In 2024, we celebrated our 50th anniversary at Islip Arts Council (IAC) with many celebrations and events. One of the outstanding and perhaps most humbling reviews is the monthly compilation of artists and musicians that IAC has presented in its past 50 years. You can view this extensive list of prestigious artists on our website, IslipArts.org. Do take a minute to look back and remember. You will be surprised at the number of luminaries in the lineup. We intend to showcase more of these artists in 2025…perhaps again in a new light.
IAC proudly brings back ART WITH A CAUSE – a series of exhibitions with a purpose. After the de-installation of the annual Members exhibition, the gallery will be prepared for Black History Month. We will present BLACK CREATIVIY 2025: African Americans and Labor. We join in the national theme celebrating the vital roles of Black Labor in American Culture. This exhibit will be curated by Faith Evans, a pencil artist from the East End of Long Island, who has been showcased in various art exhibits, museums, and galleries in New York and on Long Island. She continues to dive into her love for art with commissioned work, illustrating, selling her art, and creating more drawings from her heart. Faith has found a new love in the art world: curating art shows. In her own words: “… the process of curating and combining talents to transform a space is magical and rewarding! And the world must see the incredible talent and gifts out there.”
This will be followed by another open call in March, which will celebrate Women’s History Month and continue with the national theme of Women’s Day 2025: Moving Forward Together—Women Educating and Inspiring Generations. Look for more information on this next month in this column.
In the coming year, we will also feature artwork by artists with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Cancer Survivors. We will also feature themes such as Youth Empowerment and the Art of Healthy Eating, featuring the art of high school students throughout the Town of Islip. In June, the Teenys returns, our annual celebration of High School Theater Arts programs across the Town of Islip.
In music, the Winter Series at Bayard Cutting Arboretum brings some new musicians to our roster. The season begins on February 2 and ends on March 16, with all concerts starting at 1 p.m. in the Carriage House. The lineup is as follows:
- Feb. 9: Extra Chi with pianist Terence Purcell with flutist Michelle Lisi.
- Feb. 16: Queensound with soprano vocalist Linda Teixeira accompanied by Helena Kim on the piano.
- Mar. 2: Quintessence performs with Laura Mole, Jody Ratner, and Hiroko Nakahara on the violin, pianist Elinor Zayas, and Karen Hansen Gellert on bass.
- Mar. 9: A piano duo with Elinor Zayas and Karen Baer.
- Mar. 16: We close the Winter Series with Cambiata Cello Duo, Paul Finkelstein, and Suzanne Mueller performing.
In the IAC gallery in Bay Shore’s South Shore Mall, we will start a new schedule of classes and workshops, including ABCs of Asian Brush Painting, Watercolor, and an Open Studio class. Stained glass enthusiasts and classes in pastels, pencil, and acrylic mediums will continue. We will also offer some selections for our preteens. Our Winter Workshops will bring back Acrylic Pour Painting by popular demand and the continuation of our Paint Like a Masters Series featuring Van Gogh in January and Pissarro in February.
This is but a brief glimpse of the next few months, but certainly not all that we are doing at Islip Arts Council. Please stop by and visit us in the South Shore Mall to be greeted by authors, artists, musicians, makers, and more.
