Staten Island Seeks Artists, NY1 Television News

Artist and Prodigal Borough Blogger Cynthia von Buhler was interviewed by NY1 News. View the news clip by clicking the headline above.
"Members of the Downtown Staten Island Council have been talking about revitalizing Stapleton and St. George for quite some time. As NY1's Shawna Ryan reports, some say the best way to do that is to find a new artistic appreciation. Cynthia Von Buhler has a gallery in one of the most sought-after neighborhoods of Manhattan. She moved to the Island two years ago and now she's ready to bring her gallery to St. George. “I have a studio in the Meatpacking District and now it’s a hot neighborhood and I’m giving up that studio to be in Staten Island,” says Von Buhler. Von Buhler's work is part of an exhibit that opened at the Staten Island Museum Friday.
She says she's part of a movement of artists who hope to revive the downtown neighborhoods like St. George and Stapleton.
“I think that the potential is there, definitely, and there is a community of young people and we’ve all been getting together. We talk about what we can do to make it better,” says Von Buhler. But some artists say it’s not easy to get connections with financial institutions and brokers to secure a gallery space. And that's what members of the Downtown Staten Island Council hope to change.
“That’s part of what we're here for as a business development group,” says Downtown Staten Island Council executive director Robert Cross. “We have representatives from banks, insurance residential, commercial brokers. We can definitely bridge that gap and we're trying to do that as we speak. A study released by the Center for an Urban Future called "Staten Island 2020" suggests the Island could benefit from bringing artists downtown. Stapleton Gallery owner Jeff Kolasinkski agrees. “Before they were really developed the artists were people who situated themselves and led the way for the development that followed,” says Kolasinkski. Artists say the spaces available on the island rival ones in the Big Apple. “There's a lot of potential here,” says artist Scott LoBaido. “I’m excited. I still will have shows in Manhattan, but this is my home. I mean, look at this tremendous space I have. It’s an artist's dream.”
“If you look in SoHo, artists have to leave because the rents are so high. Staten Island is a find and I think more people will come here,” says Von Buhler. But it looks like Manhattan’s loss is Staten Island’s gain." – Shawna Ryan

Note from CvB: We need to make people realize that Staten Island IS part of The Big Apple. Staten Island IS in New York City.

Cynthia von Buhler: Show & Tell Solo Exhibit Opens at the Staten Island Museum

April 26, 2007 – June 17, 2007, EXTENDED until September 23, 2007 due to popular demand
On Friday, April 27, The Staten Island Museum will unveil Cynthia von Buhler: Show & Tell. The surreal three-dimensional works blend Renaissance inspired portraiture and messianic figures with natural objects. Cynthia von Buhler’s enigmatic paintings impart their meaning through symbol, design, and narrative. In von Buhler’s art, butterflies, snakes, birds, and plants are set into cages, boxes, and peepholes to serve as metaphors for the human condition. The layered gouache paintings and their sculptural, performance, and audio accoutrements are at once poignant and mischievous. Show and Tell is akin to a trip down an ornate rabbit hole. Many New Yorkers are familiar with von Buhler's interactive sculptures which have been exhibited frequently in the city. But few have seen an exhibit of her 3-d paintings, since most of these works are in private collections. Also on view will be characters from von Buhler's recent children's book, The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). The museum is easily accessible from Manhattan via the Staten Island ferry which is a free twenty-minute ride, and lands across the street from the museum. An exhibition catalog will be available. Books are available for sale in the museum gift shop. 75 Stuyvesant Place, Staten Island, New York 10301, 718.727.1135, Hours: Tuesdays - Fridays from 9AM to 5PM, Saturday 10AM - 5PM, Sunday 12PM- 5PM.

May 6, 2007: Cynthia von Buhler Artist’s Talk will be held on Sunday, May 6th at 2:00 p.m. Von Buhler’s Renaissance inspired portraits hold hidden secrets, butterflies, snakes, and birds---while cages and peepholes serve as mischievous metaphors. The Artist’s Talk is part of the Artists/Ideas Series: Supported by JP Morgan Chase.

May 19, 2007: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside Family Workshop and Book Signing with Artist and author Cynthia von Buhler will be held on Saturday, May 19th at 2:00 p.m. Participants will meet the artist and find out how she created her new book with dollhouse charm and a message about patience and giving. A cat figurine workshop for children is included in the program. Admission is $2 per child. Signed books will be available for sale at the event.

August 11, 2007: Cynthia von Buhler Artist’s Talk will be held on Saturday, August 11th at 1:00 p.m. Von Buhler’s Renaissance inspired portraits hold hidden secrets, butterflies, snakes, and birds---while cages and peepholes serve as mischievous metaphors. The Artist’s Talk is part of the Artists/Ideas Series: Supported by JP Morgan Chase. Free with museum admission.

August 25, 2007: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside Family Workshop and Book Signing with Artist and author Cynthia von Buhler will be held on Saturday, August 25th at 2:00 p.m. Participants will meet the artist and find out how she created her new book with dollhouse charm and a message about patience and giving. A cat figurine workshop for children is included in the program. Admission is $5 per child. Admission is free for children under 12. Copies of the book will be available for sale at this event.

Read the museum press release and view close-up details of some of the paintings HERE

Best of Borough's Festival at P.S. 122: Peripherally Yours...With Love, Staten Island

A two-part special series investigating the wild and wacky world of NYC's Forgotten Borough. Little Miss Big Mouth has been selected to represent Staten Island at P.S. 122's "Best of the Boroughs" festival, a new super-charged celebration that takes audiences on a tour of the city's brightest theatre, dance and performance. Sara Valentine is a resident of Staten Island's North Shore. Little Miss Big Mouth, her live, theatrical talk show and performance series, has been introducing audiences to some of Downtown's most eclectic performers for 9 years. Valentine is a member of the Hungry March Band, and is a past curator of the HOWL! Festival of East Village Arts. Little Miss Big Mouth, in its talk show format, combines Valentine's love for performance with her passion for learning the stories of people's lives, and in general, not being able to keep her mouth shut.

Friday April 6th and Saturday April 7th at 8pm at P.S. 122
150 1st Avenue @ 9th Street, in Manhattan.
Tickets are $20, $15 for students and seniors and $10 for members.

To purchase tickets online click on the headline above.

Friday, April 6th
-Reverend Adele from Mystikal Wonders - on why S.I. is the hub of all Wiccan activity in NYC
-Trish & Christoph - lead a guided tour of the North Shore and a song...Simon & Garfunkel meet Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
-Jesse Tigner Hayden McCrary, Jr. (Kris' & Sara's landlord!) - presents "Men Dancing , " a pas de deux in the nude
-Tiokasin Ghosthorse - Native American storyteller and flute player, host of WBAI's First Voices Radio performs live
-Century Dance Complex - present a traditional African dance by Liberian artist Rose Kingston & her dancers
-Elektro Motif - presents interactive poetry and music, featuring Doug Principato, Will Wyn, Marguerite Rivas and Andre Martinez

Saturday, April 7th
-Staten Island Paranormal Society - talks about ghost busting on S.I. and hunts for P.S. 122's resident ghost
-Minnie Van Driver - Staten Island's Ambassador of Love serenades and waxes philosophical on the island
-Gabri Christa - Caribbean dancer, theatre and film artist gets interviewed while performing an automatic dance
-A New Shade of Black - a performance by Staten Island's all black, post-hardcore band
-The Sisters Wijesinghe - recent emigrants to S.I. and students at the College of Staten Island perform a traditional Sri Lankan dance
-Sheila Rohan - an interview with the director of the Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre
-Day de DaDa - the Art Nurses and the Mighty Men of DaDa welcome you to S.I.
-The Eternal Knitter of Staten Island - Knits during the show

Food provided by Panini Grill of Forest Avenue in Staten Island

Features for both nights:
-Jenny Tango & Maureen Seaberg - Octagenarian feminist artist meets the undercover reporter of S.I. in their shared role as co-hosts
-The Little Miss Big Mouth House Band - Fronted by Sari Rubinstein of Rubulad and featuring Mary Feaster of the Circus Amok Band, a resident Islander who will perform an "Ode to the Dancing Aliens" of Staten Island
-Also in the house band: Viva and Kim of the all-girl world dance band Paprika
-Video interview with local groundhog, Staten Island Chuck , and his keeper, Doug Schwartz, who is building the City of Rocks on Staten Island's South Shore, which will also be profiled
-A Night out With Sammy - Documented cab ride with the Island's alpha dog of drivers, Sammy, the Catholic Egyptian cab driver who speaks Ebonics fluently and recites poetry while driving his 9+ passengers up and down the hills of S.I.
-Footage of Staten Island's splendor...from the summit of Todt Hill to the shores of the Atlantic, the Ship's Graveyard to the Ferry Terminal, the double-decker diner on Hylan Blvd. to the Italian-Catholic Shrine made of rocks and shells in Rosebank, the house of Alice Austen to the Tibetan Museum....and every bagel shop in between.
-Set by Gallery Six owner Jeff Kolasinski, with the work of Staten Island artists Tom Ronse and Cynthia von Buhler, and more.

Time Out New York Staten Island Home Feature

Staten Island's Fort Hill Castle, owned by Prodigal Borough bloggers, was featured this week in Time Out New York. The interview is by Kate Lowenstein and photos are by Patrik Rytikangas. (above photo by Russell Farhang). Read the interview HERE.