IRISH ARTS CENTER BOOK DAY RECAP

One of the best things about New York is that so many different people come together and celebrate each other's culture with great enthusiasm and interest. On this year's St. Patrick's Day, in association with the New York City Council, New York State Assembly, Literature Ireland and El Museo del Barrio, hundreds of books by celebrated Irish, Caribbean and American authors' books, including Irish authors' works translated into Spanish, were given away for free through the Irish Arts Center Book Day throughout the five boroughs.

I was scheduled to be at 42nd street and Park, but the stand closed early when they ran out of books. That's a good thing! I'm passionate about promoting the arts, literacy and reading, so I hopped on the bus to the west side station. It was fun to direct passers-by to our table, where people like this woman chose kidlit and adult books for her family.

After choosing their books people came back to me to say they were looking forward to reading them, and expressed their thanks over and over again for a wonderful program. Here are a few of the books that were available:

Young adult by Elizabeth O'Hara who writes in English and Irish, fiction by Tom O'Neill that weaves in Irish folklore, and selections from The Stinging Fly, a literary magazine.
 The Irish Arts Center offers a variety of programs and classes on Irish language, music, dance and more.

IRISH Arts Center BOOK DAY, March 17

Come say hello to me on St. Patrick's Day at 42nd and Park Avenue from 1-4 and pick up a FREE BOOK by Irish authors! 

And for a little cross cultural bridge, we'll have some books translated into Spanish.  Presented by Irish Arts Center in association with the New York City Council, New York State Assembly, Literature Ireland, and El Museo del Barrio, look for books by Spanish, Caribbean and American authors as well. 

Genres: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Mystery, Adult, Young Adult and Childrens

AUTHORS:

Mary Arrigan, John Banville, Tara Bergin, Mary Branley, Lynn Cahoon, Moya Cannon, Marina Carr, Mary Carter, Mollie Cox Bryan, Adam Crothers, Mackenzie Crowne, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Judi Curtin, Kit De Waal, Junot Díaz, Emma Donoghue, Jennifer Egan, Patricia Falvey, Michele Forbes, John Freely, Brian Friel, Carlos Fuentes, Brian Gallagher, Karl Geary, Matt Griffin, Seamus Heaney, Kevin Jared Hosein, Cormac James, Marlon James, Maeve Kelly, Mary Pat Kelly, Kathleen Anne Kenney, Richard Killeen, Conor Kostick, Ann Margaret Lim, Morgan Llywelyn, Kathleen MacMahon, Dorothy Mcardle,  Eimear McBride, Colum McCann, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Molly McCloskey, Malachy McCourt, Frank McGuinness, Lindsay McKenna, G.A. McKevett, Staci McLaughlin, Larry McShane, Paula Meehan, Kei Miller, Edgar Mittleholzer, J.R. Moehringer, Mervyn Morris, Alan Nolan, Edna O’Brien, Conor O’Clery, Rebecca O'Connor, Carlene O'Connor, Mary O'Malley, Michael Schulman, Nicole Sealey, Ian Somers, Matthew Sullivan, Alice Taylor, Patrick Taylor, Matt Thomas, Colm Tóibín, Kevin Toolis, Stuart Woods, Tiphanie Yanique, William Butler Yeats

Check out The Irish Arts Center for information about classes and events they have on offer.

Note: this station will close when we run out of books, so check the web site for other locations in all boroughs. 

SCHOLASTIC WRITING AWARDS

I'm delighted to have participated again as a judge for the Scholastic Writing Awards. Each year, this national program honors teens in grades 7 - 12 in several categories of writing. Students who receive  awards may be eligible for scholarships (see general information). Congratulations to everyone who entered! It was a pleasure reading your work.
Click on this link for further information about HOW TO ENTER  .

Writing can be a part of your teen's life throughout the year. There are many writing programs available for kids to hone their skills and pursue their passion. A great place to consider is the national organization, Writopia Lab. Locally there are branches in New York City, Brooklyn, Westchester, Rockland County and New Jersey. Click HERE for further information.

By the way, Scholastic also offers awards for young artists. Click on this link for general information about the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards HERE .

The Black Glove - Strindberg Repertory Theater

I'm happy to return to the Strindberg Repertory Theater as projection designer with illustrations for their latest production, The Black Glove, translated by Anne-Charlotte Harvey, directed by Robert Greer.  

© Jonathan Slaff

Dec 2 - 16

at The Gene Frankel Theater
24 Bond St., NYC TICKETS

© Jonathan Slaff Cast and Crew: Amy Fulgham, Crystal Edn, Diane Perrell, Jo Vetter, Mary Tierney, Natalie Menna, Pilar Garcia, Janet Mervin (costume designer), Gilbert "lucky" Perto (lighting designer), T. Michael Culhane (production mgr.), Charles Casano (stage mgr.)

 The Black Glove is one of August Strindberg's plays for children.

Exhibit News - CALL OF THE WILD

My drawing of a kestrel is on view in a new exhibit.


 The gallery is located in the Katonah art center. Warm and inviting, the 1902 building has a "home studio" feel and a small library of art books for reference. There is a great offering of mediums to explore at the center from painting to jewelry. Located a couple blocks from the Golden Bridge train station, it is an easy trip for non drivers.

Edgar Allan Poe

Selected work from the Edgar Allan Poe Illustrated exhibit is included in an exhibit at the German Society of Pennsylvania through 2017. It kicks off with the 2nd Annual Edgar Allan Poe Festival on Oct. 27th. This new exhibit curated by Beata Spurza features work by:
Nancy Doniger, Dave Kopka, Donna Miskend, Carol Klio Burrell, Anna Rich, Janusz Skowron, Valerie Sokolova, Madeline Sorel, Beata Szpura, Judith Wilde.

EDGAR ALLAN POE ILLUSTRATED EXHIBIT - DAVE KOPKA

ON VIEW THROUGH JULY 29, 2017

an exhibition showcasing the literary work of Edgar Allan Poe

 interpreted by contemporary illustrators 

Dave Kopka, Nancy Doniger, Donna Miskend, Carol (Klio) Burrell
special guests: 
Michael Patrick Hearn, author of the forthcoming An Annotated Edgar Allan Poe, James Armstrong, playwright, Charlie Vazquez, author and director Bronx Writing Center

A CONVERSATION WITH ARTIST DAVE KOPKA

Artwork: © Dave Kopka 2016/17The Pit and the Pendulum,  The Premature Burial

Hailing from Chicago, Dave studied illustration at the Pratt Institute and currently lives and draws in Brooklyn. His work revolves around an inspiration from storytelling involving the struggle to overcome, and the humor and misfortune behind internal conflict. Dave engages in books, story boarding, comics, and pre-production work, but is fascinated with exploring a wide spectrum of illustration and being a creative force in visual narrative.

Site: davekopka.com 

The Cask of Amontillado, © 2016/17

DM: Why did you choose The Cask of Amontillado to illustrate?

DK: What’s so enthralling in Poe’s stories - much more than the acts of horror that entail - are the characters carrying them out. This is no less evident in The Cask of Amontillado. Other than a few defining traits, Montressor is a sort of enigma. We don’t know what crime Fortunado has committed to evoke his own immolation. Are we so ready to accept that Fortunado actually had done something unforgivable? Is Montressor of sound mind to begin with? From the writing, it may seem almost simple enough to believe in Montressor’s resolve, to walk in the protagonist’s footsteps, as if to say there is an element of the sociopathic in all of us. That is fascinating, and a true horror behind this tale.

DM: Did you discover something new or interesting while doing your research for this exhibit?

DK: There was a lot of new territory to explore while looking through Poe's written works. Something that struck me while reading was that many of the stories present themselves for so much interpretation; the poems even more so. For instance, throughout the cast of his characters, we don't necessarily always have a solid grasp on who they are/what they look like specifically. 

The Pit and the Pendulum, © 2016/17

Much of their image is made up of what we project onto them (another reason why I think Poe's writing was so good, it tricks the reader into doing a lot of the work in creating a visual image). This is fantastic, because it allows me as an artist to conjure up something that might look different than someone else's vision of the same story, and opens up a dialogue - visually or otherwise - to learn from folks with different perspectives. There's a lot of potential space to explore creative freedom too. Whether or not it was intended, Poe really lets illustrators take the writing and make it their own. 

THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES - TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DAVE'S PROCESS, CLICK HERE
EDGAR ALLAN POE ILLUSTRATED EXHIBIT WORK ON EXHIBIT - Each Giclée is considered as an original piece of art, using high quality archival inks and paper, and will not be reproduced identically in size, manner, method, and quality ever again, with exception for the artist’s promotional and exhibition material. Said promo material will not be for sale. Smaller print runs reproduced in a more economic fashion will be available in the future, but will not have the same appearance and dimensions as the initial Gallery Editions. Frames are included in the purchase for all Gallery Editions. For inquires, please contact the artist at illustration@davekopka.com.