CARDINAL-DESIGNATE TIMOTHY DOLAN TO BLESS NEW CASITA MARIA LIBRARY BEFORE GOING TO ROME

Here is some positive news about Archbishop M. Dolan and a new library in the community. Besides his expected coronation as a Cardinal he plans on blessing a new library at the Casita Maria Center for the Arts and Education on Friday February 8th.

Gregory

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Bronx, NY, February 3, 2012—Before Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan leaves for Rome to be made a Cardinal, he will bless the new library at the Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, a 78 year old cultural and education center located in the South Bronx, one of the poorest Congressional Districts in the United States. The library is intended to combat the drop in pupil reading scores in New York City schools. The Archbishop will arrive at the new Claire Sullivan O’Keeffe and Elizabeth Sullivan Ridder Library at approximately 3:15pm on February 8, 2012.

The new library is the result of a true collaboration to improve the reading of young New Yorkers at educational risk. Among the collaborators are The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund & NYC Service Volunteer Project, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and the Urban Assembly Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists.

Casita Maria’s volunteers collected nearly 2,700 books, quintupling its goal. Catholic Charities donated 500 more books through its annual Christmas toy drive. Other volunteer efforts yielded another 2,200 books. Casita received books from SERVE!, a student volunteer group from New York University, Boyds Mills Press, Granta Publications, Simon and Schuster and members of Casita’s community. Those 2,700 books needed shelves to become a library. Catholic Charities stepped in to fund the conversion of a conference room into a library with wall-to-wall pine shelves.

The new library was named in honor of Claire Sullivan O’Keeffe and Elizabeth Sullivan Ridder, who, 78 years ago, founded Casita Maria to give the children of recently arrived Hispanic families the educational support needed to thrive in their new homeland. Today, Casita Maria’s mission is to empower youth and their families by creating a culture of learning through high quality social, cultural, and educational opportunities. Besides its brand new, book-filled library, Casita Maria offers programs focused on arts and education, and they include a wide range of in-school and after-school programs, as well as summer camps and internships. For more information about Casita Maria, please visit www.casitamaria.org.

"NYC Family Album" Photo Exhibition Taking Place at Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education

Here is news on a photo exhibition taking place on our borough starting on January 12th. For those interested in the Boogiedown photography scene please do read on.

Gregory
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Name: NYC Family Album
Photographs by Nancy Linn

Dates: Thursday, January 12th, 7:00 pm (Opening); Runs from January 12, 2012-February 17, 2012
Location: Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, 928 Simpson Street, Bronx, NY 10459
Take the 6 Train to Hunts Point
or
Take the 2 or 5 to Simpson St

Bronx, NY (December 14th, 2011) -- Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education is proud to present NYC Family Album: Photographs by Nancy Linn. This photo exhibition runs from January 12, 2012 through February 17, 2012, with an opening reception on Thursday, January 12th, 2012.

The photographs in this exhibition were taken when Nancy Linn worked in parenting programs for young families in New York City. The basic purpose of the photographs was to encourage the parents' continued involvement in the program. Photographs were made during each visit and prints given to the family when they returned. Receiving positive images of their children and having a tangible record of their close relationships also helped deepen the feelings of attachment the parents felt towards their families, while contribution to their development of stable, satisfying inner representations of themselves and their child.

Through public display the photographs move beyond their private, domestic impact to effectively shatter stereotypes. They are filled with the beauty of the individuals and illuminate the relational richness of each family. By presenting a range of unique family stories they reveal the universal experience of parental love.

Nancy Linn is a New York based socially engaged photographer and book artist who is most well-known for her sympathetic, revealing and impassioned portraits of young families, children and mothers. Much of her practice as an artist has been informed by her work with New York City social services and health agencies. She has been featured in many exhibitions, including: SNIPER’S NEST: ART THAT HAS LIVED WITH LUCY R. LIPPARD, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, 1996); CHILDREN’S BOOKS BY ARTISTS, Printed Matter (New York, 1995); VISIBLE MEANS OF SUPPORT, The Wadsworth Atheneum, (Hartford, Connecticut, 1994); OPEN MIND: THE LEWITT COLLECTION, The Wadsworth Atheneum, (Hartford, Connecticut, 1991); HOMELESS: THE STREET & OTHER VENUES organized by Martha Rosler, Dia Art Foundation (New York, 1989); AIDS AND DEMOCRACY: A CASE STUDY curated by Group Material, Dia Art Foundation (New York, 1988); INSERTS, a booklet dropped into the The Sunday New York Times by Group Material (New York, 1988); and A.D.: CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE curated by Group Material (New York, 1983). She has had many solo exhibitions in New York and around the country and published three books of photographs, The Baby Book (1983), Madonna and Child (1984), and Early Photography (1994). Between 1980 and 1983 she was the Director of Printed Matter, and between 1976 and 1978 she catalogued the Sam Wagstaff photography collection, a project that culminated in the publication of "A Book of Photographs". Born and raised in the midwest, Nancy Linn moved to New York upon graduating from Cranbrook Academy of Art with a Masters of Fine Arts in photography in 1974.

Free Dance Performance at the Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education on Thursday, October 27th

Here is news on a free dance event taking place at the Casita Maria Center. It sounds like a great event.

Gregory
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Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education
Thursday, October, 27 at 8 p.m.
6th Floor Open Arts Space
FREE!

Casita Maria is proud to present the highly anticipated inaugural production of Morphoses Dance Company in a cutting edge format.

Morphoses was determined to make a difference in the dance world when it began in 2007. Four years later, directed by co-founder Lourdes Lopez, the company remains the same go for broke band of experimentalists dedicated to bringing new choreography to new audiences in new ways.

On October 27, Morphoses will present the world premiere of Luca Veggetti's "Bacchae." Courtesy of Morphoses's fearless imagination, there will be a simultaneous live feed from the Joyce Theater's Thursday night performance to the Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education. The triple performance event, which creates a bridge between what is being performed inside the theater and audiences in multiple outside locations, marks a first for the dance world. It is part of Morphoses's commitment to attracting new and diverse audiences to dance.

The cast for "Bacchae" features Sarah Atkins, Christopher Bordenave, Frances Chiaverini, Brandon Cournay, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Brittany Fridenstine, Gabrielle Lamb, Willy Laury, Morgan Lugo, Emma Pfaeffle, and Yusha-Marie Sorzano. The original score and sound design are by Paolo Aralla; flautist Erin Lesser will play live. Text adaptation and dramaturgy are by Luca Scarlini. The lighting is by Roderick Murray and the costumes are by Luca Veggetti and Benjamin Briones. Nel Shelby Productions will direct Thursday evening's live feed. The equipment, including the projectors, monitors and flat screen televisions, is being provided by NEC.

*This event is free but please RSVP to info@casita.us.