Art Scene at Second Saturday in Staten Island

Yes, there is an art scene on Staten Island. In recent years, as young artists have been pushed out of all the other boroughs by rising rents and disappearing loft spaces and older artists have been pushed out of jobs, we've been organizing some experimental events that foster collaboration and mutual support. And we made it all ourselves with no money, just lots of energy. There's always been great music to be had on Staten Island, with no cover charge, I might add. But, lately there has been a real infusion of visual and performance art, too.

Brendan Coyle and Amanda Curtis deserve a lot of credit for founding Second Saturdays, a monthly evening art stroll, which gives us a locus for the creation of new art, a reason to get out and meet artists and visit studios and homemade exhibition spaces in the St. George area, not to mention party!

ART at Bay was one of the stops last night, where our exhibition MAXIMUS/minimus is showing.

Kris Johnson and gallery dog

Deep Tanks is just down the street from ART at Bay and is always a lively venue on Second Saturdays. One of the great things about the gatherings there is the mix of ages in the artists who are showing or playing music, as well as the audience. Our host Kris Johnson and hostess Florence Poulain are the reasons for that.

paintings by Phoebe Wong

Last night Deep Tanks was showing some strong work by some college students. One was Phoebe Wong, who made some lovely small pieces that I found very appealing.

performance artists from the Assembly Room

Pat DeCicco on vibes, a bass guitarist and a conga player provided the music for a butoh performance. (You had to be there.) I was surprised to discover that Pat, who I know as a printmaker, played vibes. I was further surprised when he told me he had been playing tango music his whole life!

In Buenos Aires

The next act was a band called In Buenos Aires. I knew they were ready to start playing when they turned their backs to us. They played a very atmospheric jam.

installation by Florence Poulain

Our hostess, the multi-talented Florence Poulain, not only performed in the butoh dance, but also showed a group of small installations involving dolls. Here are a couple of them:

installation by Florence Poulain

Really, aside from the artistic stimulation, the best part of the evening was reconnecting with old friends and meeting new people in my art community. You never know what might come of that!