Remembering Hiroshima

In 1988 Keith visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and wrote the following in his journal:

We all went to visit the Peace Museum & Memorial, which is a vivid documentation of the horrors of Hiroshima. It is impossible to imagine the magnitude of the bombing until you personally experience this museum.  I had, of course, read about and seen some photos of Hiroshima, but I never felt it like this. It is incredible that this destruction was caused by a bomb that was made in 1945, and that the level of sophistication and number of nuclear warheads has increased since then. Who could ever want this to happen again? To anyone? The frightening thing is that people debate and discuss the arms race as if they were playing with toys. All of these men should have to come here, not to a bargaining table in some safe European country.

Hiroshima poster

Happy Birthday, Marcel Duchamp!

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Photo by Yves Arman
Photo by Yves Arman

Marcel Duchamp was born on July 28, 1887.  This photo shows Keith sitting outside of the North Wing Pediment of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  The rectangle outlined in silver above Keith’s head is the window to the Duchamp Gallery.  Not part of the original building, the window was created at the request of Marcel Duchamp as part of his directed placement for his work The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass).   Learn more about this work and the amazing Duchamp collection housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art here.

The Rise of Sneaker Culture

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Keith Haring painting the Berlin Wall
Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi, 1986 © Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc.

Keith Haring loved sneakers and wore them everywhere, all the time, whether working with Grace Jones for her performance at the Paradise Garage in 1985, or painting the Berlin Wall in 1986. We know he would be psyched to see The Rise of Sneaker Culture at the Brooklyn Museum, which opens today and runs through October 4. It looks amazing! To learn more about the exhibition visit the Brooklyn Museum website and be sure to see the show.

Keith haring and Grace Jones
Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc.

Celebrate Gay Pride this Sunday, June 28!

Keith Haring created this logo for Heritage of Pride, the organization that hosts New York City’s Pride events in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the beginning of the modern Gay Rights movement. The Stonewall Inn was recently granted landmark status by New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, the first time a New York City site has been designated as a landmark primarily for its significance to LGBT history. Read more about the decision here.

The annual NYC Pride March, the culminating event of Gay Pride month, starts at Noon on Sunday at 36th Street and Fifth Avenue and works its way downtown to Christopher and Greenwich Streets in the West Village. Also happening on Sunday are PrideFest and Dance on the Pier, a fund-raiser featuring Ariana Grande.

For complete information, parade route, and a full list of events visit NYC Pride.

New York City’s public pools open June 27, 2015

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Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Works, Inc.
Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Works, Inc.

In the summer of 1987 Keith created a mural on one of the walls surrounding what was then known as the Carmine Street pool. Completed in one day, the mural was done while the pool was open to the public, with Junior Vasquez bringing speakers and equipment to deejay, creating an event Keith described as a “dance party at the pool.” He continued,

“it was one of the hottest days in the summer and it was full of people, and it was one of the most incredible situations I have ever been in.”

The Carmine Street pool is now the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, and is located at 1 Clarkson St at Seventh Ave South in Greenwich Village. New York City’s public pools are free to all.  Visit nycgovparks.org for information regarding hours and access.

And read a review in Gothamist which names the pool at the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center one of the top 9 swimming pools in the city.

Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Works, Inc.
Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Works, Inc.

Shuddhabrata Sengupta Named Recipient of the 2015 – 2016 Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism at Bard College

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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Courtesy Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.

Congratulations to Shuddhabrata Sengupta, recipient of the 2015 – 2016 Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism at Bard College.

Sengupta, an artist, curator, and writer based in Delhi, has been selected as the second winner of the Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism. Made possible through a five year-grant from the Keith Haring Foundation, the Haring Fellowship is an annual award for a scholar, activist, or artist to teach and conduct research at CCS Bard and the Human Rights Project. Sengupta’s one-year appointment will begin in September 2015. He succeeds the Dutch artist Jeanne van Heeswijk, who has held the Fellowship during its inaugural year.

For more information about Shuddhabrata Sengupta and the Center for Curatorial Studies and the Human Rights Project at Bard College, please see the full CCS Bard announcement here.

 

Sing for Hope Pianos

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Sing for Hope pianoBe sure to visit (and play!) the Keith Haring piano located at 62nd St and Columbus Ave, part of the Sing for Hope Pianos project.

From June 5 – June 21, Sing for Hope places pianos throughout NYC’s parks and public spaces for anyone and everyone to play. Each piano is a unique art piece created by a different artist or designer and becomes host to impromptu concerts by professionals and amateurs alike in an open festival of music for all of New York City.  At the close of the two week event Sing for Hope donates the instruments to NYC schools, healthcare facilities, and community organizations in need, allowing the pianos to enrich lives for years to come.

To learn more about the project and find locations for all 50 pianos visit the Sing for Hope website here.