Abrons Arts Center

Early voting and last minute applications for absentee ballots have closed (over 2 million people voted early in-person in New York state alone), but polls are open until 9 PM today! While voting may feel like a small part of our communal responsibility, it is a major way that we establish conditions of care and safety for ourselves and our neighbors. For last-minute questions or to locate your polling place, our friends at 866-Our-Vote have assembled resources for New York voters https://866ourvote.org/state/new-york/.

Fiebre de Cabina Vol. 1, which will be released on November 20, is available for pre-sale now on @bandcamp. In anticipation of the compilation release, listen to Los Problemas by Brooklyn-based electronic indie group @balunband now [link in bio]. Since breaking out of the San Juan indie scene a decade ago, transnational indie electronic band Balún has undergone a formative journey. Their long-awaited sophomore album Prisma Tropical focuses a wide field of genres and influen...ces into a revelatory sound that evokes the respective band members’ homes and the distance between them. Heavy doses of tiple, bomba barrel drum, and dembow work alongside loops and layers of shimmering synths to accomplish something that speaks explicitly to the Puerto Rican experience, yet is fluent in the language of global pop. Fiebre de Cabina Vol. 1 is produced by Abrons Arts Center, @publicaespacio, and @radioredpr as a part of La Residencia, with support from the @mellonfdn.

!! CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS !! @henrystreetsettlement is seeking extra volunteer help tomorrow and Friday at our food pantry (located at Abrons Arts Center). You would be helping the check-in process as we distribute food boxes to hundreds of community members. Shifts run from noon - 5 PM tomorrow, and from 10 AM - 3 PM on Friday (though any length of shift is welcomed). We would especially appreciate help from those who speak Mandarin or Cantonese.... Interested? Please email Jon Harper at [email protected] with your hours of availability. by @michaelloccisano / @gettyimages

https://vimeo.com/471473281 Check out our next #bts artist profile of artist and 2019 - 2020 Visual Artist AIRspace Resident Charisse Pearlina Weston, shot by Brendan Burdzinski. In Abrons Arts Center’s Main Gallery, Charisse Pearlina Weston presents her new series of work, nine physical poems, which incorporates colored glass into investigations of the fold as a spatial realm for/of Blackness. nine physical poems will be on-view from Monday Friday, 10 AM 5 PM.

Since the early days of the pandemic we’ve had to reconsider how to use our best asset: our space. This prompted the question: what is a theater without performers or an audience? For the past several months, we’ve partnered with Vision Urbana, Inc. to provide groceries to our neighbors in a safe, healthy, and socially-distanced fashion. Starting in September, we moved our food pantry efforts from Henry Street Settlement's Boys & Girls Republic to Abrons’ very own Playhouse T...heater. Recently, Getty Images photographer Michael Loccisano visited our food pantry, capturing the amazing transformation both in and around the Playhouse. Our stage is used to pack hundreds of bags of groceries weekly, while our audience is filled with produce boxes. If you’d like to sign up for the food pantry, please call the Henry Street Helpline at 347.493.2787. We’re also always looking for volunteers link in comments to fill out our Volunteer Form. Michael Loccisano (@michaelloccisano)

Take advantage of the fall weather with our two outdoor solo exhibitions from @destiny.mata and @_gogito, presented as part of @photoville Festival 2020 with support from @duggalnyc. Thanks @jpegs_and_tiffs for these amazing install images.

https://vimeo.com/468683523 Check out our next #bts artist profile of photographer and 2019 - 2020 Visual Artist AIRspace Resident Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., shot by Brendan Burdzinski. Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.'s photographic works visualize moments of contemplation, self-possession, and intimacy. The ambiguous nature of the photographs is in favor of an expansive, incoherent, and timeless regard for what is pictured. Similar to how experiences are layered in memory, he consid...ers how a singular moment may be recontextualized to glean something comprehensive, new, or unplanned for. Presented in partnership with the Photoville Festival 2020, with support from Duggal Visual Solutions. On-view on the exterior of Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand St) now through December 6th.

This Saturday we host a conversation between LES-based photographer Gogy Esparza (@_gogito) and art journalist Keith Estiler (@keithestiler) about Esparza’s exhibition, Can We Talk?, on-view along the gates of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Park, located at Montgomery and Henry Streets and at Jobs Plus (24 Avenue D) now thru November 29th. Join us on IG Live at 1 PM to watch!

This Sunday and next, join us to create art and dance outside at our FREE weekly socially distanced pop-up workshops. Open to all ages and abilities, and families are welcome too! Workshops take place outside of the Center in our amphitheater. We ask that all participants wear masks for the duration of the workshop. Former Abrons Arts Center faculty remember returns to teach Salsa On 2 Open Level for all ages! Come enjoy music & movement with masks outdoor from 12:30 - 1:30 P...M. Following our Salsa On 2 workshop (from 1:30 - 2:30 PM) we’ll be leading Outdoor Sculpting, where young artists and families will investigate different sculpting materials to create artworks inspired by the world around them. Both workshops are FREE! While they are free to the public, we encourage you to RSVP ahead of time to secure your spot. RSVP at

In observance of Indigenous Peoples Day, our galleries will be closed today. We will re-open on Tuesday, October 13 from 10 AM to 5 PM for gallery hours. As a cultural center situated on Lenape land, we recognize that land acknowledgement is just the first step in the repatriation of Indigenous lands. We are committed to facilitating pathways for the homecoming of Lenape people to Lenapehoking, and to do our part to heal the imbalances caused by colonialism thoughthe support of Indigenous-led programming. We thank The Lenape Center (@lenapecenter) and Emily Johnson (@emilyjohnsoncatalyst) for their partnership in the development of our land acknowledgement and the calls from Indigenous communities across Turtle Island for continued accountability and action.

Our 2019-2020 Visual Artist AIRspace Residency Exhibition, featuring works from residents Charisse Pearlina Weston (@cerisexquise), Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. (@elliottjeromebrownjr), Alicia Mersy (@aliciamersy), and Arisleyda Dilone (@arisleyda), is on-view through December 3rd! @cerisexquise’s installation, nine physical poems, is on-view in the Abrons’ Main Gallery Monday - Friday, 10 AM - 5 PM. Appointment is suggested reserve your appointment online (page link in bio). by Sebastian Bach.

https://vimeo.com/460622605 Each year our colleagues at FABnyc host Open Arts LES, a ten day *open house* celebrating the dynamic cultural life of the Lower East Side community. As part of Open Art LES, Abrons' Director of Programming Ali Rosa-Salas speaks with Patrick Jaojoco about how we have kept true to our mission while adapting our programming and initiatives in this tumultuous time.

Even before the pandemic, food insecurity was one of the biggest issues affecting New Yorkers. As we push seven months into the COVID-19 crisis, we remain committed to making sure our neighbors remain healthy and fed. Our food pantry, which started at @henrystreetsettlement’s Boys & Girls Republic and has since moved to the Abrons playhouse theater, helps hundreds of Lower East Siders get healthy groceries weekly. Pictured here, @akilkuskiekid packs groceries on the playhouse stage. Thank you to @cnn for the coverage and to @michaelloccisano for photographing our pantry.