GALLERY 364 & GREENMARKET BAY RIDGE STARTS MAY 2nd, 2009 8AM

Councilman Gentile Welcomes Greenmarket
Back to Bay Ridge
BAY RIDGE−The Bay Ridge Greenmarket is coming back!

After continued negotiations with Greenmarket, a program under the Council on the Environment of New York City, and Walgreens, Councilman Vincent Gentile is pleased to announce that the Bay Ridge Greenmarket will kick off a long, fruitful season starting Saturday, May 2.

“The Greenmarket was our town square last fall, and I’m thrilled to welcome the farmers, entertainers and artists back for a full and fruitful season this year,” Councilman Gentile said. “Greenmarket and Walgreens both deserve a big ‘thank you’ for their commitment to bringing the market back.”

The Greenmarket will be located on the same site as last year: the Walgreens parking lot, located at the intersection of 95th Street and 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge. The season will run from May 2 through November 2009; the market will be open every Saturday from 8 AM to 3 PM.

The market’s opening day will be kicked off with a performance by The Banjo Rascals, which performs music ranging from 1890s ragtime to blues to 1950s rock ‘n roll. Georgine Benvenuto of Gallery 364 will be back on site each week, featuring the work of local artists and photographers in a fence show along the 95th Street side of the market.
The Greenmarket will welcome the following farmers/vendors to its site each weekend:
Bufala di Vermont (selling buffalo cheese, yogurt and meat)
New York Beef (selling grass-fed beef)
Bread Alone (selling bread and baked goods)
American Seafood (selling fresh, wild-caught fish and shellfish)
Caral Farm (selling vegetables)
Alex’s Farm (selling vegetables, fruit, plants and cut/potted flowers)

Walgreens plans to open in July. At that time, both the Greenmarket and Walgreens will co-exist on Saturdays, with the market occupying the larger front section of the parking lot (that fronts on 3rd Avenue). Vehicles will be able to access the parking lot by the entrances on either 94th or 95th Streets.

Bay Ridge Festival Of The Arts

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR FRIENDS AT THE FESTIVAL:

THANK YOU BCAT"S - Neighborhood Beat

BCAT - Neighborhood Beat--click link

As we approach our 2nd Anniversity at Gallery 364 on May 17th, 2009, we would like to send a special thank you to BCAT for helping us get on the map!

Thanks to Producer & Director, Kecia Cole,
Hosts Charles "Bay Ridge" Otey and Larry Morrish
and our dear friend/fellow artist & interviewer Liz Gassimi.

We hope you enjoy the segment from our opening night May 17h, 2007,
(click link at top), we look forward to seeing you at Gallery 364 Bay Ridge.

--Georgine Benvenuto,Founder/Curator

Award Winning Bay Ridge Figurative Painter David Jon Kassan To Guest Judge At Gallery 364 During April Art Competition "Brooklyn Neighborhoods"

Following his initial drawing studies at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, David attended Syracuse University in New York, where he studied under the auspices of Jerome Witkin, Robert Dacey, and Sarah McCoubrey learning a complete painter should have a strong grasp of the picture making process and a well thought out concept behind a painting. While earning his B.F.A, he was able to take advantage of the school's exceptional Art History Department, and on completion of his degree, moved to Brooklyn to continue his studies at The National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York, where he had the good fortune to study with a number of artists whom he respects, including: Aaron Shikler, Mary Beth Mackenzie, David Levine, William Behnkin, Harvey Dinnerstein, Burton Silverman, Steven Assael, and Costa Vavagiakis.

His honors and awards from Arts organizations and magazines include: The National Academy of Design School of Fine Art, The Portrait Society of America, The Art Students League of New York, The Artist's Magazine, The Society of Illustrators, and Communication Arts, The Newington-Cropsey Foundation's Travel Award, which enabled him to enrich his Art History studies with classes in Italian Renaissance from the British Institute in Florence, Italy. While there, he assembled his thoughts and sketches into a limited edition book titled "Lentamente Italia". David currently writes an ongoing feature for Drawing magazine on anatomy and also contributes to myamericanartist.com. Recently his work has graced the covers of American Artist's Drawing Magazine(winter 09) as well as Australia's contemporary art publication Emtpy Magazine. David's work is currently featured in Die Gestalten's recent showcase book of young contemporary artists called The Upset.

He has lectured at Universities and schools around the nation including The Rochester Institute of Technology, Western Illinois University, Syracuse University, The National Academy School of Fine Art, and The University of Alabama, The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. He has taught painting workshops at The National Academy of Design and the Salmagundi Center of American Art, NYC. David teaches international workshops as well, including stops in Australia with the Practicing Artists Network (PAN) in Byron Bay and in Portugal with the Artistas Sociedade de Faro. He has also served on the faculty of the Andreeva Portrait Academy, Santa Fe, The Scottsdale Artists School, Scottsdale, AZ and the Richeson School of Art, Kimberly, WI.
Exhibitions include: The United Nations in New York, Gallery Henoch, The Park Avenue Armory, The National Academy of Design Museum of Fine Art, Gallery 1199, The Cork Gallery, Lincoln Center, and The Salmagundi Club and nationally at the Mobile Museum of Art, AL, Art Chicago, The San Francisco International Art Exposition, Los Angeles Art Show, The Museum of American Illustration, Huntington House Museum, and The Wethersfield Museum.

David's work has been placed in important collections domestically and worldwide, most notably; the collections of the Art Students League of New York, The Bhammer Family of Mumbai, India, Seven Bridges Foundation, Greenwich, CT, The Howard A. Tullman Collection, Chicago, IL,

David Jon Kassan is currently represented by Gallery Henoch, New York. To see David's work online please go to http://davidkassan.com

Award Winning Photographer Todd Maisel To Guest Judge "Brooklyn Neighborhood's" April Competition At Gallery 364

Todd Maisel is an award winning staff photographer for the New York Daily News, specializing in both still photography of spot news events, and more recently videography for nydailynews.com. He has been a member of the staff since 1999.

He is currently vice president of the New York Press Photographers Association where he also served as chairman of the Gallery committee in organizing the Forbes Magazine Gallery. He is currently Director of Region 2 NPPA and an adjunct professor at the College of Technology, City University of New York. Maisel also serves on the board of the Northern Short Course and contribute to its courses and organization.

He has been a journalist since 1984 since graduating from New York University School of Journalism. He also attended classes at School of Visual Arts and the New School.

In 1998, he was named Photographer of the Year by the New York Press Photographers Association, the first freelancer to ever obtain that distinction. He has won numerous photography awards from that organization since then. He also three times named by the New York Press Club to be “Spot News Photographer of the Year.”

Since joining the staff of the News he has specialized in spot news, but he has done many features and sporting events including the Subway Series, Superbowl, and US Open. Most notable was his work at the World Trade Center where he took numerous photos of the terrorist attack at great personal risk. He was honored by the National Press Photographers Association at their national convention in Minneapolis with the Humanitarian Award for saving the life of a firefighter trapped in the debris after the collapse of one of the two towers, assisting in the rescue of injured photographer David Handschuh and for his work during rescue operations. The Uniform Firefighters Association also honored him for his photo and rescue work.

In 2003, he spent nearly two months embedded with the military, his military units entering Iraq and holding important shipping ports and clearing mines in southern Iraq.

Maisel was also an integral part of the Daily News team of photographers during both the Boston Democratic Convention and the New York Republican Convention.

Nationally, Maisel garnered a honorable mention in spot news and first place in the National Press Photographers Association Region 2 in spot news photography. He also received an award for his work as Associate Director for Region 2.

During the past 20-years, Maisel has been both a photojournalist and journalist. He served as executive editor of the weekly newspaper Town and Village in Manhattan for seven years. During that time, he created a picture intensive newspaper, while continuing his photography throughout the city.

He is married 16 -years and has two children, Lucian, and Alana. He resides in Marine Park, Brooklyn, and has lived in Brooklyn all of his life.