#BlackLivesMatter

Dance/film artist Gabri Christa named to Snug Harbor post

AWARD WINNING INTERNATIONAL ARTIST GABRI CHRISTA

JOINS SNUG HARBOR AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Gabri Christa
(photo: Malgorzata Headshot) 

Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden announces the addition of Gabri Christa to its staff in the newly created position of Artistic Director. In this position, Ms. Christa will be responsible for developing unique cultural programs and events for the current year, as well as producing a long-term artistic development plan for the next five years.  She will report directly to Snug Harbor's Chief Executive Officer and work in concert with its Chief Development Officer.

"With her wealth of experience in the organization, development and implementation of cultural programming, Gabri Christa is well qualified to lead Snug Harbor as our Artistic Director and further our efforts to cultivate emerging artists, attract new audiences, and integrate all our cultural offerings at Snug Harbor" said CEO Lynn Kelly. "She will also be an invaluable asset to our efforts to reinforce existing partnerships with other cultural institutions and forage new ones."

 "The position of Artistic Director for Snug Harbor is in complete harmony with my belief in contributing to the society I live in and creating understanding and connection through the arts," said Gabri Christa.

"I am pleased to have the opportunity to use my talents as a creative problem solver, team player, educator, community builder, and connector to benefit such a unique cultural, educational and historic institution."

 Gabri Christa is an award winning dancer, choreographer and filmmaker. She is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for choreography, and was invited to the Pangea Day Film Festival as "one the world's most promising filmmakers."  For the past four years she was Director of Performing Arts for the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York. As part of her dance career, she co-founded, choreographed and performed with numerous dance companies, including Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and the Bill T. Jones/Arne Zane Dance Company. Her work has been presented at various venues, including Dance Theater Workshop, Central Park Summer Stage and Lincoln Center Out of Doors. As a dance educator, she has been on the faculty at Princeton, Barnard College, Ballet Hispanico and City University of New York. She spent eight years on the board of Dance Theater Workshop.

 Her film career includes short films such as High School which received an ABC TV Award for Creative Excellence, and Kasita, which won best short at the Harlem International Film Festival.  Other short films, Quarantine, Savoneta, Domino, and Ringshout, have screened as jury finalists in festivals including Tokyo, London, Amsterdam, Munich, Capetown, Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta.

 In keeping with her belief in the social impact of the arts on communities, she curated with Theo Dorian a living room performance series in St. George. While on the faculty at the College of Staten Island, Ms. Christa presented groups such as the Bessie award-winning choreographer John Jasperse and Bessie Award winner Germaul Barnes. Other Staten Island community activities include serving on board of the St. George Civic Association, teaching dance at Curtis High School, choreographing for the Staten Island Ballet, and developing a Performing Arts in Residence Program at the Staten Island Community Charter School.

 Ms. Christa earned a Bachelor of Arts from the College of the Arts, School for New Dance Development, Amsterdam, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Washington Dance Program, Seattle. A resident of Staten Island, she lives in St. George with her musician husband, Vernon Reid, of the group Living Colour, and their eleven-year-old daughter, Idea.

 About Snug Harbor 

Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden is one of the largest ongoing adaptive reuse projects in America. It consists of 26 historical buildings, numerous distinctive botanical gardens and 10 acres of wetlands on a unique 83-acre campus. Formerly Sailors' Snug Harbor, a home for retired sailors built in the 1800s, Snug Harbor is now a distinguished regional arts center where history, architecture, visual and performing arts, environmental science, agriculture and horticulture provide dynamic experiences for all ages. Snug Harbor is also home to the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, the Noble Maritime Collection, Staten Island Children's Museum, Art Lab, and the Staten Island Museum. Snug Harbor is a proud Smithsonian Affiliate.

The history of dance...through shoes?

Melissa West (photo by Anjola Toro)

What's going on with artists on Staten Island?

Dancer Melissa West (another one of my former Writing on Dance students) certainly seems to know--about that and about the history of dance through shoes and stuff. Listen to Melissa being interviewed on Vin Forte's podcast, That Time of the Month, here.

MWest and Company

The Curiosity Project

Staten Island Dance Jam (meets on Saturdays, 2-4pm, at the Forest Haven Center for Dance and Music)

Post-Sandy: Asia Society helps Staten Island students and families

Dear Members and Friends of the Asia Society,

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, we hope our greater New York members are safe.  We have been assessing how best to assist those who are still without power, heat or homes.  Thanks to a close and profound connection, we have found the answer.  The College of Staten Island High School for International Studies, or CSI for short, was founded as a partnership between Asia Society's International Studies Schools Network (ISSN) and the New York City Department of Education in 2005.  It’s been a great success, by every measure.  Now the CSI needs our help, in a very different way.

As many of you know, the storm took particularly brutal aim at Staten Island.  While the CSI school did not suffer significant damage, fifteen of its students lost their homes to the storm, and the homes of many more students suffered damage, the loss of utilities and other hardships.  Many families have been displaced from their homes – and it’s not clear when it will be deemed safe to return.

Asia Society’s Brandon Wiley – who has worked with CSI over the years – has been in touch with the school principal and superintendent.  Yesterday the superintendent told Brandon they have received some donations, and she was particularly supportive of our wish to help.  She suggested we work with the school to determine the greatest needs.  So with the help of Asia Society board members, we are setting up a fund for the children and families of the CSI school.  Brandon Wiley will shepherd our efforts to help gauge the most pressing needs in that community.  Asia Society will also contribute to this effort from cost-paring at this week’s awards dinner.

Many Asia Society staffers and trustees have already donated their time and money to help; and some colleagues have suffered the effects of long power outages and gas shortages and the like.  Still, once we arrive at our offices at the Asia Society headquarters – by long walks, or bikes, in car pools or jammed buses - we cannot help but feel the disconnect.  Here we are along an unscathed and never-blacked-out patch of Manhattan; a few miles to the south and east, so many people are suffering.  So we hope our fund will make a difference, for a group of children and their families with whom we already have a great bond.  We ask that members of the Asia Society "family" consider a gift.  All donations will be administered to those who need them most.

A few more words about CSI: In the mold of all ISSN schools, CSI holds to the mission of graduating globally competent and college - and career-ready students.  With approximately 526 students, CSI is one of New York City's top ranked 20 public high schools, and # 1 on Staten Island.  The CSI faculty and staff provide a rigorous and globally-focused learning experience for all who pass through their doors.  Asia Society is a proud partner of CSI, supporting their development and growth since its inception.

Asia Society prides itself on being a global organization, as well as a place of intellectual engagement and an important part of New York’s cultural landscape. We are committed to assisting the local community during this time of need. 

If you wish to contribute, please make checks payable to Asia Society/Hurricane Relief. Checks should be sent to Asia Society/Hurricane Relief at 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021.

As always, we appreciate your support.

With thanks,

Henrietta H. Fore, Co-Chair, Asia Society
Ronnie C. Chan, Co-Chair, Asia Society
Tom Nagorski, Executive Vice President

Staten Island's Summerfest 2012

When it comes to arts happenings in the city's five boroughs, let's face it: Staten Island gets the least amount of attention. So, listen up, New York: Summerfest 2012 starts this week!

Some events of note (all free!) will include:

Omnia

Omnia: offering a fusion of Middle Eastern and American pop music plus Middle Eastern (belly) dance. Friday, June 8, 8:45pm at Tappen Park, intersection of Canal, Water, and Bay Street

WaFoo: Japanese musicians performing original music composed under the concept of "blending Japanese philosophy into a variety of music styles to create lyrical, aesthetic and delightful sound for body and soul." Saturday, June 9, 2pm at Art By The Ferry, Staten Island Ferry Terminal Platform (near Ballpark)

Christine Dixon: performing her one-woman show, Harriet Tubman Herself. Sunday, June 10, 2pm at Art By The Ferry -- Staten Island Museum Courtyard, 75 Stuyvesant Place

Melissa West: presenting postmodern dance of "shadows, darkness, light and high physicality." Saturday, June 23, 6pm-12am at LUMEN, Atlantic Salt Site, 561 Richmond Terrace

How-To Workshop: Art Journaling for Health & Wellness

Explore ways to reduce stress, and deal with health challenges through an exploration of the mind, body, and spirit connection. Guided meditation and other creative exercises will be led by Joie Leigh. Participants do not need any artistic skills to attend. Free admission! Saturday, June 16, 2pm at Forest Haven Center for Dance & Music, 358 Forest Avenue. For more information, contact Monica Valenzuela at 718-447-3329 x1004.

For more information on Summerfest 2012, click here.

Watching the birdies

St. George Ferry terminal bus stop
(c)2010, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

View down from Alice Austen House, Staten Island
(c)2010, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Hey! Here's that other bus tour!

It's Kathy Westwater's PARK!

Fresh Kills Park
Staten Island
Saturday, June 26 (9am-1pm)

"...about worlds we create and worlds that disappear." 

choreography: Kathy Westwater
poetry: Jennifer Scappetone
visual design: Seung Jae Lee
performance: Maggie Bennett, Rebecca Brooks, Rebecca Davis, Ursula Eagly, Melissa Guerrero, Belinda He, Kazu Nakamura, Jeremy Pheiffer and Enrico Wey

Park explores how nature consumes itself to regenerate-and how humans construct and consume it through the creation of parks. This site-specific performance/installation is the culmination of a rarely-awarded artist residency at the site of Fresh Kills Park, a 2,200 acre emergent park being developed by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation over the next 30 years. 

The park's site is the Fresh Kills Landfill, formerly the world's largest landfill which was operated by the NYC Department of Sanitation for 50 years and closed in 2001. A short bus tour of the Freshkills Park site, with explanation of the site's engineering, infrastructure, and ecology, precedes this performance.

All attendees must board the tour bus at the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island at 9:30am. Attendees coming from Manhattan must take the 9am ferry from Manhattan in order to make this bus. Buses will provide transportation from the ferry terminal on Staten Island to the park site and return attendees to the ferry terminal by 1pm.

FREE. Space is limited, and reservations are required. For reservations, please email doug.elliot@parks.nyc.gov or call 212/788-8277.