Who? A snowy owl, that’s who, which will grace the Broadway Malls
at W. 148th St.
‘Eco birds’ on B’way
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
The Broadway Malls will be
“winging it” this spring.
Starting May 17, a dozen
large wooden birds will be nestled in
some of the planted medians between
64th and 166th Sts. along Broadway.
“Every day, thousands of people
pass by the Broadway Malls, and
these whimsical additions will make
that experience a lot more fun,” said
Mitchell J. Silver, the Department of
Parks and Recreation commissioner.
“By bringing art out into our parks
and public spaces, we are adding a
little magic and joy into the lives of
those who encounter it,” Silver added.
The project is part of the city’s
50-years-and-running Art in the
Parks program.
The larger-than-life creations are
meant not only to beautify the Upper
West Side, but remind passersby of
the cost of climate change.
The subjects chosen for the art
installation are from a group of 145
birds — that either migrate or are
native to New York — threatened by
climate change. A total of 314 North
American bird species are threatened.
Sculptor Nicolas Holiber will build
each bird out of reclaimed wood from
the city.
The wood in the artworks intentionally
will be left untreated. This
will allow nature to make its mark on
the pieces, which will drive home the
point that climate change poses a serious
threat to wildlife.
A 2014 study by the National
Audubon Society revealed that the
range where about half of the 650
North American bird species can live
and breed is expected to shrink by 50
percent by 2080 — and that as their
ranges shrink, birds increasingly will
be forced farther north. As many as
10 states could lose their state bird by
that year, as well.
Each sculpture will include a
plaque with information about that
specifi c bird, the threat it faces and
what people can do to help.
According to a Parks Department
representative, the installation will be
up through January 2020.
The installation is being presented
in partnership with Parks, the Broadway
Mall Association, Gitler &____
Gallery, at 150th St. and Broadway,
and the New York City Audubon society.
212 - 254 - 1109 | www.theaterforthenewcity.net | 155 First Ave. NY, NY 10003
Sign in the Six O’Clock Sky
Written By Arnol Schulman
Directed by Shela Xoregos
Thur - Sat 8PM, Sun 3PM
March 21 - March 31
FAUST
by Czechoslovak-American
Marionette Theatre (CAMT)
Directed by Vit Horejs
Fri - Sat 8PM, Sun 3PM
March 21 - April 07
Still At Risk
Written by Tim Pinckney
Directed by Carl Andress
Tue- Wed 7PM, Thu - Sat 8pm, Sat - Sun 3PM
March 20 - March 31
Acker Awards honor
D’town’s avant-garde
BY ROSE ADAMS
On Tues., March
26, the sixth annual
NY Acker
Awards will once again
honor some of the best
and brightest local contributors
to the Downtown
arts community.
Among this year’s diverse
group of recipients
are writer Cynthia Carr,
who will receive the
Candy Darling Award;
director Larry Fessenden;
squatter artist Andrew
Castrucci; Trigger, formerly
of the Continental;
Andrew Berman, director
of the Greenwich Village
Society of Historic Preservation;
musicians Chris
Iconicide and Jesse Malin;
writer Michael Carter;
and Lilah Mejia, of Why
Not Care, who will be
honored for Community
Support.
Produced by documentarian
Clayton Patterson,
the Acker Awards recognize
avant-garde artists,
The poster for this year’s NY Acker Awards.
writers, musicians and community
organizers that enliven the Downtown
arts scene. While the event’s name pays
homage to the late feminist writer Kathy
Acker, it’s also an archaic Dutch word
that means “a visible current in a river.”
This year’s Lifetime Achievement
Awards will go to Crystal Field, the cofounder
and artistic director of Theater
for the New City, and Jam Herman, an
arts and culture writer who runs a blog
called “Straight Up” on artsjournal.com.
Forty artists, writers, fi lmmakers and
community leaders in all will receive
awards — all of whom were nominated
by other community members.
Each awardee will receive a pizza
box fi lled with CDs, art and memorabilia
contributed by the other Acker
recipients. Each box will also include a
crushed coffee cup decorated with the
portrait of a late Downtown arts hero.
Artist Anthony Zito has been scavenging
and painting these found cups for
the Acker Awards ceremonies since
2016.
In addition to the recipients’ speeches,
the ceremony will feature performances
by local musicians Gryphon Rue and
Keith Patchel. This year’s sponsors are
Jump into the Light, Groupe Collective
at 198 Bowery, and Overthrow Boxing,
of 9 Bleecker St.
The NYC Acker Awards will be held
Tues., March 26, at Theater for the New
City, 155 First Ave. (between Ninth and
10th Sts). Doors open 6:30 p.m., and
event starts 7 p.m. Admission is free.
Schneps Media TVG March 21, 2019 31
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