Works by students of Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts' Honors Art Intensive will be exhibited at two public spaces during March and April 2011. Previous pieces by these students have been presented at major public venues in New York City and on Long Island.
Usdan Center (www.usdan.com) is the nationally renowned summer arts day camp now entering its 44th season. Usdan is situated on a 200-acre woodland campus in the Huntington area of Long Island. Featuring more than 40 programs in music, dance, theater, visual arts, creative writing, nature and ecology and chess, Usdan Center has introduced the arts to more than 50,000 children, ages 6-18. Most programs are open to all, with no audition required, and children attend from Long Island, New York City, and throughout the Tri-State Area, many on scholarship. Usdan alumni include Natalie Portman, Mariah Carey, Jane Monheit, and members of Broadway casts, and major music and dance ensembles.
From March 1 - April 4, the exhibit, titled Self-Defining Mediums, freestanding works covering a variety of themes -- several tied to current world issues -- runs at The Lobby Gallery at 430 Park Avenue in Manhattan; the exhibit then travels to Long Island, where it will be presented April 5 to May 2 in the Atrium at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, hosted by Tilles Center. In both venues, the exhibit is free and open to the public.
The Usdan Honors Art Intensive, a selective, pre-professional program with 11th and 12th grade students whose work has been exhibited at the Heckscher Museum, the Huntington Library, and The Lobby Gallery, premiered the exhibit August 2-9 at the North Gallery at Usdan Center. The artists are Sarah Hartigan, Kyle Montemurro, Mirella Nappi, Rebecca Sisoski, Emily Rabinowitz and Brandon Wall. The Intensive, taught by Craig Mateyunas and his assistant, Hillary Broder, with guidance from Rochelle Morgan, Art Department Chair, has been a year-round selective program of advanced studio art, museum study, and career preparation.
Tilles Center, Long Island's premier concert hall, has long hosted exhibits in its public spaces by faculty and students of the C.W. Post Art Dept., students from local schools, and professional artists.
More than 1500 students annually attend Usdan Center, transported by air-conditioned buses. The Center, at 185 Colonial Springs Road in Huntington, is open to all young people from age 6 to 18. Although the mission of the Center is for every child to establish a relationship with the arts, the unique stimulation of the Center has caused many to go on to arts careers. Usdan is an agency of the UJA-Federation of New York.
The Center is currently hosting several Open Houses for its 2011 season, on Sundays March 27 and May 15, 2011; and Wednesdays: February 23 and April 20, 2011. For information, call (212) 772-6060 or (631) 643-7900, write to openhouse@usdan.com, or visit www.usdan.com.
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