UC Recap – January 26 – January 31
By Led Black
January 26 – January 31
And the winner is… Get this; the BBC recently polled several prominent US critics to determine what are the greatest novels written so far this century. Out of 156 novels named by esteemed experts, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz came out on top. Congratulations to Junot Díaz for another awe-inspiring accolade. I think it may be time to re-read the best novel of the 21st Century.
Mark your calendars for La Lucha – Quisqueya & Haiti One Island Art Exhibit at the Rio Penthouse Gallery (10 Fort Washington Ave) on Friday, February 6th, 2015 from 6 to 9 pm. The exhibit will showcase the work of 26 artists from both sides of the island of Hispaniola. The aim is to spark a much-needed conversation between the two nations and it’s people. The deadline to submit your work for the 2015 Uptown Arts Stroll poster contest is February 17th. The chosen artist wins a $500 honorarium as well as an excellent platform for having their work seen.
Mercy G drops another thought-provoking piece of poetry entitled Survival. The topic is domestic violence and the poem is paired with art from Brazilian street artist Panmela Castro, whose work often revolves around the theme of domestic abuse. Being that February 1st is the 113th birthday of Langston Hughes, it is only right that we send some posthumous love to that giant that played such a part in the Harlem Renaissance by reposting his poem Harlem. Google put together a super awesome Google Doodle in honor of Langston Hughes’ birthday. Check it out on our site. Happy B-Day Langston – you will live forever.
For this week’s episode of the Translators Podcast, Juan Bago and Jaime Fernandez have a talk with upcoming actress Karina Ortiz. Ms. Ortiz will be doing her thing in the next season of Orange Is The New Black.
The wait is finally over. The super-talented songstress, Camille Safiya, has just dropped her latest opus, 24K. I think it time to get familiar with this genre-bending artist. Our Monday Mood Music selection comes to us from Efrain Gomez featuring Audubon, Sounds Like New York. Lastly, check out Jaquáe’s really cool video for the song That’s Harr.
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.
