The Nature Conservancy in New York is pleased to announce the selected artists for the 2023 Andy Warhol Visual Arts Program. Jeremy Dennis of Southampton will be the artist in residence, leading a photography workshop during his residency in November. Isadora Capraro (Southampton and New York City), Mor Keshet (Huntington), and Lora Lomuscio (Shelter Island) are the other selected artists who will each lead art-making workshops this fall on the East End The Warhol Visual Artists Program is an annual artist call and series of art-making workshops tapping into nature as a source for inspiration and creation. The program is based out of the Andy Warhol Preserve, an ocean-front nature preserve located on Long Island’s Montauk peninsula, donated by the Andy Warhol Foundation in 1992. 

“The interrelationship of art and science is on full view at the Andy Warhol Preserve, and in so many other habitats where the magic and science of nature is permitted to coexist with our modern world,” said Bill Ulfelder, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy in New York. “When we allow ourselves a moment to experience the beauty of nature, we are reminded of why it is so important to combat the urgent crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. We are honored to host Jeremy Dennis, Isadora Capraro, Mor Keshet, and Lora Lomuscio this fall as they share their artistic practice and, as always, incredibly excited to see what attendees create.”

About the Artists:

Jeremy Dennis is a contemporary fine art photographer and a tribal member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, NY. In his work, he explores indigenous identity, culture, and assimilation. Dennis holds an MFA from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, and a BA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University, NY. He currently lives and works in Southampton, New York on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. 

Isadora Capraro lives and works between NYC and Southampton. Capraro studied Fine Arts at University Manuel Belgrano, Buenos Aires. In 2020 she participated in the Artist Takeover Residency at The Southampton Arts Center. Her works combine her interest in color theory and underwater habitats. Her workshop will extend this interest to participants, who will use ocean and the nature as the muse for works in charcoal and pastels. 

Lora Lomuscio  is a Shelter Island based ceramic artist. Inspired by nature, her functional ceramic works often feature textured surfaces and layered applications of glaze. Lomuscio has a BA in Art History from Vassar College and a MID in Design from Pratt Institute. A Shelter Island native, Lora has been involved in art and education on the East End of Long Island for over fifteen years. She will lead a family-friendly workshop  in which objects gathered from nature are used to form impressions on clay. 

Mor Keshet is a New York based creative arts therapist with over 20 years of clinical experience, specializing in the treatment of trauma, intergenerational dynamics, relational intelligence, narcissistic abuse, social justice and consciousness development.  Working to develop the field of EcoArt Therapy, Mor is driven to help mend the fractured attachment between humans and the rest of the natural world. Her workshop will cultivate a greater sense of wellbeing and connection to oneself and the environment through guided meditation, discussion, and EcoArt phototherapy. In addition to her work as an art Therapist, Mor is an ardent nature photographer.

Program information and registration pages will go live on nature.org in August (TBD). The Andy Warhol Preserve is open to hikers year-round, from sunrise to sunset and free to visit. Part of a 2,400-acre protected area in Montauk, the preserve’s strategic location in the Atlantic flyway makes it an important feeding ground and stop-over site for neo-tropical, migrating birds. The preserve is also home to some rare animals, including the eastern newt, spotted turtle, blue spotted salamander, eastern hognose snake, and the bog copper (butterfly). Other species found there include shadbush, big tooth aspen, American holly, bayberry, red maple, black cherry, beech, yarrow and blue-eyed grass. To learn more about the Andy Warhol Preserve and The Nature Conservancy, visit tnc.org/newyork.  

Daniel Jones, a Dallas native whose work made him a popular figure among prominent entertainers, has died. He was 41, according to KTVT-TV (Channel 11).

The cause of death was not disclosed by Jones’ wife, Breshae, who announced his death on Instagram on July 20.

Jones’ was a pianist, composer, director, producer, artist and Janet Jackson’s musical director.

“I am speechless. I am heartbroken. I am lost,” Jones’ wife wrote. She also asked for time to process the news. “I miss him so much already. I don’t know what to do.”

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His death drew tributes from industry elites, including Jackson, Erykah Badu and Justin Timberlake.

Jones worked with such artists as Eminem, Rihanna, The Weeknd, Demi Lovato, Jay-Z and more, according to music publications.

Like Badu, Jones was a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Badu paid tribute to Jones on Sunday at the end of her set at American Airlines Center on the “Unfollow Me” tour.

She led the crowd in collectively saying his name. “We love you,” she said. “Travel safe.”

In June, Jackson stopped at Dos Equis Pavilion on her “Together Again” tour. Jones, who directed the show, according to The Hype Magazine, told the outlet how he works with choreographer Gil Duldulao in preparing Jackson’s shows.

“The core band has been with her a few years, I’ve been with her for 15 years, and Gil … basically forever,” he told the magazine. “We know what she likes, and we flow off of that.”

Jackson paid tribute on Instagram.

“Daniel Jones was more than an incredible talent, he was a brother, an energy, a light. While his time here with us was cut short, his memory will live on strong and forever. We are all so blessed to have known you. May you rest in eternal paradise,” she wrote.

In 2017, Jones returned to Dallas with Jackson. He used the opportunity to visit with Booker T. Washington students, surprising them with Jackson’s band and backup dancers.

“Back then I learned that I had to just sit at somebody’s feet and learn, and so it’s always good to give back,” Jones told WFAA at the time.

He also offered advice to young entertainers.

“Persistence, staying humble, showing up on time and being prepared, and I would tell any young musician or young artist, find a good mentor.”

Jones’ wife posted details of his funeral service on Instagram. A visitation and musical tribute is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 4 at Disciple Central Community Church in DeSoto. A “Home Going Celebration” is scheduled for noon Aug. 5 at Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas. The family has requested no pictures or videos be taken at either service.

About MTA Arts & Design 

MTA Arts & Design encourages the use of public transportation by providing visual and performing arts in the New York metropolitan area. The Percent for Art program is one of the largest and most diverse collections of site-specific public art in the world, with more than 350 commissions by world-famous, mid-career and emerging artists. Arts & Design produces Posters, Digital Art, photographic Lightbox exhibitions, as well as live musical performances in stations through its Music Under New York (MTA MUSIC) program, and the Poetry in Motion program in collaboration with the Poetry Society of America. It serves the millions of people who rely upon MTA subways and commuter trains and strives to create meaningful connections between sites, neighborhoods, and people. To learn more, visit mta.info/art or follow on Twitter at @MTAArtsDesign. 

About WE ❤️ NYC

WE ❤️ NYC is a cross-sector campaign to showcase the city’s strengths and mobilize New Yorkers to make sure this remains the greatest city in the world. The citywide campaign celebrates New Yorkers who are making a difference — the “Do-ers” — and features opportunities for civic engagement that everyone can join. No taxpayer dollars were used for this effort, and all New Yorkers are invited to get involved at welovenyc.nyc. 

About Atlantic Records 

Atlantic Records celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2023. Founded in New York City, the label literally grew from a one-room operation into one of the world’s preeminent music companies. Atlantic has released a string of recordings that have had a profound impact on the course of modern music, its rich history including such musical icons as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Coltrane, and Led Zeppelin. The Atlantic Records Group roster today includes many of the world’s most popular recording artists and soundtracks. Artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Sia, Coldplay, Charlie Puth, Janelle Monáe, Jack Harlow, Death Cab for Cutie, Matchbox Twenty, Lil Uzi Vert, Gucci Mane, Melanie Martinez, Rob Thomas, Skrillex, Roddy Ricch and many more, as well as soundtracks including The Greatest Showman, Hamilton, Fast and Furious, Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, Jagged Little Pill The Musical, the Spinning Gold soundtrack, and more.

At just 5 years old, Alicia Velasquez began making clothes for her dolls. Using her seamstress mother’s fabric scraps and her father’s beadwork as inspiration, she would staple or duct tape together her creations.

“Fashion is something I always wanted to do since I was a little girl,” she said. “I wanted to be a fashion designer and create. My dad taught me everything you could think of. I was always by his side,” she said. 

Today, Ms. Velasquez is the artist and entrepreneur behind The House of Dotł’izhi, 327 Kirkwood Ave., Iowa City, the only indigenous-owned brick and mortar shop in Iowa City.

“I’m excited and it’s an honor to be the first,” she said. “But, it’s also sad and there should be more Native-owned businesses.”

Ms. Velasquez lived in Arizona during her high school years, eventually meeting her husband of almost 25 years and having four children. She has lived in Oregon, Idaho, and Oklahoma before her transition to Iowa in December of 2021.

The meaning behind the business’s name originates from the western Apache term for turquoise. The stone, which is regularly used by Ms. Velasquez in her art and jewelry, represents a woman’s strength, beauty and worth.

As an Apache, Spanish and Yaqui woman, Ms. Velasquez strives to source her materials in traditional and sustainable ways. For turquoise, she travels to the San Carlos Apache Mine, where she chips at the rocks and collects the stones by hand, or she contacts Native elders in Idaho to hunt for stones.

“I am here to support, help, and show that Native American art is not just dreamcatchers, feathers, and dresses,” Ms. Velasquez said. “We are allowed to evolve our art and fashion trends.”

In 2019, Ms. Velasquez attended Phoenix Fashion Week. Up until this point, she said she had been indecisive about focussing on creating either jewelry or clothing for her business. She eventually chose jewelry.

Ms. Velasquez primarily sells customized and bespoke jewelry. These limited edition and one-of-a-kind pieces typically start at $200, depending on the materials and labor. Creating them can take up to 20 hours to complete. The boutique’s top selling items are turquoise studs and beaded fringe earrings. 

She also teaches other local Native Americans how to do traditional beadwork.

Her next endeavor is to find a bigger space to establish a Native American cultural center in Iowa City.

“I have a responsibility ro make sure my people know the arts, crafts, and traditions our culture has,” she said.

Jeffrey Gibson, a Colorado-born, New York-based artist who is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, will represent the United States at the next Venice Biennale (20 April-24 November 2024, becoming the first Indigenous artist to have a solo exhibition in the US Pavilion.

Gibson’s work mixes many traditions, combining techniques from Indigenous beading, weaving, metalwork and more with the formal language of hard-edged abstract painting, Pop Art sculpture and more, spanning media such as sculpture, painting, installation and performance. He is perhaps best known for suspended punching-bag sculptures that incorporate elaborate threads, fringes, jingles and beaded text, as well as large-scale paintings that feature stylised text rendered in boldly colourful patterns.

For his exhibition in Venice, Gibson will create interventions inside the US Pavilion, on its exterior and in its courtyard, incorporating elements of performance and multimedia installations in addition to static works. Through partnerships with the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and Bard College in New York State, the pavilion will also incorporate educational programming. This will include bringing students from the Institute of American Indian Arts to Venice in the summer of 2024 and an educational convening in autumn.

“The last 15 years of my career have been about turning inward and trying to make something I really wanted to see in the world,” Gibson, reflecting on his selection for the Biennale, told The New York Times. “Now I want to expand the way people think about Indigeneity.”

Gibson’s presentation in Venice is being co-commissioned by Kathleen Ash-Milby (Navajo Nation), the Portland Art Museum’s curator of Native American art; Louis Grachos, the executive director of Site Santa Fe; and independent curator Abigail Winograd.

“Throughout his career, Jeffrey has challenged us to look at the world differently through his innovative and vibrant work,” Ash-Milby—who is also the first Native American co-curator in the 129-year history of the US Pavilion in Venice—said in a statement. “His inclusive and collaborative approach is a powerful commentary on the influence and persistence of Native American cultures within the United States and globally, making him the ideal representative for the United States at this moment.”

Winograd, who is co-curating the pavilion with Ash-Milby, added in a statement: ““I have long believed in the ability of Jeffrey’s work to be a force for positive change and to create the possibility of a radically inclusive future. It is my hope that as a global audience experiences his work through the Biennale, they will also find it to be a source of joy and healing, something sorely needed in a world driven by conflict and crisis.”

As is customary, in addition to the Portland Museum of Art in Oregon and Site Santa Fe in New Mexico, the US Pavilion is being organised in cooperation with the US State Department.

Gibson’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the US over the past decade, including major solo exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston in 2013 and the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art in 2018 (which subsequently toured to the Blanton Museum of Art in Texas) and a presentation at the 2016 Site Santa Fe Biennial (which also then toured). His work figured prominently in the 2017 Desert X Biennial and the 2019 Whitney Biennial. Last May, the National Gallery of Art acquired a major work by Gibson; he is also represented in the collections of many major US museums including the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Denver Art Museum, SFMoMA, Seattle Art Museum and many others.

The US was most recently represented in Venice by Simone Leigh, who also transformed the exterior of the country’s 1930 Palladian pavilion in the Giardini. Prior to Leigh, the US was represented by Martin Puryear in 2019 and Mark Bradford in 2017.

Artists for Trauma’s goal is to enrich the lives of trauma survivors through creativity.

The multimedia artist is known for incorporating a Native American perspective into legacies of modernism and craft that define today’s cultural foundations.

The weekend arts scene, offering a history of Indigenous performance and a roller coaster stashed inside a museum, has breadth and depth that is worth a trip.