Fall Arts Opening Day

Three new exhibitions open in Glyndor Gallery this weekend, including a thematic group exhibition and two installations in the Sunroom Project Space. Mid-afternoon, a concert takes place featuring drumming pioneer Pheeroan akLaff.

Registration recommended, online or by calling 718.549.3200 x251.

Questions? Please contact us at information@wavehill.org or by calling the number and extension provided above.

What We Leave Behind features artists Dennis RedMoon Darkeem, Estelle Maisonett and Michael Kelly Williams, all of whom work with found materials to transcend the mundane and the overlooked. Their work is intertwined with the urban fabric and the communities that they represent. Working with materials that some would consider rubbish, the artists show their concern for the environment by taking this debris out of the waste stream. They are also exploring the juxtaposition of the urban and natural environments, as well as looking at how we live with plant life in our homes and neighborhoods.

Recently opened solo projects by New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellows Deep Pool and Amina Ross in the Sunroom Project Space are also featured on Fall Arts Opening Day. Deep Pool disrupts entrenched perceptions often associated with floral imagery and gender identity. Through photographs of flowering plants and architectural interventions, Deep Pool stages these clichés in unexpected ways to reframe how they can be interpreted. Ross’s multisensory environment comprises elements out of reclaimed materials, in dialogue with the video and audio and the architecture of the space—particularly the arched windows. Ross’s project creates a realm for marginalized figures to exercise agency and exist and thrive in safety. Exploring vulnerability and resiliency, Ross draws connections with spirituality and subterranean networks in the natural world.

In conjunction with the exhibition opening, renowned jazz drummer Pheeroan akLaff and his ensemble, New African Brew, will perform music rooted in the improvisation of African and American jazz traditions. All three exhibiting artists in What We Leave Behind draw inspiration from music in their work, but Michael Kelly Williams in particular makes work that is influenced by akLaff and other musicians who continue to innovate in presenting music as an expressive art form. The performance features Pheeroan akLaff (percussion), Mabinti El Shabu (balafon, voice), Teli El Shabu (djembé, kora) and Kwatei Quartey (guitar). Drumming pioneer, Pheeroan akLaff has sourced international and multi-disciplinary art since his arrival in New York in 1976. In this concert, akLaff returns to his New African Brew, an ensemble reflecting the growth and conservation ethos of living in West Africa. The performance takes place outdoors on the Glyndor Gallery Terrace and back lawn. In case of rain, this concert will move to Armor Hall in Wave Hill House.

Glyndor Gallery is wheelchair-accessible. The back lawn of Glyndor is not wheelchair-accessible; however, the live music can be enjoyed from the terrace, which can be accessed through the Sunroom Project Space. There is an accessible, ground-level entrance at the front of the building with an elevator that provides access to the gallery level. The Sunroom Project Space can be accessed with an ADA-compliant ramp. The restroom on the gallery level is all-gender and ADA-compliant.