Many cultural events actually coincide with the season of open studios in San Francisco. ARTober Fest encompasses more than visual Art.  It also surpasses the month of October and fills in the beginning of  November. If you plan to visit the Bay Area, you’ll get your money’ worth if you come here between October and November.  At the start of the month, the free, gigantic blue grass festival known as Strictly Hardly takes over the first weekend.  A few studio groups begin showing work the second week.  Then comes Litquake, the 15-year-old literary festival that swoops into the Bay Area for a busy week.  It’s an amazing representation of the Bay Area.

During both weekdays and the weekend, people vie for seats (or space to stand) at readings, panel discussions, and writing workshops. The infamous “Lit Crawl” celebrates the end of the festival. This year the crawl included 101 events taking place in three hours. Over 900 authors brought their work to the public in just a week. Many writers come from the West Coast while others are international. While the festival takes place mostly in San Francisco, events stretch out in every direction: the North Bay, Berkeley, Oakland, and the South Bay all become bustling grounds for Litquake authors to share their work.

Encounters with the visual world definitely happen during this literary occasion. A few examples from 2014 included a roundtable discussion of contemporary book design; an exhibit of cover art from Bay Area publishers; artists and illustrators from the The New Yorker in conversation with the West Coast; and a talk on the art of Italian children’s books.

At the panel discussion, “Being with Death: The Art of Dying in the Modern Age,” Fouladi Projects Gallery, 13-Oct-2014

My start of Litquake involved a somber but simultaneously uplifting panel discussion called “Being with Death: The Art of Dying in the Modern Age.” Four Bay Area writers, who have published memoirs and non-fiction surrounding death within today’s medical practices, spoke to an audience that quickly grew heavy-hearted.

Though we became a sniffling, weepy audience, it felt very good to talk about death. I feel that the people sitting with me felt the same way. Though the scenarios described caused many of us to tear up (Panelist Monica Wesolowska spoke about the one month lifespan of an infant she lost after childbirth; Elizabeth Scarboro talked about the passing of her first young husband from Cystic Fibrosis in his mere mid-twenties) the speakers created such strong models of understanding and acceptance that you just couldn’t walk away from the talk in pain. Panelist Katy Butler framed it this way, “You can’t have a good death without talking about it.”

Butler and Sheila Himmel lead the talk towards a wider perspective on how people die today (i.e. regarding the number of us who experience ICU before dying, the involvement of medical professionals, and the definition of a natural death). Skillfully, all four writers spoke on the pain from a prolonged deathbed, which affected each of them in the past. Though the audience cried, the panelists did not.

Photo of the audience and panelist, Elizabeth Scarboro, Litquake 2014

This public talk surfaced just 2 weeks before Brittany Maynard’s public and controversial decision to seek Oregon’s Death with Dignity Law. With stage 4 brain cancer, Maynard chose to end her life with the help of doctors on November 1, 2014. The wide publicity of Maynard’s difficult situation likely attracted some audience members to this talk.

One of the most heartening moments came, when Butler asked where the med students sat in the audience. A few men and women raised their hands, and we all gave applause. These were nurses, hospice workers, therapists, and doctors taking an extra step to better understand patients’ dying with dignity.

Litquake 2014, “The Art of Poetry” panel, photo courtesy of Rachel Dwan.

The above photo came from “The Art of Poetry” panel discussion (one of the recurring talks for every Litquake). This year, panelists included published authors Robin Ekiss, Elizabeth Block, Roxanne Beth Johnson, Zack Rogow, and Judy Halebsky.

Phase I of Lit Crawl 2014, Outside of “Science Fiction in the 21st Century,” October 18th, 2014

6: 20 PM, twenty minutes late for the first phase of Lit Crawl and I find myself at the back of the audience, which pushed all the way out the front door, sadly out of hearing range. This is the closest I got to hearing about contemporary science fiction at a store in the Mission District called the Time Frame. It’s a slightly unusual place to hold such a public gathering (among glass cases full of eyewear and a space fit for a handful of customers rather than this lit crowd), but that’s the charm of Litquake.  It’s a festival that creatively calls in all parts of the community to share culture. Speakers included Michael Blumlein, Ellen Klages, Tim Pratt, Jacob Weismam, and Tad Williams.

Another view of the crowd from outside of “Science Fiction in the 21st Century,”2014 Lit Crawl.

Phase II of Lit Crawl 2014, in the store of an independent designer called Five and Diamond in the Mission, “Funcheap Presents San Francisco on $0 a Day”

7:15 PM: A fun discussion between five San Francisco savvy writers on the most creative ways to live cheaply in this expensive city.  Featuring Eve Batey, Johnny Funcheap, Brandon R. Reynolds, Stuart Schuffman, and Beth Spotswood. Note the far-left panelist who joined in digitally. Readers, please be reminded that while this Phase II event took place between 7:15 and 8:15 PM, about thirty other Phase II events also happened.

Phase III of the Lit Crawl, “Librarian Authors in the Stacks,” at Press: Works on Paper. 

Around 8:40 PM, I and a partner walked into a rare book bookstore called Press: Works on Paper. A poetry reading made the perfect end to the evening. This one featured librarian authors from all over the Bay and beyond: Andrew Demcak, Tayrn Edwards, Moazzam Sheikh, Erin Wilson, and Michelle Zaffino.

Near the end of Phase III, Photo of Press: Works on Paper

A view inside ofPress: Works on Paper and some crowd members standing all around the store, Photo courtesy of Michelle Kicherer.

Lit-quake, a suitable name for a festival in the Bay Area. Though we’re never sure when we’ll suffer the next big earthquake, we can be sure that this literary giant comes back to town each Fall. I have a feeling that upcoming years will continue to feel endlessly loaded with pointed ideas, great people, images, poetry, and too much to talk about.

 Written by: Audrey Tran

The post Lively Litquake 2014, San Francisco’s ARTober Fest Part III appeared first on Artiholics.

One of Bushwick, Brooklyn’s homegrown original underground art spots (and the only one named after the Kurt Vonnegut novel) may shut down if they can’t pay their various bills. The bohemian Goodbye Blue Monday is facing eviction by the end of the month if they don’t raise enough funds.

You can help save this legendary hot spot where once underground Brooklyn bands like Vampire Weekend played their first shows.

Matthew Silver

On Thursday, March 20th, performance artist and emcee Matthew Silver starts the weekend with a variety show comedy fundraiser, featuring poetry, music, and many of the eclectic underground acts that make New York City great.

Josh Berkowitz

Cheap drinks, interesting installations, a crazy outdoor space, if you’ve never been here it’s worth checking out. Goodbye Blue Monday has been a cultural staple of the Bushwick community for over ten years. It has the homey vibe, strange but not pretentious feel of what you’d imagine the East Village was like during the beatnik era.

Where else can you party for a good cause and enjoy culture from the home of all kinds of artists, film makers, poets, musicians, and performers?

Crimson Kitty

All weekend long from Thursday March 20th to Sunday the 23rd, there will be cheap fundraisers for the venue. All shows are only a $5 donation at the door. All proceeds go toward saving the space.

• Thursday, March 20th: Comedy Open Mic 9-11pm hosted by performance artist and emcee Matthew Silver.
• Friday, the 21st: Rock Show featuring Kung Fu Crimewave, Abby Rock, Space Meow, more surprise artists.
• Saturday the 22nd: Undiscovered Countries all day theater series. And a rave fundraiser party at night.
• Sunday the 23rd: A rave party fundraiser .

You can donate at the event page, think of it as the pocket change tips you’d give to a busker.

Save Goodbye Blue Monday:

https://www.gofundme.com/7kb6vw
https://www.facebook.com/events/348973351901503/?ref=23

Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway
Brooklyn, New York 11221

Written and Photographed by Betty T. Kao
Header Artwork by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The post Party Hard & Save ‘Goodbye Blue Monday’ From It’s Last Sad Farewell appeared first on Artiholics.

New York – Monday, January 27 – Sunday, February 2, 2014

I spent the past week in Atlantic City floating nude in the various Ceasars spas (cold, tepid, and hot) in serious blizzard denial.  With a space pen and a rainproof explorer notebook in hand I was an idea jotting bathtub dynamo.  Dozens and dozens of pages of ideas and notes poured out, all of which I will have to sort through over the coming days and weeks.

I did only once manage to pull my pruney white butt out of the tubs and brave the negative digit temps to tour the burgeoning art scene with one of only four resident AC artists. The locals are trying desperately to build a community there, and the groundwork has already begun to be laid.

Although luxury and relaxation are grand, I am glad to be home in NYC, and I would like to think the studio cats missed me while I was gone.  Now that the city has dug itself out, let’s go see some art!

– Cojo

Monday, January 27, 2014

6:30 pm – CoolNY Dance Festival ($)| White Wave – 25 Jay St., BK
8:00 pm – Draw-mania! 25 | $15 | Otto’s Shrunken Head – 538 E. 14th St. NYC

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

6:00 pm – Art Mash V | Bumble and bumble – 415 W. 13th S., 8 Fl. NYC
6:30 pm – Mars & Mercury | American Museum of Natural History – NYC
6:30 pm – Essam artist talk | SVA – 133 W. 21st St. Room 101c, NYC

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

6:00 pm – Alfredo Gisholt: Canto General | CUE – 137 W. 25th St., NYC
6:00 pm – MIA in MIA Wrap-Up | Lyons Wier Gallery – 542 W.24th St. NYC
6:30 pm – Social Exchange: Artist’s Reception $ | MoMA – 11 W. 53rd St. NYC
7:00 pm – Mark Tribe lecture | SVA – 136 W. 21st St. Room 418f, NYC
9:00 pm – Matthew Silver’s Circus of Dreams | Bizarre Bushwick – 12 Jefferson St. Bushwick, BK

Thursday, January 30, 2014

6:00 pm – Kaiju Art Exhibition Closing Party | Resobox – 41-26 27th St., QNS
6:00 pm – James Weber | Imagine Gallery – 555 6th Ave., NYC
7:00 pm – Dylan J Clarke | The Living Gallery BK – 1094 Broadway, BK
7:00 pm – Introductions, Art Beasties | Brooklyn Fireproof – 119 Ingraham St., BK
7:30 pm – Art Battles opens ‘The Vault’ | 229 West 43rd – 229 West 43rd, NYC
8:00 pm – Track 1 Group Show | Exit Room – 270 Meserole St.. BK
8:00 pm – Fairytale Project | Rabbithole Projects – 33 Washington St.. BK

Friday, January 31, 2014

6:00 pm – Osamu Kobayashi & Bjorn Meyer-Ebrecht | Storefront Ten Eyck – 324 Ten Eyck St., BK
7:00 pm – Portfolio 8: Walls Spoke : Ben Godward | Centotto – 250 Moore st., apt#108. Bushwick, BK
8:00 pm – 1st People’s Choice of 2014 | Greenpoint Gallery – 390 McGuinness Blvd., BK

Saturday, February 1, 2014

10:30 am – Frank Lloyd Wright and the City $ | MoMA – 11 W. 53rd St, NYC
2:00 pm – “Slow Art” a talk by Jennifer Samet | Nancy Margolis Gallery – 523 W. 25th St., NYC
5:00 pm – Omens of Climate Change | Westbeth Gallery – 155 Bank St.,NYC
5:00 pm – Slang Reflections | Yes gallery ltd. – 147 India St., BK

Sunday, February 2, 2014

2:00 pm – Residency Open Studios | Queens Museum – NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, QNS
3:00 pm – The Islands of New York | Queens Museum – NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, QNS
4:00 pm – Bob Holman: a gathering of sorts – Poetry $ | Outlet Fine Art – 253 Wilson Ave., BK
6:00 pm – Disorderly Conduct | Gallery Molly Krom – 53 Stanton St., NYC

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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New to Bushwick or Ridgewood and wondering where you can find a decent spoken word poetry and storytelling venue in the neighborhood?  Wonder no more, for I have found it for you.  The first Sunday of every month (today) at The Bodega wine bar at 24 Saint Nicholas Avenue (corner of Troutman St.) in Bushwick, which is right on the border of Ridgewood from 6-9pm.

The Bodega Monthly is a first Sunday Live Storytelling extravaganza hosted by humorist Robert Semple.  Come on down and check it!

Make friends with Robert to get on the line-up for future month’s readings, as these are not open mic.  You must be invited to read in advance, so checking out a night or two will give you an idea of the vibe and what sort of material works in this room.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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One of the amazing things about the Bushwick Open Studios is that you never know what is behind the next unlocked door.  I wandered down a hallway after having just photographed the 3i group of performing artists, only to open a door into a giant packed loft in the middle of a poetry reading.

The Song Cave poet Alan Felsenthal was reading poems from Alfred Starr Hamilton’s book A Dark Dreambox of Another Kind , which he prefaced by mentioning that poet was a recluse who lived in Montclair, NJ his entire life.  I was born in Montclair, so naturally I was intrigued.

He read a few of the poems and then a few of his own. 

Behind him was a large-scale architectural drawings of a worm’s eye  view of a  building’s fire escape by artist Helen Dennis.

Poets house fellow Elsbeth Pancrazi read a few of her works.

Jack Kerouac fellowship award winner Monica Wendel read some of her works.

Normally, in the heat of an art crawl I will not take the time to plop down to listen to a poetry reading, but I could use an excuse to get off my feet for a bit, and even though the place was pretty hot, it was better than some rooms that had no ventilation whatsoever, and it was inspiring to let the theater of the mind take over.

Written and photographed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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