Saying Goodbye to Mayor Joe

Janet Langsam, ArtsWestchester’s CEO Emerita, reflects on the legacy of Joe Delfino, the former mayor of the City of White Plains who recently passed away.

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Cherish Nature While We Can

Bruce Odland is a music man. More precisely, he is a sound guy. By this, I mean he is in an astute listener to the sounds of nature – from the Hudson River to the fields of Croton to the voices of wind. His partner Soli Pierce is a forest person. By this I mean, […]

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Sculpture Beckons Visitors to a Story of Queens

Good friends can be forever, even if you don’t see them very often. Many years have passed, perhaps 30, since sculptor Mark di Suvero and I had seen each other. So I was ecstatic when I recently visited his studio Space Time, for a brunch in Long Island City, Queens. The neighborhood borders Astoria, and both have […]

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Paper is a Lovable Material

Ever since paper was invented by the Chinese in 104 A.D., it has become one of the most treasured and accessible mediums for artists. Once an artist falls in love with paper, and there are many different kinds, they find multiple ways to use them artistically. To explore how artists use paper, I visited Alice […]

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Honoring Aaron Copland’s Legacy

Copland House at Bluestone aerial view

It’s truly magical how some good things happen, not just in Westchester, but around the globe. Usually, it’s not just about money—although, to be sure, money helps. Most often, it starts with a dream and becomes a matter of vision and leadership. That is the story of the Copland House cultural center and the tenacity […]

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A League of Their Own

What is more American than baseball? That is the question I asked myself when I was inspired by an exhibition organized by the African American Men of Westchester with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum called Discover Greatness. ArtsWestchester’s Gallery was filled with portraits of hundreds of players and teams who, in the early part of the 20th […]

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Building New Audiences for the Arts

Change is in the air – not just globally, but right here in Mamaroneck, where David Bander left Seattle seven months ago to head up the Emelin Theatre as its new executive director. Quickly, in understanding the winds of change, Bander is reaching out to new audiences in Mamaroneck, where he says a quarter of […]

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Art Teachers Are Rare Birds

Art Teacher Jessica Cioffoletti

Many moons ago, my first grader came home with the drawing of a hatchet. Even though it was February, and George Washington, as we now know, did not chop down a cherry tree, I’m bristled at the idea that this stencil image was an art lesson. It was then that I offered my services as an artist, […]

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