Category Archives: Arts & Humanities

Arts & Humanities, News

African Music Stories and Concert with Georges Collinet and Samba Mapangala on Nov. 22

An Evening with Georges Collinet and Samba Mapangala 

Nov. 22 at 8 pm

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue

Free event with $10 suggested donation

Legendary radio broadcaster Georges Collinet, aka Maxi Voom Voom from VOA and Afropop Worldwide, will share rare unseen footage and stories from his 50 years covering African music and culture. Then Congolese master vocalist Samba Mapangala will join DC Highlife Stars for musical interludes and an acoustic set to end the evening.

Eme and Michael from Takoma Radio’s Jolly Papa Show will host the event and lead the band through their unique blend of classic highlife and rumba along with some newer dance hits. The concert, which is sponsored by the City’s Takoma Park Arts series, is free and no tickets are required. There is a $10 suggested donation to support the performers. Don’t miss this one-night-only event!

Arts & Humanities, News

Third Thursday Poetry Reading on Nov. 21


Third Thursday Poetry Reading

Nov. 21 at 7:30 pm

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue

Please join us for our next installment in the popular Third Thursday Poetry reading series. Four local poets will read their work on a variety of themes with a reception following the reading. The poets include Judith Bowles, Jona Colson, Kristin Ferragut, and NaBeela Washington. This free event is sponsored by the City’s Takoma Park Arts cultural series.

Bowles earned her MFA at American University where she taught creative writing. Colson’s first poetry collection, Said Through Glass, won the 2018 Jean Feldman Poetry Prize from the Washington Writers’ Publishing House. Ferragut’s poetry has been published in several journals, and she is a regular contributor at open mic poetry nights. Washington is pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing and poetry at Southern New Hampshire University.

Arts & Humanities, News

Nature Revisited Opening Reception on Nov. 14

NATURE REVISITED OPENING RECEPTION

Nov. 14 at 7 pm

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue

In the Nature Revisited exhibition, three photographers and a mixed-media artist offer fresh and surprising interpretations of landscapes from across the world, casting nature through a different light.

Please join us for a free opening reception at 7 pm on Nov. 14 at the Takoma Park Community Center where you can see their work and meet the artists, including Rachel Ann Cross, Michael Duncan, Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy, and Peter Stern.

In her Sacred Treks series, Cross has painted elements from her epic hikes, including more than 500 miles along the centuries-old Camino de Santiago in France and Spain. A retired optical scientist, Michael Duncan has developed astrophotography with long-exposure night photos that bring constellations and galaxies to life.

Sarkozy-Banoczy documents communities and habitats across the world that are severely affected by climate change, including dwindling fishing villages in Newfoundland. As a small plane pilot, Stern takes low-altitude landscape photos that resemble abstract paintings, including images of environmental devastation in Pennsylvania mine country.

Image: Fading by Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy

Arts & Humanities

“To Sing Against the Night” Poetry Reading this Thursday


Four prominent local poets will read their work about the physical and emotional trauma of serious illness at To Sing Against the Night, a free poetry reading at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Oct. 17. Their poems invoke the rigors of treatment, the fear of death, and the comfort offered by family and caregivers who face their own battles with grief, guilt, and acceptance. How does one survive intense suffering with respect and dignity? How can that journey be transformed through the healing power of art?

The featured poets include Nancy Naomi Carlson, Ellen Aronofsky Cole, Judith Harris, and E. Ethelbert Miller. The reading will be held at the Takoma Park Community Center auditorium at 7500 Maple Avenue.  The event is part of the Third Thursday Poetry reading series sponsored by the City of Takoma Park’s Takoma Park Arts cultural series. We hope to see you there!

All Departments, Arts & Humanities, News

When you gotta go, you gotta read some poetry!

 

 

The City’s Takoma Park Arts cultural series has revived the Bathroom Poetry Project with poems by local poets featured in bathrooms at the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue. Silver Spring poet Regina Coll founded the project in 2008 with poems spreading across the country in restrooms, loos, privies, latrines, and water closets. Bathroom poetry appeared in Takoma Park, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, Chicago, Austin, and Portland. Why let good poems go to waste so we’ve brought them back for a second visit or number 2 (sorry, couldn’t resist). The next time you’re at the Community Center, get some reading done when it’s time to relieve yourself.

Arts & Humanities, News, Uncategorized

Artists Needed to Paint Little Library Boxes

We are seeking an artist or artist team to paint five Little Library boxes that will be placed in locations around Takoma Park. Artists need to submit two designs that are lively and colorful, and payment for the project is $1,200. Applicants don’t need to be Takoma Park residents, and there is no fee to apply. The deadline is Sept. 29, and the application form is available at https://seam.ly/XJQZa6Rb.

Arts & Humanities, News, Uncategorized

Vendor Applications Sought for 2019 Takoma Park Holiday Art Sale

Applications are being sought for vendors for the 2019 Takoma Park Holiday Art Sale that will be held on Dec. 7 at the Takoma Park Community Center. Only original, handmade work made by vendors are eligible for this juried sale. Applicants don’t need to be city residents, and there is no fee to apply. Accepted vendors will be charged a $25 vendor fee. The deadline is Oct. 6, and the online application form is available at https://bit.ly/33CpFVs. 

Image: Pottery by 2018 vendor Tanya Renne 

Arts & Humanities, News

Public Piano Concert Brings Music to the Streets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to all of the piano players (and one fiddler) who performed yesterday at the grand opening concert for Takoma Park’s new public piano! We had a great turnout at the downtown gazebo.

WDVM 25 also aired a great story about the concert where you can hear some of the music and learn some background about the donated piano’s journey to the gazebo. The piano, which was painted by local artist Zahava Frank, will be in the gazebo until December where anyone can play it from 9 am to 9 pm daily.

The public piano is one of the projects organized by the City of Takoma Park’s Takoma Park Arts cultural series. We also host many events at the Takoma Park Community Center, including art exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, theater, poetry readings and more. All of the events are free, and you can learn more about them and sign up for our weekly e-newsletter at www.takomaparkmd.gov/arts.

All Departments, Arts & Humanities

Makeover for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Two electric vehicle charging stations are sporting new designs with vinyl wraps commissioned by the City of Takoma Park. In the Takoma Park Community Center parking lot, a flock of hummingbirds have gathered in a colorful design by graphic designer Jay Shogo.  The project is part of the City’s public art programs designed to get art into the streets where everyone can enjoy it.

 

The downtown charging station has turned green with windmills and electric cars to symbolize the importance of addressing climate change. Located on Carroll Avenue near the Laurel Avenue intersection, the wrap was designed by graphic designer Cindy Herrera. Go check them out and charge up!

 

 

 

 

 

Arts & Humanities, Uncategorized

TAKOMA PARK HOLIDAY ART SALE THIS SATURDAY!

Pottery by Tanya Renne

Why shop for holiday gifts in a mall or on Amazon when you can support local artists and our creative community?

The 13th annual Takoma Park Holiday Art Sale makes that goal easy and affordable with more than 30 local artists and artisans gathered at the Takoma Park Community Center on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 10 am – 4 pm. There is no admission fee, and you will find a broad array of creative gifts for your friends and family (and yourself!), including paintings, pottery, photography, handmade clothes, jewelry, toys, and more.

The City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Commission hosts the Holiday Art Sale each year to support the local artist community. It has become a tradition in Takoma Park that has expanded into a juried event featuring vendors from across the D.C. area, says photographer Rob Rudick who helps organize the event.

“I like getting all of these great artists together,” he says. “We have some vendors who come back every year, but we also bring in new vendors so there is something new every time.”

During the Holiday Art Sale, the Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library also will hold their annual fundraiser from 10 am – 3 pm where people can support the library by buying new or used books at low prices in the Community Center’s game room.