Category Archives: New Utopia

Henry David Thoreaus book Walden is spotlighted behind a glass case near the end of the room. Gold lettering stands out on the newly bound green cover, while forest-colored paint splatters the deckle-edged pages. This piece has no issue catching the eyes of spectators.

It is one of many that occupies the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, which recently opened its newest exhibition, Mending, on Friday, March 4, to run through March 25. This exhibition showcases the work of Gina Fowler, Katharine Buckley and Luke Kelly, three graduate students in the MFA Book Arts Program at The University of Alabama.

Buckley earned her Bachelor of Arts in studio art from The University of Alabama, while Fowler earned her B.A. from Brigham Young University and Kelly earned his B.A. from Harvard University.

There are a plethora of ways to create book art. Book arts is a group of art forms encompassing both traditional and new methods of binding and papermaking to push the limits of the structure and function of books.

Fowler, who has been practicing book arts for five years, explained the wide variety of platforms that book arts takes and the meanings behind them.

There is a huge range in what we do, but it really is made up of three components. One is binding, so all sorts of different structures. There are different types of styles with books that have flat spines, round spines and exposed spines. Then we also do a lot of letterpress printing and papermaking, Fowler said.

Fowler said that there is a papermaking mill in Tuscaloosa that a lot of people in the community do not know about. This is somewhere artists go to make paper for their projects.

She went on to talk about her individual work and the category of her thesis project.

Myself and one of the other artists, [Buckley], are exhibiting artists books, which means we have conceptualized and designed and printed and basically assembled the books from start to finish, Fowler said. Sometimes it means making art that is meant to be in the book form, and sometimes it means making art that just references the idea of a book.

Fowlers work, titled An Ideal Nowhere: Finding My Utopia, is described in the preface at the gallery as a collection of work that explores the relationship between personal experiences and utopian societies.

Fowlers project Dreamland is a bound book, but individual pages are on display as well to better showcase singular ideas. Her pieces depict singular words and phrases decorated with colorful lines running across an otherwise blank page. Some of the phrases pose questions, while others make statements about Fowlers Dreamland.

Kellys work is in a different category than Fowlers and Buckleys. Kelly is a conservationist artist who focuses on mending and restoring older books with a decorative aspect. He explained part of his process of creating his thesis project, which features a thin, blue book with a silhouetted face on it.

Two of these books are for my thesis. I take the backs and put them together and then glue them together with the spine. Then, I stick a piece of board upright and pair the pages very, very thinly, Kelly said.

The pieces were set up around the outer walls of the room and were categorized by the artists. All the pieces meshed together, despite varying in style. From annotated criticisms of history textbooks, to pages decorated with quotes and color, to classic books with redesigned covers, there was much to marvel at.

The unique gallery experienced its opening night with a reception for the artists on Friday night. Faculty of the University of Alabama Book Arts Program were in attendance, as well as students and guests wanting to check out the display.

Ivy Borden, a junior majoring in art history and Southern studies, said the exhibition rocked the house and she felt grateful to be able to experience the artwork.

I am just incredibly thankful for the people at Book Arts, at Dinah Washington, at Flow Alabama for making it possible, Borden said.

Fowler said it felt special to have their work observed by the public because of how important tangibility is to the understanding of book arts.

It does not translate like a painting might, so this is a really special opportunity to be able to show in a public, open space, Fowler said.

Questions? Email the culture desk at culture@cw.ua.edu.

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Tuscaloosa art gallery gives a new meaning to reading - The University of Alabama Crimson White

LAWRENCE Stuart Day is both a professor in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese and dean of the University of Kansas School of Professional Studies and Edwards Campus in Overland Park, which focuses on training, often for nontraditional students. So what is he doing editing a new book titled Performances That Change the Americas(Routledge, 2022), which looks at both top-down and bottom-up uses of acting skills to create political change in the Western Hemisphere?

The idea is to explore the question How does classroom learning apply to the real world, and how does social change come about? in a fairly explicit way, Day said. It really is asking How does formal training in theatre performance impact the world around us? Everything we do at the Edwards Campus is very focused on that. How are we applying studies? How does training impact the world? So it might be in an American Sign Language & Deaf Studies degree; it may be in another area like biotechnology. But if you look at social change, a lot of change agents have some theatrical and some performance background. So I thought it would be interesting to study.

In fact, Day has long had a long career in performance studies, having written the book Outside Theater: Alliances That Shaped Mexico (University of Arizona Press, 2017), among several others. For the new book, he said, he sought contributions from experts in other regions, such that the content spans cases from Canada to Argentina.

Several chapters focus on recent, grassroots uses of theatricality to create social change, particularly by marginalized groups, including Carnival in hell: kinetic dissidence and the new queer carnivalesque in contemporary Brazil by Pablo Assumpo Barros Costa of the Universidade Federal do Cear.

Day highlighted the essay The queer/muxe performance of disappearance: Lukas Avendaos butterfly utopia by Antonio Prieto Stambaugh of Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico. Muxeis a word in the Zapotec language that can be translated as third gender. Prieto Stambaugh tells how Avendao theatrically demonstrated outside Mexican government buildings and elsewhere, seeking to address the 2018 disappearance (and, it turned out, the murder) of his brother, Bruno Alonso, in the state of Oaxaca.

And while eventually Alonsos body was returned to Avendaos family, perhaps as a result of his activism, Prieto Stambaugh argue(s) he is also gesturing toward a queer utopia where political, aesthetic and sexual dissidence merge, where violence and impunity fail to destroy hope.

The content of the book is so fresh that Day noted that Alonsos body was found shortly after that chapter was written, so we added an epilogue.

Sometimes, Day wrote in his introduction, a performance itself is the change.

Sometimes you're trying to raise awareness, he said. Sometimes you're trying to get attention. But sometimes you're just speaking to people; someone whose voice isnt heard otherwise has an opportunity then to express themselves, so that incremental change does happen. At least, we had better hope it does.

Top image: Performance artist Lukas Avendao (left) holds hands with a member of the Xica Teatre group in June 2018 outside the Mexican Consulate in Barcelona, Spain. Photo still from the short documentaryBuscando a Bruno (Searching for Bruno), posted on YouTube. Credit: Used with permission of Lukas Avendao.

Right image: Stuart Day, KUprofessor in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese.

Read more here:

Authors explore practical, political effect of theatre studies | The University of Kansas - KU Today

Theres a lot to see at fashion week. Blink (or scroll too fast) and youll miss the details: feathered bags, futuristic sunglasses, fork jewelry. All month long, well spotlight the things we saw that surprised or delighted us.

PARIS For many years, the fashion industry has been criticized for its lack of diversity in the types of bodies shown on runways.

Some progress has been made, and some seasons are better than others. But for the most part, at the most prominent fashion shows of New York, London, Milan and Paris, the landscape during the season that just ended looked like this: one plus-size model and one mid-size model was cast among a sea of size-zero (or thereabouts) models.

So it was refreshing, toward the end of this Paris Fashion Week, to see these ratios entirely flipped even if only at one show by a young brand called Ester Manas, designed by the Brussels-based duo Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre.

It was only Ms. Manas and Mr. Delepierres second runway show. In 2020, the label was a semifinalist for the LVMH Prize, a prestigious contest for emerging designers, in which the duo set themselves apart technically: About 90 percent of their collection comes in one size that fits several from about 34 to 50 in French sizing, or 2 to 18 in American sizing.

So, of the 29 looks presented at their runway show on Saturday, less than one-third were worn by conventionally thin models.

Yet instead of feeling like some extraordinary, yassified act of body-positive rebellion, the designers pulled off a more impressive feat: It just felt normal. The models like women who buy clothes in the real world, like the audience watching the show represented a wide range of sizes.

Still, these werent necessarily everyday clothes for every women, though thats true on most runways. These designs were ruched (which allows the broad size range), sheer, brightly colored and sexy, but securely constructed, exposing midriffs in a way that never seemed too exposing.

Backstage, after the show, a few models teared up, Mr. Delepierre said, because they couldnt imagine they could walk on the catwalk in Paris.

But the designers emphasized that their casting wasnt intended as an ethical stance, or by wanting to create some body-confident utopia. It was practical. They needed to show the clothes this way to sell the clothes. (Their largest stockist is Ssense.)

We have to show how the pieces move, Mr. Delepierre said.

Its about reality, Ms. Manas added. Its not about dreams.

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The Most Size-Inclusive Brand at Fashion Week - The New York Times

If Tweets and Facebook posts for decent accommodations and broker less-leads for flats in Bangalore were anything to go by, it would seem there's a mass migration happening in the country where everyone seems to be moving - or wanting to move - to India's prime startup hub.

For the past couple of days, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people taking to social media and announcing that they're moving to Bangalore - and the numbers have been so astounding, that "moving to Bangalore" has been trending on and off on Twitter India.

With offices opening up and some even making it mandatory for employees to move back, there has generally been a lot of movement all over the country, especially to major cities. Bangalore stands out because all the startups that have raised funds over the past two years are finally able to set up a physical workplace - a first for many, including companies founded after March 2020.

We'd be remiss to forget that Bangalore was deemed the most liveable city among 111 cities in India in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs' 'Ease of Living Index' report last year, although there has been much debate about that in Twitterverse.

Great weather, happening nightlife, and even job opportunities aside, people have been pointing out on social media that rental rates have definitely increased since the last year when the inflow to Bangalore finally picked up the pace after a long period of exodus.

Ravi Handa, the founder of Handa Ka Funda, a digital learning platform for CAT and MBA preparation which, last year, was acquired by Unacademy, took to Twitter saying, "Tech Bros with Rs 50 lakh per annum (LPA) salary keep projecting it as utopia because it is great for them" - but that may not be the case for everyone.

Others pointed out that Bangalore's infrastructure is already falling apart, that every summer the city runs out of water, and that traffic jams make commuting in the city a nightmare.

Of course, after some rationale back and forth, the conversation shifted to "Why is everyone talking about moving to Bangalore?", "don't move to Bangalore", and hilarious memes (which is the point of everything, isn't it?).

With startups like Zoho moving out from a major city to a village in Tamil Nadu, as well as the trend over the past two years of startups building from and in tier II and tier III cities, the perception that Bangalore is a startup hub has changed, even though one does stand a good chance of running into a well-known product manager or startup founder at a Third Wave Coffee Roasters in Koramangala.

There's a growing cohort of companies, not just in India, that are now hiring globally, no matter where the person is located, and working with them virtually. For a lot of industries, the pandemic has been a litmus test for "borderless" co-working, and now that the "work from anywhere" model has proved its mettle, that cohort of companies is likely to keep growing.

Bangalore, though, will live to fight overpopulation, crumbling infrastructure, higher rents, and a mass influx of people, another day.

Continue reading here:

Is moving to Bangalore the new cool? - YourStory

Night Gallery, a taste-making Los Angeles gallery which expanded its footprint in the city earlier this year, now represents Marcel Alcal.

Alcal was born in 1990 in the Orange County city of Santa Ana, about an hour south of Los Angeles, and their work, which spans painting, sculpture, and performance, is directly influenced and responding to their lived experience a queer artist of Mexican American heritage growing up in Southern California. The L.A.-based artists work, in particular their paintings, draws on a vast array of references, including art historical movements like Fauvism and Surrealism, as well as the arts of Mexicos Indigenous Huichol people, reality television, and the rituals and symbolism of Santera. What results is an imagined utopia populated by what they call their non-binary girlies thats intended to imagine new possibilities for queer life.

Alcal has previously exhibited with Night Gallery, having had a solo show there in 2020 and having participated in two group shows. They have also had solo shows at Mickey Gallery in Chicago and Deli Gallery in New York, and exhibited work at Ballroom Marfa in Texas, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. In 2020, they were an artist-in-residence at the Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles.

In an email, Brian Faucette, Night Gallerys senior director, said, [Marcels] work never ceases to surprise and delight and its a privilege to witness, firsthand, their fantastical universe unfold painting by painting. Its important to us to champion new voices from our hometown of Los Angeles and bring their work to a wider international audience, and we are excited to see Marcel, a born-and-raised Californian, charm and intrigue the rest of the world.

Read the rest here:

Night Gallery Takes on Marcel Alcal, L.A.-Based Artist on the Rise - ARTnews

Park Seo Joon made several MCU fans proud after the South Korean star official confirmed that he is set to star in The Marvels.

After months of speculations, the actor's label, Awesome ENT, announced that the Itaewon Class star left South Korea to film an upcoming sequel to Captain Marvel.

In an article cited by Soompi, Park Seo Joon's agency declined to detail the actor's new project with MCU.

"We are well aware that many people are curious about the name of the film in which he will be appearing, his character, the filming location, and his filming schedule, but we plan to reveal the details of the movie at a later date," according to the agency, as obtained by the outlet.

Following his Hollywood debut and continued the project in South Korea, will there be massive growth in Park Seo Joon's net worth after his appearance with The Marvels?

Although he may not be on the list of highest-paid K-drama actors, the What's Wrong with Secretary Kim star is among the wealthiest South Korean celebrities, joining award-winning actor Lee Seung Gi, Hyun Bin, So Ji Sub and more.

According to Channel News Asia, Park Seo Joon's net worth is estimated at $21 million as of 2021. The majority of his earnings came from movies, K-drama, endorsements and guestings projects.

With the South Korean star officially joining one of Marvel Cinematic Universe's highly anticipated projects, it only means that his net worth will surely increased.

READ MORE: Park Seo Joon Workout Plan 2022: Heres How The Marvel Star Prove That Hes The Ultimate #FitnessGoals

Aside from Park Seo Joon's The Marvels, he will also appear in a slew of projects in South Korea.

The 33-year-old actor will have his K-drama comeback with Han So Hee and Squid Game star Wi Ha Joon for K Project.

Although the lineup for the lead stars was already confirmed, reports noted that Park Seo Joon's new drama will air in 2023.

Interestingly, the actor has several upcoming movies. First on the list is Concrete Utopia which he finished shooting before leaving the country to work with MCU.

He will be joining Lee Byung Hun, Park Bo Young and Park Ji Hoon from All of Us Are Dead. Another forthcoming film that he will be headlining is the sports-themed film Dream with singer-actress IU.

IN CASE YOU MISSED: Park Seo Joon, Lee Jun Young, Shin Hye Sun Tests Positive for COVID-19

Stay tuned to EpicStream for the latest news and updates about Park Seo Joon.

See the article here:

Park Seo Joon Net Worth 2022: Will His Wealth Increase Because Of The Marvels? - EpicStream

The Assembly announces its third cohort of artists in the Deceleration Lab, an initiative to foster new theatrical projects that experiment with multi-perspective and multi-disciplinary models of creation.

This year's Lab Artists are Andy Boyd, syd island, and Philip Santos Schaffer, collaborating on Room, Room, Room, in the many Mansions of eternal glory for Thee and for everyone, an acoustic hyperpop folk opera about gender, celebrity, belief, and slander exploring the life of 18th-century American mystic Publick Universal Friend (PUF); and Soomi Kim, developing Body Through Which the Dream Flows, a dance/acro theater work looking at the culture of gymnastics with a cast of seven female competitive gymnasts. The artists will share excerpts of their works-in-progress and participate in a discussion about their process at free public events to be announced later in 2022.

The Assembly, a collaborative theater collective whose ten original plays include New York Times Critic's Pick HOME/SICK and Seagullmachine, launched the Deceleration Lab in 2020 to support artists in The Assembly's broader community to develop work that takes artistic risks, challenges traditional hierarchical structures, and creates new professional opportunities for the participating artists. Previous Lab artists include Nehassaiu deGannes, Dante Green, Matthew Paul Olmos, and Melisa Tien.

Room, Room, Room, in the many Mansions of eternal glory for Thee and for everyone will be an acoustic hyperpop folk opera about gender, celebrity, belief, and slander exploring the life of Publick Universal Friend (PUF) - an American mystic who had a vision in 1776 in which they were told by two angels to preach the word of God. From the moment of their vision on, the newly reborn PUF refused to use gendered pronouns or presentation, and when asked what gender they were, would simply reply "I am that I am." Room, Room, Room will incorporate experimental and contemporary queer music as well as ecstatic religious music and group-singing. The performance will highlight questions of queer history, and investigate the realities of intentionally antagonistic second-hand sources. While problematizing the American vision of utopia, the work aims to invoke a temporary genderless/genderful? utopia with its audience (even if just for a second).

Body Through Which the Dream Flows is dance/acro theatre work about gymnastics in the time of the #metoo and #cancelculture movements and will feature veteran coach, choreographer and theatre artist Soomi Kim as well as 6-7 competitive gymnasts. It began in 2018 after the scandal broke about Dr. Larry Nassar's systemic sexual abuse of 100s of gymnasts. The culture of gymnastics quickly unraveled as USAG was under fire for their role in enabling the culture of sexual and emotional abuse (and, most recently, the FBI's lack of action). Outraged, Kim felt it essential to merge her professions as a competitive coach and theatre-maker. Through dance & acrobatics, text and ensemble devising work, Body Through Which the Dream Flows will intersect Kim's personal gymnastics history, the deconstruction of the governing body of the sport and personal stories from gymnasts (age 11-17) in order to help us to better understand the moment we are in now. This project is told from an insider's lens and will explore original forms with non-actor gymnasts in this never before seen "downtown theatre-style" performance.

Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, where he studied with David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, Charles Mee, Kelly Stuart, and Doug Wright. His plays have been produced by Theater in Asylum, Naked Theatre Company, IRT Theater, and Epic Theatre Company. His plays have been developed or presented at/by Pipeline Theatre Company, The Gingold Group, Dixon Place, The Kennedy Center, Roundabout Theatre Company, Out Loud Theatre, Contemporary Theater Company, The Trunk Space, Columbia University, Marquette University, and Harvard University. He is the host of the New Books in Performing Arts Podcast and the co-host with Danny Erickson of the socialist theatre podcast Better than Shakespeare. His work has been supported by the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts

syd island (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary, Black, "biracial," performing, music, and visual artist currently based in Canarsie, Lenapehoking (so-called Sunset Park, Brooklyn, NY). as a vocalist and music creator, syd enjoys collaborating on various musical styles from improvisational experimental music to medieval sacred choral music. they have experience as a dancer/performer in devised and improvised experimental dance. as a visual artist, they document their life through colorful self-portraits and create digital and watercolor protest posters. syd has a BA in Music Theory, History, and Composition from Brown University and is a graduate of Arizona School for the Arts. they have performed at Roulette Intermedium, the Exponential Festival, Judson Memorial Church, and the Brick Theater.

Philip Santos Schaffer (they/he) is a playmaker creating interactive performances in intimate and unconventional settings. Philip's work has been seen in bathtubs across the country, listened to over the phone, and found in a series of living rooms (as well as appearing in more traditional spaces). Philip's work deals with politics, pop culture, intimacy and empathy through participation, humor, music, and more. Philip has a BFA in Directing from Hofstra University and an MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University. Philip is 1/5 of the creative team behind WalkUpArts, which they co-founded in 2015.

Soomi Kim is a New York City based actor/movement artist and has conceived (and co-devised with director Suzi Takahashi) a trilogy of work based on Asian American visionaries: Lee/gendary, dictee: bells fall a peal to sky and Chang(e). Chang(e) was developed through the HERE Artist in Residency Program (2012-2015). Dictee: bells fall a peal to sky (dance theatre adaptation of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dictee) premiered at Culture Project's Women Center Stage Festival in 2012. Lee/gendary ran at HERE Arts Center's main stage. Kim's autobiographical dance theatre show, MLCG (My Little China Girl) was commissioned by Dixon Place (2017). Awards: HERE A.I.R. (2015), Dixon Place commission (2017), Orchard Project's Greenhouse Lab (2020-21), Marble House A.I.R. (2019), Hemispheric Institute (2014), Asian Arts Intiative (2012 & 2013), Mabou Mines A.I.R. (2014). In 2018 she was named Coach of the Year at Chelsea Piers, NY and is the founder of GymKim Choreo LLC. http://www.soomikim.com | http://www.gymkimchoreo.com | IG: @soomdawg

THE ASSEMBLY is a collective of multi-disciplinary performance artists committed to realizing a visceral and intelligent theater for a new generation. Assembly members unite varied perspectives in service of wide-reaching, unabashedly theatrical and rigorously researched ensemble performances, crafted to spark conversation with their audiences. Their work embraces the complexities of our present moment; it is a call for empathy and engagement. Embracing collaboration as the core of the creative process, the company chooses projects through consensus and develops text, action and design side-by-side within the rehearsal environment. From workshops to productions to post-performance discussions, The Assembly is dedicated to rooting its artists, audiences, and peers in a profound sense of community.

The company has performed at venues across New York such as La MaMa ETC, Jack, New Ohio Theatre (Archive Residency Award), The Incubator, The Prelude Festival, HERE Arts Center, Horse Trade, and The Collapsable Hole, and has toured to the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles, Wesleyan University, the Edinburgh Fringe (Fringe First nomination) and the Philly Fringe. In 2016, The Assembly's process was documented by Professor Cindy Rosenthal in the cover essay of the industry's leading academic journal, The Drama Review: "Circling Up with The Assembly: A Theatre Collective Comes of Age." The Assembly's educational workshops are designed to foster empowered and empowering collaborators, training young artists in the ethics and techniques of their unique method of ground-up creation. The company has worked with students at top-tier colleges and universities like Columbia, NYU, Dartmouth, Williams, and Wesleyan, as well as workshops in NYC, LA, and online. The Assembly is currently developing the company's first musical In Corpo, by Nate Weida and Ben Beckley, which will premiere in November 2022 at Theatre Row. For more information visit assemblytheater.org or follow The Assembly on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @assemblytheater.

The Assembly is Stephen Aubrey, Ben Beckley, Emily Caffery, Jess Chayes and Meredith Lucio.

The Deceleration Lab is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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Andy Boyd, syd island, Philip Santos Schaffer, and Soomi Kim Develop New Work In The Assembly's Deceleration Lab - Broadway World

The Big Apple has got some pretty big spaces. From the many theatres of Broadway to the stunning lobbies of the grand hotels, world-famous galleries and museums, and the green expanse of Central Park, New York City ranks among the most iconic cities the world has ever seen. But, as with the other great cities in this little series, there are a wealth of hidden spaces waiting for you to uncover.

And do it quickly because New York is not doing so well right nowdont all move to Austin, Texas, just yet! As this list will show, there are plenty of places to see.

Related: Top 10 Jaw-Dropping Hidden Spaces In Paris or Top 10 Jaw-Dropping Hidden Spaces In London

New York, alongside the worlds other great cities, has a strong game when it comes to old-timey, elegant, exclusive members clubs. But this one seems a touch more opulent than the others. When you look at the founding membersfinancier JP Morgan, railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, steel magnate James M Waterbury, former Assistant Secretary of State John L Cadwalader, and James A Rooseveltit is little wonder how this place became so fancy.

Founded in 1891, the place retains its Gilded Age splendor. The West Lounge, found on the clubs first floor (of six), is the stand-out space. The stunning Renaissance murals look down upon the ornately decorated marble fireplaces, rendering the impressive views over the iconic Central Park rather dullwhy would you look out when this is what is inside? So if you fancy gathering your pals for a knees-up, imagining yourselves all captains of industry and masters of the new world, the spaces throughout are available for hire. Im sure theyll take your house as collateral against the down paymentyeah, maybe just blag your way in for a quick peek. [1]

Nearest Subway Station: 5th Avenue StationBroadway Local Line.

Virtual Tour of Greenacre Park!

Parks are a fascinating human invention. More so than any ancient druid pointing to the boughs of an oak tree (where he just hung up a bunch of entrails) to demand reverence for nature, the modern park is the ultimate reverential symbol weve made for nature. We, those shaved apes that send people into space and create intricate systems that govern all aspects of our life, carve out portions of cities and towns and recreate the natural world. We need this. But not all parks are created equally, and some smaller parks are relatively ignored, remaining in the shadow of their bigger, flashier, more historic brethren.

One such hidden gem is Greenacre Park. With its 7.6-meter (25-foot) granite-constructed waterfall at its heart, this park is comprised of three levels, allowing for a multi-tiered experience. And what a pleasant experience it is! The waterfall births a babbling brook that leads to the entrance of the park. Next to the waterfall is a seating area, the perfect place to sit back, read a book, and forget that New York is dying.[2]

Nearest Subway Station: Lexington Avenue/53rd StreetE Line or the M Line.

Ford Foundation Building/New York City/

Many public spaces in Lower Manhattans skyscrapers have been off-limits to the general public in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. However, the Ford Foundation Buildings atrium has not closed. Since 1963, the tiered garden space has offered an awe-inspiring haven for people to escape the hustle and bustle of Gothams busiest area. If Greenacre Park provides an outdoor getaway for New Yorkers, the Ford Foundation Buildings atrium is the indoor equivalent.

The garden was designed by landscape architect Dan Kiley and, since a 2018 redesign, has retained the peaceful aura the original vision created. The mid-century buildings and spaces in Americas main city really are a departure from earlier designs. Gone were the days of the celebration of progress and glory, of industrial mastery and financial victories; here came a time of escape, a move toward a more socially-conscious and sustainable futureprogress at a more neck-preserving pace than the break-neck past. The Ford Foundation Building makes a great argument for this form of beauty far better than the contemporaneous monstrosities elsewhere in the city.[3]

Nearest Subway Station: Grand Central StationLines 6, 7, and the 42nd Street Shuttle.

There is something creepy about abandoned subway stations. Not this one, however. This one is cool as hellit answers the age-old question of why did people in the past wear such fancy clothes when out and about? Beautiful, mirror-shine green and white glass tiles line the gorgeous Gustavino vaulted ceilings, allowing the gentle light from the many chandeliers to dance around this subterranean space. Given that this was a busy commuter hub at the beginning of the twentieth century, one wonders how many people stopped to appreciate this stunning space when it was in regular use as a station. Not many, probably.

The City Hall station is an absolute gem. That is probably why the New York Transit Museum charges $50 for a tour of the place (and you have to be a member of the museum to attend, which is an additional $60). But if youre a meh, I dont mind a fleeting glimpse sort of person, why not just hop on the 6 train? Itll pass through the station on its loop, allowing passengers to take a quick (and deeply envious) look at the sort of environment people used to stand in and wait to get moved around the city.[4]

Nearest Subway Station, cmon Okay, NEXT nearest Station: Chambers Street StationA Line.

Tourist In Your Own Town #30 Gould Memorial Library and Hall of Fame

Some have claimed the USA is the modern equivalent of the Roman Empire. So, there should be no surprise that this 19th-century University library in the Bronx was a reinterpretation of Romes Parthenonand a hell of a good one, at that! Now a part of Bronx Community College, this space is well worth a look. A long look.

Built between 1894 and 1895 by the citys foremost architect, Stanford White, as part of the University of New York Citys (now NYU) expansion onto the recently acquired Mali Estate, the whole complex is a monument to academia. The main reading room is breathtaking. From the sixteen imported Connemara marble columns, ones eye is drawn upwards to the 21-meter-wide (70-foot) stucco-covered dome gilded with Dutch metal. It is meant to help inspire students to lofty academic heights, driven home with a wonderful quote from Miltons Paradise Lost adorning the large entablature: And chiefly thou o spirit that dost prefer before all temples that upright heart and pure. Instruct me for thou knowest what in me is dark. Illumine what is low raise and support. Indeed.[5]

Nearest Subway Station: 183rd Street Station4 Line.

The AT&T Long Distance Building New York, N.Y. Hildreth Meire

Beyond the melty clocks and vaguely smiling ladies, the out-of-place anatomical features, and the formaldehyde-bathed sharks, the visual arts have often been explicitly celebratory of mankinds achievements, not merely impressionistic, expressionistic, devotional, or outright weird. We tend not to see this heroic style as often today, save on a very localized scale in school murals or public art commissioned by small community groups. If you get to visit the AT&T Long Distance Building in Manhattans Tribeca district, youll certainly get a sense of this once powerful artistic trend.

The art deco stylings within and without the building are amazing. However, there are plenty of far more famous buildings in New York that can show off their exterior deco cred. It is the incredible murals that run through the building that elevate this space to a must-see for art lovers.[6]

Nearest Subway Station: Canal Street StationA Line.

Some of you may balk at the idea of a gated communityit smacks of elitism as well as producing more than a whiff of stay the hell away from me. But once you manage to take a sneaky peek of Grove Court (alongside the many other tourists found doing the same thing), youll begin to dream of living there yourself. A square of brick-red townhouses, all in a charming Federal-era design, is a far cry from the austere brownstone, stooped buildings found elsewhere in the West Village.

This hidden architectural gem was built in 1854 by a grocer named Samuel Cocks (oh, stop sniggering and grow up!) to house laborers and local traders. So, not a fancy hideaway for the wealthy at all. Well, thats what it is now, of course. The last time a 2-bed, 2-bath townhouse went up for sale, it fetched a cool $3.5 million.[7]

Nearest Subway Station: Christopher Street Station3 Line.

Columbia University Underground Tunnels

One of the worst-kept secrets in New York is the network of tunnels found under Columbia University. Despite the wide-ranging knowledge of these fascinating subterranean passageways, they dont draw in masses of urban explorers that you might expect.

We often forget that the world around us, all the boons we take for granted, are manufactured, maintained, and require spaces such as these. The tunnels are Columbia Universitys circulatory system. But before their role in keeping the uni humming, the tunnels served a far more sinister institutionThe Bloomingdale Insane Asylum. The tunnels also played host to scientists working on the Manhattan Project. So if you want to see the place where scientists, madmen, and some mad scientists used to scurry around, take a trip under Columbiaitll be more interesting than attending a lecture.[8]

Nearest Subway Station: 116th Street Station, Columbia University1 Line.

Hidden Nuclear Bomb Shelter at Brooklyn Bridge

Urban exploration has undergone a real image transformation in recent years. Much like action sports like skateboarding and BMXing, there is now a veneer of respectability and cool to this once derided, nuisance pursuit. Urban explorers are the Indiana Joneses of the cities, uncovering artifacts and spaces that our forebears once used. Perhaps this could be considered the crowning achievement of this subculture in New York; the uncovering of a disused nuclear bunker inside the Brooklyn Bridge!

Awesomeor it would have been were it not for the fact that it was actually uncovered by some construction workers doing some routine inspections on the bridge. Ah well, at least they can lay claim to the next entry.[9]

Nearest Subway Station: Fulton Street Station3 Line.

Behind-the-Scenes at the Explorers Club

The feeling one gets on entering a particularly beautiful or interesting space is driven by the styling. A highly baroque interior evokes a sense of opulence and a gentile lifestyle. An austere brutalist building suggests humanitys progress to a utilitarian utopia/dystopia. Often, however, the styling is overridden by other elements. A baroque interior dotted with Lalique vases, Romantic landscape oil paintings, and bronze busts of various French monarchs will transport your minds eye to a Paris salon.

What we find in New Yorks Explorers Club is not so much a transportation to a time and place but rather a whistle-stop journey around the globes wilder localities, evoking a sense of adventure, scientific discovery, and mankinds emergent role as custodians of the natural world. Stuffed animals from all over the world are found everywheretaxidermized cheetahs, lion pelts, rhino heads on walls, and great Elephant tusks flanking a fireplace in the reading room. Pith helmets may be required. Vegans need not apply[10]

Nearest Subway Station: 68th Street, Hunter College6 Line.

fact checked by Darci Heikkinen

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Top 10 Jaw-Dropping Hidden Spaces in New York City - nation.lk - The Nation Newspaper

If you arrived in Aspen after 2002, you may not have heard of the 24 Hours of Aspen race at all. If you have, its likely some apocryphal tale of some strange middle-of-the-night phenomenon during the suffer-fest event that sent thrill-seeking pairs of skiers lapping Aspen Mountain for a full day and night annually from 1988 to 2002.

For the creative team at the Aspen Skiing Co. and Pop-Up Magazine, vividly recreating the story of the 24 Hours in all its extreme and oddball glory was among the countless deep dives and storytelling feats they undertook to make Aspen 75, a mixed-media production that aims to capture the essence of the ski town as Skico celebrates its 75th anniversary. The show has four performances at the Wheeler Opera House on Friday and Saturday.

We tried to dig and find some pretty spectacular tales, said Skico director of content Kate Kate Wertheimer.

Teaming with Pop-Up, whose acclaimed and unique live magazine format was also the centerpiece of the Aspen Ideas Festival Afternoon of Conversation in 2019, they are aiming to make something unforgettable out of the stories theyve collected. Pop-Up brings together reporters, writers, filmmakers, comedians and musicians to tell live stories collaboratively.

For the 24 Hours segment, for example, the Skico and Pop-Up team interviewed people who had been part of the race to crown the worlds toughest skier, dug up all the video and audio recordings they could find. As they put the segment together, they found holes where they didnt have video, so they added original animation. For the show, they also have scripted live narration and a musical score, with live performers interacting with those on the big screen.

It really is a total multimedia production to bring the energy and the craziness of what that race was to the stage so that everyone in the audience can really feel it through what theyre hearing through what theyre seeing, Skico creative director Mark Carolan said.

The midway station for Lift One on Aspen Mountain, 1963.Aspen Historical Society/Aspen Times Collection

Approximately 150 skiers joined a ski parade from the top of Aspen Mountain to the bottom of Lift 1A to celebrate the 75th anniversary of lift access skiing and Aspen Skiing Company on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022.Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times

Local racer Casey Puckett in the 24 Hours of Aspen race in 2002.Aspen Times archive

The spirited ski parade down Aspen Mountain for the 75th anniversary celebration.Jordan Curet photo.

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Skico early this winter ran a popular and admirably curated 75-part social media countdown, leading up to the actual anniversary on Jan. 11, which included a ski parade and toast at the original Lift One (the Pop-Up shows had been scheduled for then as well, but the local coronavirus surge pushed it to March). The 75-post series functioned as a sort of preview of what to expect from Aspen 75, physical posters of the countdown have also been up on Skico properties all winter.

The event aims to thread the needle between the hyper-local and the global Aspen audience.

Were trying to tell stories that locals will still feel excited about, even though they may have heard about it, but also still educate anybody whos just on holiday or has never been to Aspen before and just want to try out the show, Carolan said.

So dont expect a rote Aspen history. Theyre aiming to go deeper and wider than the narrative Aspen normally tells itself and the world about its postwar history the story most locals can recite to a visitor in the length of a chairlift ride of the Paepckes, the Aspen Idea, the rebirth of the mining town as a utopia and ski resort, the ski bum incursion, the glam years of the 80s and the more recent billionaires forcing out the millionaires era.

Both Carolan and Wertheimer are recent transplants to Aspen Carolan started in March 2021 allowing them to see the story of Aspen with fresh eyes and a sense of wonder that some longer-tenured and more jaded locals may have lost.

Their local team dug for original narratives and lesser-known stories of the people, places and events that have made Aspen what it is, or what it can be when its at its best.

They dug deep for the 75 chapter countdown and for Aspen 75 on things like the miraculous avalanche control bombing that allows ski patrollers to keep Highland Bowl safe, the birth of Gay Ski Week here in 1977, Hunter Thompsons Freak Power campaign, the Buttermilk Biscuits, World Cup and downhill racing, the X Games and the art/ski collaborations that led to happenings like the artist Yutaka Sone rolling massive dice down the Buttermilk halfpipe.

They also hit on adaptive skiing at Challenge Aspen, on our local cinematic classics Dumb and Dumber and Aspen Extreme, on Bauhaus master Herbert Bayer and ski racer Ingemar Stenmark and mountaineer Andre Roch, sustainability and equity efforts, on Belly Up and Aspen Film and incredible archival finds like the short-lived Aspen Soda and its ludicrous ad campaign.

We really wanted to honor our tradition of storytelling and our rich history, Wertheimer said, and wanted to tell the towns most incredible stories in a new way.

In keeping with the Pop-Up ethos, the show itself will be a surprise and will only be seen by the four audiences who come to the Wheeler, as they dont record or broadcast their productions and audience members are asked to put their phones away. As Pop-Up producer Haley Howle put it before the Ideas Fest performance, You are in it with the people around you and the sequence of stories is only happening for you and this group of people at this moment. There is something magical and unexplainable that happens.

For this moment of pandemic Zoom burnout and virtual event fatigue, a Pop-Up spectacle is a welcome change.

Pop-Up just seemed like the perfect partnership for a community with such a rich history of storytelling, because thats exactly what they do, Wertheimer said.

And for Skico, which this winter launched a new logo and a fashion line and events division called ASPENX and appears to be redefining how it tells its own story with Carolan and Wertheimer at the helm of the brand, there may be more events like Aspen 75 coming in the future.

Hopefully this is the first big step to telling a wider range of stories and in new and creative ways, Wertheimer said.

atravers@aspentimes.com

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75 Chapters of Aspen: Skico, and Pop-Up Magazine staging multimedia anniversary event at Wheeler - The Aspen Times

Las Vegas sportsbooks see heavy college basketball betting action on Arizona (Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire)

Thirteen months ago, a patron at one of MGM Resorts many Las Vegas Strip outlets wagered $500 on Oregon State, at 200-to-1 odds, to win the 2021 Pac-12 hoops tournament at T-Mobile Arena.

The Beavers had dropped their regular-season finale, at home to rival Oregon, after having won three in a row. They went into the league tourney at 14-12 overall, 10-10 in the Pac-12.

Nothing spectacular or special, by any angle or metric. OSU went on to beat UCLA, 83-79, in overtime, again the Ducks (75-64), and then Colorado (70-68) to win the event and secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

In the NCAAs, OSU beat Tennessee, Oklahoma State, and Loyola-Chicago before bowing out against Houston in the Elite Eight. But lets back up.

Five hundred bucks, at 200-1 someone won $100,000.

Somebody got us pretty good, says BetMGM director of trading Jeff Stoneback. Lost six figures on Oregon State, which went to (win in) the Sweet 16, to one person. But talk about a turnaround; the Beavers have won three games this season, and only one in the Pac-12.

At the South Point, sportsbook director Chris Andrews and his team posted their Pac-12 odds Monday. Interest trickled in, but he didnt pause a nanosecond when asked about his shops biggest liability come NCAA Tournament time next week.

Arizona, no question, he says. Oh, god yeah. We have a lot of Arizona money, a ton of money, on the Wildcats to win the entire thing. Arizona is our biggest liability.

With a new coach, former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, and nearly a completely new roster, No. 2 Arizona forged a 28-3 regular season. Its lone pocks are away losses to Tennessee, UCLA, and Colorado.

Their unselfishness, leading the country with a 20.1 assists average, is part of the Wildcats excellence. Theyre also No. 5 in 2-point shooting, at 57.8 percent, and boast top-10 defensive efficiency, allowing a paltry 0.890 points per possession.

We also have a little bit of Arizona State money, at 50-1, but nothing crazy, Andrews said Tuesday. Thats about the only one, but 50-1 is not that outrageous. Plus, we have two locations in Mesquite, near the Arizona border, so well get some Arizona money from those guys.

Also, we took a little money on Xavier to win the Big East. But, again, nothing crazy.

An Oregon State-like windfall has not been had, so far, in 2022, as favorites held serve in eight of the first 11 conference tourneys.

Bellarmine (10-to-1 odds at the South Point) in the Atlantic Sun, Delaware (8-1) in the Colonial Athletic Association, and Wright State (5-1) in the Horizon League were the longest shots to have won their tournament crowns.

The elite leagues have just begun their postseason events, and the Vegas consensus indeed appears to favor Arizona as the top team in money, tickets, and attention.

That interest is exacerbated at BetMGM, whose properties line the Strip and nearly surround T-Mobile.

Stoneback expected Arizona to have five times as much money on it than any other Pac-12 squad. Ultimately, the Wildcats might garner as much as 75 percent of the total Pac-12 tickets written, he says, compared to the rest of the league combined.

Vegas odds on Arizona winning the Pac-12 tourney ranged from -130 to -175. Should the Wildcats play an opponent whose fans dont travel well, it will not shock Stoneback to see a 100-1 ticket advantage in Arizonas favor.

Our future odds might be a little bit higher on other teams, because of the money were getting on Arizona, says Stoneback. But we pretty much stay at the market price. We dont really stray away from it, just to give the professional bettors a bargain, or whatnot.

We just ride it out and hope it works out well.

Oregon State was 150-1 at Circa Sports and 500-1 at the South Point, but it showed that its stardust allotment was extinguished a year ago in a 14-point defeat to Oregon on Wednesday.

A doctor pal who did his undergraduate work at Arizona State asked me to pick up a futures ticket on his alma mater Tuesday, and I found 110-to-1 odds at Circa on the Sun Devils.

Alas, ASU 2022 was no OSU 2021, either. Wednesday, the Devils led by 17 with less than 14 minutes left but lost when Stanfords James Keefe picked up a loose ball and sank an eight-foot fling at the buzzer.

In the Big East on Wednesday, Xavier wilted toward the end of regulation against Butler and lost to the Bulldogs in overtime.

So Andrews and the South Point were alleviated of any worry in conference futures liability regarding both Arizona State and Xavier. Once again, its good to be the house.

Among the big boys, keep an eye on Texas Tech, which is 20-11 ATS this season and a 7.5-point favorite against Iowa State in the Big 12 tourney late Thursday night, according to DraftKings. The Red Raiders are about +275 to win the Big 12 tourney, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.

In the SEC, Alabama games have gone 20-10-1 to the over this season. The Crimson Tide vs. Vanderbilt total is 151 for Thursdays tilt inside Amelie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Also, Texas A&M games are 20-10 to over, and the Aggies-Florida total Thursday at noon ET is 134.5 at Amelie.

In the mid-majors, the South Point has Toledo the -110 favorite to win the Mid-American. The Rockets are 22-8 ATS, second to only Middle Tennessees scintillating 21-7-1 in the nation.

Toledo is a 16.5-point favorite against Central Michigan at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

In the Big West, in the debut event for the new Dollar Loan Center in the southern Vegas foothills, UC-Irvine is the South Points 3-to-1 favorite.

The Anteaters, whose games have been 15-6-2 to the under this season, play UC-Santa Barbara, and the game has a 125.5 total. Ten of UCSBs past 14 games have finished under. The Gauchos are second in the nation over their past three games, shooting 55.4 percent. The game is a pick em.

Long Beach State, one of the countrys best cover teams at 18-9, is a 5-point favorite Thursday against Cal State Bakersfield, whose 6-16-2 ATS record is one of the worst in college hoops.

Many professionals and expert bettors relish the next few days when there will be as many as 50 games on the menu.

To Stoneback, this is the best week in Las Vegas for college basketball, especially considering customers have been able to attend any of the five conference tournaments being staged in the city.

If you like to bet college basketball and you like to attend college basketball games, and youre a college basketball fan, he says, this is the Utopia week, more than next week.

Next week, though, the NCAA Tournament begins, with 16 first-round games on both Thursday and Friday, and eight second-round tilts apiece on Saturday and Sunday.

Andrews says the great paradox is that the conference tournaments offer such exceptional games, but the real wagering commences next week with the NCAAs.

Definitely an appetizer, he says of the conference tourneys. Ive been saying it for years. The basketball is great, but the betting is not fantastic. Maybe its just because our numbers [power ratings and point spreads] are pretty solid at this point.

But the next phase, when we get into the NCAA Tournament, you have a lot of matchups that have never happened. THAT is when the betting really goes crazy.

Also read: Can I bet on college sports in my state? | Big Ten tourney odds | Big 12 tourney odds | SEC tourney odds

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Conference Tournament Betting Report & Trends: Liability On Arizona - Gaming Today