You, and your creativity, are most urgently needed

frida@artyardbklyn.org
Aug 22
8 min read

Updated: Aug 22

Those of us in NYC are grateful for the recent break in the heat. The breeze through open windows has brought a much-needed sense of relief—and for many, a fresh burst of inspiration. Dennis is deep into planning for ART YARD Art Matters school partnerships, meeting with schools, shaping teaching schedules, and collaborating with teaching artists on age-appropriate lessons centered around our Migration theme.

Art making continues, no matter where we are—painting in the studio, drawing at the kitchen table, collaging at home, or working in clay at the local ceramics center. Some of us are traveling too, from beach escapes and cross-country adventures to artist residencies as far away as China. In this edition, we’ve got exciting exhibition picks, creative updates, and a delicious recipe to share!

Dennis Buonagura, Managing Director, reports: “I’ve been back in planning mode with school administrators across all our ART YARD Art Matters school partnerships, getting everything ready for an exciting fall semester! This year’s theme, Migration, offers so many rich and creative directions — from the migratory patterns of animals, to the journey of the solar system, to the paths we take in our own lives, even the movement within the human body like the vascular system.

Principals have identified the classes that will begin our first cycle, and we’re finalizing schedules now. I also had fantastic planning sessions with our returning Teaching Artists Leni Silva and Leo Emabat — both of whom will be teaching this fall — to brainstorm innovative lesson ideas and program strategies. We’re all feeling the momentum and can’t wait to jump back into school programming!”

Leni teaching Summer Session and Leo teaching at PS 17

Art News from Near and Far

AYB Artist Ed Rath shares his most recent painting:

Ed Rath, Boogie Board Bliss, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 24x24” — Ed Rath, *Boogie Board Bliss*, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 24x24”

AYB Artist Cheyenne Rivera completed a new piece explaining: “I wanted to paint the way I feel when listening to the Puerto Rican musical artist Bad Bunny and this was the result.”

Cheyenne Rivera, Inspired by Bad Bunny, 2025, mixed media on paper — Cheyenne Rivera, *Inspired by Bad Bunny*, 2025, mixed media on paper

I (Meridith) completed two new Magical Things paintings:

Meridith McNeal, Magical Things Porcelain Dolls Leg Mashantucket Pequot Museum, and Magical Things Radicchio Salad at Sailor, 2025, watercolor on paper, 12x12”

AYB Artist Travis Pereira shares an update on his portrait in progress:

Travis Pereira, What to Wear to See Beyoncé (in progress), pen and watercolor on paper

AYB Artist Neah Gray shares her recent drawing:

Neah Gray, Untitled Drawing, 2025, oil pastel

AYB Artist Karla Prickett texts: “I am starting a new collage on board. These are two elements. I’m not sure where things are going yet! To be continued!!"

Karla Prickett, Collage in early stages

AYB Artist Adji Ngathe Kebe continues to explore wheel thrown ceramics. She shares a recently thrown vase, aiming to be a very round piece called a Moon Jar.

Adji Ngathe Kebe, Vase, 2025, ceramic (in progress)

AYB Artist Vee Tineo writes from their artists residency in China: “My trip to Jingdezhen took over 24 hours, with two flights and a train ride, but it led me to an amazing city. I’m finally in China! The very first thing I wanted to do—and did—was walk around. Probably not the smartest choice, since I had nearly 50 pounds of luggage with me, and it was close to 100 degrees outside. I decided to walk the hour and a half to Shanghai Hongqiao Station, but after about an hour, the heat and the weight of my bags became too much. I gave up and flagged down a cab—something I’ve never had to do back home in New York.

At the station, my next challenge was figuring out the right gate. With the help of some police officers who kept repeating “three tens, 30,” I eventually found it. I sat on my luggage and waited for an hour. During that time, a family approached me, curious and eager to connect. The father had studied English in college and was now teaching his two kids, both in primary school. We chatted a little, and it was such a warm moment of connection—they even asked to take pictures with me, as though I was someone special, just because I looked different.

Vee makes it to China, building decoration and ceramic street lamp posts

Once on the train, even the staff helped me find my seat and manage my heavy luggage. I’ve felt nothing but hospitality—and also the curious stares that come with being different. After arriving, I grabbed a taxi that dropped me off at my room. My first night in China ended quietly, and I woke up excited to explore and take a tour of our residency space.

Studio, glaze, bowl and Vee's work in progress

Since then, I’ve been enjoying being with people, working with clay, and sharing in the process of making. It’s been inspiring to learn from others and to see how we each approach creating in our own ways."

AYB Artist Evelyn Beliveau is on a family camping trip, they have just arrived in New Mexico and are visiting Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch today! (More to follow from Evelyn).

Ghost Ranch view from Georgia O'Keefe Museum website

Exhibitions to See

AYB Artist Travis Pereira says: “Don’t miss Amy Sherald: Portraits of the Heart at the Whitney. Her signature portraits — bold, detailed, and deeply human — are on full display, and they stunning in person. Her attention to detail is insane. The colors, the fashion — it reminds me of Barkley Hendricks, who I love. It makes me want to try painting in that style on a big scale. Sherald’s work celebrates Black life blending fine art, fashion, and storytelling into something truly unforgettable on view through October 20, 2025."

Amy Sherald, Try on dreams until I find the one that fits me. They all fit me, 2017, Mama Has Made the Bread (How Things Are Measured), 2018, & detail of pearls photo by Travis Pereira

Travis adds: "Another exhibition I enjoyed recently is Chappy curated by Slip House Gallery, which I caught while vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard. It’s in a wood-walled carriage house on the beach. The exhibition and featured work is in a variety of styles and mediums created by 20 contemporary artists. If you’re on the Vineyard this month, go see it. Art and ocean breeze? Yes, please.”

Installation views of Chappy and Travis on the beach

Congratulations to AYB board member Cecile Chong and AYB Teaching Artist Aisha Tandiwe Bell who have work included in Prisma Aug 23 - Sep 28, 2025.

PRISMA presents the works of Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York members. "In this exhibition, each artwork constitutes a facet of the prism, forming a structure that allows the viewer to explore things in an alternative visual and material way while suggesting a renewed perspective on our surroundings." (from exhibition promotional material)

Opening Reception: Saturday, Aug 23, 6 – 9pm.

AYB Teaching Artist Iviva Olenick has work included in Art on Paper, September 4-7, in the BOOKSMART section with the Center for Book Arts.

Iviva is also leading a soil studies and ink making/painting workshop at Wyckoff Farm on Saturday, September 20, and is presenting a plant mono-printing from 11:30-1pm in an Eco Arts Festival on Governors Island on Sunday, September 21^st.

What We are Reading

Amber Massie-Blomfield’s Acts of Resistance: The Power of Art To Create A Better World (Footnote Press, 2024) immediately brought to mind several conversations I (Meridith) had with AYB Intern Delphine Levenson during our Summer Session. Delphine—a thoughtful, inquisitive, and deeply concerned young artist—has been exploring the role of art in protest marches. Though she is one of our youngest Advanced Studio regulars, her insights often push the conversation into powerful and necessary territory.

As I read, I came across a passage that I knew I had to share with her right away:

“Imagine, for a moment, that art can change the world. Not only that it can, but that it has, over and over again, and that it will do still - in a manner that can be as explosive as a battle or as creeping as a whisper. Acknowledging this fact would be the beginning of something: it would help us to recognize the power that each of us has in our own hands.

Art can make a human life more bearable, and can be a means of building the things that a person needs to survive the hardest circumstances - art can be a salve, a bridge, a rudder. This book is a testament to that idea, and to the people who have risked their lives to prove that it is so.” —Amber Massie-Blomfield, Acts of Resistance: The Power of Art To Create A Better World

This quote captures the essence of the book and the urgent message it delivers. With sharp clarity and passion, Massie-Blomfield examines the work of artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and entire communities who have used creativity as a tool of resistance, healing, and revolution. She takes us from Billie Holiday’s haunting “Strange Fruit” to the patchworks sewn in secret under Pinochet’s regime, from Susan Sontag directing Waiting for Godot in war-torn Sarajevo to climate protests in rural France. Each story is a reminder that art is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.

What makes this book so moving is that it does not speak in hypotheticals. It shows—case after case—that creative expression has tangibly shifted the course of history. And it demands we see ourselves in that legacy. As Massie-Blomfield writes, “You, and your creativity, are most urgently needed.”

I recommend this book particularly if you are feeling overwhelmed or powerless in the face of global crises. Let Acts of Resistance serve as both compass and call to action.

AYB Artist Adji Ngathe Kebe reports: “I just finished Pomegranate (Atria Books, 2023), a novel by Helen Elaine Lee. It is so good! The story follows a woman named Ranita Atwater, who serves a four-year sentence in a women’s prison for opioid possession. The book traces her journey both before and after prison — her struggles, her strength, her healing.

The prose is stunning! I’ve really been missing writers who not only have a powerful voice but also know how to tell a great story. Helen Elaine Lee is phenomenal!!”

AYB Artist Jazz Gilette recommends: Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Lee & Low Books, 2012) a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey–and a celebration of sisterhood and maternal love. “The hook to AYB is that this book is about migration! 5 sisters transporting a dead man’s body back to his family along the way they battle mythical beasts to find themselves again as well as their love for each other.”

What We Are Cooking

At AYB, we believe creativity flourishes when we nourish both body and mind — and nothing says love like a shared meal made with care! This month, Abriel (bob) and I (Meridith) experimented with new recipes especially suited for those of us embracing an anti-inflammatory diet.

One of our favorites? A vibrant, zesty dish we think you’ll love as much as we do:

Butter Beans with Lemon, Garlic & Herbs

Packed with protein, flavor, and anti-inflammatory goodness, this dish is delicious and went really well with millet. Here's how we make it:

Ingredients

· Teaspoon cumin

· Teaspoon turmeric

· 2 tablespoons olive oil

· Teaspoon of oregano

· A few threads of saffron

· 4 garlic cloves, minced

· 1 stalk celery, chopped

· 1 carrot, chopped