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An NEA Update in Pet Parlance

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I am trying to wrap my head around a few newsworthy items. One of these is the number and size of dogs jet-setting on airlines. Now I happen to be a dyed in the wool dog lover.  So I asked myself what I might do if I was offered a free trip to Hawaii with […]

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The NEA at Its Best

Eastern Gate, 1961

When I think of Romare Bearden, I can actually reproduce in my mind colorful depictions of African American factory workers going about their laborious routines. I am less familiar with the artist’s abstract works, which are at the root of his vision. Now, in part through a $45,000 grant from National Endowment for the Arts […]

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Westchester, the Arts Represented at 2017 Oscars

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This week’s “This and That by JL” is a post by Mary Alice Franklin, ArtsWestchester’s prodigious Communications Manager & ArtsNews Editor, who stayed glued to the TV screen to the bitter end on Oscars night. Seems like Westchester is a county of talent, which Mary Alice has assured us of. Through the blunders and flubs, Westchester […]

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George Washington on the Arts

George Washington by Gilbert Stuart_photo source-Creative Commons

It seems that ever since the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was created, it has been under siege. Although it is a tiny agency, less than 0.006% of the $3.54 Trillion federal budget, it has had enormous impact on the quality, abundance and diversity of the arts in America through its 140,000 grants, totaling […]

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Economy of Line

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There is something so very elegant about Henri Matisse. He can take a line and magically turn it into a portrait so recognizable that only a few strokes of his pen are necessary. This French master was known to have said: “If I trust my drawing hand it is because in training it to serve […]

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Children Are Our Future

Dear Friends: These are trying times for all of us: so many needs… so many challenges. It is indeed daunting. I think that if 2016 has taught us anything, it is that exercising our freedom of expression is a fundamental privilege we enjoy as Americans. That is why I believe the arts are so important…because […]

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Blowin’ in the Wind

I cheered to myself when I heard Bob Dylan was chosen for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Days later, I was crushed when he didn’t accept the honor. His answer is probably still “blowin’ in the wind.” But, OMG, what a missed moment for the arts! My delight at first was due to the “bravo” […]

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Tough Choices

  It’s going to be a tough choice no matter how you slice it. No, I’m not talking about the election. I’m talking about the weekend. Jazz Fest is sizzling this weekend in White Plains with a terrific line-up of musicians from Brazil, Africa and New Orleans. Two outstanding evenings are Friday with the Gary Smulyan […]

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