Saturday, August 1

Exhibition: Arts For Healing

Closing Reception

Community Drumming Circle

Tracey Bishop , MT -BC, LCAT and
Maya Benattar, MA, MT -BC

Join us for an exciting afternoon of rhythm, drumming, and song. We will begin by learning about a variety of instruments from around the world, and the benefits that drumming can have on us as individual people and as a community. We'll conclude with a drum circle, connecting us to the ancient lineage of drumcircles and uniting us as a community. No musical experience necessary, all are welcome!

Time: 2-4 pm

Saturday, August 15

Exhibition: Inspired By Heritage

Opening Reception

Performance by: Skin Against Metal

Composers Maurice (pianist) and Nanette (percussionist) have been music partners for more than twenty-five years and have composed music for dance, theatre and multi-media theatre. They have dedicated most of these years to the study and performance of sacred Afro-Cuban percussion and authored the instructional book The Sacred Music of Cuba: Bata Drumming Matanzas Style. Their latest CD release Alchemy: A Tribute to Frankie Malabe explores Afro-Cuban rhythms in a classical context. Maurice and Nanette are also creators of The Talk n Drum Foreign Language and Music Program for Preschoolers.

Time: 2-5 pm

Friday, August 21

Exhibition: Inspired By Heritage

SPECIAL FILM SCREENING: "KIMJONGILIA"

KIMJONGILIA, The Flower of Kim Jong Il, is the first film to fully expose the disaster through a tapestry of defectors’ stories, North Korean propaganda, and original performance. This feature documentary shows why the defectors fled, describes their hair-raising escapes, and recounts the dangers they face in China, hunted by Chinese as well as North Korean police. These refugees are from every walk of life, from child concentration camp inmates to an elite concert pianist. But their stories all speak of body-and-soul killing repression and paint a picture of a country so far off the rails it defies belief. Ultimately, these humble heroes are inspiring, for despite their suffering, they hold out hope for a better future.

SEATING IS LIMITED. Please RSVP by email at info@bluedoorgallery.org. The documentary will begin at 7pm sharp and is 73 minutes long.The Director, Nancy Heikin, will be available afterwards for a short Q&A. Donations are welcome.

Time: 7:00 - 8:30pm (No one will be admitted after the screening begins)

Saturday, August 22

Exhibition: Inspired By Heritage

An Evening With Florence and Madge: Storytelling & Folk Art

Florence Dryden is a gospel and folk singer who has performed in her own vignettes throughout Westchester and was most recently seen in the musical Purlie at the Irvington Theater. An energetic and vivacious pleasant woman, Flo will make sure to give you laughs.

Madge Scott is a 53 year old International self taught artist and storyteller of Jamaican descent. Madge tells stories of life and events as a child and injects folklore and songs into her work. She was discovered by a group of Hastings women and hasbeen painting for about 10 years. Madge has a gallery of about 200 artworks and has sold her work in the U.S. and abroad. Her works are displayed in an international folk art gallery in St. Louis, Missouri. Madge and Flo have been friends for over twenty years and together they will bring the house down with their stories and folk songs.

Time: 12:30 - 2:30pm

Thursday, August 27

Exhibition: Inspired By Heritage

Teen Poetry Slam

Host Phylisha Villaneuva, whose poetry has been published, will host Blue Door Gallery's first teen Poetry Slam. Phylisha, a senior this coming September at Saunders High School, is majoring in carpentry. She is the president of the S.A.D.D {students against destructive decision} club in her school. She is a writer, poet and an artist and has attended the Sarah Lawrence Fullbright program.

Time: 6 - 8pm

Saturday, August 29

Exhibition: Inspired By Heritage

Native American Myths & Legends

Turhan Von Brandon began formal art studies at the age of eight at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY, and studied art and photography while attending Howard University in Washington, DC. He continued his education in photography and print making in Wurzburg, Germany, and studied Commercial Photography at the New York Institute of Photography.

He creates images, which draw the viewer in, begins a dialogue, or asks a visual question. The images are only half the story. The viewer completes the story by what she/he brings to the image. Von Brandon creates his paintings by converting photographs to abstract impressionistic and/or expressionist images.

Time: 12:30 - 2:30 pm