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Indian Consulate in New York, IAAC host specially-curated cultural, artistic events to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence
Specially-curated cultural and artistic events, including a concert headlined by Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and a photo exhibition by celebrated photographer Steve McCurry will commemorate India’s 75th independence Day celebrations here, showcasing to the Americans and the diaspora the nation’s “progress as a vibrant democracy.” The Consulate General of India in New York along with the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is organising the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav – Festival of Freedom’.
The two-week long specially-curated events at some of the most iconic cultural venues in New York City feature photography, dance, music and India’s classical culture in the run-up to 75 years of India’s independence on August 15 this year. The Consul General of India in New York, Randhir Jaiswal, said as India marks 75 years of independence, “it will truly be a historic day in our nation’s onward march.” He added that the ‘Festival of India@75′ will celebrate India’s landmark year in the city of New York and is featuring the finest exponents of Indian performing arts.
Also read| Week-long activities to celebrate India@75 launched in US
“It is only fitting that the best of Indian thought and culture is brought to New York – the cultural capital of America,” he noted.The celebration aims to bring the “best of Indian thought and culture to our friends in America and through them showcase the progress of our nation as a vibrant democracy,” the Indian Consulate said in a statement issued on Monday.
IAAC Chairman Dr. Nirmal Mattoo said the organisation is proud and honoured to mark the occasion of 75 years of Indian Independence with the remarkable series of events celebrating Indian art and culture.“Curated with care, this line-up boosts an ambitious goal: to truly immerse audiences into a vibrant and diverse culture with limitless potential to inspire all citizens of the world,” he said in a statement issued by the IAAC. The grand finale of the ‘Festival of India@75′ on August 15 will feature Khan along with Sarod virtuosos Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash and tabla players Amit Kavthekar and Ojas Adhiya for a ‘Samaagam’, an ensemble that will present the essence of both Indian and Western traditions seamlessly flowing into each other without artistic compromise.
Also read| 75th Independence Day: What freedom small businesses seek from GST-related challenges
In ‘Samaagam’, 12 different ragas are presented, creating a unique opportunity to experience joyous music and shared traditions.The concert, featuring renowned Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya and the Refugee Orchestra, will be held at the Carnegie Hall and would “present a synthesis of musical traditions motivated by Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of truth, non-violence and peace.” The festival began on August 5 with a photo exhibition at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery here by McCurry, who has captured India in all its beauty and mystique for over four decades.
McCurry, among whose most famous work is the portrait of the ‘Afghan Girl’, has visited India over 80 times, but in his own words, he has “barely managed to scratch the surface”.On August 6 and 7, breathtaking performances in Indian dances enthralled audiences at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre as talented exponents of various Indian dance forms such as Sanjib Bhattacharya and Jagannath Lairenjam (Sapta, Manipuri-Pung Cholom), Kavya Ganesh (Contemporary Bharatanatyam), Bhavana Reddy (Solo Kuchipudi), Jin Won (Kathak) and Mythili Prakash (Contemporary Bharatanatyam) brought together the richness of Indian dance forms to the audience in New York.
On August 8, the Erasing Borders Dance Festival, a virtual programme of Indian classical as well as contemporary dances was broadcast online. A two-night jazz music event headlined by Sachal Vasandani and Friends featuring Grammy-nominated singer Priya Darshini performing music from a spellbinding collection of arts from East and West will be held on August 11 and 12.
IAAC said Vasandani honours Nat King Cole’s centennial in 2019, while borrowing from his Indian heritage along with Darshini, a captivating singer whose work takes cues from her Indian Classical music roots.Joined by a stellar cast that includes bassist Harish Raghavan (Charles Lloyd), Grammy-nominated pianist Orrin Evans, saxophonist Dayna Stephens and drummer Kush Abadey, the special event will also feature jazz singer Vanisha Gould. Renowned vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty, the star from Patiala Gharana, and her all-female Sakhi ensemble will present a concert at Carnegie Hall on August 13.
“The Sakhi ensemble is an exemplary group of talented Indian artists that brings together voice, instruments, percussion, and dance representing the Indian woman of the 21st century, who is modern yet rooted,” the Consulate said.The penultimate night of the celebration will belong to ‘Saath Saath’ on August 14, an ensemble featuring flute maestro Rakesh Chaurasia, Sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterjee, master percussionist Taufiq Qureshi and Tabla player Ojas Adhiya.
The Consulate said that the ‘Saath-Saath’ ensemble brings the “spontaneity and improvisation within the discipline of Indian classical music that only they can produce.” The fortnight-long festival is part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations that began on March 12, 2021 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off a march from Sabarmati to Dandi in remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March on the same day in 1930.Since then, the Consulate General of India has organised over 200 events under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav within its jurisdiction with the valuable support and participation the vibrant diaspora community.
Zeldin, Republican Candidate for New York Governor, Is Attacked at Campaign Event
Representative Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, was attacked on Thursday at a campaign event outside Rochester by a man with a pointed weapon who dragged him to the ground before being subdued by several other men, according to officials and videos of the attack. Mr. Zeldin was not injured, a campaign representative said.
The videos show Mr. Zeldin, standing on the bed of a truck, addressing supporters gathered outside a V.F.W. hall in Fairport, N.Y., when a man approaches him slowly from the right, grabs him by the arm and brandishes a weapon. Mr. Zeldin responds by grabbing the man’s wrist and is then joined by several men in containing the attacker.
Mr. Zeldin said in a statement issued after the attack that he, his running mate, Alison Esposito, and members of his campaign staff were safe.
“Someone tried to stab me onstage during this evening’s rally, but fortunately, I was able to grab his wrist and stop him for a few moments until others tackled him,” he said, putting the attack in the context of his tough-on-crime campaign message. “I’m as resolute as ever to do my part to make New York safe again.”
Mr. Zeldin said the man had been taken into custody, but local law enforcement agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Information about the man’s identity and potential motivation was not immediately forthcoming Thursday night.
An onlooker in one video can be heard saying “he’s got a knife,” but another close-up video of the incident published by WHEC-TV in Rochester shows that man is holding what appears to be a pointed self-defense tool shaped like the face of a cartoon cat. Wearing sunglasses and an Iraq war veteran hat, the man can be heard saying “you’re done, you’re done, you’re done,” as he struggles with Mr. Zeldin.
The incident comes at a time when actual and threatened political violence — including threats directed at members of Congress — are on the rise across the United States.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mr. Zeldin’s Democratic opponent, quickly condemned “this violent behavior in the strongest terms possible — it has no place in New York.”
The event in Monroe County was the first stop on a planned weekend “Unite to Fire Hochul” bus tour across upstate New York to informally kick off Mr. Zeldin’s general election campaign.
A 42-year-old fourth-term congressman from Long Island, Army reservist, and ally of former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Zeldin won the Republican nomination for governor handily last month.
He has made crime a centerpiece of his campaign for governor, using apocalyptic terms to paint a dark picture of the state of public safety and to appeal to New Yorkers’ sense of unease. He has specifically pinned blame on rising crime on Democrats and Ms. Hochul, calling on them to reinstate most cash bail and ratchet up policing.
Just hours before the attempted attack, Mr. Zeldin’s campaign had released its first digital advertisement of the general election, a lengthy spot attacking Ms. Hochul for refusing to fire Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, after Mr. Bragg initially filed second-degree murder charges against a bodega clerk who fatally stabbed an attacker. Mr. Bragg dropped the charge on Tuesday, but he and his policies have been a frequent punching bag for the political right.
In his stump speech just before the attack, Mr. Zeldin had been discussing how rising crime and New York’s high cost of living were driving residents out of the state to places like Florida and Texas. “This is our last stand for New York,” he said, referring to his campaign to oust Democrats from Albany, according to video of the speech.
Mr. Zeldin faces an uphill battle as he tries to become the first Republican to win statewide in New York in two decades. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two to one in New York, and Ms. Hochul enters the race with a huge financial advantage. She hopes both factors will be a bulwark against favorable political conditions for Republicans nationwide.
Jesse McKinley contributed reporting.
Man attacks New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin at campaign event
U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY)
Source: CNBC
A 43-year-old man attacked New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin at an upstate campaign event Thursday evening.
Zeldin was not harmed in the incident, which occurred as he was speaking outside a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Fairport, a village near Rochester, NBC News reported.
Zeldin said he grabbed the attacker’s wrist and stopped him for a few moments before others tackled the man.
The attacker, identified by three senior law enforcement officials as David Jakubonis of Fairport, was subdued by members of the audience after he charged Zeldin, WHEC-TV reported.
That NBC affiliate reported that audience members disarmed the man, and put him in zip-ties that were pulled from campaign posters.
The suspect may have had some sort of bladed instrument, NBC News reported.
Zeldin, who represents a congressional district in Suffolk County, Long Island, is campaigning to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat.
Hochul in a tweet wrote: “Relieved to hear that Congressman Zeldin was not injured and that the suspect is in custody.”
“I condemn this violent behavior in the strongest terms possible — it has no place in New York,” Hochul tweeted.
Hochul took office last year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace following accusations of sexual harassment by nearly a dozen women.
York County winery’s free Freedom Festival tops list of regional holiday events
Jim Miller is the owner of Moon Dancer Winery in York County, known as much for its perchhigh above the Susquehanna River that provides it with a fabulous view as for its extensive line of Moon Dog Cellars sweet wines.
Beer, cider, and the Moon Dancer line of wines are also sold there along with wood-fired pizza inside the French Country chateau that serves as the tasting room. The winery opened in 2004, and now has become one of the best-known wine destinations in central Pa.
Its Freedom Festival, scheduled for 2 to 8:30 p.m. today, highlights a list of wine festivals and events spread throughout the long weekend.
Owner Jim Miller said the event started as a result of the COVID lockdowns and the need to get past the pandemic restrictions a couple of years ago. This year, with inflation high and high gas prices through the roof, he said that the decision was made to make the event free. The music lineup includes Evan Crider, Crazy Joe n You Never Know, Unsupervised, and the headliner … Jeremiah Tall Band. Fireworks are planned to cap the event.
On the beverage production side, Miller said that the winery just brought in a “new bottling line from Italy to keep up with production with corks, screw caps and crown cap finish on our new releases. Also added an inline carbonator for our cider, seltzer, hard soda and sparkling wine production.”
The system should be operational in the next few weeks, he said.
Here’s a quick-hitting list of some of the other winery-related festivals and events scheduled around the region this weekend:
Pennsylvania
Adams County Winery, Orrtanna: Apple Pie wine release at the winery and Gettysburg shop, live music featuring The Willys at the winery from 1 to 4 p.m. Guests can enjoy wine slushies, wine flights, wine by the glass or bottle, local craft beers, handmade wood-fired pizzas – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today
Springgate Vineyards, Harrisburg: 4th of July Weekend festival, including live music and food trucks – noon to 11 p.m. today and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday
Chaddsford Winery, Chaddsford: 4th of July party, including wine by the glass, flights, the White Sangria Slushie and a Sunset Blush Cosmo, plus music and food truck fare from Common Good Pizza – today through Monday
Pennswoods Winery, Chaddsford: July 4th at the Winery with lawn seating and live music (first-come, first-serve seating) – noon to 5:30 p.m. Monday
Setter Ridge Vineyards, Kutztown: BBQ 4th, enjoy ice cream flights plus wine and beers specials until noon, then Cetronia Soul Shakers will be playing from 1 to 4 p.m. BBQ from winery favorite Blazing Swine – 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
Shady Brook Farm Market, Yardley: Summer unWINED with fireworks, with live music – gates open at 5 with the music starting at 6:30, and fireworks ($18, you can purchase online) – event is scheduled for today
Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg: Strawberry festival – noon to 6 p.m. today and Sunday
Moon Dancer Winery overlooks the Susquehanna River from its location in Wrightsville, York County.
New Jersey
Villa Milagro Vineyards, Philipsburg: Chillin’ at the Villa (all day) – Dave Read performs today and Lou Pompilio on Sunday. $15 cover charge includes music, seating, wine tasting, with reservations required for groups of 4 or more – Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Sunday
Four Sisters Winery, Belvidere: 4th of July Weekend Celebration, with Bistro menu available from noon to 5 p.m. all weekend. Live music all three days. – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
Old York Cellars Winery, Ringoes: Celebrate 4th of July Weekend, multiple wine tasting experiences to choose from, live music and food; here’s a link to all the details – 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. today through Monday
White Horse Winery, Hammonton: 4th of July festivities, including live music by Oliver Dagum from 1 to 4 p.m., food by Pic-a-Lilli from noon to 4 p.m. and axe throwing – noon to 5 Monday
Sharrott Winery, Hammonton: July 4th Live Music from 1 to 4 p.m. It will be held on their covered patio or indoors, depending on the weather. Their Wine Bar Kitchen is also open – noon to 6 Monday
Maryland
Basignani Winery, Glencoe: Saturday Band Night series will feature wine, brick oven pizza, and live music from Liberty Road Plant. Tickets are $10 per person. – 6 to 9 p.m. today
Lands Point Winery & Vineyard, Chestertown: Opened for the first time on Friday and is open noon to 7 p.m. today. The winery is located on a historic farm with historic buildings that are listed on the Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Site Survey. Dave and Eileen Smack have been Maryland Eastern Shore residents a majority of their lives and now have taken a hobby on the historic Lands Point Farm in 2008 and made it an experience worth sharing – noon to 7 today
Catoctin Breeze Vineyard, Thurmont: Independence Day Celebration, featuring Basic Bowl Bros. (noon to 4 p.m.) with music performed by Faded Denim (1 to 4 p.m.) – 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday
More:
Eastern Pa. winery’s new release features a unique blend, approach
Winery on Md.’s Eastern Shore one of a group finding strength in numbers
Family-run central Pa. winery shuts its tasting room, switches to new distribution model
Shooting fears sow chaos at San Francisco, New York City Pride events
With many Pride events — which are often held in June — returning this year for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, extremism researchers have highlighted increased risk.
President Biden warned last month of “rising hate and violence” targeting LGBTQ communities. On Saturday, two people were killed in a shooting at a gay bar in Oslo, and police in Idaho foiled a plot this month by affiliates of a white supremacist group to disrupt a Pride celebration in a park.
Concerns about gun violence against LBTQ people have lingered since a shooting at an Orlando gay bar in 2016 left 49 people dead. A spate of mass shootings this year, including those in Buffalo and Uvalde, Tex., has raised tensions across the country.
In San Francisco on Saturday, officers patrolling the city’s Civic Center area, where the San Francisco Pride Festival was held, responded to reports of a shooting about 5:30 p.m. They were “unable to locate any victims or witnesses,” Officer Kathryn Winters, a spokeswoman and LGBTQ liaison for the department, said in an email to The Washington Post.
“At this time it does not appear that there was any merit to a shooting in the area, and officers remain on scene to ensure safety and security of Pride events,” she said.
Kylie Robison, a San Francisco resident and reporter for the news site Insider, tweeted that she was at the event and saw people “screaming, running, saying there was shots fired.”
She wrote that she started to run with the crowd, adding, “Its just wild to live in a country where we’re all prepared to run or die like that.”
In a message responding to questions about unconfirmed reports on social media of tear gas or bear spray being used by police as crowds ran, Winters said: “There was no shooting, I’m confused as to why you would ask about tear gas. Regardless, the San Francisco Police Department does not use tear gas to disperse crowds.”
She added: “The SFPD does not use tear gas and is not equipped with ‘bear gas.’ Without anything more than vague social media reports we cannot comment further.”
Law enforcement agencies have come under criticism for using tear gas, pepper spray and similar products as crowd-control tools, including at protests in Portland, Ore., and near the White House in 2020. Turkish police used tear gas against participants in a Pride parade in Istanbul last summer.
Meaningful Events to Honor Juneteenth in New York City
This Sunday marks Juneteenth, the United States’ youngest federal holiday, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. It commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, saw their freedom realized, over two years after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Texas was the final Confederate state to announce the proclamation, and many enslaved people in the state were freed only after federal troops arrived to enforce the end of slavery.
Juneteenth — which received mainstream awareness during the wave of protests that took place in the summer of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black individuals at the hands of police violence — recognizes the various unfreedoms that continue to affect Black people in the United States, despite the rights codified in the 14th Amendment. As people and corporations increasingly acknowledge and celebrate Juneteenth, the holiday remains one that contains the “twoness of jubilee and sorrow,” as Anthony Conwright wrote in the Nation. While it is an occasion for rejoicing, denoting the end of a brutal and dehumanizing institution that implicated the entire nation, it is also a reminder of persistent inequity and the unending fight for freedom.
Several events around New York City this weekend invite the public to reflect collectively on Juneteenth through tours, workshops, discussions, and a variety of art activities. We’ve rounded up a selection of major events across the city in the list below.
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Juneteenth NY Jubilee
Organized by the Juneteenth NY Organization
Juneteenth NY is the longest-running festival in New York celebrating the holiday, taking place over three days. This year’s theme is “Unity in the Black Family Unit.” Among the festival’s many events will be a fashion exhibition displaying the work of Black designers, musical performances by Iniko and Renée Neufville, and a quilt-making project that will invite participants to contribute their own patch in memoriam to loved ones that were lost to COVID-19. Food from Black-owned restaurants and food trucks will also be offered, and a limited number of discounted Uber rides to the festival will be available.
When: June 17–19
Where: Linden Park and Prospect Park, Brooklyn; see here for more details
Green-Wood Cemetery Trolley Tour and Free Art Activities
Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn’s very own rural and living cemetery that inspired the creation of New York’s public parks, is hosting a trolley tour that will visit the grave sites of historical figures who contributed to the fight for emancipation and civil rights for Black Americans. The two-hour tour will be headed by Jeff Richman, a Green-Wood historian, and Moses Phillips, a lecturer in ethnomusicology, music theory, and critical theory at Medgar Evers College. Phillips will also sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a hymn that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has recognized as a “Black national anthem,” at the grave of its composer, James Weldon Johnson. The cost to attend is $30 for non-members and $25 for members.
Beginning at 11am, free art-making activities will be available for families, as well as a suggested self-guided tour of the graves of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals. A trolley will circulate between 11:45am and 2pm, and educators will share information about noteworthy stops.
When: June 19, 10am–2pm
Where: Green-Wood Cemetery, 500 25th Street, Brooklyn; more details on the trolley tour here and a link to free activities here
Exploring the History of Seneca Village
Before Central Park was constructed, a Black community called Seneca Village thrived between 82nd and 89th Streets. The land was eventually seized through eminent domain, displacing existing residents. The Central Park Conservancy has undertaken continuing research and work to uncover more about life in Seneca Village during its 32-year history.
A series of Juneteenth events will celebrate the history of Seneca Village through art, dance, poetry, storytelling, and song. Spoken word artist and Grammy Award nominee Gha’il Rhodes Benjamin will tell stories about Seneca Village’s schoolhouse accompanied by five-string banjo player Ayodele Maakheru; singers and actors will reenact conversations that might have taken place between women inhabitants; and metalwork artist Myles Nurse’s “Dancing Ancestors” sculptures will be on display.
When: June 19, 10am–2pm
Where: Seneca Village Landscape, west side of Central Park between 82nd and 89th, Manhattan; more details here
Lewis Latimer House Juneteenth Celebration
Lewis Latimer was a Black inventor and autodidact who worked with the likes of Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell and played an important role in the invention of the telephone and the popularization of the incandescent light bulb. The house that he lived in for the last quarter-century of his life, located in Queens and operated by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, will host its first-ever in-person Juneteenth celebration. A poetry and portraiture mini-workshop will celebrate Latimer’s wide-ranging creativity as also a writer and poet, and Dario Mohr — whose exhibition Blood is Thicker Than the Water that Separated US is currently on view at the Lewis Latimer House — will lead a “Sow the Seeds” workshop. Artist Sophia Chizuco will also guide a flag installation activity.
When: June 19, 2–4pm
Where: Lewis Latimer House, 34-41 137th Street, Queens; see here for more details
The Schomburg Center Literary Festival
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research library branch of the New York Public Library based in Harlem, is hosting its fourth annual literary festival — the first time it will be held in person since 2019. The day-long event will include workshops, discussions, and book signings with figures such as Jason Reynolds, Roxane Gay, and Linda Villarosa. The festival will also include craft-making activities, readings, and a celebration of books of all genres. As Novella Ford, an associate director at the Schomburg, said in a statement: “On a weekend where Black communities around this country mark the anniversary of Juneteenth, I can’t help remembering that reading was a revolutionary act every time a person of African descent defied society’s relegation of what enslaved persons should know about the world around them.”
When: June 19, 10:30am–6pm
Where: The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (135th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard), Harlem; full festival schedule available here
Bryant Park Juneteenth Dance Celebration
This year, Bryant Park programmed a contemporary dance series throughout the month of June. It closes with a Juneteenth performance on the evening of Saturday, June 18, featuring Josh Johnson, who comes from Harlem and rose to fame tap-dancing on New York City trains; Music from the Sole, an acclaimed Afro-diasporic tap-dance group; and Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, a mentorship organization for dance students.
When: June 18, 7–8:30pm
Where: Bryant Park, Manhattan; more details here
Carl Hancock Rux at Harlem Stage, Park Avenue Armory, and Lincoln Center
The Park Avenue Armory is hosting a “retrospective” of the work of Archer Aymes, the fictional mixed-race subject of Talk, a play that premiered at Public Theater in 2002. The plot of Talk revolved around the late Aymes, an obscure writer and experimental filmmaker. Now, its playwright Carl Hancock Rux will be unveiling “newly discovered works by Archer Aymes” — including his film Mother and Son and ephemera from Aymes’s collection that together paint a portrait of racial injustice during the 21st century.
The exhibition is the second in a series of three events Rux is involved in celebrating Juneteenth this weekend. Tonight, Thursday, June 16, Rux and New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow will have a discussion on the Emancipation Proclamation and the lasting legacy of slavery at Harlem Stage. On Sunday, June 19, Rux will curate I Dream a Dream That Dreams Back At Me at Lincoln Center, a multimedia performance that includes original music by Vernon Reid and Nona Hendryx with lyrics by Lynn Nottage, a “musical recitation of a deconstructed National Anthem,” and rock and roots musical concerts.
When: June 19, 3–6pm
Where: Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave, Manhattan; more details here
Brooklyn Museum “Freedom Ride” and Family Fun
The Brooklyn Museum will be celebrating both Juneteenth and Father’s Day with a slate of back-to-back family-friendly events. At 11am on Sunday, the Good Company Bike Club, founded to encourage cycling among the Black community, will host a “freedom ride” that meets at the museum’s plaza. Various art-making, reading, and scavenger hunting activities will follow for kids, along with sound baths, guided meditations, musical performances in the sculpture garden, and dancing.
When: June 19, 11am–7pm
Where: Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn; the day’s schedule can be found here
CITY College visit York to celebrate Europe Campus collaboration
Posted on 3 June 2022
CITY College, University of York Europe Campus welcomed its first cohort of students in 2021
The University of York established a strategic alliance with CITY College, based in Thessaloniki in Greece, in 2020. The College welcomed its first students in October 2021 under this new alliance, and offers undergraduate, postgraduate, MBA and doctoral programmes leading to a University of York degree.
Senior leaders from CITY College, University of York Europe Campus, including Yannis Ververidis, President and Principal at CITY College, will tour the University and City, as well as visiting landmarks such as York Minster and Clifford’s Tower, to further their understanding of University research, teaching and the cultural life of the city.
Culture and community
University Vice-Chancellor Professor Charlie Jeffery, said: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming our colleagues from CITY College. Together, we’ll explore the relationship the University has with the local community, the city and the wider region, and help showcase all that York has to offer.
“We have much to celebrate together, after our first cohort of students joined us last year, and we also have much to look forward to as our alliance continues to develop through joint PhD programmes,a number of research grant proposals, and upcoming summer schools.”
“This visit is about building on our ambition to form new research collaborations, student exchanges and joint education programmes that will benefit communities across Europe.”
Health and wellbeing
CITY College offers a range of courses, including Business Studies, Marketing, Neuropsychology, Computer Science, Human Resources, English Language, Linguistics and Literature and many more.
The relationship will also see researchers working with colleagues in Greece to further understand a range of health issues, such as the mental health of vulnerable people and age-related health conditions.
Since the establishment of the relationship, the two institutions have co-developed PhD programmes, submitted joint research proposals, and devised student study abroad placements, as well as shared education resources, and delivered public lectures.
Open doors
The visit will include meeting staff in academic research areas, such as psychology and computer science, to explore further collaborations as well as teaching staff to share experiences and ideas. Discussions will also cover supporting our joint student community beyond graduation and potential new public-facing events to be hosted by the two institutions in the future.
Yannis Ververidis, President and Principal at CITY College, said: “Working together has, and will continue to, open doors to opportunities for collaboration across Europe. It builds on our shared ambitions of improving the lives of communities at home and abroad.
“Following a successful visit to CITY College from York delegates last year, we hope this return trip will lead to new ventures being formed, improved teaching and learning practices, and build a general excitement about the many things we can achieve by working in partnership.”
Delegates will be visiting York from Monday, 6 June to Thursday, 9 June. To learn more about CITY College, University of York Europe Campus, visit the website.
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Events in New York City for the First Half of June
Don’t get overwhelmed with the busyness of summer, we have curated a list of events in New York City for the first half of June.
New York City is heating up, which means people are out and about, events are every day, and it’s difficult to keep up. We have a curated list of things to look forward to and check out in the coming weeks.
Cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen perform Bachre
- 92NY Center for Arts & Culture
The 92NY consistently brings forth a vast array of incredible events: talks, performances, online and in-person—you can tell they really think of everyone. I’m really excited by this duo of Steven Isserlis and Mishka Rushdie Momen performing Bach on June 4 at 8pm, but be sure to check out their website for a packed summer calendar.
Films of the Green
- Villa Albertine x Face Foundation x NYC Parks
It’s almost a little too classic New York City but who doesn’t love films screenings in the park? Villa Albertine in collaboration with Face Foundation and NYC Parks has got you covered with a French-focused cinema festival. Starting June 3 and going till September 9, all films are free to the public and first up is Les Choses de la Vie by Claude Sautet June 3 in Central Park.
Uptown Night Market
For foodies, it’s hard to deny the appeal of the Uptown Night Market in Harlem starting June 9. With over 50 vendors delivering delicious and unique food to stuff yourself with, get ready to find yourself in Harlem, suddenly scarfing down on delights.
Human Conditions: The Films of Mike Leigh
We love Mike Leigh. Until June 8, Film at Lincoln Center is showing a giant retrospective of Leigh’s work — if you haven’t had a chance to catch one, go! Films such as Career Girls (1997), Naked (1993), and Secrets & Lies (1996) are there for all of New York’s Mike Leigh fanatics.
Belladonna of Sadness
Never before officially released in the United States, Belladonna of Sadness directed by Eiichi Yamamoto is a cult underground favorite that is screening at Metrograph twice on June 2 and once on June 7. It’s truly a good get for the theater.
A Preview Concert of American One Acts
- The Little Opera Theatre of NY x National Black Theatre x Harlem Opera Theater
This project pairs Highway 1, USA by William Grant Small and Down in the Valley by Kurt Weill, with the double bill featuring highlights from both operas at Kaufman Music Center on June 3. For those who are sad the Met’s going on vacation, here’s a chance to get out and support local opera.
F*ck Art: The Body & Its Absence
A favorite of tourists and locals alike, the Museum of Sex has a new exhibit — “F*ck Art: The Body & Its Absence” — opening on June 10 and running until October 11. It’s worth catching in June, since the hot summer months beg for fun date activities. Nothing is hotter than the intersection of sex and art.
How Two New York City Founders Grew A Multi-Million Dollar Event Company Out Of The Pandemic
Project 91.
Jarrett Birnbaum
When covid shut down the nightlife community, Todd Mackall and Duncan Abdelnour founded a resource for those starved from live events: a brand dubbed Project 91. The live events company initially began as a hobby and a way to party with friends, but it grew to be much larger—selling out 300 person lounges to 5,000-plus festivals. Project 91 has booked the likes of Diplo, Tchami, Malaa, Devault, Sam Blacky and more. In addition, the events prove to be covid compliant as Abdelnour pivoted from live events and founded Crowdhealth to implement safe event practices.
The community-oriented brand provides different options than the standard New York City bottle clubs with the same recycled talent. Project 91 offers a different outlook on New York City parties and has established itself as a go-to promoting company that ushers in a new era of quality artists and curatorial events. Indeed, Project 91 has become a common name amongst New York City nightlife-goers that is spearheaded by two men who bet on themselves. Their next event is Spring Fest, which boasts Jai Wolf as the headliner.
Here, Mackall and Abdelnour share with Forbes the turning point where they saw Project 91 as something more than a way to party with friends, advice for those who wish to start their own brand, their key to success and more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Lisa Kocay: Project 91 was initially started as a hobby and a way to party with your friends. What was the turning point when you realized this was more than that?
Todd Mackall: “I think there were multiple turning points. I think even the first turning point was our first party. It went very, very well, and it wasn’t a business back then. It was a hobby, as you said, and we had an extremely terrific turnout. And then I think the second one is post-pandemic in May of 2021 when we really started to re-enter that energy that we left off in 2019….Then I think post-pandemic, we were able to gain traction on social media buzz. That was the second major turning point, at least in my mind.
“The 4th of July, two months later, we were able to produce our real event. It wasn’t just a party. It wasn’t just a gathering—it was 3,000 people on the Brooklyn waterfront.”
Kocay: You’ve said your community is pretty diverse.
Mackall: “It’s a diverse community, but at the same time, everyone has a bunch in common and it’s…the love for house music, the ambition to really just have a good time. And the outgoingness is definitely something we see. We’ve heard some crazy stories. We actually had one person in our [direct messages]. He met his girlfriend in a Project 91 event and he wanted to propose.”
Kocay: So you would say that the love for house music is pretty much the commonality.
Mackall: “Going out and the energy and…it’s really hard to describe. Because New York City has so many different things to do, yet we see these people choosing to spend their time with us. So that’s what I find most fascinating…is that there’s hundreds of clubs to go to, hundreds of bars, but people choose our events because they can rely on a sense of community.”
Kocay: For those who haven’t been to one of your events, how would you describe it?
Mackall: “Good organized chaos with just love and energy. We’ve had one hundred plus events. I think we’ve had like one or two fights happen, which is something we’re pretty proud of. We draw a respectful crowd. It’s organized chaos, which ultimately is people and their energy.”
Kocay: That’s really impressive that considering how small you are, you’ve thrown over one hundred events.
Mackall: “We had last summer. It was supply and demand.”
Duncan Abdelnour: “Just nonstop.”
Mackall: “People really choosing to go to our parties. We still consider ourselves pretty small, but at the same time, definitely recognized in New York. I don’t know if we have a scale for how many events we want to do this year, but we’ve already had at least 10.”
Abdelnour: “It’s more kind of producing just larger.”
Mackall: “Larger events. Quality over quantity.”
Kocay: What do you think has been the key to success with Project 91?
Abdelnour: “Just kind of thinking outside the box.”
Mackall: “Bringing a fresh perspective.”
Abdelnour: “But it’s kind of just a little bit curation of things. People trust us now. Some people go out once a month, and they’ll pick one of our events because they really like the deejay or whatever.”
Kocay: Can you talk a little bit more about what the fresh perspective means?
Mackall: “For me, that’s putting a twist on your average party, whether it might be a themed party, whether it may be us taking you to a new venue that just opened. We’re event producers at heart.”
Abdelnour: “We can take a regular bar and we’ll bring in sound, lighting, production, haze machines and turn it into a full club experience. Or we’ll do that on a rooftop and bring a whole large scale sound system to a place that has never had that before, so that you can have a mini concert setting in a cool location.”
Kocay: What piece of advice would you give to others starting an event company?
Mackall: It is building blocks.”
Abdelnour: “Start small and take one step.”
Mackall: “You can’t just start throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars around it and booking an event. You have to have experience doing events.”
