Tag Archives: Westport Arts Center

Speed Dating, Westport-Style

Posted on July 10, 2011 | 3 comments

Speed dating is a big-city thing.  Singles (hopefully) spend a few minutes chatting with a random stranger.  A bell rings; then it’s off to the next table, and a few more after that.  If both parties like each other, organizers provide them with contact info.

But this is Westport.  Our “speed dating” event needs an intellectual — and environmental — bent.

Also, no hooking up allowed.

“Expert Minds” is this Thursday’s (July 14, 7 p.m.) Westport Arts Center speed dating-inspired event.

Futurist Watts Wacker definitely looks like an expert.

Working with Green Village Initiative, the WAC has assembled 10, um, expert minds.  Each hosts a table with 4 seats.  For 15 minutes, everyone chats — presumably about the expert’s area of expertise.

Then it’s on to the next randomly selected table.

There’s a break after the 1st 2 sessions, for food and wine; then 2 more tables.

After the 4th table, everyone is invited to mingle (and, I guess, drink a bit more).

The experts include:

  • Michael Aitkenhead, Staples High School environmental teacher and Wakeman Town Farm steward
  • Julie Belaga, former state representative, gubernatorial candidate, and New England director of the Environmental Protection Agency
  • Maxine Bleiweis, Westport Library director
  • David Brown, public health toxicologist
  • John Fifield, architect and innovator
  • Deepika Saksena, “zero waste manager” whose weekly household waste fills just one plastic newspaper sleeve
  • John Solder, member of the world champion Staples High School robotics team
  • Bill Taibe, chef/owner of Le Farm
  • Watts Wacker, futurist
  • Eden Werring, arts and education advocate

As the experts and their guests talk, they’ll be surrounded by Christo.  The environmental artist’s stunning works may inspire some of the discussions, says Deanne Foster, the WAC’s interim executive director.

“Art can take you to another place,” she says.  “There’s always lots of conversation here, as people look at the exhibitions on the walls.  This event is one more way to get people thinking, and engaged.”

“Expert Minds” — speed dating, arts-style — is something the 92nd Street Y might do, Foster says.

“But it’s here in Westport.  We’re lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people.”

(Tickets for “Expert Minds” are $25.  They’re available by phone at 203-222-7070, and online by clicking here.)

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Cynthia Gibb And The Healing Arts

Posted on April 8, 2011 | 11 comments

There was plenty to love about last weekend’s Westport Arts Center gala.

A full house at the Westport Country Playhouse honored Joyce  Thompson, and Cindy and John Vaccaro, for their many contributions to cultural life.  The WAC announced a $1.2 million gift from the Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation.

There was even time to tango.

But the highlight of the evening may have been Cynthia Gibb‘s passionate speech about the importance of the arts to her life — and to Westport.

Cynthia Gibb, honoring the arts last weekend. (Photo/Kathleen O'Rourke)

The actor/singer/dancer — whose career includes TV (“Search for Tomorrow,” “Fame”), movies, commercial and voice-overs (and who got her start as a model while still at Staples, and dating “Blue Lagoon” star Christopher Atkins) — says that her talk helped her realize how much her youth in Westport impacted who she is today.

“I realize now that the arts were very healing for me,” she said earlier this week.

“They gave me the freedom to explore my life in ways I might not have.  The arts have been joyful, cathartic, painful, and ultimately a gift that’s been so emotionally satisfying.”

In fact, Cynthia — whose parents moved from Vermont to Westport in 1967 specifically for the arts — said, “I don’t know if I’d had done all this if I hadn’t grown up here.  From the beginning of school, and throughout the years, I was exposed to drama, music and dance.  Dorothy Straub, John Hanulik, Al Pia — where would I be without those people?”

She noted that it’s not just artists who benefit from the arts.  Westport history classes, for example, teach that what goes on in society — politically, religiously and economically — is reflected in its art.

Cynthia Gibb

Cynthia spent 30 years in Los Angeles, “surrounded by people who make their living in the arts.”  Even there, though, she did not find the same support for the arts as here.

People still move to Westport for the arts, she said.  Two years ago, she did too.

Her children are enjoying arts education here — and academics, and athletics.

Meanwhile, Cynthia offers singers, actors and public speakers instruction in vocal technique, performance coaching and career management advice.

So there she was onstage at last weekend’s event.  She talked about Westport and the arts, and appreciated the chance to give back to the town.  She’s still doing what she loves, in the town that instilled a passion for it in her.

Though, she said, “I had a tough time doing the tango up there.”

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Out Of South Africa

Posted on April 5, 2011 | Comments Off on Out Of South Africa

There are many routes to becoming executive director of the Westport Arts Center.

Peter A.H. Van Heerden’s started in South Africa, and ended with a woman.

The Cape Town native spent over a year flying across the Atlantic, as a romantic relationship bloomed.  During visits, he discovered the WAC’s Friday night programs.

In early March, he moved here permanently.  Around the same time, the arts organization advertised for a new executive director.  It was perfect timing — and a perfect fit.

Peter Van Heerden (Photo: Helen Klisser During)

Van Heerden — who takes over officially on July 1 — has 14 years of experience in the performing arts.  From 2004 through 2010 he was founder and artistic director of the Erf 81 Cultural Collective, a Cape Town nonprofit where artists, performers, historians and architects developed and produced creative projects in theater, art and new media.

Previously he served as a senior lecturer in live performance and a development director, also in Cape Town.

He has a BA degree in drama and classical civilization from Rhodes University in South Africa, and a masters in theatre and performance, cum laude, from the University of Cape Town.

Westport, of course, is not South Africa.  But Van Heerden has spent plenty of time — both before he knew about the job, and after getting it — understanding his new town’s artistic heritage.

“I’ve read quite a few articles, and heard many stories, of how this was an arts colony,” he says.  “I know it was an artists’ bohemia.”

The WAC  attempts to leverage that history, 21st century-style.

“It seems there’s always a lot going on there,” Van Heerden says.  “It’s a lively place.  People don’t just look at art.  There’s a film component, community outreach — it’s a very interesting way of presenting art.”

The new executive director calls himself “a strong advocate of using art as a vital tool to integrate culture and heritage.  I try to break down walls, so art can be discussed and understood, socially and as a community.”

He is a firm believer in life-long education.  “Adults can always learn — and they can learn from kids,” Van Heerden notes.  “The Westport Arts Center is a place where adults and children can learn together.”

He looks forward to “nurturing, growing programs, and helping the staff do their jobs well.”

Van Heerden says the WAC currently serves the youth and older demographics well.  He hopes to engage the middle population — “people who work in New York, or spend a lot of time working hard around here” — as well.

However, he’s not talking about specific initiatives just yet.  “I’m just starting to get set, so I’ll keep quiet for the moment,” Van Heerden says.

“But there are definitely ideas cooking in my mind.”

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Sconset Art Stroll

Posted on May 18, 2010 | 4 comments

Emerging artists — and Westporters hoping to discover the next wave of great artists — get a chance to meet this Thursday evening  (May 20).

Sconset Square shops will open their doors for an “Art Stroll.”  From 6-8 p.m., 66 works in a variety of media will be shown.   “Emerging artists” must never have had a solo show or gallery representation.

Refreshments will be offered from Mirabelle Cheese Shop’s traveling fromagerie.  Also:  “emerging specialty wines” from Country Liquor Store, music, and “a cozy fire pit” by Gault.

On Sunday (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), art will be available at Sconset.  There will be demonstrations by professional artists, musical performances, works from the Toquet Hall student art competition — and a chance to respond to the question “What inspires you?”  (Answers will be tied to a tree, for all to see.)

Finally at Sconset Square on Sunday:  a Tesla electric car.

What’s that got to do with art?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Tesla is where “art and technology meet face to face.”  A Tesla official will discuss the car as an art form.

No word on what’s more expensive:  a Tesla, or art by emerging artists.

(Thursday’s and Sunday’s events are sponsored by Art by Local, a collaboration between the Westport Downtown Merchants Association and Westport Arts Center.)

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Posted in Arts, Downtown

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No Exit

Posted on April 3, 2010 | 12 comments

It’s taken me a long time to figure out what’s wrong with this sign, at the Westport Arts Center parking lot on Riverside Avenue.

Finally, I got it.  And it’s not 1 problem — it’s 3.

  1. “Exit” is underlined — but it’s the wrong word.  Underlining emphasizes a word — but the word that should be emphasized is not, not “exit.”  Underlining “exit” makes drivers who look quickly think it is the exit.
  2. All the words are the same size.  Who will even bother to read this?  It needs a good graphic to grab drivers’ attention — a “stop” hand, a red slash, an exclamation point, maybe something bold and italicized!
  3. What’s with the quotation marks around “danger”?  It looks almost mocking — this is “dangerous,” ho ho.  All sign makers should be required to take a course in design.  And punctuation.

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Westport’s Divine Comedy

Posted on April 1, 2010 | 2 comments

Roz Chast, at tonight's reception.

Tonight’s Westport Arts Center opening of “Divine Comedy” — featuring the works of Roz Chast, the New Yorker cartoonist who is to nebbishness what Michelangelo was to God, and R. Crumb, for whom whatever else he does in life will always be overshadowed by his “Cheap Thrills” album art for Janis Joplin — was a high-spirited affair.

The Arts Center offered up clever art, clever art patrons, and wine.  It was a strong opening for an important show.

“06880” will refrain from making the obvious joke that such a reception was redundant, because what is Westport life if not one big cartoon?

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Local Artists To Get Hung

Posted on February 6, 2010 | 3 comments

Art By Local — an awkwardly named, but intriguing and inspired week-long event — won’t open until May.  But if you’re a local “emerging artist,” you can prepare for the juried exhibition and sale now.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old, live in Fairfield County and have no gallery representation or previous solo exhibitions.  Artists may enter up to 5 works of art in any media.

Entries must be accompanied by a $20 fee, a CD of up to 5 works, an artist statement and biography.  All work must have been completed after January 2008, and priced under $1,000.  The deadline is March 19.

Art work will be displayed in retail stores and offices in Sconset Square from May 15-23.  The show opens with a preview party on May 20, and closes with a day of art demonstrations, entertainment, food and activities.

It is sponsored by the Downtown Merchants Association and Westport Arts Center.

(For more information and an application form, click here or call 203-505-8716.)

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Sally’s Very Special Place

Posted on December 1, 2009 | 10 comments

Everyone loves Sally White.  But I’ve loved her longer than most.

Sally is the long-time and very legendary owner of Sally’s Place, the closet-sized, jam-packed, homey and way cool record store, located on the 2nd floor of a little shopping center at the un-chain, non-women’s-clothing-boutique end of Main Street.

The wonderful Sally White

I first met Sally when she managed Klein’s record department.  (Newcomers:  Klein’s was a department store at the site of the current Banana Republic.)  Long before it folded, Klein’s torpedoed its record department.  Sally was sent packing, but instead of wallowing in bitterness she took Klein’s lemons, and made Sally’s Place lemonade.

Sally came late to jazz, but she took to it with almost religious zeal.  Her shop — not easy to find, but unforgettable once you found it — became a mecca for jazz aficionados throughout the Northeast.  She’s also a blues expert, and more than once I’ve seen her deep in discussion with Keith Richards about obscure bluesmen.  Most times he listens.  She talks.

Sally’s encyclopedic knowledge includes show tunes, easy listening and ’60s rock.  She remembers nearly every customer, and quickly learns their favorites — but is never shy about suggesting an artist or even genre outside their comfort zone.

In a store crammed with CDs and vinyl, she knows exactly where to find whatever you want to buy — or she wants you to try.

Now a confession:  I have not been inside Sally’s wonderful Place in years.  Like too many folks, my music collections consists entirely of bits and bytes.  I have thousands of songs on iTunes.  I listen to Pandora on my computer and iPhone.  My enormous CD collection is collecting dust, and I took my turntable to the dump back in the Reagan administration.

I know, though, that if I walked up those steps to Sally’s Place — and, thanks to writing this post, I realize I probably should — she will greet me not with a quizzical look, or as a long-lost customer.  She will smile broadly, hug me, call me “Danny,” and point me in the direction of music only she knows I’ve missed, but will love.

(Sally White will be honored by the Westport Arts Center on Thursday, Dec. 10, with a special holiday jazz party.  The 7 p.m. event includes the rhythm section of Adam Nussbaum, Rob Aries and Brian Torff, plus guest artists.  It’s sold out — but if you want further information, call 203-222-7070.)

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“Letters Home”

Posted on November 5, 2009 | 1 comment

Veteran’s Day is a holiday that Westport hardly celebrates.  More like “hurriedly observes” — if that.

Next Wednesday, things change.

This Veteran’s Day, the Westport Country Playhouse and Westport Arts Center team up to honor our vets.  Noted actor Brian Dennehy hosts a Playhouse presentation of “Letters Home” — a dramatic production of actual letters written by US troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the Playhouse lobby, the WAC will install an exhibition.  “Daily Exchanges:  US Soldiers in Iraq — The Ordinary in Images” features photographs and videos depicting the everyday life of troops serving in war.

Staples grad Spencer Platt — a world-renowned photojournalist – will be represented in the exhibit.

A reception and guided tour of the art exhibit begins at 6 p.m. next Wednesday, followed by “Letters Home” at 7.

A panel discussion follows the play.  Afterward, curator Terri Smith and artist/veteran Paul Kaiser will comment on the exhibition.

(Tickets to “Letters Home” are $15 for the general public, $10 for veterans.  Call 203-227-4177, or click here.  For more information on the exhibition, call 203-222-7070, or click here.  The art exhibition will also be on display in the Playhouse lobby on Thurs., Nov. 12 from 1-6 p.m., and Fri., Nov. 13 from noon-6 p.m.)

Paul Kaiser's photograph

Paul Kaiser's photograph will be on exhibit at the Westport Country Playhouse's Veterans Day salute.

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Inspiring Teens To Tell Their Tales

Posted on October 20, 2009 | 1 comment

Tracy Sugarman and Bill Buckley have spent their lives using film, words and illustrations to affect social change.

Bill Buckley trains his camera on the past -- and the future

Bill Buckley trains his camera on the past -- and the future

Now in their 80s — but not slowing down — they brought their 20-minute film, “Immigrant from America,” to the Westport Arts Center last night.  Their mission:  to inspire youngsters from Westport and Bridgeport to keep up the fight.

About 20 students from Bridge Academy — the renowned Bridgeport charter school — and 10 involved with the Westport Youth Film Festival watched the documentary, a probing look at how African Americans used education, economic strength and politics to overcome racial barriers.

Tracy and Bill then led a discussion about stereotypes that remain, 40 years after their film was made.  They challenged the teenagers from both communities to look outside themselves, and work toward a better world.

The filmmakers urged the Westport and Bridgeport youngsters to tell their own stories.  They can use traditional mediums like movies, art and literature, new ones like computer graphics and the internet — and those that have not yet been invented.

Everyone has something to say.  Personal stories are powerful.  After hearing from 2 men who have spent decades telling their own stories, and helping others tell theirs, last night’s audience seems ready to pick up the torch.

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