The Voices Behind "The Slope"

October 29, 2006

Last Wednesday, students in the So Much Drama workshop took a trip to Manhattan to record parts for their radio soap opera, "The Slope." The afternoon included 3 hours of studio time and lots of throat-soothing lollipops and cups of hot chocolate. The soap, which will be released on 826NYC On the Air later this week, features the voices and writing of Gregory, Lauren, Alyssa, Wendy, Kassie, Lily, Tess, and Freddie.

Special thanks to Tom and Edge Studios in Manhattan for their incredible generosity.

If They Only Knew...

October 23, 2006

Yesterday, students in the Shaping a Story workshop met for a second Sunday afternoon. Armed with a post-it pad, markers, and some clay, these six auteurs mapped out a story line and created characters for their soon-to-be claymation film.

The poor putty souls pictured here have no idea what's in store for them over the next few weeks. Let's just say it involves spots, bears, and a crazy stretch of highway. Keep an eye out for updates - and soon, a film! - in our writing gallery.

Busy Week...

October 12, 2006

It's been a busy week here at 826: There's been little time to celebrate the success of last week's Art Show!

Between Park Slope and Williamsburgh, we've averaged over 55 drop-in students each day, which adds up to a lot of fractions, journal entries, spelling tests, and adventure comics (including Michael and Moses's "Adventures of Me and Him"). We also kicked off our in-schools book project with 10th and 11th graders at the School for Democracy and Leadership in Crown Heights; ran Soap Opera Drama and Journal Writing workshops; and hosted two fourth grade classes from PS 503 for field trips.

Next week, our Myth-Makers workshop begins on Tuesday. Also, Change for Change hosts a happy hour on Wednesday evening, at Barna (365 Park Avenue) to benefit 826NYC.

"I Think This Is a Good Painting"

October 08, 2006

Thursday was a very good night for 826NYC. The staff, board members, and volunteers were in stunned silence during our first art auction, 826NYC Art Show, as John Flansburgh, auctioneer extraordinaire, presided over the bidding, and an evening that was successful beyond our wildest expectations.

There are so many people to thank who made the auction possible. First of all, to the many individuals and companies who helped by donating their advice and services: Sonja Ameglio, Artforum, Cityframe, James Cohan Gallery, Victoria Cuthbert, Meredith Darrow, Fritz Dietl, John Flansburgh, Faye Fleming, GuS Soda, Bellatrix Hubert, Magnus Karlsson Galleri, Knight Landesman, McSweeney's Publishing, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, Mojo Fine Arts Storage, Friedrich Petzel Gallery, Sam Potts, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, Sies + Höke Galerie, Shino Takagi and Kaikai Kiki New York, Corinne Takasaki, and the Timothy Taylor Gallery—thank you all. We owe a special thank you to the staff and directors of the David Zwirner Gallery, who not only donated their facility, but also their time, energy, and expertise.

Of course, we can't forget to thank the artists: Mamma Andersson, Roger Andersson, Jules de Balincourt, Chinatsu Ban, Whitney Bedford, Tim Braden, Santiago Cucullu, Marcel Dzama, Wade Guyton, Roni Horn, Matthew Day Jackson, Rosa Loy, Dave Miko, Takashi Murakami, Jockum Nordström, Chris Ofili, Enoc Perez, Jon Pylypchuk, James Rielly, Florian Slotawa, Fred Tomaselli, C. K. Wilde, and Christopher Williams.

Lastly, there would have been no event without the tireless efforts of our auction committee: Amy Baumann, Amy Davila, Shelley Dick, and Marcel Dzama. The show was their vision and execution, and they worked nonstop over the past 10 months to make the evening as successful as it was.

The 826NYC Art Show Audio Tour

October 04, 2006

Our drop-in students have been busy all month, writing essays, reducing fractions, writing up lab reports, writing stories, etc. This past week a few of our regulars took some time out to comment on the artwork featured in tomorrow's 826NYC Art Show. Please visit the Art Show website or our writing gallery to listen.

If you are interested in bidding, please download the registration form from the show's website and bring it with you. Even if you're not interested in bidding, the show's beautiful limited edition catalog, which is published by McSweeney's, will be available there (long before it hits stores) and John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants will be our guest auctioneer for the evening. We hope to see everyone there.