Bronx Cultural Trolley to ride the S. Bronx cultural corridor

The Bronx Culture Trolley rolls again on Wednesday, February 4, along the South Bronx Cultural Corridor, offering six art exhibitions at five Bronx galleries, a trip to the Alexander Avenue Art & Antiques District, Latin jazz at Sweetwaters, and karaoke at the Bruckner Bar & Grill. The Bronx Culture Trolley is a program of the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA). Admission is free and all are welcome to hop on board and enjoy the activities.

February 4th’s trolley begins at the Longwood Art Galleryat Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street, at 5 p.m. with a Meet & Greet reception and a viewing of Graffiti: Spirit of an Age @ 40 x 10. Curated by Ezo Wippler, this exhibition highlights works by 10 artists that began their careers in their teens making Graffiti and as time has progressed, have expanded their visual vernacular to include other forms of expression such as drawing, graphic design, painting and sculpture. The result is a startling show that combines elements of graffiti, line color and the influence of urban trends and culture. Participating artists include CES, CEY, DR. REVOLT, EZO, KET, KLASS, MARE 139, REVS, SHARP and SP. The sculptures by REVS and MARE 139 incorporate immediate reference to spontaneity of the line used in graffiti writing and its curves and crevices. CES and SHARP create wild style or intricate, expressive designs with letters that look like abstractions. In CES’s paintings, his name always appears at the center of the canvas, while SHARP’s style is baroque, expressive and dissolving into abstract forms of letters forming spirals, circles and organic forms. SP’s pieces rely on the use of typography and layering of overlapping text; DR. REVOLT, EZO, KET and KLASS’, paintings are inspired by the iconography of urban life, popular culture and market brands; their works comment on urban and street life and street violence, with tones that range from humor, to sarcasm or by tapping into the subjective view of the urban condition and the urban landscape. This show will be on view through February 7. For more information on the Longwood Art Gallery and its upcoming exhibitions, call (718) 518-6728 or visit www.bronxarts.org/lag.asp.

Also in the gallery is a 5 p.m. Awards Presentation for this year’s BCA/NYSCA Decentralization recipients of both the New York State Council on the Arts’ (NYSCA) Decentralization and Arts-in-Education grants and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) Greater New York Arts Development Fund grants. Awardees will be announced at the ceremony and presented with their grants. The ceremony will be attended by representatives of recipient organizations, artists, schools, local legislators, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and members of BCA’s Board of Directors. Hostos Community College is located at 450 Grand Concourse and 149th Street.

The trolley bell’s ring (at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.) is your free ticket to a cultural tour along the South Bronx Cultural Corridor of the lower Grand Concourse. Admission to all participating venue attractions is free. The Bronx Culture Trolley runs on the first Wednesday of each month (except January and September) providing Bronxites and tourists alike a fun way to travel via a replica of an early 20th-century trolley car. Passengers are given the opportunity to sample several of the area’s hottest cultural attractions, dining establishments and entertainment venues along the way.

FIRST STOP: Haven Arts Gallery, 50 Bruckner Boulevard, Building A, for a viewing of the gallery’s current two shows: The Deadly 4MULA, a group exhibition of 22 aerosol artists curated by MERESONE; and Last Gasp: The Passing of Polaroid Film, an exhibition marking the end of Polaroid film production featuring the works of Barry Kostrinsky and J.C. Rice. For further information and viewing hours, please e-mail info@havenarts.org or call (718) 585-5753, or visit www.havenarts.org.

NEXT STOP: Bronx Blue Bedroom Project, 309 Alexander Avenue #3A, where you can view The Flight – An Installation and Video by Fannie Allié featuring a video of a window projected on the actual windows of the Bronx Blue Bedroom. The video revolves around a character’s interaction with his window. In the blue bedroom, she will also install a bed next to the projection. On this bed, there will be a human body shape, sleeping. The artist is interested in creating an intimate environment where imaginary and real world, fiction and reality would be combined together. Using the image of the window -which is a separation between the viewer and the outside world, she focuses on the dreams or the unconscious desires that anyone can have. The installation will be on view thru Feb 28. For information, visit www.bronxbbp.com, call (347) 776-7504 or e-mail bronxbbp@yahoo.com.

NEXT STOP: LDR Studio Gallery, 137 Alexander, Suite 10, 4th Floor, where you can view The Anti So Bro Show, presented in celebration of the gallery’s first anniversary. The show, a collective exhibition by six emerging artists (A.i., Luis D. Rosado, Patrick Murray, Rich Rethorn, Chet Urban, and Dan Keith Williams), covers a wide range of themes fluid with current events, American culture, pop culture, environmentalism which are presented and depicted in different formats including paintings, etchings, photography, and multimedia installations. The title, The Anti So Bro Show, openly mocks the idea to abbreviate the name of the neighborhood (SOuth BROnx) for lucrative purposes. It is a spotlight on the side effects of gentrification that attracts people who emulate the fashions, mannerisms and slang associated with working artists, and believe that they can immerse themselves in “Art”; not because they understand it, but because it is popular. A.i.’ s Mother Earth portrays the ever present indifference of the environment and general disregard for Nature and Its creation. The artwork is constructed of a wall-mounted-aluminum-zipper that is about to close on a flower field. Williams’ Gang of Four is a multimedia concept projected on a screen. It explores the issues of race, power, and “The American Dream”. The show references graphic pop art styles prevalent in the 70s and 80s. The exhibition will also feature etchings by James Pernotto, from the Scud Attack series. Pernotto uses his alter ego, Popeye, the everyman against nature, in this series of intimate etchings trailing the tradition of Bruegel’s moral allegories. Scud Attack pays homage to Holbein’s Dance of Death and Goya’s Los Caprichos. LDR Studio Gallery is located at 137 Alexander Avenue, Suite 10 (4th floor). For information, call Luis D. Rosado at (917) 558-2389 or e-mail L.D.R.studio10@gmail.com.

NEXT STOP: Alexander Avenue Antiques District where we will visit Alexander’s Café at 129 Alexander Avenue, (718) 993-5281 – your alternative to topical restaurants and quick fix delis; Books, Notes & News at 137 Alexander Avenue, (646) 496-6178 – antique books, maps, records, and more; Custom Design Studio at 49 Bruckner Boulevard, (718) 993-8370 – antique restoration, fine furniture upholstery, custom-made slipcovers, wall upholstery and throw pillows; and Thrift World Antiques at 122 Alexander Avenue, (718) 665-5619 – antiques and more. For information about the Alexander Avenue Antiques District, contact Laura at (718) 401-7866 or LauraN@bronxarts.org.

NEXT STOP: Bruckner Gallery at the Bruckner Bar & Grill, 1 Bruckner Boulevard, for a viewing of Dreams, curated by the Bruckner Gallery’s Director Assa Bigger. Dreams is an exhibition of sequence images, sounds and feelings from two emerging Korean artists Jina Son & Young Gi Han. For information on this show, visit the Bruckner Gallery website at www.brucknergallery.com or contact Gallery Director Assa Bigger at (718) 665-2001 or info@brucknerartgallery.com. And after you enjoy the show, the Bruckner Bar & Grill presents Karaoke Night, an evening of fun and song hosted by Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz in celebration of her birthday.

FINAL STOP of the evening: Sweetwaters Bar & Grill, 2576 Third Avenue at 139th Street, where you can wind down your trolley night with some live musical entertainment (this evening, Latin jazz), Mexican food, super burgers, and great drinks. For information on Sweetwaters and/or this performance, call Marvin Robbins at (718) 292-9470.

For additional information on the Bronx Culture Trolley and the Bronx Cultural Card (which offers percentage off discounts at participating Bronx organizations and business establishments), call (718-) 31-9500, ext. 33.

Bronx Cultural Trolley