NYC Artists Open Their Doors
Open studios and houses, plus reviews of Betty Parsons, Riddikuluz, and the L train burlesque.
I was way too productive throughout the three-day weekend. A grueling closet overhaul (five-drawer wooden tallboy vs. fourth-floor walk-up), an overdue bathroom bleachout, a close friend’s 30th birthday party, a drop-in cat-sitting visit that turned into a rare accidental nap, and an arduous round-trip trek to the distant land of Nassau County were accomplished, and yet I still feel haplessly behind on my never-ending to-do list.
Looking at the upcoming roster for the rest of the month, I’m positive that I’m not the only one who’ll be letting that to-do list pile up again in favor of ✨immersing myself in the culture✨. Much like my closet door for the better part of the last eight months, the doors to New York City are going to be wide open this weekend. Sunset Park and Gowanus are hosting their annual open studios, which happen to coincide with the broader Open House New York (OHNY) weekend programming. We’ve highlighted a selection of intriguing OHNY happenings at the bottom of this newsletter! :)
In observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we highlighted a wealth of Native American art happenings across the city and state. Take a look at our round-up of seven exhibitions embodying Indigenous survivance and Associate Editor Phillip Pyle’s rich Q&A with Diné artist and composer Raven Chacon, who recently led an hour-long improvisational sound performance at the Park Avenue Armory last week. In the same vein, Staff Writer Anna Lee reported that the Gochman Family Collection is set to open its Katonah site for exhibiting contemporary Indigenous art next month!
Remember last week’s newsletter, when I mentioned that the Department of Cultural Affairs announced that city-funded artists' grants jumped from $5,000 to $10,000? Well, an additional perk has been revealed: starting October 19, those who are afforded grants will also gain access to the city’s beloved Materials for the Arts warehouse on the second Monday of each month. Congratulations in advance to those who will deservedly reap these benefits!
Happy reading, and I’ll see you at the Tompkins Square Dog Halloween Parade!
7 New York Exhibitions That Embody Indigenous Survivance
To commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day here in New York, we highlighted seven ongoing exhibitions of Native art and history in Manhattan, the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College, and the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook. Across solo and group presentations, the featured artists, who represent a diverse tapestry of Indigenous populations across Turtle Island, embody survivance by tracing and rejecting narratives of dispossession and irrelevance, upending and satirizing stereotypes, preserving and reinventing traditional art forms, and bringing underrepresented histories out from the margins. | Rhea Nayyar
Read More
Raven Chacon Sounds the History of the Land
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Diné artist talks about his recent performances at the Park Avenue Armory, the freedom of improvisation, and the privilege of “deep listening.” | Phillip Pyle
Read More
Quilt Along: Sit and Sew at the National Museum of the American Indian
Meet artist Margaret Wood (Diné/Seminole), one of five contemporary Indigenous artists featured in the museum’s first-ever Quilt Along program. The artists designed patterns inspired by different eras of United States history, as seen through a Native lens.
Learn more and join us Saturday, October 17, 1–3 PM.
From Our Critics
Hrag Vartanian
Pleasure Dome: Continuum at SoMad
"The gathering became a fête of therapeutic sound, queer political rally, vaudeville tribute, and a vibe manifesto for a city that is constantly shattering the old to make way for the new."
Daniel Larkin
KLAB at Salma Sarriedine gallery
"In Ridikkuluz’s work, the irascible dog emerges as a symbol for the ongoing genocide and its unrestrained perpetrators."
Julia Curl
settle for a good fantasy at Luhring Augustine
"In one set of eight prints, the artist rubs dark makeup from her eyes, a gesture reminiscent of crying. As her eyeshadow smears, it leaves what look like bruises, creating a dissonant, double feeling of pain and pleasure — and the acknowledgment that it’s all just an act."
Seph Rodney
Betty Parsons: An Expanded World at the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College
"Regardless of the aesthetic merit or caliber of the work, this artist, like any other, deserves to have her own space free of another artist’s intervention because she is well able to stand on her own two feet."
A Hyperallergic Halloween
Join us on October 28 in Brooklyn, NY, for an evening of spooky cocktails, devilish delights, an art-themed costume contest, and more.
News
- After a five-year pause, the New Museum in Manhattan will open its sixth triennial for emerging artists in early 2027.
- Materials for the Arts is launching a new free shopping program for artists who receive city-funded grants.
- The Gochman Collection of Indigenous Art is opening a space in Katonah this November.
- Over two dozen people assembled down the street from the Museum of Modern Art calling for the removal of disgraced billionaire Leon Black from the museum board.
What Else Is Happening?
- Sunset Park Open Studios is this weekend! (Fri Oct 16 through Sun Oct 18) [sunsetparkopenstudios.org]
- Print Center New York is hosting a rubber stamp workshop. (Sat Oct 17) [printcenternewyork.org]
- The Tompkins Square Dog Halloween Parade returns this Saturday for its 36th edition. (Sat Oct 17) [nydogparade.org]
- Pioneers in Hand Papermaking commemorates 50 years of NYC’s fine arts papermill, Dieu Donné, with a display of over 100 artworks and material innovations. (Sat Oct 17) [OHNY.org]
- Tom's Sons, a diasporic Armenian family-owned textile pleating business in the Garment District, explains their generationally perfected craft. (Sat Oct 17) [OHNY.org]
- The New York Sign Museum invites visitors to check out its collection of preserved hand-painted and craft signage embodying different eras of design thinking throughout the 20th century. (Sat Oct 17 and and Sun Oct 18) [OHNY.org]
- Gowanus Open Studios is this weekend! (Sat Oct 17 through Sun Oct 18) [artsgowanus.org]
- Palestine Will Be Free: The Story of Hanzala is a concert built around 100 of Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali's drawings, animated and projected above a nine-piece ensemble playing twelve songs of childhood, freedom, and return. (Sun Oct 18) [thebrooklynnomads.com]
- Slo Slo Studio is hosting a handmade ceramic bookends workshop. (Sun Oct 18) [sloslostudio.kilnfire.com]
- The Center for Book Arts is hosting live demonstrations of historic and contemporary bookmaking steps and techniques, including letterpress printing to sewing frames. (Sun., Oct 18) [OHNY.org]
- Rizzoli Bookstore celebrates the new monograph, Brilliant: Unexpected Art from Everywhere, with a conversation between Roxane Gay and her wife, Debbie Millman. (Mon Oct 19) [Rizzoli Bookstore]
- AI Now Institute and More Perfect Union are leading the People's AI Assembly, an evening bringing together leading organizers, cultural figures, and policy leaders shaping the frontlines of AI. (Mon Oct 19) [actionnetwork.org]
