2008 EVENTS

Events Archive

August

Sponors Second Annual Plein Air Painting and Photography Contest
Cash Prizes Awarded to Winners

The Athens Cultural Center is sponsoring its Second Annual Plein Air Painting and Photography Contests. Artists simply need to register and then do all their work outdoors in the Village of Athens.

First place winners will receive a cash prize of: $500.00 for paintings, $300.00 for photographs.

The rules are simple.To be eligible to participate in either contest you must register before August 1, 2008.

Download the rules and entry forms below:

"Photograph the Village" Contest

Second Annual Plein Air Contest

For more information contact Ron Coons at 945-3731.

Subject matter for painters is any structure or group of structures in the village.
Subject matter for Photographers is a scene from anywhere in the village.

All work must be done outside and on site.

The objective of the contests is to have local residents and visitors see artists and photographers working in the village

Judging for the contest will be held on Saturday, August 17 TH in the Athens Riverfront Park band shell. All artworks and photos will be on exhibit from Noon until 2 p.m., with judging held at 2 p.m.

Participating artists and photographers may also exhibit other artworks for sale in the band shell in advance of the judging. Artworks by the first place winners of both contest become property of the Athens Cultural Center.

All winning works will be exhibited at the National Bank of Coxsackie branch in Athens and at the Athens Cultural Center at a later date.

Help us show local residents and visitors, Athens is an Art Community

Opening Reception for “Baby Carriers: The Work of Leah Rhodes and Native Americans”
Saturday, August 2
6-8 PM, Athens Cultural Center, 24 Second Street, Athens
Gallery Hours, Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4 PM through September 2
For information, contact Leah Rhodes at 945-2681.

Poetry Reading
Susan Hoover and T.G. Vanini, Featured Poets
Saturday, August 16

Two highly talented Woodstock poets, Susan Hoover and T.G.Vanini, will be featured when Poetry at the Hudson meets at the Athens Cultural Center, 24 Second Street, on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 2 p.m. An open mike will be part of the occasion, and pianist Don Yacullo will play a few selections during the event.

Hoover, a published poet, performance artist, and teacher, has been a featured reader at The New School, The Knitting Factory, The Kitchen, and the Cornelia Street Café, in New York City. She has performed as well at many venues in the Hudson Valley, was part of a poetry performance group with poets Nancy Rullo and Janice King, and has been published in a number of literary journals, including the Cold Mountain Review, the Isinglass Review, Cover Arts New York, and the University of Colorado Literary Magazine. Her poetry performances include collaborations with cellist Sera Smolen. Hoover teaches poetry through Teachers & Writers Collaborative in New York City. Her published books include The Magnet and The Target (The New School Chapbook Series), Taxi Dancer (Exotic Beauties Press), and the anthology As If The World Had Not Known Sorrow (The Poets Press).

T. G. Vanini is the alter ego of Laurie Kirby, a Professor of Mathematics at Baruch College of the City University of New York, where he has been teaching since 1982. He performs his song-poetry with The Princes of Serendip, a musical group formed in 1996, when Vanini, who has played the violin since childhood, and Yacullo, a Hudson Valley resident who has played the piano since childhood as well, got together to play chamber music and digressed into Vanini originals. Shortly afterward, Julie Parisi, a singer from Woodstock, joined the group. In addition to teaching, Vanini's research interests are in two areas of mathematical logic known as Models of Arithmetic and Logic of Natural Objects, which are connected with his poetic and musical work in their concern with exploring the relationship between language and reality. Vanini started writing songs and poetry in 1984.

Yacullo has played the piano and composed music since the age of five. He has been a classical accompanist, church organist, laborer, and special educator. He has performed and recorded music with classical and original rock and jazz ensembles (SeLah, Joe Montini, and Joe Lentine) and currently performs all over the United States with Potential Unlimited, a troupe of exceptionally talented musicians who have developmental disabilities. As noted, Don also performs with The Princes of Serendip, a musical threesome that is based in Woodstock.

The readings will be hosted by area poet Bob Wright. There is a suggested donation of $3. To reach the Cultural Center, proceed on NY 385 into the village of Athens and turn west onto Second Street; it is the second building on the right. For additional information, call 518-444-4561.

The Art of Pinhole Photography
The Greene County Camera Club
Wednesday, August 20th from 7-9 pm

"The Art of Pinhole Photography" will be explained and demonstrated on Wednesday, August 20th from 7-9 pm, at the Athens Cultural Center presented by the Greene County Camera Club. Eddie Aleo, Jr., a camera club member and pinhole photography expert, will give a brief history of the lensless image. He will describe how lensless photos differ from "regular" lens photos and discuss the idea of time and how it is applied to a lensless photo. Lensless photos usually take a minimum of several seconds up to several hours to expose. As a result, time is a very different concept. Instead of being one very quick moment in time that has been captured it can be several hours, changing how we think about photos. This and other ideas will be explored. A very comprehensive slide show will accompany the discussion.

Eddie Aleo, Jr. is a self-taught photographer and his previous presentations on pinhole photography have been very well received. He has been shooting film since childhood. He shoots all camera sizes up to 11x14 inches. He processes and prints all his own black and white photos. He has begun using Van Dyke printing techniques. This is a 19th century technique where light sensitive material is applied to paper and a negative is laid on the paper and is exposed using the sun. He has begun mixing his own chemicals for black and white processes including the Van Dyke.

Taste Divine Food and Wine for a Perfect Summer's Evening
Noted cookbook author Brigit Binns and Hudson Wine Merchants curate perfect pairings of food and wine at the ACC's annual summer wine tasting
Saturday, August 23rd, 6 to 8 PM

Even though the summer weather can't decide between stifling hot or rainy, you can decide to have a perfect evening by joining us at the Athens Cultural Center's annual summer wine tasting. Noted local cookbook author Brigit Binns will pair classic food combinations and Hudson Wine Merchants, the premeire wine purveyor in Columbia County, will pair a selection of appropriate wines. Prizes, including a wine gift certificate, autographed copies of Brigit Binns latest cookbook and a basket of Hudson Valley wines, will be offered in our mini-wine raffle. Also, view Leah Rhodes ongoing exhibition of contemporary sculptures inspired by American Indian baby carriers. This event is free and open to the public, so please join us for a lovely summer evening.

July

Athens Street Festival

Spaces available in front of Athens Cultural Center
Saturday, July 12th

We have reserved a couple of spaces in front the Cultural Center for this Saturday, July 12th, Athens Street Festival between 10:00 - 5:00 pm. Feel free to bring small items for sale. This will be an informal do-it-yourself sale. You'll find tables in the back room and chairs in the closet. Have fun!

June

HOW TO MAKE BOOKS
Esther K. Smith and Dikko Faust
Opening reception Saturday, June 21 from 6 till 8 p.m.

Curated by Randall Evans
Installation by Randall Evans and Carrie Feder

The Athens Cultural Center welcomes Esther K. Smith and Dikko Faust, of Purgatory Pie Press in New York City as they accompany their traveling exhibition of letterpress artist books, postcards, and all manner of printed material called “How to Make Books”. Ms. Smith will sign copies for those wishing to purchase her book during the opening reception on Saturday, June 21 from 6 till 8 p.m. The show will remain on display until Sunday the 20th of July, with the gallery open each Saturday and Sunday from 1 till 4.

In addition, Ms. Smith will offer an “Instant Artist Book Workshop” on Sunday, June 22 from 1 till 4. Learn to make books from start to finish. Explore simple bookbinding from Eastern and Early Western traditions. Make individual and collaborative books, unique books and small editions—even pop ups! This beginning class is open to all those interested on a first come-first served basis for a fee of $35.00 per student.

“Purgatory Pie Press is a sanctuary for artists, designers and typographers who are seduced by the kiss of type and the touch of metal...the New York based Press has long been at the forefront of publishing artists books and ephemera” says author and design historian Steven Heller.

The Press collaborates with other artists and writers to make books, publishes yearly datebooks, and produces a monthly letterpress limited edition artist postcard subscription series as well as Artist Tracts, Artist Coasters and PurgaToys.

Purgatory Pie Press has had solo exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and Harvard University among others, and their work has been collected by such institutions as the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, and the Tate London.

How to Make Books grew out of the classes Smith teaches, and is a handbook for artists and do-it-yourselfers to find their way into bookbinding through personable, delightful prose and beautiful, clearly illustrated instructions. Design editor and teacher Margaret Richardson notes ”This witty, stylish book will inspire anyone to follow the clear, illustrated and engaging instructions to make personal and profound books.” Smith’s next book, Magic Books & Paper Toys will be out in the fall.

Artist Susan Happersett will include a number of her Math Art
studies for published letterpress material in the show

For further information or to sign up for the Instant Artists Book Workshop, call Randall Evans at 518-945-3432

Poetry at the Hudson meets at the Athens Cultural Center
Two Hudson Valley poets with their own special voices; Eddie Bell and Carol Graser
Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 2 p.m.

Two Hudson Valley poets with their own special voices, Eddie Bell and Carol Graser, will be featured when Poetry at the Hudson meets at the Athens Cultural Center, 24 Second Street, on Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 2 p.m. An open mike will be part of the occasion, and pianist Don Yacullo will play a few selections during the event.

A resident of both New Paltz, New York, and Leadville, Colorado, Bell has performed his work in large and small venues from coast to coast, in Paris, and throughout central France. He is the recipient of multiple grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the French Ministry of Culture. He spent two month-long residencies at Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he completed Capt’s Dreaming Chair, the first of two published books. His second book, Eddie Bell: En Francais, is the result of Paris and Clermont-Ferrand collaborations and is presented in English with French translations. Some of Bell’s work has also been translated into Russian. His latest work, Festival of Tears, is a fictional look at the tragedy of lynching through poetry, narratives, and short stories. He is currently working on a novel, Hittin & Missin, The Fictional Memoir of E.

Graser, who lives in the Adirondacks of upstate New York, hosts a monthly poetry reading series at Saratoga’s legendary Caffe Lena that happens on the first Wednesday of every month. Her first book of poetry, The Wild Twist of Their Stems, has just been published by Foothills Publishing. She has read her poetry at numerous community events, fund-raisers, and anti-war rallies; been a featured reader at many poetry venues throughout the region; and from time to time works with an accomplished jazz composer and a percussionist creating performance pieces that blend music and poetry. Her poetry has appeared in regional journals, such as Screed, Salvage, and Metroland, as well as in numerous national publications, among which are Lullwater Review, Berkeley Poetry Review, The Worcester Review, The MacGuffin, and Eureka Literary Magazine.

Yacullo has played the piano and composed music since the age of five. He has been a classical accompanist, church organist, laborer, and special educator. He has performed and recorded music with classical and original rock and jazz ensembles (SeLah, Joe Montini, and Joe Lentine) and currently performs all over the United States with Potential Unlimited, a troupe of exceptionally talented musicians who have developmental disabilities. Don also performs with The Princes of Serendip, a musical threesome that is based in Woodstock, and has done so since 1995.

The readings will be hosted by area poet Bob Wright. There is a suggested donation of $3. To reach the Cultural Center, proceed on NY 385 into the village of Athens and turn west onto Second Street; it is the second building on the right. For additional information, call 518-444-4561.

May

Capture Athens in Spring
Bring your art supplies and meet Wednesdays at the Athens Cultural Center
May 7, 14, 21, and 28

Bring your art supplies and meet Wednesdays at 9 a.m. May 7, 14, 21, and 28 at the Athens Cultural Center, 24 Second Street. From there the group will head to a picturesque area of the village to paint or sketch. Come to complete a masterpiece or just to sketch, listen to the birds sing, and see what is in bloom. This program is free and open to artists of all levels and all media. Bringing a folding chair, hat, and snack will make the experience even more pleasant.

Those new to drawing—or out of practice—are invited to attend a mini drawing lesson each week at 8:30 a.m. before the group meets.

In case of inclement weather, a still life will be available at the Center from 9 to 11 a.m.

To register or learn more call Joyce Malone at 945-1817.

April

	Greene County Camera Club Open Meeting Art and Work with Fawn Potash Wednesday, April 16, 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the Athens Cultural Center Interested in seeing your photography hanging in a gallery? Not sure how to start or proceed? The Greene County Camera Club, in cooperation with the Athens Cultural Center, invites photographers to gather for an inspiring and informational evening with Fawn Potash, a well-known local artist, art educator and arts administrator. Ms. Potash has been active in the art scenes of the Hudson Valley and NYC including the Greene County Council on the Arts and the Catskill Mountain Foundation. On Wednesday, April 16, from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Ms. Potash will present, Art and Work, an illustrated talk in which she will share her work as well as her insights about the world of non-profit galleries, museums and commercial venues, what goes on behind the scenes and how to submit your portfolio. Attendees will take home a list of her favorite area art resources and participate in a discussion of professional development ideas for photographers. Ms. Potash teaches at both the college and elementary school levels. At the School of Visual Arts in NYC, she leads a criticism seminar for photography majors and is director of summer programs at the Center for Photography at Woodstock. She has coordinated events with workshop locations in Paris, Provence, Mexico and the Louisiana Bayou. She has received many grants and her imagery has appeared in national and regional publications. Her current work includes a series of one-of-a-kind mixed media pieces depicting plant life in full bloom over a barren snowy landscape. This event is free and open to the public. The Athens Cultural Center is located at 24 Second Street and the Athens Municipal Parking Lot entrance is on North Franklin Street, just around the corner from the Center.

Susan Sindall	Poetry at the Hudson William Seaton and Susan Sindall featured at the Athens Cultural Center Saturday, April 19, 2008 at 2 pm Two widely regarded Hudson Valley poets, William Seaton and Susan Sindall, will be the featured when Poetry at the Hudson meets at the Athens Cultural Center, 24 Second Street, on Saturday, April 19, 2008 at 2 p.m. An open mic will be part of the occasion. Seaton, who for 14 years has produced the “Poetry on the Loose” reading/performance series in Middletown and now Warwick, has been active in poetry performance throughout his career, including happenings in the ‘60s, street readings in the ‘70s, and a 2006 show in Budapest with a hurdy-gurdy player as the opening act. He has taught in a wide variety of settings, including the Nigerian bush and a New York State prison, as well as at Long Island University and Adelphi. His most recent publications are Spoor of Desire: Selected Poems (FootHills Publishing) and Tourist Snapshots (CC Marimbo). His poetry and translations have appeared in such journals as Chelsea, Wordsmith, Mad Blood, Home Planet News, Copulation, and Heaven Bone, as well as in four anthologies (including the recent Riverine from Codhill Press), and his scholarly studies have appeared in Mystics Quarterly, the Iowa Journal of Literary Studies, and in several volumes of Bruccoli Clark’s Dictionary of Literary Biography series. Sindall, who has been the managing editor of Heliotrope, a journal of poetry, since its inception in 1998, has had roles in both writing and dance. With a diploma in dance from the Julliard School of Music and an MFA in writing from Warren Wilson College, she has been associated with the 92nd St. YM-YMHA Dance Center, been a Teaching Artist in NewYork City schools for the Lincoln Center Institute, taught movement education at Manhattanville College, and taught poetry for Poets in Public Service and for Poets House, in New York City. Currently living in Shady, she also teaches a writing workshop in nearby Kingston at the Universalist Unitarian Church of the Catskills. She has read her poetry at various venues in New York City and the Hudson Valley, been featured in a poetry/music performance

March
In this picture, “Boy on Beach, Maplecrest, NY 2007,” the angle formed by the boy’s legs is echoed in the angle of the shadow behind him. In street photography, this is known as juxtaposition. About 15 juxtaposition pictures will be included among the 40 street photographs to be shown at the Greene County Camera Club meeting, March 19th at the Athens Cultural Center.	The Greene County Camera Club Jerry Miller on “Strategies in Street Photography.” Wednesday, March 19, from 7:00 to 9:00, at the Athens Cultural Center Have you ever tried to take a photograph of people out in the street and felt nervous and not quite sure how to approach it? The Greene County Camera Club, in cooperation with the Athens Cultural Center, invites photographers, would-be photographers or people just interested in photography to an entertaining and informative evening with Greene County resident Jerry Miller on “Strategies in Street Photography.” On Wednesday, March 19, from 7:00 to 9:00, at the Athens Cultural Center, 24 Second Street, Miller will give an illustrated talk on his seven strategies for getting around your reluctance to shoot pictures of strangers in the street. In 2000, following retirement from a previous career, spanning four decades, as a picture editor in the publishing industry in New York City, Jerry Miller launched his career in “street photography,” in which he makes candid pictures of life in the great out-of-doors. In July 2006, he had his first solo show at the prestigious Woodstock Artists Association and Museum where he hung 67 prints of pictures he took between 2000 and 2006. On March 19, there will be ample time for questions as well as plenty of parking in the Athens Municipal Parking Lot on North Franklin Street, just around the corner from the Cultural Center. Admission is free and refreshments available.

February

New sign on the Athens Cultural Center

Fundraiser for the facade project of the Athens Cultural Center
The Athens Cultural Centers facade project needs a financial boost
Gather on Saturday 15th of March at 5:30 to celebrate the Center and its contribution to our community

The Athens Cultural Centers facade project needs a financial boost and I would like to extend an invitation to all members and friends of the Center to gather on Saturday 15th of March at 5:30 to celebrate the Center and its contribution to our community. The Cultural Center community consists of all of those who have contributed artistically, monetarily or by donating time or services to the Center since it opened, or simply by showing up to events and being enthusiastic. This makes the Center a work of art in its own right, a work of community art and a continuous work-in–progress. My idea for the fundraiser is that it would be an effort to capture in a single evening whatever we can of this wonderful work in progress.

The evening will be an "open mic" night emceed by yours truly. I am asking all of you to consider how you might contribute to the evening. There is no particular theme but I have some suggestions!!

You might consider talking about and/or showing one of your own works-in-progress or creating a piece especially for the occasion. Readings of your own or someone else’s work would be welcome as would be performance – musical, theatrical, song, story, or anecdote about the Athens Cultural Center, your involvement in it, or your opinion of it or anyone associated with it. Satire is welcome, though not obligatory, as are silly hats and costumes.
Be as serious, as profound or as ridiculous as you wish. The more contributions there are the more fun it will be.

The evening is based on an Irish Siamsa (pronounced seem-shu) where people would sing, dance and tell stories to sustain and redefine traditional culture in their own style. (St. Patrick’s Day, taken from the ancient Celtic pagan celebration of Springtime is close at hand). At a Siamsa everyone takes a turn contributing. But showing up is the most important thing. Some of you might also wish to help me organize food and drink or other atmospheric delights. Of course a monetary contribution on the night will also be necessary, so dig deep into your creative and actual pockets and let’s see what we can come up with. Impromptu auctioning of selected items is not out of the question so come prepared to buy or sell.

I hope this idea appeals to you and I hope to hear back from you and to see you on the 15th of March. Please email me before that date to let me know if you will be contributing artistically.

Thank you and I hope your candidate runs well, whether backwards or forwards.

John McInerney
macastin@aol.com or 518 945-2784

January

Barbara Adams

Warm the winter blues away
Poetry Reading
February 16, 2:00-4:00

Two industrious and respected Hudson Valley writers, Barbara Adams and Guy Reed, will be the featured poets when Poetry at the Hudson meets at the Athens Cultural Center, 24 Second Street, on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 2 p.m. An open mike will be part of the occasion, and pianist Don Yacullo will play several selections during the event.

Barbara was awarded first prize in the 2007 Frost Foundation Annual Award Contest for her poem, “Henry Jones, From Wales.” She has published a chapbook, two books of poems, a book of literary criticism, and numerous poems, essays, and stories in journals and anthologies, most recently appearing in Riverine, an anthology of Hudson River poets published by Codhill Press in 2007. Her play, God’s Lioness & the Crow: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, was first produced by Mohonk Mountain Stage Company. Barbara is retired as professor of English at Pace University and spends her time now writing and travelling.

Guy, a poet and an essayist, has published essays in local newspapers, an online arts journal, and four anthologies, including Riverine. He has published poems in conjunction with the Hudson Valley Poets Festival and has a poem appearing in the forthcoming issue of Home Planet News. A resident of the Hudson Valley for the last 11 years, he graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1983, acted in numerous stage productions and short films in Los Angeles and Minneapolis, produced and directed several live-action short films, co-edited a documentary, and assisted in the archival transfer of Thomas Edison’s films to laser disk in the mid-eighties. Guy has also served as a lighting designer for rock ‘n’ roll bands, as well as for several theater and film projects.

Don has played the piano and composed music since the age of five. He has been a classical accompanist, church organist, laborer, and special educator. He has performed and recorded music with classical and original rock and jazz ensembles (SeLah, Joe Montini, and Joe Lentine) and currently performs all over the United States with Potential Unlimited, a troupe of exceptionally talented musicians who have developmental disabilities. Don also performs with The Princes of Serendip, a musical threesome that is based in Woodstock, and has done so since 1995.

The readings will be hosted by area poet Bob Wright. There is a suggested donation of $3. To reach the Cultural Center, proceed on NY 385 into the village of Athens and turn west onto Second Street; it is the second building on the right. For additional information, call 518-444-4561.