RIOC Plans a Fall Arts Fest

RIOC heralded its October 21 Fall for Arts festival this week with banners on the Chapel of the Good Shepherd and other buildings.

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) is staging an Island- wide arts festival, called Fall for Arts, on Saturday, October 21. The event, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., will “showcase the art and talents of Island residents,” according to RIOC Vice President Catherine Johnson, who said RIOC is working with a planning committee consisting of the Residents Association (RIRA), the Visual Arts Association (RIVAA), Coler-Goldwater Hospital, the Child School, PS/IS 217, and other entities.

“RIOC/RIVAA sponsored an informational meeting to weeks ago, attended by over 50 excited, interested artists and performers,” Johnson said in an e-mail to The WIRE. “A hallmark of this festival will be opportunities for visitors to participate in the arts throughout the day. Events being planned will encourage visitors to paint, design, and create, and will be targeted for the young and young-at-heart. “The centerpiece of the festival will be a sculpture wall, located in the Meditation Lawn south of Rivercross, that will invite visitors of all ages and abilities to create their own contributions to the art wall,” Johnson wrote. She said more than thirty participants have registered, with more anticipated.

Johnson said Red Bus service will be free during festival hours, and that locations throughout the Island will be used. All aspects of the event are free, as well, for visitors, though artists selling their works are being charged $25 ($50 for non-residents). A major exhibition at Goldwater, by artists resident there, will be a key part of the festival, Johnson added.

Performing participants include pianists Roy Eaton and Mas Ikemiya, gospel singer Juanita Fleming, guitarists David Kraut and Matthew Katz, and songwriter/vocalist Chris Fuller. Blair Strain, a jazz vocalist, will appear with a band, and a klezmer band headed by Mitch Elinson will perform. Adrienne Famm will dance, Naomi Imbrogno will read poetry, and vocalist Martin Samstag will play the harmonica and sing. Artists include: sculptor Amon Azizov; painters Joan Blumberg, Mumatz Hussain, Esther Cohen, Sandra Lamb, Anthony Moran, Essie Owens, and Hilda Rich; photographers Selwyn Fund, Ralf Graebner, Robert Vaughn, and Tasja Keenan; Orphans International will also present photography. Danielle Freudenhem will show jewelry; Amanda Fuller will show greeting cards, and Bonnie Goodman and Arline Jacoby will show mixed-media works. Judy Berdy will provide an exhibit and book tours. Multimedia art will be on display at the Child School, PS/IS 217, the Senior Center, and Coler-Goldwater; the Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance will present theatre, songs, and dance.

According to Johnson, the Fall for Arts festival is presented as part of RIOC’s contract with Public Works, Inc., to offer a variety of Island-wide events throughout 2006 and 2007. Those events included six Summer Sounds concerts, each attended by an average of 50 residents and visitors. Johnson said a sports day is planned for Spring as a final event on the $80,000 Public Works contract.