A Purposeful Life

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I caught up with Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, an actress, dancer and theatrical personality who, for many years, was the artistic director at Youth Theater Interactions – an organization in Yonkers that teaches kids how to use the arts and music to make their lives better.  Mamie’s passion now is senior citizens. At 60 […]

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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

My granddaughter, as a child, always loved to go for dance lessons at Steffi Nossen School of Dance (SNSD). Not for the lessons necessarily, but she loved to laugh at herself in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors. I always wondered why dance studios had so much “look/see“ space. Shelley Grantham, Executive Director at Steffi Nossen, explained to […]

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Westchester Government Support Results in $1.28 Million Raised for the Arts

This article was previously published in ArtsNews on January 30, but I wanted to share the wonderful news here on my blog, and take the opportunity to thank Westchester County Executive George Latimer and the Westchester Board of Legislators for their ongoing partnership and support. For years, Westchester County Government has matched vital funds for […]

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So, What Are We Celebrating This Thanksgiving?

For many years after my ex-husband Ed and I decided to go our separate ways, his brother Mort would pack his Volkswagen bus with his three children, his ukulele and harmonica, and various Chilean relatives whom he brought here after the fall of the Allende government in Chile. It’s heartfelt to note that back in the 70s, a call from my congressman was sufficient […]

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Does the Devil Wear Prada?

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To be sure, there are many ways to use fabric in the search of artistic meaning. For me, it has been a lifetime journey, starting in my childhood. I was, so to speak, “born to the velvet.” By this I mean to say not that I was a rich kid, but that velvet was an […]

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Art Under the Starry Skies of Ghent, NY

It may be wishful thinking on my part, but it seems to me more artists are migrating out of the city to a more bucolic life in upstate New York. Maybe it’s just a Covid thing or an affordable housing shortage, but on a recent trip upstate the signs of artists seemed ubiquitous. Alas, I […]

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Public Art on the Cusp

Mural at 50 Main Street by Raymond Saa

June may be “busting out all over” in Westchester, but so is public art. Developers are teaming up with ArtsWestchester to commission temporary and permanent murals, and sculptures in downtown White Plains. All this creative activity coalesces in a five-day Serious Fun Arts Fest, taking place in White Plains from October 12-16. The truth is, public […]

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Four Essential Freedoms

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This blog post is a guest blog written by Adam Chau, ArtsWestchester’s Exhibitions Manager: As you walk into ArtsWestchester’s gallery to see our current exhibition, Who Writes History?, you may notice four very familiar images. With an uncanny nostalgic feeling, you may or may not be able to discern where you’ve seen these scenes – […]

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