Edward Brezinski worked alongside Keith Haring, David Wojnarowicz, and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the Lower East Side art scene, but never reached the same level of success as his contemporaries. "Make Me Famous" uncovers why such a well-connected yet peculiar painter never made it, despite being so maniacally focused in his quest for fame.What begins as an investigation into Brezinski's legacy and mysterious disappearance becomes a sharp, witty portrait of NYC's 1980s downtown art scene. Gallery owners and fellow artists dish on insider gossip, name drop, and contradict each other in telling the story, resulting in an irresistible snapshot of an unknown artist that captures the spirit of an iconic era.
The book club started with a post on the East Village Neighbors NYC Facebook page. Someone had posted asking about a local neighborhood book club. The post eventually became a long thread with many people asking about the same thing: if anyone had leads.I got tired of waiting, so I created a book club for the East Village. Jenny Allen told me to open a page on Bookclubs.com, and from there, we had our first meeting last year [on March 9].
The book club didn't have a space when I created it. Then, I remembered that Abby Ehmann had just opened Hekate Cafe and Elixir Lounge, and I asked her if I could have the book club there, and we’ve been there ever since.
The goal of the book club is not only to encourage and foster a love of reading but also so neighbors can meet each other and develop a relationship to strengthen the community. We now have members from Chelsea, the Lower East Side and even the Upper East Side. We currently have 328 members!We meet on the first Monday of every month. Usually, eight to 12 members join the monthly meetings, depending on the book we discuss. We don't have virtual events; we prefer them to be in person so that we can meet our neighbors.
We also plan to include other activities outside our monthly meetings, like an author’s night to highlight local writers and a summer picnic in our local community gardens.
Our next book for the March 6 meetup is "Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast. I don't choose the books; members recommend them and then vote. The only one I've chosen personally was our first book, John Carreyrou's "Bad Blood," the story of Elizabeth Holmes. After that, the members decided on every book that we discussed.
The sale is contingent upon the Joyce being able to raise the $21 million needed to secure funding for the first phase of the renovation. A renovation is projected to cost from $50 million to $55 million and to take about three years to complete.
We hope the acquisition of this space will forward our commitment to artists, beyond the work taking place on our Chelsea stage. In our mission to serve the dance community, we envision this new building will offer essential studio space, fostering ideation and the creation of movement.Our plans for the 58,000-square-foot (and column-free!) building include rehearsal studios and small-scale performance spaces.
Officials said that they will also rent out space to other dance-theater companies.
