Retired HPD photographer Larry Racioppo spent months without electricity after Hurricane Sandy rebuilding his Rockaway Park home. His photos from that time, and of his neighborhood over the decade since, are the subject of an exhibit on display this month at the Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity (RISE) in Far Rockaway.
“The arts are a form of embodied play that surpasses verbal processing and allows us to explore, connect with ourselves and others, and ultimately build or rebuild the muscles of imagination when life circumstances or the experience of trauma has taken them away.”
This week, City Limits’ Spanish-language reporter and editor Daniel Parra talks about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on Latino arts organizations in the city and nationwide.
Latino artists report lower rates of health insurance, greater economic losses and higher unemployment. A higher number of them have seen their health or their family’s health directly impacted by COVID-19.
Artistas latinos reportan: mayores pérdidas económicas, mayor desempleo, en mayor medida han visto su salud o la de su familia afectada directamente por el coronavirus y en un mayor porcentaje no tienen seguro médico.
Amid the fear and isolation of the pandemic, art discussions, history lectures and even new virtual ukulele lessons stimulate memory and keep older adults connected.
‘Pretend you were talking to an NRA member in a low-population, low-crime state like New Hampshire or Utah, where the rate of gun violence is much lower than in New York. If that person wondered into the exhibit, what would you want them to take away from it?’
‘Most people wander in here because they think it’s a bathroom or the subway.’
There are no more masses, weddings or funerals at St. Stephen’s Church on East 28th Street. Like many parishes around the city, it has been closed. But unique artwork inside could help preserve the structure.
We invited artists from a current (and very political) show at one New York gallery to talk about what their art meant or tell us about the person behind each piece.
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Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
