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Group Show

Community Works at the Dwyer invites you to the  Opening Reception of    Spirit of Community II  Tuesday, October 18 | 6-8 p.m.   The Spirit of Harlem is Resounding, Magnetic, and Eternal.         Going Uptown by Mira Gandy Spirit of Community features specially commissioned works chronicling the sights, sounds, colors, textures, cadences, and people of Harlem. Contemporary artists, living and working in Harlem, lend their imagination and innovation to capture the pulse and rhythm that have kept Harlem vibrant and thriving. Their work honors the memories and experiences of Harlem's residents, celebrates a neighborhood's storied past and promising future, and reveals the architecture of a place that continues to transcend, evolve, and reinvent itself. Adarsh Alphons  Eric Alugas Laylah Amatullah Barrayn Paul Carluccio Bryan Collier Mira Gandy Sean Gilligan Myrah Brown Green and students of Quilt Making in American History at The City College of New York Ingrid Hertfelder Marivel Mejia  Curated by Paula Coleman      RSVP Required  Click Here or Email rsvp@dwyercc.org  Dwyer Cultural Center 258 St. Nicholas Avenue at W. 123rd Street between St. Nicholas Ave and Frederick Douglass Blvd  New York, New York 10027 212-222-3060 | rsvp@dwyercc.org | www.dwyercc.org

"The Occupation Is Us"

What if…

The Occupation Is Us?

On September 17th, 2011, a group of 40 people moved into Zuccotti Park in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district. Their goal seemed as naïve as it was grandiose: Occupy Wall Street on behalf of the 99% of Americans who were getting shafted by a system that favored the other 1%. Now in its 4th week, what began as a festive primal scream has morphed into a nation-wide franchise with protests in over 100 American cities, attracting a wide range of disparate voices who share the frustrations of soaring unemployment, further job cuts, and moribund politicians unresponsive to their plight. Like all New Yorkers pre-occupied with their own frenetic lives, we paid little attention until protesters were pepper-sprayed and arrested while marching across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Politicians and media pundits began to weigh in. Rush Limbaugh and Fox News painted them as a bunch of spoiled kids playing hooky from college. On the other end of the ideological spectrum, National Public Radio exposed the potential for escalating violence between the cops and a rowdy fringe. Mayor Bloomberg said the protesters had a right to be there as long as they didn’t break any laws, and assured us that the cold of the coming winter would make them go away. But who were these people? Official public opinion has generally painted the protesters as a marginal bunch of faceless nameless youngsters disconnected from the harsh realities facing the country. After a rally in support of Occupy Wall Street brought out thousands of teachers, transit workers, teamsters, service employees, health workers – the most powerful unions in the city – we decided to find out for ourselves. We remarked an impressive mix of people of different ages and races; we witnessed an impromptu committee meeting on a sidewalk, as well as polite cooperative exchanges between police and protesters.

On Day 21 we transplanted our photography studio from Chelsea to the middle of Zuccotti Park and began to make portraits of the people who were there. We met nurses, bankers, school superintendents, celebrities, lawyers, students, teachers, engineers and construction workers, employed or not. They came from everywhere: from California and Chicago and Minnesota and Seattle and Oregon and Cleveland and Texas, and beyond from places like Denmark and Brazil and Italy and Australia. Many were local. Some had arrived a few hours before; some had spent an overnight, others had been there four or five; a few since Day 1, 2 or 3. Some came for one day and decided to stay. Many said they were representing friends and colleagues back home who couldn’t be there. In a sea of optimistic faces sharing these precious moments of solidarity, we were approached by the quietest angry man in the crowd. Dressed in a black collar-down shirt and tailored slacks, grey hair neatly combed back, he came over when he noticed us photographing Russell Simmons. They shook hands as if they’d met before. No, he did not want to be photographed or give his name. He was a high-level music executive, caring for his 90 year-old mother and putting two daughters through college, he couldn’t risk losing his job. The movement needed a set of demands, he insisted, it needed to name the culprits and hold them publicly accountable. He may be right, but in the meantime Occupy Wall Street is encouraging thousands of Americans to dream, imagine and hope once again, and ultimately to remind us this is how America was born.

- Edward Hillel

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This project is a collaboration between Edward Hillel and Sean Gilligan.

"Harlem Stories"

Sean Gilligan PDN Faces Contest Winner!

PDN Contest Winning Images

I'm writing to share the exciting news that I am one of the winners of the PDN (Photo District News) 2011 Faces Contest. Two of of my portraits are featured on page 54 of the 2011 August issue.

This is the fourth annual PDN Faces Contest, and I chose to enter this year because I felt it was the perfect place to showcase work of some of my current projects.  The first is a project about New York Artists. The second, is a book I am currently producing and shooting, about life, art, business and community in Harlem, New York.

The portraits featured in PDN are a sampling of a much larger body of work.   The first image, of Floyd Brian Davis, is part of my Harlem Book Project, which will be on-shelves soon, where I am photographing musicians, activists, politicians, business-owners and artists who are active contributing members of the Harlem community.  The second image is of an ongoing artist portrait series, which is currently focused on New York artists, but will soon be international.  My intention in photographing artists is that through understanding and learning about them, I would foster collaborations between my own work and methodology and theirs. 

I wish to thank PDN for recognizing my work.  Please visit my website http://www.seangilligan.com/ to view more portraits of both series.  

Here is the official announcement by PDN of the winners for each category.  http://www.facesphotocontest.com/ 

Lou Vega at Paris Blues

Lou's Guitar

Lou Vega at Paris Blues

Lou Vega at Paris Blues

Lou Vega at Paris Blues

Solomon Hicks warming up outside The Cotton Club Harlem

Solomon Hicks warming up outside The Cotton Club Harlem

Billie Holiday Jr. ... AKA Princess Billie at Paris Blues

Billie Holiday Jr. / Princess Billie @ Lester Goodson's Open Mic. Night Wednesday's at Paris Blues, Harlem

Billie Holiday Jr.   ...  AKA- Princess Billie

Billie Holiday Jr.   ...  AKA- Princess Billie

Repost from the New York Times.... "Keeping Billie Holiday Alive at the Cotton Club" By COREY KILGANNON 

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/keeping-billie-holiday-alive-at-the-cotton-club/

Video: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/05/24/nyregion/100000000832182/a-spiritual-connection-with-lady-day.html

Solomon Hicks Practicing before a gig @ The Cotton Club

The Sublime Miss Kosi (Repost)

The Sublime Miss Kosi

The Sublime Miss Kosi: "I first met Kosi at an open mic at Paris Blues. I was taking pictures of the Les Goodson Quartet for Paula to send out to the Harlem Blogs. I asked Kosi if I could take a picture of her and she asked me "What's it for? I told here that I was an admirer of feminine beauty. She laughed and permission was granted.

Later when I heard her sing I was impressed not only by the quality of her voice but also by the intelligence she brought to the lyrics. I asked her if she wanted to do a duet of a new piece I was introducing called "Love". It went well and we have slowly incorporated her into The Goddess Lakshmi.

"What's a band with no chicks in it doing called The Goddess Lakshmi anyways?" she recently stated to me.

I felt odd introducing her as just "Kosi" so I invented The Sublime Miss Kosi. It was a play on Lady Day and The Divine Miss M. Then Les picked it up and began using it too. The other night Paula told me she wanted to make T-shirts with The Sublime Miss Kosi on it. So it appears to be sticking."

Originally Posted by bugpowder The Goddess Lakshmi: @ http://thegoddesslakshmi.blogspot.com/2011/06/sublime-miss-kosi.html

Photography by Sean Gilligan www.seangilligan.com

Coney Island Treasure Hunter

Coney Island New Years Morning 2011

Mr. Blues at Paris Blues

Samuel Hargress Jr. is the owner of Paris Blues bar in Harlem, New York. While experiencing dramatic changes around him, Sam created a timeless place where regulars wear godfather hats, snakeskin leather shoes, and 1940's styled zoot suits. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/training/mr-blues

Portrait of Floyd Bryan Davis ... The Eloquent Elocutionist

Artist Project / Harlem Artist - Floyd Bryan Davis ... The Eloquent Elocutionist

I wish to thank PDN for recognizing my work.  Please visit my website to view more portraits of this series.  

Here is the official announcement by PDN of the winners for each category.  http://www.facesphotocontest.com/   

Floyd Bryan Davis The Eloquent Elocutionist @ Shrine Harlem

"Sunday Jazz Brunch" at the Shrine Music Club Harlem 2011

Floyd Bryan Davis The Eloquent Elocutionist (spoken Word)

Rakiem Walker -Sax