The Uptown Collective – The Recap 7-28 to 8-2
By Led Black
July 28 – August 2
Our popular Time Travel Tuesdays post took us back to October 9th, 1981, to an illuminating article written by the late Molly Ivins in the New York Times. The piece is entitled A Renaissance In A Forgotten Neighborhood – The Talk of Heights-Inwood and sheds light into a phenomenon that was just beginning to take shape. The merging of Washington Heights and Inwood into one cohesive and mostly homogenous whole as opposed to the two separate and distinct neighborhoods they had always been.
This past Thursday, July 31st marked the end of an era. After almost three decades, the bodega that presided over the corner of Dyckman and Seaman Avenue pulled down its gates for good. This was Lin Manuel’s childhood bodega. This is the bodega that inspired the one from the In The Heights musical. Journalist Arlene Schulman beautifully captures what is no more with her poignant photo-essay.
The first ever Uptown Bounce went down on Wednesday, July 30th and it was simply incredible. Get this: El Museo del Barrio and The Museum of the City of New York got together for a super awesome block party featuring musical performances, gallery talks, art-making workshops, break-dancing demos, renowned DJs, as well as festive summer drinks and local food vendors joining the festivities. If you missed the first Uptown Bounce, you have two more chances on August 6th and 13th.
Fela Kuti was the African continent’s answer to Bob Marley. Fela was an unflinching and vociferous critic of Nigeria’s ruling elites. Finding Fela tells the story of Fela Kuti’s life, his music as well as his social and political importance. Directed by the Academy Award winning director, Alex Gibney, Finding Fela is a critical piece in understanding one of the world’s most important artists. The documentary is on an extremely limited run, so you only have until August 14th to catch the film on the big screen in New York City.
Have you have seen the colossal H light sculpture that hovers over 125th and 12th Ave? Well, the magnificent beacon of light is the brainchild of Harlem resident and artist Bentley Meeker. Our Monday Mood Music selection comes to us courtesy of the talented Cristion D’or, who dropped a video for his Believe Me freestyle. Speaking of freestyles, we also ran one from the homie Reesee Boi.
Keep checking us out at www.uptowncollective.com.
Led Black
Editor-in-Chief
The Uptown Collective
The UC’s mission is to become “the” definitive, transformative and community-based force impacting the arts, culture, business and New York City’s overall perception of Upper Manhattan. Its objective is to reset, reboot and positively redefine Uptown’s artistic, political, cultural and business spheres via the online space as well the collective’s initiatives and functions.
