BGarciaHere Photo Blog

It's always nice when someone pays attention to your work and then even shares it with the world.

Bianca Garcia's informative photo blog posted an announcement for the Pioneers of Bushwick exhibit before it opened and has posted the listing every week since! Visit the blog: it's well-written and interesting.

2nd Opening Reception | feeling like "Queen For A Day"!

One exhibit. Two receptions. Nutty, right?

The first opening reception for Pioneers of Bushwick: We Call It Home was on Feb. 23rd and was highly exclusive (dawling) for Center members, etc. only. The second reception took place the following evening and was joyously open to the riff-raff public. Yes, skies were stormy but the Sangria and snacks were in abundance and very much enjoyed by everyone.

The Director of Diana Jones Senior Center, Narcisa Ruiz, introduced me to the clamoring audience. Ok, ok . . . semi-clamoring. :-) I described the perseverance of residents that lived through Bushwick's ups-and-downs since the 1970s. I felt tremendous pride introducing the Pioneers to give their own perspective. To wrap up the talking, representatives from the Brooklyn Arts Council and the NY Department of Cultural Affairs enthusiastically spoke about their programs and support for creativity in the urban landscape.

(l to r) Sandra Christian, Narcisa Ruiz             Photo by Marilyn Stern

I was very pleasantly surprised to be presented with a beautiful wood plaque by the center Director. In addition, several of the Pioneers presented me with flowers and, well, I felt a little choked up with emotion. There I was with flowers in one arm, plaque in the other  . . . it felt like Queen for a Day and the only thing missing was the crown! How am I supposed to maintain my NY crust if people are going to be all thoughtful and everything?? Sheesh. Anyway, it made me smile a lot and all evening.
 

(l to r) "Pioneers" Lucy Mendez, Angel Mendez, Blanca Irizarry, Aida Irizarry and Ana
Nieves look on while a plaque is presented by Narcisa Ruiz to Artist Daryl-Ann Saunders.

Photo by Giuseppe Bergami

Thanks go out again to all the Pioneers that attended, the representatives from Brooklyn Arts Council (Kathleen Christie) and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (Kristin Sakoda, Danai Pointer and others), Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council and Diana Jones Center staff (Sandra Christian, Arlene Suero, LuLu). Your enthusiastic embrace of this project has meant the world to me. And thank you to my friends, "new friends" and colleagues for braving initial bad weather to share this with me. It was so great to see your smiling faces! (And special thanks to MS).

The exhibit is open to the general public through April 27th, M-F 8am-3pm at Diana Jones Senior Center, 9 Noll Street (corner of Bushwick Avenue) in Brooklyn, NY. It's super easy by subway - - the J/M/Z to Myrtle Avenue at Broadway and then a 5-minute walk. Links to additional info and directions are under "PAGES", the section at the top of the right menu. Please stop by and don't forget to sign the guest book! Enter your e-mail on the upper right of this page to receive periodic blog updates.

1st Opening Reception | DNAinfo.com Article

"Since they arrived in Bushwick from Puerto Rico more than five decades ago, 61-year-old Aida Irizarry and her 80-year-old mother, Blanca, have watched the neighborhood evolve".

So begins "Photographer Captures Pioneers of Bushwick's Past", Meredith Hoffman's February feature article on DNAinfo.com about the Pioneers Of Bushwick: We Call It Home exhibit at Diana Jones Senior Center. I give Meredith my sincere thanks for her persistence. I was a pain to get hold of several days before the exhibit - on the run with final preparations.

Me and Narcisa Ruiz (Center Director) with some of the "Pioneers of Bushwick"

(l to r) Avellar G. Hansley, artist Daryl-Ann Saunders (rear), Linda McKinley, Center Director Narcisa Ruiz (rear), Aida Irizarry, Robert Camacho (rear), Blanca Irizarry, Ana Nieves (rear), and Elizabeth Colon. Out of view on the right: Jose Colon, Lucy Mendez, and Angel Mendez

Photo by Meredith Hoffman, DNAinfo.com

We had two receptions for the exhibit - - a private one for Center members and then one the next day for the public. As guests of honor, the "Pioneer" participants were invited to both.The afternoon event was nicely packed, representatives from the sponsoring organizations attended and spirits were high.

Narcisa Ruiz, the Center's Director, launched the event with a rousing introduction about the project and the Center's growing positive role within the community. After that, we were delighted to present each "Pioneer" in attendance with a Certificate of Recognition.

Thank you to all the Pioneers that attended, the representatives from Brooklyn Arts Council (Ethany Uttech), the NYC Department for the Aging (Gail Evans), Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council and Diana Jones Center staff (Sandra Christian, Arlene Suero, LuLu) for contributing to a great afternoon. And plenty of food! More to come in the next post about the evening reception.

The exhibit is open to the general public and can be viewed M-F 8am-3pm through April 27th at Diana Jones Center, 9 Noll Street (corner of Bushwick Avenue) in Brooklyn, NY. It's easy by subway - - the J/ M/ Z to Myrtle Avenue at Broadway and then a 4 block walk. Links to additional info and directions are under "PAGES", the section at the top of the right menu. Stop by and don't forget to sign the guest book! Enter your e-mail on the upper right of this page to receive periodic blog updates.

Exhibit postcard for POB exhibit

Press Release: Pioneers of Bushwick exhibit

Hello, I'm excited to share press release information below about my upcoming exhibit and opening reception. Please come on by February 24th from 5-7pm and say hello!!


PLEASE ~
Subscribe to this blog (see right menu)
RSVP to the reception on face book
"Like" the POB project page on face book
"Like" my photography page on face book

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Contact - Center: N. Ruiz, 718-782-3601 | Artist: D. Saunders, das@PioneersOfBushwick.com, 646-808-6035

“PIONEERS OF BUSHWICK: WE CALL IT HOME”

A photography exhibit by Daryl-Ann Saunders

Feb. 23^rd through April 27^th 2012, M-F 9am-3pm

PUBLIC RECEPTION: Friday, Feb. 24^th from 5-7pm

For general public (incl. seniors & families, Pioneers of Bushwick participants, city agencies, media)

PRIVATE RECEPTION: Thursday, Feb. 23^rd from 1-2:30pm (begins promptly at 1pm)

For seniors, Pioneers of Bushwick participants and city agencies only

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pioneers of Bushwick: We Call It Home is an exhibit featuring photographic portraits of long-time Bushwick residents by Daryl-Ann Saunders, presented at the Diana H. Jones Senior Center, located at 9 Noll Street between Bushwick Avenue and Stanwix Street in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY 11206.

Through Space for Art, a city art residency program matching artists to city senior centers with workspace, Daryl-Ann Saunders created a small “pop-up” photo studio at the center. There she began creating studio portraits and collecting written text of Bushwick residents that have lived in the neighborhood since the 1970s and still live in Bushwick today.  Many center members are included in this collaborative effort. 

The Bushwick-based artist explains, “Bushwick’s most difficult decades of the 1970s and 80s were marked by arson, crime, drugs and gang activity. The Pioneers of Bushwick project commemorates residents that persevered, raised families and contributed to a rich historical tapestry throughout those times and up to its current resurgence. Their contributions will now be in evidence within Bushwick history. As this artwork is viewed by community residents of varied ages and cultures, it is hoped it will stimulate dialogue, not just about Bushwick and its history, but also about aging, self-worth, human value and experience.”

Ms. Saunders is a professional and fine art photographer. Her images have been published worldwide, is exhibited regularly and held in the collections of Pfizer, Inc., General Electric as well as other collections, public and private. For more information about the artist and her projects, visit: www.DASfineart.com and www.PioneersOfBushwick.com.

###

Project/ exhibit space, senior participation and staff support has been generously donated to the Pioneers of Bushwick project by Diana H. Jones Senior Center and their sponsor, RidgewoodBushwick Senior Citizens Council. The organization seeks to promote the well-being of community residents who are 60+ years of age through nutrition, recreation, social services and educational programs.

This exhibit is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc.(BAC). The Space for Art program (now SPARC) was initiated by the Brooklyn Arts Council in partnership with New York City Department for the Aging and the Department of Cultural Affairs.                             

"Pioneers of Bushwick" in NY Post

Photo by Paul Martinka

My ongoing photography project, Pioneers of Bushwick, was featured in a NY Post article today.

I've been working on "POB" (Pioneers of Bushwick) for approximately a year as part of the NYC Space for Art program (now known as SPARC). I am creating portraits of long-time Bushwick residents at the Diana Jones Senior Center and will be pairing them with text they have written. These residents grew up and/or raised families in Bushwick during its most volatile decades. Their faces and stories create a rich, historical tapestry of an area in Brooklyn that is now experiencing new resurgence.

I'll be sending out periodic updates and/ or exhibition invites for the project. If you'd like to be on the mail list, please type your e-mail address in the "Follow By E-mail" field (to the right). Also click on the "like" button on the Pioneers of Bushwick Facebook page. Thank you!

The project continues so if you know anyone currently living in Bushwick since the 1970s, please put me in contact with them or have them reach me through this blog. (By the way, they don't have to be seniors).

Every article provides visibility and credibility for the project so I'm grateful. It really comes in handy when approaching residents to participate. Thank you to Diana Jones Senior Center, Narcisa Ruiz-Secchiano, Arlene Suero, Kathleen Christie, Kristin Sakoda and Danai Pointer for their project belief and to Jeremy Olshan and Paul Martinka for the write-up and photography.

(I see one typo in the article that I must comment on. Where it reads "old", I actually said "older". I would never refer to myself as old. ha! :-))

Brooklyn Arts Council Grant!

I forgot to share some good news!
Every year, the Brooklyn Arts Council Community Arts Regrant Program funds Brooklyn-based artists and nonprofit organizations in the areas of visual arts, film and video, photography, craft, folk arts, dance, music, opera, theater, literature/writing, and multidisciplinary arts.

For the Pioneers of Bushwick project, I've been awarded a NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) grant. The amount is modest but, after working on the project for months, expenses add up and every bit helps toward eventual exhibition expenses and, hopefully, an exhibit catalog.

Follows is a link to the grantees list, alphabetical by first name. I'm listed about 1/2 way down:http://www.brooklynartscouncil.org/documents/1673