Category Archives: art and culture

Harvist Restaurant in Harlem featured in NY Mag, set to open this week

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Who is going to go check out Harlem’s latest restaurant called Harvist? We are! According to New York Magazine, its opening this week inside My Image Studios Harlem at 46 West 116th Street. MIST tells us via Twitter that they’re opening this Thursday for dinner. Cassandra Quinlan-Ashford will be the chef. She plans on serving dishes, such as shrimp and grits, red-velvet soufflé, berbere filet mignon, osso buco and a raw-kale salad. Yummy!

Harvist is located at 46 West 116th Street between Fifth and Lenox Avenue. Call 646-738-3050 for reservations.

And to learn more about Harvist Restaurant, go here.

Harlem’s Thelma Golden and Duro Olowu featured in Town & Country Magazine

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In the February issue of Town & Country, Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum Harlem, and Duro Olowu, Golden’s clothing designer husband, are featured in the affluent magazine mentioning that Olowu has inked a deal with JCPenny where his clothes, accessories and other items will be sold at JCP and online starting this coming March-all for under $90. Very cool. And apparently our First Lady Michelle Obama is a big supporter of Olowu. Double cool.

To view the entire article, purchase the February issue of Town & Country.

What to do in Harlem this Friday? Casa Frela Gallery, Harlem School of the Arts, Harlem Salsa, Harlem Bar Crawl

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There are several Harlem happenings taking place this Friday evening, Jan 25. They’re lined up below for your consideration.

Casa Frela Gallery will present the works of furniture artist Yoav S. Liberman from 8-10 pm. In addition to showing Yoav’s fantastic furniture pieces, he will also speak about the art pieces currently in the gallery, as well as an informal Q&A to follow. To attend this FREE event, RSVP to events@casafrela.com.

Grammy Award-winning pianist, composer and Musical Director Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra will take the stage at the Harlem School of the Arts’ Winter Music Festival, located at 645 Saint Nicholas Avenue. This will be the first of several concerts presented by O’Farrill and the members of his jazz orchestra this year. This event starts at 6:30 pm and it is FREE.

Over on the Westside, it’s Harlem Salsa at Dinosaur BBQ, located 700 125th Street. One hour salsa classes are offered from 6-7 pm. Admittance for the evening is $10. See more details in picture below.

And the Harlem Bimonthly Bar Crawl continues on Lenox Avenue starting at 9 pm. Participating establishments for the 25th include: Les Ambassades Bar & Restaurant, Harlem Corner Social, Red Rooster Harlem, Cove Lounge, and Chez Lucienne.

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Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and President Obama’s Second Inauguration at Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem

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Lots to celebrate this coming Monday. And if you need a place to celebrate in Harlem, Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem, 310 Lenox Ave, is inviting us all over. In celebration of Martin Luther King Day and President Obama’s second inauguration, Ginny’s Supper Club will host two special events.

The first is an inauguration watching party at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, January 21st. Guests can order from Marcus Samuelsson’s acclaimed upstairs restaurant and Red Rooster Harlem, while watching a live-feed of the inauguration downstairs at Ginny’s Supper Club. In 2011, the President Obama held a swanky fundraiser at Red Rooster Harlem and in 2009, Marcus Samuelsson was chosen to cook the Obama Administration’s first State Dinner.

The celebration of Dr. King’s dream continues into the evening of January 21st, with a two-set special performance by Amanda Brown of The Voice. Brown’s performance will be complemented by excerpts of Dr. King’s iconic “I have a Dream” speech. Ginny’s small plates and playful cocktails will round out the celebratory evening. Guests can make reservations by calling 212-421-3821 in advance. There is no cover. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

MIST Harlem launching new series this month

MIST Harlem (My Image Studios, LLC), the country’s first minority-owned entertainment center, has released their schedule to us announcing new series this month. Check out the details below on the upcoming series:

Uptown Thursday Nights Comedy Series
This series will begin Jan 17 with a headline event that launches a 16-week series of premiere local comedians. To purchase tickets, go here.

MIST Inspirations
The first and third Mondays at MIST will be reserved for Monday Inspirations. This series will launch similarly with a headlining Gospel artist in a full MIST house, Monday, Jan 21. The bi-weekly series will then run for 16-weeks on first and third Mondays, in the center MIST Theater from 7:30-9:30 pm. Gospel artists for the series will be booked from premier local artists (tri-state) and special guests who may be in the area for other engagements and promotions. For tickets, click here.

Creatively Speaking Film Series
Creatively Speaking is a curated film series offering a diverse forum that highlights independent film by and/or about people of color. The film series began early December 2012 and will run monthly at MIST Harlem with a collection of shorts, documentaries and narrative films that tell stories that present realistic portrayals of people of color rarely seen in the media, and appeal to varied audiences, crossing multiple cultural, geographic and socio-economic divides.

Hue-Man Bookstore Pop Up at MIST
Hue-Man enjoys the reputation as a top-flight organization and was the go to place for any and every author of Color. Visit the Pop Up inside MIST on West 116th Street between Lenox Ave and Fifth Avenue.

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Lenox Lounge will be renamed Notar Jazz Club, Richie Notar and Alvin Reed finally cross paths

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If anyone thinks there is a grain of hope left for Lenox Lounge in Harlem, forget about it! Read the latest article from The NY Daily News. Richie Notar is now publicly speaking about his plans for the vintage Harlem establishment. Notar told Community Board 10 “he does not want to change much.” However, Notar confirms he will change the name to Notar Jazz Club.

By the way, Notar and Alvin Reed crossed paths for the first time according to the article. That had to be interesting.

After reading the article, all I could think about is “what a pity that Notar does not see any value in saving the Lenox Lounge brand?” There are plenty of smart business people who have taken on well-known brands and successfully lifted those brands higher. Say Fiat? Say Izod? How about Puma? Guess Richie Notar is a play-it-safe-kind-of-a-businessman?

The good things coming out of this story is that Notar plans to hire Franco the Great to do a mural and Harlemites will continue to have a jazz club to patron, which won’t be the same only the structure will exist. Buh-humbug.

Harlem Local and Designer Rod Keenan lands in The Wall Street Journal

I was flipping through The Wall Street Journal’s Greater New York section yesterday…and wha-la saw Harlem local and hat maker Rod Keenan smack dab right there in the middle of the paper. Apparently, he attended the NY Botanical Garden’s annual fundraiser for children’s programs. Fancy stuff!

If you’re not familiar with Keenan’s products, his hats are high-end and generally sold at affluent places, such as Barney’s New York. And he has a large celebrity clientele, which is another indicator that these hats don’t come cheap.

If you have a subscription to the WSJ, click here for the link. If not, my quick photos of the hardcopy will have to do! See ya around!

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Registration for Harlem School of the Arts Spring classes begin now

Listen up parents, grandparents, etc! The Harlem School of the Arts registration for Spring After-School Programs starts pronto! HSA After School Programs offers several classes in music, dance, theatre, visual arts & musical theatre. Classes fill up quickly so register right away , i.e. before February 2nd. To learn more, refer to graphic below or go here.

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Introducing a new toy design studio in Harlem, first design fair December 8

Did you know Harlem has a new toy design studio? Yup, it’s located in the old Katrina Flower Shop space on 112th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd. Joe Masibay, an ex Fisher Price toy designer has partnered up with Cynthia Woodie of muppet sculpting fame and Gus Konstantakopoulos to open up the studio at 1844 ACP Jr. Blvd.

The focus of the studio is obvious! They will work on toy design. But Masibay says there will be local Harlem artists who will co-work there as well. They are also looking to collaborate with local design professionals and grow the design community in Harlem.

If you’re interested in checking out this new toy design studio, there’s an opportunity to do so tomorrow, December 8. They are having an art/design/craft fair featuring local artist and toy designers from 10 am to 6 pm. One of the designers that will be on hand is Sean Vegazzi, who has worked with Annie Leibovitz and recently published a book titled I Don’t Warna Grow Up.
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Holiday Trunk Show with Alton Weekes and Deborah Gregory at Harlem Flo

Save the date of December 7th! That’s when Stationary Designer Alton Weekes will host his annual Holiday Trunk Show in Harlem from 5 pm to 9 pm. Joining Weekes will be Designer Deborah Gregory of the famous Cheetah Girls. This event is happening at Harlem Flo located at 2276 FDB at 122nd Street. See entire details below!

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