Bronx Speaks: Making Place featured works of art created and exhibited in the borough. Pictured here is “Playing with Real Dolls” by Dennesa Usher. (Story and photos by Minyoung Son)
The artwork included paintings, photography, mixed media, sculpture, and site-installations.
“A place always speaks about something, and it always reflects the culture,” said Sarah Corona, the curator of the exhibition, explaining the theme.
Corona said every piece reflects different interpretations of the Bronx by the artists. “The Bronx is a very vibrant place with a lot of different cultures, and the artists defined the Bronx using various media,” she said.
“We wanted to show that there are diverse ways to talk about the Bronx,” said Gail Nathan, the executive director of the Bronx River Art Center.
The New York Armory and the Bronx Arts Alliance produced the show, which ran from March 4-8 at the Bronx Museum of the Arts.
The opening reception took place on March 6, the Armory show’s officially designated Bronx day. A wide range of New Yorkers, including a group of children, came for the art, food and music.
The Bronx Artist Documentary Project is a borough-wide collaborative effort involving Bronx photographers documenting Bronx visual artists at work in their studios or other Bronx venues. Picture here is artist Jay Moss photographed by Lauren Click.
This photo illustration, “MainLAND_MIX” by Leenda Bonilla, represents the historical connection between the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Artist Bernard Olshan photographed by Ira Merritt
Artist Heidi Johnson photographed by Danny R Peralta
Artist Jeanine Alfieri photographed by Lisa Kahane
Artist Anne Humanfeld photographed by Ron Terner
Artist Evan Bishop photographed by Adam Reyes
 
“Clasped Hands/ Proposal for the South Bronx Culture Trail Markers,” 2014 by John Ahearn
“It is so great to watch our growing art community,” said Danyeli Rodriguez, a senior at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a Bronx resident. “It’s just fascinating.”
Parents of the children came to take pictures of them standing in front of their artwork.
One group of children was excited to see “Paper Paradise,” a colored-paper garden they created in the Bronx Children’s Museum’s after school program. “Paper Paradise was created by our children, inspired by exploring urban gardening,” said Natalie Wood, program director at the Bronx Children’s Museum. “We also brought the kids to the MoMA to have them inspired.”
“I came here to support the local Bronx art community,” said exhibit attendee Meredith Leverich, a resident of Queens.
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