What's New At BCA

The Bronx Writers’ Center presents this year’s Chapter One Reading Series, at the Bronx Library Center located (310 East Kingsbridge Road). All five Chapter One winners will read excerpts from their first chapter—the ‘chapter one’—of the unpublished novel that they each submitted for the award.

The final of a series of three readings will take place on Saturday, July 26th at 12:00 pm when Mai Hoang and Suzan Sherman will read from their novels, The Testimony of Mr. Dao: a Novel, and Pearl O’ Shea. All readings are free and open to the public. Please RSVP to lydia@bronxarts.org or at 718-931-9500 X35

Click here to view press release
Click here for printable handout of reading dates

The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) presents “How to Apply” seminars this summer for its 2008-2009 NYSCA/BCA Community Arts Grants. Please feel free to attend any one of them. BCA invites all eligible arts and community organizations to apply to the NYSCA/BCA Community Arts Grants program for the 2008-2009 funding year. All borough non-profit arts and community-based organizations are eligible to apply. The Deadline for Submission is Friday, September 19, 2008. The application and required documents may be hand-delivered (no later than 5:00pm) or mailed. If mailed, it must be postmarked by the post office, not metered by September 19, 2008. First time applicants are required to attend one of these seminars.

Dates for the remaining 2008 CAG Seminar/Workshops are:

• Thursday, July 24th
  6:00pm, Bronx Council on the Arts, 1738 Hone Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461
• Tuesday, July 29th
  1:00pm, Wakefield Public Library, 4100 Lowerre Place ( E. 229 St.), Bronx, NY 10466
• Thursday, August 7th, 6:00pm Bronx Library Center, 310 East Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10458

Click on the appropriate date for information on that seminar.

Guidelines and Application will be available at each workshop. You can also download them by clicking their appropriate links.

Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos presents OTHER, OTHER... Diversity within Diversity, features works by 18 artists of African, Asian, Latino, and Native American ancestry working in drawing, installation, mixed media, painting, performance art, photography, sculpture and video, and represent a sampling of 2007 and 2008 Urban Artist Initiative Grant (UAI/NYC) recipients visual arts and media. Opening reception, from 5:00-9:00pm on June 4th, in conjunction with the Bronx Culture Trolley. Curated by Wanda Raimnudi-Ortiz, the show will be on view through August 7th. Click here for details.

Bronx Artist and 2007 BRIO winner Blanka Amezkua was frustrated at what she said is a lack of exhibition space in the Bronx — where she lives and teaches art — compared with other areas of the city, so she decided to set up the bedroom of her Mott Haven apartment as a gallery and open it to the public. The Bronx Blue Bedroom Project, the name of her new gallery space, is now a monthly stop on BCA's First Wednesdays Bronx Culture Trolley. Above Blanka puts the last touches on the art installation in her bedroom in her Alexander Avenue apartment in Mott Haven.

• Click here to read the story.
• Click here to hear Blanka talk about having an art gallery in her bedroom.

The Bronx Culture Trolley celebrated its 50th trip this year . And with each of those trips, the Bronx Culture Trolley has grown in popularity and gained increased public awareness, not only in the five boroughs, but nationally and internationally as well. Click here to read about the trolley’s first five successful years.

• Click here to view this month's Health News entries.