Each year in May, Lower East Side cultural and community groups, small businesses and residents create a variety of public events, exhibits, tours, and learning opportunities. All events take place in the historical boundaries of the Lower East Side.
Conceived and launched by Downtown Art and FABnyc in partnership with LES-based cultural and community groups, LES History Month aims to connect our present to our past, exploring how our history can inform and inspire our future.
Hear the big picture from people who know it! Come connect with local leaders — hear and converse on the leading issues currently impacting the Lower East Side.
"ENTHRALL & SQUALOR: Photographing Downtown 1977-1987" brings together the photographic work of four New York originals who captured the essence of a time indelibly etched in the City’s consciousness.
• Alexis Adler will show photos of a young Jean-Michel Basquiat and the East Village apartment they squatted together in 1979 after he dropped out of high school while transitioning from graffiti artist to icon.
• Arlene Gottfried (1951-2017) "...chronicled life the way she saw it, thriving on the energy ofthe streets, roaming and recording everything she felt through a deeply empathetic and loving lens." — Paul Moakley, TIME magazine.
• Meryl Meisler will exhibit classic images of CBGB and Infinity Disco from her books "A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick" and "Purgatory & Paradise: SASSY ‘70s Suburbia & The City."
• Ken Schles will deconstruct and install 168 prints from his downtown books, "Invisible City" and "Night Walk," creating an immersive chronicle of his life downtown ...
• Special event: Night Walk Tour
Join us Monday from 7 to 9 for a special Night Walk. Alexis Adler, Meryl Meisler and Ken Schles will take you on tour of downtown sites documented in their books. The tour will culminate with refreshments at The Storefront Project, 70 Orchard St. where Meisler’s Lower East Side photos of the 1970s and 1980s are on exhibit. Tickets are available through Eventbright for $10.
• Wednesday, May 23: Artist talks and book signings. Hear the artists in their own words. Karen Gottfried will tell Arlene's story. 7-9 p.m. Gallery opens at 6 p.m.
• Thursday, May 24: Share your downtown stories (and closing party), 6-9 p.m.
Lower East Side History Month is an annual celebration of the rich and diverse history of the Lower East Side. Each year in May, Lower East Side cultural and community groups, small businesses and residents create a variety of public events, exhibits, tours, and learning opportunities. All events take place in the historical boundaries of the Lower East Side, which includes the East Village, Chinatown, Two Bridges and Loisaida.
In 1984, Dan Root took some photographs for a book that a friend of a friend was going to write about the changing East Village. For a couple of months he took pictures, when time and money allowed, of this changing neighborhood. The book was never written (of course?) and the photographs were put away.
Last year Dan revisited those locations and photographed them again. Most were vastly different than they were 30 years ago. He embarked upon a project of framing the original photos and placing them at these sites. Residents and visitors were able to see how much the East Village has changed, and a Tumbler page brought international attention to this photographic documentation.
East Village: 1984 and 2014
A photo journey with Daniel Root
Thursday, May 7
6:30 – 8:00 P.M.
Free; reservations required
Sixth Street Community Center
638 East 6th Street, between Avenue B and Avenue C
[This venue is wheelchair accessible.]
To register, please call (212) 475-9585 ext. 35 or email.
May 2015 brings the second edition of Lower East Side (LES) History Month, a month-long celebration of the rich, diverse history of New York City's historic Lower East Side (including the neighborhoods of the East Village, Chinatown, Little Italy, and Alphabet City).
With participation by more than 80 Lower East Side-based cultural organizations, community groups, and businesses, LES History Month will feature a huge variety of affordable and unique events including live performances, exhibits, gallery and walking tours, talks, film screenings, festivals and more. Find the current event calendar on our website here.
May 2014 brings the first annual Lower East Side (LES) History Month, a month-long celebration of the rich, diverse history of New York City's Lower East Side, including the neighborhoods of the East Village, Chinatown, Little Italy and Alphabet City. With participation by more than 60 Lower East Side-based cultural and community groups, LES History Month will feature over 80 affordable and unique events, including live performances, exhibits, gallery and walking tours, talks, film screenings, festivals and more.
LES History Month opens with Chalk/LES, a weekend-long participatory project to bring LES history, art and stories onto the streets of the neighborhood. Starting Friday, May 2, numerous LES sites will be emblazoned with chalked trivia and memories of their lived histories. On Saturday, May 3, public chalking sites will be open for all, encouraging passersby to participate with their own stories and images of the LES. Game participants are also invited to join scavenger hunt teams, organized by Guerilla Haiku Movement, who will head out and cover the neighborhood with sidewalk-chalked poetry, and engage passersby in their own creative storytelling about the LES.
Chalk/LES culminates on Sunday, May 4, as artists and volunteers will chalk a pathway from various LES transit hubs toward East River Park, along the waterfront, and arriving at Pier 42 for Picnic on the Pier. As a partnership with Paths to Pier 42, LES History Month will present salsa dancing with las Dinimicas of Grand Street Settlement, gypsy swing from Sugar Hill Gypsy Jazz, songs from the young singers of Downtown Art, and an afternoon of family friendly art activities led by The Tenement Museum and the Museum of Chinese in America.
To celebrate, LES History Month will also announce the inaugural LES Heroes award, recognizing the often unsung contributions of neighborhood residents, activists and leaders.
To find out more about LES History Month, its participants and opening weekend programming, visit here.
