disappeared, the brick factory buildings, located at 77 Cornell Street, in Midtown,  are still bustling with activity, occupied by painters, sculptors, photographers, clothing designers, musicians and new media developers. The Creative Industry, as it’s called, is an essential part of the city’s economy, taking root in old industrial buildings that are getting a new lease on life as exciting venues for making and exhibiting art.

The growth of this industry has been organic. When Mike Piazza bought the former Shirt Factory in 2002, some eight or nine artists had studios in the building. Piazza rented space out to several other artists, with the first building-wide exhibition held in 2003. “The event was a birthing,” he says. “The building began to take on a direction. The ambiance of the wood and brick was inspirational, and the open space was ideal for gallery openings and other events, including movie shoots. Most recently, it was featured in a German production about a woman who owns a knitting factory, moves north, falls in love with an old loft building and ends up buying it and renting space out to artists.” (Truly, art follows life.)

Piazza said while several tenants have occupied their studios for more than a decade, the base has been expanding, thanks to the softening real estate market and a pro active approach to marketing (while many tenants still find out about the building through word of mouth, Piazza said he advertises in the Art Times, posts signs in the city and maintains a website, artistworkspace.com). “Our tenant base has grown and is alive with talented, creative, like-minded people,” he said.

Allen Stamper's Studio

Piazza said the creative industry is a natural partner to tourism, another sector that has the potential to transform the city’s economy. “I believe that Kingston will grow in the coming years, based on its appeal to artists,” he said. “We continue to draw interest from places like Woodstock, where it is expensive to live. Many of our tenants have relocated from New York City.”

One newcomer is Allen Stamper, who relocated to Kingston from Hawaii, establishing a studio and residence on the fourth floor of the Shirt Factory. The son of artist Willson Stamper and celebrated children’s book illustrator and writer Martha Stamper, Stamper is an accomplished artist in his own right. His paintings have been shown in many galleries, museums and cultural centers in Hawaii.

Why did he choose Kingston? “I found Kingston to have great potential and a good network of other artists,” he said. “Plus, it is close to New York City, where I can show.” Stamper said the friendliness and “human grace” he discovered on a visit to the city last May were also key to his decision. Such qualities are missing from most of America, he said. “It was this factor that cemented it for me,” he said.

One of the high-profile tenants at the Shirt Factory is the Deep Listening Institute and  Pauline Oliveros, who has received international acclaim for her musical compositions. Recently she was awarded the William Schuman Award from Columbia University School of the Arts. (According to the school’s dean, Carol Becker, Oliveros is “a truly adventurous artist, who has contributed so much to redefining the boundaries and potentialities of contemporary music.”)

Piazza said the Shirt Factory attracts many visitors during its high-profile events. These include this Saturday’s Artmageddon—see “This Week in Kingston” for more info—and an art fair in July, held in the adjacent parking lot, which will be contiguous to the open studios and gallery spaces inside the building. A flea market is also planned. And joining the artists in the First Saturday gallery openings in February and April will be videographers and authors, who will present readings prior to the openings.

R & F Handmade Paints

In addition to the creative fermentation happening at the Shirt Factory, there are other former industrial or commercial buildings that have become art venues, including the gallery at R&F Handmade Paints, which manufactures encaustic paints and oil stocks; Cornell Street Studios at Darmstadt Overhead Doors, also a Midtown-based business; the capacious exhibition space at Seven 21 Media Center, on upper Broadway; and the galleries at the Arts Society of Kingston, housed in a handsome 1920s brick building that once functioned as a community center.

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Kingston’s First Saturday Attracts Crowds, Shows Potential of City

January 4th, 2010

The first Saturday evening of the new year—January 2, 2010—was cold and wintry, but that didn’t stop hundreds of art lovers from flocking to Kingston’s gallery openings. The monthly event has been a huge success, giving not only residents a reason to get out and experience a night on the town, but also attracting visitors from outside the city. Last Saturday, at least seven venues, collectively spanning all three business districts, hosted new art exhibitions, which also boosted business for nearby bars and restaurants.

At Surprenant Art & Design, on Wall Street in Uptown, at least 100 people, including a city alderman, stopped in to view installations by Highland artist Joe Venditti and Rosendale artist Sean Sullivan, according to owners Brian Early and Anne Surprenant. The mostly younger crowd of art aficionados came from New Paltz, Gardiner, Highland, and Esopus. “They love Kingston,” said Early. “We have a great scene, and we send people to local stores. If you go to the local pubs at this hour, they’ll be full.”Sup

Around the corner, on North Front Street, Half Moon Books stayed open late, with landscapes by Marcia Gordon-Sank on the walls. A selection of small works on paper by Todd Samara were also for sale, priced at $20 each, making this artist’s popular fauve paintings of Kingston scenes affordable for everyone. A few doors down, at the Living Room gallery, Sigrid Sardo’s compelling installation Family Portrait 2008, a tableaux of a dispossessed family featuring wax casts of a real mother and two daughters who were homeless due to the foreclosure of their house, was displayed in the storefront window.

721Next stop was the 721 Media Center, located on upper Broadway, in Midtown. An embarrassment of riches could be found on the second floor, with a total of 177 works of art by 14 artists displayed in the long hall, several offices-cum-gallery spaces, and the huge, loft like space in the back, which is rented by Louis Spina. The art ran the gamut from the abstract lyrical paintings of Emily Thing, who lives and works in Midtown, to exquisitely painted traditional still lives and landscapes by Paul Abrams and Susan Godwin, and other artists to the small painterly romantic landscapes of Connecticut artists Dennis Sheehan. Spina, who runs several businesses from the space, has been organizing the monthly art shows.

“We’ve probably had 125 people tonight,” Spina said, noting that one appeal of showing art in the center is the media related tie-ins. For example, videos taken of the participating artists were being aired in a studio off the loft. The monthly art showings “have been very positive,” he said. “I try to bring the community together. I’ve spent time walking through Midtown, letting people know I’m here.” Overflow from the opening benefits local businesses, he said. For example, many of the participating artists and people attending the opening head next door to the Broadway Diner afterwards for a bite to eat.

Downtown, on Abeel Street, the Kingston Museum of Contemporary Arts, or KMOCA, was packed to the gills; one had to muscle through the crowd to view Michael X. Rose’s  mythological fantasias, lushly painted on wood panels. Co-owner Adam Snyder said First Saturday is one of the best things about Kingston. “Whenever I have visitors from other places, I invite them to First Saturday,” he said. “People who attend think this is the most happening town in the world. We need other events like this, because once a month people are dazzled.”

ASKMore crowds clustered outside the Arts Society of Kingston’s handsome 1920s building, located at 97 Broadway. The fanciful acrylic landscapes of John Druppa were on display in one gallery, with an expansive group show in the large gallery in the back. As with the other galleries, cups of wine, crudities, and crackers and cheese were offered to the crowd, no doubt a popular feature of the openings.

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The 2010 Kingston Calendar

December 7th, 2009

Special Offer!!
Support the Arts Society of Kingston and show pride of our local city.

Photographs were selected from an open call and highlight some of our very talented local photographers, including: John Perz, Anita DeFina Hadley, Vic Nippert, Thomas Brannick, Phyllis McCabe, Elisa M. Shaw, Michael Citron, and Bonnie Fisher. Calendars may be purchased for $5.00 each, and are available throughout Kingston, including ASK, 97 Broadway, City Hall, 420 Broadway, and the Rondout Waterfront Area Visitors Center, 20 Broadway.

About ASK
The Arts Society of Kingston, a regional center for the arts, presents a diverse range of visual art exhibitions, performances, workshops, classes, and other arts-related programming for the benefit of artists, art-lovers, and the general community of the Hudson Valley. Through its initiatives, ASK provides opportunities, resources, and education for artists. In carrying out this mission, ASK enriches the quality of life, bridges cultural gaps, and increases awareness and appreciation of the arts. For more information, please visit ASKforArts.org.

I bet you didn’t know….

1. ASK has over 500 Members.
2. ASK is a mult-arts center with many performances and live music.
3. ASK was founded in 1995 by local artists in Kingston, NY.
4. To become a member, one need not be an artist or live in Kingston, but have just a sincere interest in the arts. We extend a warm invitation to any and all who would like to become a member.
5. ASK has hosted shows from Kingston City Schools student artists, as well as shows by Bard College, SUNY Ulster, SUNY New Paltz and Marist College student artists.
6. Renovations are still in progress on the second floor of the ASK Arts Center, which will eventually include a state-of-the-art, 99-seat performance venue.
7. ASK organizes an Open Studio Tour, the Kingston Sculpture Biennial, and usually two exhibits every month.
9. ASK produces “ASK for Arts,” a monthly gallery guide highlighting the current exhibitions in some thirty art venues in Kingston which has a digital google maps version here: www.askforarts.org/galleryguide/ <http://www.askforarts.org/galleryguide/>
10. ASK invites you to the next First Saturday opening reception, 5-8pm!

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