On View: July 12-July 13
The Kitchen at Westbeth
Amid transformative renovations to The Kitchen’s Chelsea home in a moment of momentous growth, The Kitchen’s participation in West Side Fest demonstrates its recommitment to its community, and its aims to expand its already-multigenerational audience. It also underscores the organization’s interconnectedness with various boundary-breaking arts institutions and movements that have emerged in lower Manhattan since its founding over 50 years ago.
The West Side Cultural Network, a group of museums, parks, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions located within a half-mile portion of historic New York—is delighted to announce the return of West Side Fest. Now extended to three days of festivities, the second annual West Side Fest will offer free admission, special indoor and outdoor programming, crafts for kids and families, artmaking activities for all ages, performances, and much more. New Yorkers and visitors of all ages are invited to celebrate the vibrant, cultural village along the waterfront of Manhattan’s west side! West Side Fest highlights the city’s newest cultural destination on the western edge of Manhattan, a historic area with a welcoming and unique mix of fresh activities, open gathering spaces, and more. The neighborhood includes organizations that have been on the West Side for decades as well as newer arrivals like Gansevoort Peninsula in Hudson River Park. West Side Fest is conveniently accessible by subway, bus, the High Line, bike, or car. While many organizations are offering free admission to programs and events, advance registration may be required.
The Kitchen is part of the West Side Cultural Network, which also includes the Center for Art, Research and Alliances, Chelsea Factory, Dia Chelsea, the High Line, Hill Art Foundation, Hudson River Park, The Joyce Theater, Little Island, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, New York City AIDS Memorial, Poster House, Print Center New York, Rubin Museum of Art, The Shed, Westbeth Artists Housing, West Village Rehearsal Co-Op, White Columns, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Weekend Programming Schedule with The Kitchen
Kick-off Celebration & Poster Sale
Friday, July 12, 6–8pm
Westbeth Courtyard, Free, no RSVP required
Join The Kitchen in collaboration with Westbeth Artists Housing for a kick-off celebration party at Westbeth! Both founded in the early 1970s to nurture alternative artist communities, the event celebrates the sharing of histories across two institutions. Hosted at The Kitchen's loft within Westbeth, the party features drinks, music, and an opportunity to view and purchase select posters from The Kitchen's 50+ year working archive of experimental art!
Tai Chi Workshop
Saturday, July 13, 11:30am–1pm
The Kitchen at Westbeth, Free, no RSVP required
Tai Chi community program led in collaboration by Kitchen artist Chuck Martin and Westbeth resident Mitch Moses. The 90-minute workshop sessions consist of Tai Chi Health preservation practices, along with principals and methods of cultivating internal power.
Poster Sale
Saturday, July 13, 1–6pm
Westbeth Courtyard, Free, no RSVP required
Stop by The Kitchen's table at Westbeth Artist Housing's Art & Craft & Vintage Market for an opportunity to view and purchase rare posters from The Kitchen's extensive 50+ year working archive of experimental art!
BIOS
Chuck Martin has studied Tai Chi with William C.C. Chen, Ken van Sickle, and Jinny Du, to name a few, and has made the film, Some Tai Chi, which can be viewed on his UMAXXI YouTube channel. Also a photographer and former professor of Comparative Literature, English, and African American Studies, he spends this fall as a Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Harvard University, at work on a book of photography and text, Optical Thinking.
Mitch Moses began his journey in the Martial Arts at the age of ten in Brooklyn, New York when at his own request his father enrolled him into a local JiuJitsu school. After that initial exposure, at age 16, he then went on to study Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu (in Chinatown, NYC) under Master Gin Fu Mark and Japanese Goju Karate under Sensei Harry Rosenstein throughout his High School years. It was in 1983 that Mitch first began his study of Tai Chi Chuan under William C.C. Chen. In 1998 he enrolled in the North Eastern School of Tai Chi under Eric Schnieder and then in 2003 he began classes with Maggie Newman, all students of the late Yang Tai Chi Master Cheng Man Chang.
RELATED
Various Artists
West Side Fest 2023
On View