Howl! Arts

The Full Moon Show with John Pizza: Pants and Shirts
2022-08-12 | NY
Visit Howlarts.org on Friday, August 12, 2022 from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. to watch the Full Moon Show!

Pants and Shirts. It’s such an obligation to walk around clothed. To make sure our wayward nakedness is covered and seemly. To see that our inner desires and our wacky motives, our ugly tendencies and our stupid mistakes, are rightfully adorned. That we are completely and thoroughly dressed.
Join John Pizza for a new Full Moon Show called Pants and Shirts, an anti strip show, because if everybody’s wearing them, I guess I gotta wear them too.
John Pizza is a performer, builder, and drawer. He uses trash and thrift-store detritus scrounged in his Brooklyn neighborhood to tell stories and make his shows. He loves the macabre and the mushy sweet. His sculptures are performative, and his performances involve sculptures—an object theatre of weird surprises.

About Tom Murrin and the Full Moon Show
Performance is anything done with purpose and style. —Tom Murrin
Howl! Happening is home to the archive of Tom Murrin, aka the Alien Comic and the Godfather of Performance Art. Every full moon—without fail, paid booking or not, in all seasons and whatever the weather—he performed his Luna Macaroona Full Moon Show. When he had a club date that fell on the full moon, he’d wrangle his friends to perform as guests—pushing the careers of such groundbreaking performers as David Cale, David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris, Blue Man Group, Ethyl Eichelberger, Lisa Kron, and many others. When he didn’t have a club date, he performed on the street for passersby, transforming the pedestrian atmosphere with his madness and magic.

BOB KRASNER:The Shape of the City
2022-09-17 - 2022-10-30 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Photography Exhibition
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 17 / 3–7 PM / Free
Special Performance by Female Genius on the terrace at 3:30 PM.

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Bob Krasner: The Shape of the City

Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive is pleased to present photographer Bob Krasner’s abstract city views that explore the intersection of the architecture and atmosphere of New York City. Unlike his well-known pictures of cultural events, which concentrate on the life and people of the downtown scene, these photos represent the joyful moments of image-making that condense man’s creations and the sun into painterly and sublime abstraction.
Krasner has been a photographer since high school. He’s photographed rock stars and presidents, weddings and bar mitzvahs, performance art and paintings, shopping malls and private estates, writers and publishers, CEOs and sailors. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and the Village Voice, among other publications. He is currently a weekly contributor to the Villager and AM New York, concentrating on events and people below 14th Street, which brings him in touch with some of the most important artists and creators working in the city today.
“When I’m not shooting portraits or concerts or parades, I relax by taking more pictures,” he says. Posted daily on his Instagram page (@bobkrasner) for more than six years, his unpopulated abstracts are inspired by his jaunts around the five boroughs, reflecting his love for New York City and the deep emotional resonance he finds in the collaboration between the sun, the city, and the artist.
“I can’t imagine living anywhere else but New York City. It’s the best place for me. I can walk out of my apartment, go around the block and see the sun hitting a building in a way that results in a picture that I’ve never taken before,” Krasner says.

Bob Krasner: The Shape of Things | Artist Talk with Savannah Spirit
2022-10-13 18:00 (America/New_York) | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive invites you to experience the work of Bob Krasner and learn more about his artistic process through dialogue with fellow New York-based photographer and critic, Savannah Spirit. A multi-talented photographer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and the Village Voice, among other publications, Krasner’s current exhibition of abstract city views explore the intersection of the architecture and atmosphere of New York City.
The talk will be followed by a Q & A and a walk through of the exhibition.

Bob Krasner has been a professional photographer for over 25 years. He has survived photo sessions with heavy metal hair bands, reluctant politicians, nervous brides and camera shy children (and adults). His pictures have been published by Rolling Stone, People, Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Penguin Books, Random House and The Villager, for whom he also writes. The New York Press Association has awarded him first prize for best art photograph for the last three years. He can frequently be found, camera in hand, on the streets of New York City (where he lives), looking for the next great shot.

MARIUPOL: Photographs & Video by Evgeniy Maloletka and Mstyslav Chernov
2022-11-09 - 2022-11-20 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Opening Reception with the artists
Saturday, November 12, 2022 | 4 – 7 PM
Howl Arts and Yara Arts Group present Mariupol, an exhibition of award-winning photographs and video by Evgeniy Maloletka and Mstyslav Chernov (AP) from the first days Russia invaded Ukraine this year. The exhibition runs from November 9 to 20, 2022 at Howl Arts / Howl Archive, 250 Bowery, 2nd floor, New York City.
There were no funerals. No memorials. No public gatherings to mourn those killed by Russia’s relentless attacks on the port city of Mariupol that became a symbol of Ukraine’s ferocious resistance. The mass grave trenches told the story of a city under siege.
The world would have seen none of this, would have seen next to nothing at all from Mariupol as a city under siege, if it wasn’t for Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka, the Associated Press team who race into the city when the invasion began and stayed long after it had become one of the most dangerous places on Earth. For more than two weeks, they were the only international media in the city, and the only journalists able to transmit video and still photos to the outside world.
Moscow hated their work. The Russian embassy in London tweeted images of AP photos with the word “Fake” over them in red text. A top Russian diplomat held up copies of photos from the maternity hospital at a U.N. Security Council meeting, insisting they were phony. But their photographs and the people who they met speak to what happened in Mariupol.

Evgeniy Maloletka is a Ukrainian war photographer journalist and filmmaker, who has been covering the war in Ukraine since 2014. He has also covered the Euromaidan Revolution, the protests in Belarus, the Nagorno-Karabakh war and the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine. In 2022 his work during the siege of Mariupol has been recognized with the Knight International Journalism Award, the Visa d’or News Award and the Prix Bayeux Calvados-Normandie. He has also received awards from Italy, Germany, Norway and United States.
Mstyslav Chernov is a Ukrainian war correspondent, filmmaker, photographer, and novelist known for his coverage of the Ukrainian revolution, the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the war in Iraq, Syria, and Nagorno-Karabakh, and Afghanistan under Taliban rule after U.S. withdrawal, as well as for his art installations and exhibitions. He is on the staff of Associated Press.

On Sunday, November 20 at 5:00 PM Howl! Arts will host an event “Music and Spoken Word for Mariupol” created by Yara Arts Group with poet Bob Holman and bandura master Julian Kytasty, with Yara Artists and Daria Kolomiec. All events are free. Donations will go to Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian-American non-profit organization that provides medical and humanitarian aid.”
Image: A Ukrainian serviceman takes a photograph of a damaged church after shelling in a residential district in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

CITY OF KINGS: A History of New York City Graffiti
2022-11-19 - 2022-12-31 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Exhibition in Two Parts:
Howl! Happening: November 19 – January 15, 2023
(6 E 1st St, New York)
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive: December 3 – January 29, 2023
(250 Bowery Second Floor, New York)

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CITY OF KINGS: A History of New York City Graffiti

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CITY OF KINGS: A History of New York City Graffiti Part 2

New York, NY: How did a subculture born on the streets of New York City evolve into a ubiquitous global phenomenon? From its origins in the late 1960s through today, the story of street art and graffiti in New York City is still being told. Creating a rich, visual contextualization of that history, Howl! Happening is pleased to present CITY OF KINGS – an exhibition tracing the historical chronology of graffiti’s emergence as an art form and elevating the under-recognized artists and other players who pushed the medium forward. The exhibition is held in two parts, the first at Howl! Happening and the second at Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive (HA/HA).
Curated by first-generation graffiti artist Al Díaz (who worked under the name Bomb One before partnering with Jean-Michel Basquiat to create the SAMO©… tag) with additional curation from graffiti archivist and artist Eric ‘DEAL CIA’ Felisbret and art educator Mariah Fox, the exhibition features stories, photos, ephemera, videos, documentaries, and the accounts of historical experiences, many of which are previously unseen.
Grounded in personal narratives from the inventors, participants, and innovators who shaped graffiti culture over the last five-and-a-half decades, this exhibition highlights untold stories and lesser-known artists who contributed to graffiti’s emergence and spread across New York City’s five boroughs. At the heart of the exhibition is a timeline that offers a visual representation of how and where graffiti evolved, to indicate the flow of ideas and inspiration among artists and groups. The timeline also contextualizes the graffiti movement by referencing key historical events, such as the Son of Sam murders, street-gang activity, the financial decline of New York City, and efforts to “clean up” the city.
The chronological display creates a framework to help explain how graffiti has become so lodged and influential within our present popular culture. What makes this exhibit particularly unique is that the narrative is told through the lens, and voice of the actual players who created graffiti. An accessible, concise, clear account for the general public is long overdue in New York City, the “birthplace of graffiti culture.”
– Al Díaz, NYC. August 2022
In total, the exhibition features the contributions of dozens of graffiti artists, world-renowned photographers, collectors and archivists. The exhibition includes photographs, video, and audio recordings — some of which come from personal archives. Public programs and a series of panel discussions will hone in on themes and periods that evolved across time; touching on topics such as the movement’s roots, the evolution of graffiti styles and social and cultural practices.
CITY OF KINGS includes contributions from artists and historians including CoCo 144, Taki 183, Crash, LEE, Jay Edlin, Charlie Ahearn, FLINT, Carlo McCormick, and Martha Cooper.

Music and Spoken Word for Mariupol
2022-11-20 17:00 - 19:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Howl! Arts presents “Music and Spoken Word for Mariupol”, an event created by Yara Arts Group with poet Bob Holman and bandura master Julian Kytasty, with Yara Artists and Daria Kolomiec. All events are free. Donations will go to Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian-American non-profit organization that provides medical and humanitarian aid.”
Click HERE to learn more about the exhibition.
Image: A Ukrainian serviceman takes a photograph of a damaged church after shelling in a residential district in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Catalog Signing | CITY OF KINGS: A History of New York City Graffiti
2022-11-23 12:00 - 16:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Join the curators of City of Kings: A History of New York City Graffiti at Howl Happening for a catalog signing event on Wednesday, November 23 from 12 – 4 PM. Limited copies of the first edition show catalog will be available at the event. Come see the show and pick up your own copy or gift one for the holidays!

City of Kings: A History of New York City Graffiti is an exhibition tracing the historical chronology of graffiti’s emergence as an art form and elevating the under-recognized artists and other players who pushed the medium forward. The exhibition is held in two parts, the first at Howl! Happening and the second at Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive (HA/HA).
Curated by first-generation graffiti artist Al Díaz (who worked under the name Bomb One before partnering with Jean-Michel Basquiat to create the SAMO©… tag) with additional curation from graffiti archivist and artist Eric ‘DEAL CIA’ Felisbret and art educator Mariah Fox, the exhibition features stories, photos, ephemera, videos, documentaries, and the accounts of historical experiences, many of which are previously unseen.

Pathetic LiteratureHosted and Curated by Tom Cole and Eileen Myles
2022-12-02 - 2022-12-04 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
December 2 and 3, 2022 / 7 PM / Free
Performance and Book Launch
Howl! Happening is pleased to host Performances and Readings in celebration of the publication of Pathetic Literature, edited by Eileen Myles.
Friday, December 2:
Joe Westmoreland, Charles Atlas, Joan Larkin, Precious Okoyomon, Lynne Tillman, Samuel Delany (video appearance), Johanna Fateman, Sini Anderson, Nayland Blake, Moyra Davey, Eliza Douglas, Fred Moten, Tom Cole, Eileen Myles.
Saturday, December 3:
Laura Henriksen, Morgan Vo, Randy Danson, Nicole Wallace, Jack Halberstam, Tom Carey, Samuel Delany (video appearance), Andrea Abi-Karam, The Cyborg Jillian Weise (video appearance), Felix Bernstein Pati Hertling, Ama Birch, Kyle Dacuyan, Tom Cole, Eileen Myles.
“Literature is pathetic.” So claims Eileen Myles in their bold and bracing introduction to Pathetic Literature, an exuberant collection of pieces ranging from poetry to drama to prose to something in-between, all of which explore those so-called “pathetic” or sensitive feelings around which lives are built and revolutions are incited.
Myles first reclaimed the word for the title of a seminar they taught at University of California San Diego, rescuing it from the derision into which it had slipped, and restoring its original meaning of inspiring emotion or feeling, from the ancient Greek rhetorical method pathos. Their reinvention of “pathetic” forms the bedrock for this anthology, which includes a hearty 106 contributors, encompassing titans of global literature like Robert Walser, Jorge Luis Borges, Rumi, and Gwendolyn Brooks; queer icons and revolutionaries like Dodie Bellamy, Samuel Delany, and Bob Flanagan; as well as the invigorating newness and excitement of writers on the rise, including Nicole Wallace, Precious Okoyomon, Will Farris, and Tom Cole. Creative nonfiction by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Jack Halberstam, and Porochista Khakpour rub shoulders with poetry by Natalie Diaz, Victoria Chang, Lucille Clifton, and Ariana Reines. Joined by prose from Chester Himes, Djuna Barnes, Chris Kraus, and Qiu Miaojin, among so many others, the result is a matchless anthology that is as much an ongoing dialogue as an essential compendium of queer, revolutionary, joyful, and always moving literature.
From confrontations with suffering, embarrassment, and disquiet to the comforts and consolations of finding one’s familiar double in a poem, Pathetic Literature is a swarming taxonomy of ways to think differently and live pathetically on a polarized and fearful planet.
The book cover is graced by Nicole Eisenman’s painting that depicts the fervent pleading of a cat directed toward a querulous, madly colored world (ours?!). Pathetic Literature is published by Grove Atlantic. Publication date: November 15, 2022

About Eileen Myles and Tom Cole
Eileen Myles (they/them, b. 1949) is a poet, novelist, and art journalist whose vernacular practice of mostly first-person writing has become a touchstone for the identity-fluid internet age. They are the editor of Pathetic Literature and live in New York City and Marfa, TX.

Tom Cole is a writer and artist living in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His work has been presented at Participant Inc, Le Petit Versailles, Thread Waxing Space, Art on Air, Dixon Place, Howl! Arts, Clocktower Gallery, ICA Boston, Performa, and Boston Center for the Arts. He is a three-time MacDowell Playwriting Fellow, and a 2015 Edward F. Albee Foundation Playwriting Fellow. He heads the New Play Commissioning Program at True Love Productions, where he has commissioned new work by Heidi Schreck, Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas, Craig Lucas, and Sheila Callaghan, among others. He co-curates Experiments and Disorders, a literary series at Dixon Place. He has collaborated extensively with Anohni, most recently appearing in She Who Saw Beautiful Things at The Kitchen.

Panel Discussion: Birth of Graffiti
2022-12-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Join groundbreaking first-generation New York City writers Wicked Gary, Coco 144, Mike 171, Ree 2, Jester with moderator Jay Edlin to discuss how they established the bedrock for their culture, leading to expansion and the larger trajectory that followed.
This event is in connection with CITY OF KINGS: A History of New York City Graffiti – an exhibition tracing the historical chronology of graffiti’s emergence as an art form and elevating the under-recognized artists and other players who pushed the medium forward. The exhibition is held in two parts, the first at Howl! Happening and the second at Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive (HA/HA).
Curated by first-generation graffiti artist Al Díaz (who worked under the name Bomb One before partnering with Jean-Michel Basquiat to create the SAMO©… tag) with additional curation from graffiti archivist and artist Eric ‘DEAL CIA’ Felisbret and art educator Mariah Fox, the exhibition features stories, photos, ephemera, videos, documentaries, and the accounts of historical experiences, many of which are previously unseen.

Image: Flint Gennari

Book Signing: George “CRIME79” Ibanez’ My Creative Journey
2022-12-17 12:00 - 14:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
The author will be available at Howl! Happening to sign copies of his new, fully illustrated (in color 197 page) hardcover book in time for holiday gift-giving.
Ashford Street Press proudly presents a book on the life of Brooklyn Writer and Artist, George “ Crime79” Ibanez
My Creative Journey depicts the amazing journey told in pictures and stories of a Brooklyn boy that entered the secretive world of subway graffiti in the late 70’s. George Ibanez, as “Crime79,” explores his path dodging the tough streets of Brooklyn East New York his climb as a pioneering subway painter, to gallery artist and 40 years in the creative world. With many never before published photos, the artist explains stories and anecdotes of his evolution of painting New York City subways to the body of work on canvas that are held in art collections worldwide.
In My Creative Journey, Ibañez unveils yet another piece of the missing puzzle of the fragmented story and history of graffiti. It reveals an emerging creative subculture, which grew from a bunch of kids living a Tom Sawyeresque life of creativity and adventure in the streets of New York City, to helping create one of the most influential art movements of all time.

George “Crime79” Ibañez (b. New York, New York December 31, 1964) The ​New York City-based artist began painting graffiti in the New York subways at age 13 in the East New York section of Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Ibañez received the Art Students League of New York Gold Medal. He then studied at the School of Visual Arts for a short time. From 1977 to 1984, Crime79 painted numerous notable subway cars. A whole train with a memorable painted poem appears as the opening page to the “Graffiti Bible,” Subway Art by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant. Crime79 was a member of a group called “Soul Artists” who were among the first to transition graffiti art from subways to legitimate galleries. Crime79’s first show of paintings was at the Rainbow Gallery in New York City’s SoHo District in 1983. His works were regarded as, “simply the best pieces in the show” (ArtSpeak Magazine, Volume V, June 1983). In 2009 two of his paintings were sold at the prestigious Millon & Associés Auction House in Paris, France.
Today he continues to exhibit in various gallery shows worldwide and owns and operates his own Graphics /Printing company.
Visit crime79.com

Panel Talk: The Mainstreaming of Graffiti
2022-12-17 15:00 - 17:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Moderator: Carlo McCormick
Panelists: Lee Quinones, Dave Chino, Crash, Charlie Ahearn
A discussion led by New York art critic Carlo McCormick will explore graffiti’s intersection and dissemination into popular culture with artists who have played a primary role.

Carlo McCormick is an American culture critic and curator living in New York City. He is the author of numerous books, monographs, and catalogs on contemporary art and artists.
Lee Quiñones was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1960, and raised in New York City’s Lower East Side. One of the originators of street art, Quiñones started painting on city streets and subway cars in the 1970s. Over the next decade, he would paint over 100 whole subway cars throughout the MTA system, to then shift to a studio-based practice. Lee was instrumental in moving street art above the ground when he created the first handball-court mural in 1978. He has presented numerous solo shows and exhibited internationally; his first exhibition was at Galleria La Medusa, Rome, in 1979.
Charlie Ahearn has been involved in hip hop since the late 70s with his Super-8 kung-fu movie The Deadly Art of Survival. With Fred Brathwaite, he produced and directed the seminal hip-hop film Wild Style, released worldwide in 1983. Ahearn directed short films such as 5 Grand Masters, Dirt Style, and Dancing Industry. His feature-length documentary Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer was released through Oscilloscope Films. Ahearn had a one-person art-exhibition, Scratch Ecstasy, at P.P.O.W. and showed silk-screen paintings in the graffiti- and street-art shows Beyond the Streets, held in L.A. in 2018 and New York in 2019. The artist resides in New York.

Image: Lee Quinones’ Duck Wall painted elicitly on a handball court (Fall 1978) © Charlie Ahearn

Howl Closed
2022-12-21 - 2023-01-03 | NY
Howl will be closed for the Holidays

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 – Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023.

CITY OF KINGS: A History of New York City Graffiti
2023-01-01 - 2023-02-02 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States

LiVE MAG! No. 19: The EDGY ISSUE
2023-03-16 18:00 - 20:30 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
HOWL! HAPPENING presents 5 Years of Partnership with LiVE MAG! Join us for an evening of Art, Film, and Poetry to celebrate the release of The EDGY ISSUE hosted by Publisher Jeffrey Cyphers Wright and Editors Ilka Scobie and Lori Oritz.
LiVE MAG! has evolved from its original conception as an onstage event and produces multiple live shows and an annual journal of art and poetry. To celebrate the release of its 19th issue, LiVE MAG! will present a selection of readings from The EDGY ISSUE along with a screening of short films by Luigi Cazzaniga, Sono Kuwayama, and Marcia Resnick. The event will also highlight artwork in the new issue including a presentation by the painter Brett De Palma. Other guests include Sarah Arvio, Max Blagg, and Leah Elimeliah.

About LiVE MAG!: LiVE MAG! was born to run at the Bowery Poetry Club. It began when Bob Holman asked Jeff Wright to produce a show. Wright conceived the show as a performance/publication event where publishers, writers, and audiences could swap and share. The idea was that by reading, or staging, a poem it would be like publishing it.
Jeffrey Cyphers Wright: LiVE MAG! publisher moved to New York City in 1976 and began Hard Press, publishing poetry postcards and books Wright has written 18 books of poetry including Blue Lyre, Triple Crown, Employment of the Apes, All in All, and Take Over with a foreword by Allen Ginsberg.
Ilka Scobie: LiVE MAG! Deputy Editor, is a native New Yorker, poet and art critic. She has written extensively for artnet and currently contributes to London’s Artlyst. Recent poems have appeared in Poetry in Performance, Vanitas, and here/there. She was also Deputy Editor of Cover Magazine.
Lori Ortiz LiVE MAG! Associate Editor, Designer/Developer, holds a BFA from Alfred University has enjoyed an accomplished painting career. She has written arts journalism for NYC and national cultural trade and weekly publications since 2003 and is the author of Disco Dance. She has been a member of the design and web developer communities since 2009.

HAROLD SHAPINSKY: ABSTRACT SOUL
2023-03-23 - 2023-05-21 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
“There was no question with him that the talent and the dedication were real. However, the main thing I remember about him was how terribly intense he was – a combination of extreme intensity and shyness.” – Robert Motherwell

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Harold Shapinsky: Abstract Soul

Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive is pleased to present Harold Shapinsky: Abstract Soul, an exhibition of his paintings and drawings, on view from March 23 through May 21, 2023. The exhibition marks Shapinsky’s first solo exhibition in New York since the 90s and will showcase works spanning from the 1940s to the late 80s, including many rarely- and never-exhibited works like early figurative paintings and the elegant, modest-sized paper paintings for which he is best known. Together the paintings in the exhibition illuminate the remarkable story of the artist’s long-overlooked practice in New York and his late career rise to recognition as a significant Abstract Expressionist.
A native New Yorker, Shapinsky was born in Brooklyn in 1925 and painted for the majority of his career with little public recognition. He spent much of his life in the East Village where he studied at Mark Rothko and Robert Motherwell’s school The Subject of An Artist. Despite his proximity to celebrated Abstract Expressionists of the same generation and the recognition of his peers, Shapinsky did not garner the attention of the art world. He possessed an intensity that was reflected both in his work and in his distaste for the politics of the commercial art world, and so while the movement flourished around him, Shapinsky worked in obscurity in his small Lower East Side apartment with his wife Kate. He painted in bold brush strokes on thick paper, which was the only medium that he could both afford and find room to store.
Shapinsky’s talent would likely have continued to go unrecognized if not for Akumal Ramachander, an English professor and arts publicist from India who encountered Shapinsky’s son David at the University of Chicago. David presented images of his father’s work to Ramachander upon learning of his work promoting under-recognized artists, and Ramachander immediately vowed to champion Shapinsky’s work.
Ramachander began promoting Shapinsky in New York, but the tide of Abstract Expressionism had receded in the United States and he had limited luck. In the meantime, he befriended the artist and began advocating for Shapinsky in London. In the Spring of 1985, Ramachander persuaded James Mayer to give Shapinsky a show at his gallery that opened on Shapinsky’s 60th birthday to great acclaim. More exhibitions in Europe and eventually in the U.S. followed, as well as a documentary on Channel 4 (UK), an article in the Observer by Salman Rushdie, and a 16 page New Yorker feature by Lawrence Weschler.
Today, the art and story of Harold Shapinsky has joined the public consciousness, and Shapinsky was awarded recognition and financial freedom in his later years of life. Still, for Shapinsky, the work remained central to his existence. “If none of this had happened,” Shapinsky said in a 1985 Washington Post interview, “I’d still paint. For the love of it.”

Watch Rear Window: The Painter and the Pest.
Salman Rushdie narrates the story of how Akumal Ramachander discovered the works of unknown Abstract Expressionist painter, Harold Shapinsky, whose vast collection of work might not otherwise have been shared with the general public. Originally produced by Bandung Productions in 1985.

Image: Harold Shapinsky, Untitled. Paint and ink on paper. 8 1/2” x 8 1/2” 1976

Reading of A THOUSAND CRANES by David Caudle
2023-04-17 18:30 - 21:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Reading of A THOUSAND CRANES by David Caudle to benefit A is For
Directed by Michole Biancosino
Dramaturg: Morgan Jenness
Featuring: Will Brill, Robert Cuccioli, Sanjit De Silva, Isabel Keating, Florencia Lozano, Evan Ohbayashi, Erin Wilhelmi, and others TBA.
FREE TICKET LINK: https://secure.givelively.org/event/a-is-for/reading-of-a-thousand-cranes-to-benefit-a-is-for
White, GOP Texas Congressman Walt Woodhouse leaves the midterm campaign trail to be with his coed daughter, in a coma from a brutal attack. When the doctor urges the morning after drug to prevent a pregnancy from rape, Walt faces a choice that could put him at odds with his family, his God and himself.

A is For was conceived at a party in 2012 by actors and friends, Martha Plimpton, Kellie Overbey, and Gina Loukareas. At the time, they were discussing Sandra Fluke, a college student who had been demanding coverage for birth control at Georgetown University and the vitriol that she subsequently experienced from conservative press and lawmakers. Rush Limbaugh had even gone so far as to call the law student a “slut” and a “prostitute” for simply seeking equal access to reproductive healthcare. In our shared rage, Martha said “They may as well have us wear the Scarlet A!”
Within the next few months, A is For emerged in response to the further escalating legislative attacks on access to safe abortion. And just as Martha, Kellie, and Gina had imagined at that party, they took Hester Prynne’s Scarlet A, intended as a symbol of shame, and re-claimed it. You decide what your A is for: Access, Advocacy, Autonomy, Abortion, etc.

WALTER STEDING: This is My Voice
2023-04-27 - 2023-06-04 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Closing Reception: Saturday June 3 | 3-6 PM
Join us at Howl! Happening Saturday, June 3rd from 3 – 6 PM for the closing reception for WALTER STEDING: This Is My Voice. Celebrate with an afternoon of music, poetry, and art including special guests Penny Arcade, Linda Kleinbub, Stewart Meyer, Puma Perl, Barbara Rosenthal, and Jeffrey Cyphers Wright.

There is an ethereal other-worldly characteristic inherent in the images like they are trying to tell the viewer a secret. —Emma Zakarevicius

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Walter Steding: This is My Voice

Howl! Happening is pleased to present an exhibition of portraits and allegorical paintings by Walter Steding that move beyond representation to hidden and poetic unseen worlds. An artist who has worked in many mediums— acting, writing, filmmaking, music, painting—his personal lexicon creates an alchemical mix projecting these works into a deeper, more mystical realm.
Steding—who was Andy Warhol’s painting assistant and is a virtuosic violinist well known for developing his own electronic instruments and performing solo and with Blondie, Jim Carroll, David Byrne, Chic, Robert Fripp and Panther Burns—has been painting since he was 5 years old.
His portraits go beyond Realism. They fix you with an intense focus from a purely pictorial space, floating in a neutral background that emphasizes all the more the essence of the sitter, whether it be the Grand Prior of the Knights Templar, the Golem, a jester, a family portrait, or a dog,
Capturing the essence of his subjects, he says he is concerned with the world of “non-being” that transmutes his sitters’ physiognomy into a virtual space of pure imagination. The simplicity and straightforward gaze, reduces the critical “noise” representing external reality and the viewer can experience these people and creatures, as through an abstract lens of shapes, colors, and forms.
In his painting, The Fall of Boaz, the two pillars of Solomon’s Temple crash and burn in the background while a cast of characters and symbols create a tableau upfront that fuses his esoteric knowledge and understanding of art history. His straightforward manner allows one to by-pass the actual image and artistic style and inhabit the allegorical space of his imaginative world.
Like an old master painting, Storming the Capital is all metaphor and stylized emotion and relies on the observers’ interpretations of the meaning that Steding sets forth. Clearly emotional in tone, it insists on a deeper spiritual meaning portraying issues of life, death, love, virtue, and justice.
In an interview with Brainard Carey on Yale’s WYBC radio, Steding calls himself a “recording artist,” a description that draws upon threads of creativity woven of color and sound. “Both art and music use “harmony,” says this the multi-talented creator, “and the vibrations of color and sound permeate and transmute each other.”
Like many of the artists and people of the Lower East Side, Steding’s generation continues to create, “[We] have something to say about our culture, our time, and what’s happening today,” he says. “There is a chance that art and music can have a voice and here is my voice.”

Image: Walter Steding “Storming The Capitol”, Oil on Canvas.

Closing Celebration | HAROLD SHAPINSKY: ABSTRACT SOUL
2023-05-21 15:00 - 18:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Join us to celebrate the artist’s birthday (May 21, 1925) and the closing of Harold Shapinsky: Abstract Soul. The event will directly follow the final performance of Pat Irwin: Music for Electric Guitar, Cello, and Violin.
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive is pleased to present Harold Shapinsky: Abstract Soul, an exhibition of his paintings and drawings, on view from March 23 through May 21, 2023. The exhibition marks Shapinsky’s first solo exhibition in New York since the 90s and will showcase works spanning from the 1940s to the late 80s, including many rarely- and never-exhibited works like early figurative paintings and the elegant, modest-sized paper paintings for which he is best known. Together the paintings in the exhibition illuminate the remarkable story of the artist’s long-overlooked practice in New York and his late career rise to recognition as a significant Abstract Expressionist.
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Pat Irwin: Music for Electric Guitar, Cello, and Violin
2023-05-21 19:30 - 21:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Friday, May 19 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, May, 20 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, May 21 at 2:00 PM
Howl Arts is pleased to present Pat Irwin: Music for Electric Guitar, Cello, and Violin. Guitarist and Composer Pat Irwin is joined by violinist Jonathan Zalben and cellist Josh Wise.
The performance will be held on three consecutive dates. Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May, 20 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, May 21 at 2:00 PM. Directly following Sunday’s performance at 3:00 PM Howl will host a celebration for the current exhibition Harold Shapinsky: Abstract Soul on the anniversary of the artist’s birthday (May 21, 1925).

Brian Butterick {Hattie Hathaway} and all they loved
2023-06-15 - 2023-08-05 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
DATES EXTENDED
Thursday, Aug 3 / Friday, Aug 4 / Saturday, Aug 5
12 PM – 6 PM
Appointment Recommended
Email aldo@howlarts.org to make an appointment.
Howl! Arts / Howl! Archive (HAHA) is pleased to present Brian Butterick {Hattie Hathaway} and all they loved – the first exhibition celebrating the life of Brian Butterick (1956 – 2019), also popularly known as Hattie Hathaway, his performance drag persona. Drawn from Butterick’s personal archives in Howl’s collection, on view will be documents, images, and writings by Brian as well as artists and performers in his orbit, including many never seen before objects. A publication with additional content will be published later in the year alongside a Brian Butterick / Hattie Hathaway portal on www.howlarts.org.

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Brian Butterick {Hattie Hathaway} and all they loved

Butterick first became well known in the 1980s for booking and later managing the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge, a venue that melded the performing arts with music and drag, and which helped define the East Village drag, gay, punk, and art scenes in the 80s. It was at the Pyramid, where Brian developed his Hattie Hathaway alter ego. A name both derived from his grandmother Hattie, whose name he found embroidered on an old suitcase after her death, and for Nancy Kulp’s Miss Jane Hathaway character on the 1960s CBS sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies.

Brian / Hattie expanded his work both as a producer and a performer throughout the 80s and 90s, and was a founding member of the inventive musician/artists’ band 3 Teens Kill Four (3TK4), an early Pyramid mainstay that most often featured Brian, Jesse Hultberg, Julie Hair, Doug Bressler, and, in their early years, David Wojnarowicz. The group performed in the 1980s, and then again in the 2010s. He also joined the Blacklips Performance Cult after inviting the group to perform at the Pyramid. In the 90s, Brian co-produced Jackie 60, a legendary Tuesday night party held weekly at the Meatpacking District dive club Mother. Following Mother’s closure in 2000, Brian continued his lifelong love of the written word, music, and performance through the following decades at venues including Rapture Café, the Three Penny Opera revival at Studio 54, Club Cumming, and the annual Howl! Festival.
Brian Butterick {Hattie Hathaway} and all they loved chronologically traces Butterick’s life, beginning with a showcase of their 1970s poetry and a portrayal of early friendships with writers in New York City and Provincetown. Among the most significant of these relationships was Brian’s deep romance and creative collaboration with the artist David Wojnarowicz, which continued from the late ‘70s into the early 1980s.
Using photographs, graphics, flyers, video, posters, press, and a curated soundtrack, The Pyramid Years are represented in the main gallery of Howl! Arts / Howl! Archive. The era is presented in two sections, with 1981 – 1986 outlined in a traditional step pyramid shape, and 1987 – 1995 defined by the triangular pyramid shape which was adopted by the Pyramid during those years. Loretta, his first drag persona is featured. The two sections are split by a showcase of 3 Teens Kill 4. Throughout this gallery, a projection of photos and videos will be displayed, including interviews and videos of Brian with 3TK4, Blacklips, Jackie 60, and the Gay-B-C’s series, footage of the Pyramid, and excerpts from various films. The chronological ‘slide shows’ shared at Brian’s memorial will be on rotation.
In the rear gallery, Brian’s 1990s participation with Blacklips Performance Cult and Jackie 60 is illustrated via printed enlargements, invitations, posters, photos, and clothing. Vitrines showcase open diaries, letters, and rare publications from Brian’s personal collection, and an accompanying soundtrack projects Butterick’s words and related music. Our “Wall of Hattie”, is composed of dozens of eye-popping, wig-raising, and colorful photos of Hattie Hathaway at countless events throughout their life.
Loosely re-imagining Brian’s living space in the second half of the back gallery is The Apartment. Here, a large monitor projects journal entries and archival imagery ranging from the 1970s to the 2000s, and a nearby metal file cabinet replicates the one in which Butterick kept his trove of nightlife and personal papers. At HAHA, this cabinet includes folders containing copies of selected writings, articles, interviews and scripts that visitors can peruse.
Throughout his life, Brian saw openings, found possibilities, and created opportunities for countless artists. His generosity, coupled with his keen economy of words, wry humor, and humble intellect sustain his legacy as a fierce creative force in the East Village community. Brian Butterick {Hattie Hathaway}– and all they loved serves to celebrate this legacy, and everything that this artist, provocateur, and magnet for connection represents.
About Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive (HAHA)
Howl! Arts Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the past and celebrating the contemporary culture of the East Village and Lower East Side. Based in New York City’s East Village, Howl! Arts Inc. curates exhibitions and produces events that invite active participation of the community to circulate ideas, generate discussion, and celebrate the fearless innovators who continue to influence new generations. The organization encompasses dynamic cultural spaces and community-centered programming made possible with public and private contributions, and support from The New York State Council on the Arts.

WATCHFACE PERFORMANCE COLLECTIVE
2023-07-01 - 2023-07-30 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Special Events, Exhibition, and Website Launch
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive (HA/HA) is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Watchface Archives and the launch of the Watchface Archives website, with Special Events and an exhibition that showcases the performance collective’s wide-ranging and original work from 1983–1991. All events at HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor are free.
The Watchface Archive is now part of Howl!’s permanent collection and its new home on Howl’s website will be marked by the following events:
Wednesday, July 19, 7 pm / Free

A screening of Sodomite Warriors, 1989, followed by an additional LIVE performance by Chazz Dean and Kurt Fulton.
A screening of Amelia Earhart from Pioneers of Aviation, 1991
A new LIVE performance by Iris Rose.

Friday, July 21, 7 pm / Free

A screening of the complete Watchface reunion and tribute show at Dixon Place, recorded on April 1, 2016. It marked the only time all members of Watchface had performed together since the 1980s. They were joined by many special guests including David Cale, Joseph Keckler, and Carol Lipnik.

A small-scale exhibit of selections from the Watchface Archives will be on display throughout the month of July. Since Watchface did much of its early work at the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge, it complements the current major exhibition Brian Butterick (Hattie Hathaway) and all they loved, which continues in the main gallery through July 30th.
Watchface by Mark Babushkin
Watchface was a seven-member performance collective, based in New York City, who performed together in various combinations, primarily in the East Village, from February 1983 to July 1991—eventually creating 40 different works. The tight knit group included a brother and sister, husband and wife, and multiple sets of close friends and roommates. Watchface was Chazz Dean, Kurt Fulton, Kim X Knowlton, Melanie Monios, Iris Rose, James Siena, and Maggie Siena.
The name Watchface referred both to the act of seeing and to the measurement of time. Their shows always displayed an awareness of time as an organizing principle of structure, and the content of their strong visual presentation of dense, rhythmic choreography sprang from observation of human behavior in all levels of society. The performer was the primary visual element with little emphasis on the theatrical devices of lighting, setting, or costume, which made the pieces easily adaptable to many different spaces and audiences.
Watchface was composed of diverse personalities with strengths in a wide range of disciplines: dance, theater, two- and three-dimensional art, graphics, music, and writing. In spite of the diversity in form, content, and media in their work, the Watchface identity was clearly evident throughout: an irreverent sense of humor combined with a sincere investigation for the kernel of truth applied to subjects as varied as madness, family violence, undesirable personal habits, and shopping at Woolworth’s.
Their work began in East Village clubs like the Pyramid, 8BC, and Darinka, but later included performance spaces like Franklin Furnace, PS 122, and La MaMa. They also performed at the ICA in London, MOCA in Los Angeles, and the Alley Theatre in Houston.
Watchface disbanded in the fall of 1990 but was revived by three of its members for one more show the following summer – 2000 Questions at Serious Fun! at Lincoln Center. All seven members reunited for an evening of performance at Dixon Place on April 1, 2016, to celebrate Dixon Places 30th anniversary and the completion and launch of Watchface’s archival website.
Image: Sodomite Warriors. Photo by Ken Schles

RIMBAUD HATTIE: Performance
2023-07-08 17:00 - 20:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Performance by Julie Hair, Heather Litteer, John Kelly, and Doug Bressler
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive is pleased to present a performance by Rimbaud Hattie, an experimental/investigational art song collective involving innovative chanteuse and actress Heather Litteer, genre-defying performance artist John Kelly, and Julie Hair and Doug Bressler, two members of the pivotal 80’s art rock band 3 Teens Kill 4.
Playing original songs and covers by Brian Butterick, John Kelly, 3 Teens Kill 4, Destructo, and Oscar Wilde, Rimbaud Hattie was formed out of the deep love for Brian Butterick, also known as Hattie Hathaway whose drag persona was born at the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge. Each of the four artists in this band had creative relationships with Brian, whether it was music, poetry, theatre, or performance and they share a mission to keep the spirit of Hattie alive through an ongoing collaboration of music and performance.
The performance compliments the current exhibition Brian Butterick {Hattie Hathaway} and all they loved which is on view at Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive through July 30th.

WATCHFACE: Sodomite Warriors & Amelia Earhart
2023-07-19 19:00 - 21:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Screening / Performance
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive (HA/HA) is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Watchface Archives and the launch of the Watchface Archives website with Special Events and an exhibition that showcases the performance collective’s wide-ranging and original work from 1983–1991. All events at HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor are free.
The website’s launch as part of Howl!’s permanent collection and its new home on Howl’s website will be marked by:

A screening of Sodomite Warriors, 1989, followed by an additional LIVE performance by Chazz Dean and Kurt Fulton.
A screening of Amelia Earhart from Pioneers of Aviation, 1991
A new LIVE performance by Iris Rose.

Image: Sodomite Warriors. Photo by Ken Schles

WATCHFACE Reunion: Screening
2023-07-21 19:00 - 21:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive (HA/HA) is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Watchface Archives and the launch of the Watchface Archives website with Special Events and an exhibition that showcases the performance collective’s wide-ranging and original work from 1983–1991. All events at HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor are free.
The website’s launch as part of Howl!’s permanent collection and its new home on Howl’s website will be marked by the following event:

A screening of the complete Watchface reunion and tribute show at Dixon Place, recorded on April 1, 2016. It marked the only time all members of Watchface had performed together since the 1980s. They were joined by many special guests including David Cale, Joseph Keckler, and Carol Lipnik.

Image: Watchface by Ken Schles

Brian Butterick: That’s Genius!
2023-07-22 16:00 - 18:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
A reading of his writings and discussion of his work.
Along with being an unparalleled nightlife coordinator and multi-dimensional performer, Brian Butterick was also a prolific writer and Howl! Archive has much of his work. We’ve invited people who knew and created with him to choose and read from his poems and prose and to talk about the person and his process.
What promises to be a scintillating afternoon, this event also seeks to inform our research for future publications and enlighten people looking to explore this figure who was important to so many communities.
Readers will include:
Amy Linden
John Jesurun
John Kelly
Julie Hair
Lost Forever
Torin

The reading is part of a series of events coinciding with a major exhibition of the Howl! Arts Brian Butterick Collection—Brian Butterick {Hattie Hathaway} and all they loved—on view at Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive through July 30th.

FLLOYD: DICKS AND DIVAS
2023-09-09 - 2023-10-22 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Exhibition and Events
Closing Reception: Sunday, October 22 / 3 – 5 PM

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Flloyd at Howl! Happening

In an exhibition and series of events showcasing his entire career, Howl! Happening is proud to present FLLOYD’s latest body of work: DICKS and DIVAS. Veering between the iconographic, pornographic, and other sensual worlds, Flloyd unites his fundamental passions in one show. Unapologetic, persistent, and honest – Flloyd’s current work concerns itself with erotic desire, the muse, and modulation. Through a sequence wave of dots translated onto paper or canvas, each shape functions as a codex to create the image. Undulating forms of abstraction assemble into objects of fascination, beauty, and power, before dispersing once again into mystery. Each work can be enjoyed on the level of the image (the icon) and the level of the painting (the abstraction).
The exhibition continues through October 22nd and is highlighted by a series of events with special guests and screenings of his video and film work including The Channel 69 Triology hosted by Flloyd and Linda Simpson and a Premiere of his solo Performance, Flock of Slits. (see complete list below)
Flloyd is a performance artist, filmmaker, electronic music producer, and painter. Known for his unique ability to portray horror, beauty, and humor in a single moment, Flloyd is an inimitable presence and longstanding member of NYC’s Lower East Side and East Village art scenes. Among the likes of RuPaul and Lady Bunny, Flloyd was an early establishing force from the influential Atlanta drag scene that planted its roots on the Pyramid stage. He has presented his groundbreaking performances at several iterations of Wigstock and is prominently featured in the feature-length Berry Shills 1995 production. He has acted and done performance art off-Broadway at La Mama, the Kitchen, P.S. 122, Here, and the Guggenheim.
Between 1992 and 1995, Flloyd was a member of the Blacklips Performance Cult, presenting original plays such as Death, Tooth: A Disco Butoh, Trouble with Blacklips, and adapted for the stage, Nashville and Jem and the Holograms. He has also directed many short films and released in 2002 his first feature film which is an adaptation of a Blacklips’ play Jack the Ripper.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Saturday, September 23 / 6–8 PM
Flloyd’s Channel 69 Trilogy: Hosted by Linda Simpson and Flloyd
A special screening of Flloyd’s breakthrough drag performances of the 1990s, followed by live commentary with Flloyd and Linda Simpson. In the early 1990s, Linda Simpson hosted Channel 69, a variety entertainment program which brought the East Village drag scene to public television. The series featured new and upcoming queens of the era, including Flloyd’s special dedicated episodes, where he presented his groundbreaking “Drag Trilogy.”
While many of the performances featured on Channel 69 constituted of regular drag performance, Flloyd’s “Drag Trilogy” marked a conceptual turn for the show, and for Flloyd as an artist. Prior to 1990, Flloyd performed as Felicia with his band The People Tree. Taking inspiration from RuPaul, Ethyl Eichelberger, and Lypsinka, Felicia soon transformed into a more daring performer who would go on to make a greater impact in the East Village scene.
Flloyd would go onto the develop the “Drag Trilogy” for Channel 69 the same year. The cycle is broken down in three 30-minute specials: “This You Won’t Believe,” “Sex Clown,” and “Facility Girl (A Tribute to National Secretary’s Day).” Each of the numbers bleed into each other conceptually, innovating and expanding on performative elements first explored by artists like Lypsinka, such as the inclusion of dialogue. Flloyd’s “Drag Trilogy” marks an outstanding breakthrough in drag history and for Flloyd as an artist.
The evening will open with Flloyd’s Wigstock Performance, following a screening of the complete “Drag Trilogy,” followed by a Q+A discussion with Flloyd and Linda Simpson to discuss the importance of these performances and their legacies within the community.
Saturday, September 30th / 3–5 PM
Dicks and Divas Silk Screening event with Flloyd
You’re invited to Howl! for a Dicks and Divas silk-screening event open to the public. Artist Flloyd will provide the silk-screens, inks, and designs for attendees to silk-screen personal items in various sizes and designs. Attendees will be able to choose 4 design options, two dicks and two divas.
Saturday, October 7 / 6–8 PM
Directed by Flloyd: An Evening of Video and Film Work
In addition to his visual arts and performance art career, Flloyd is also well-known for his significant body of work behind-the-camera. In a single evening showing the highlights of films and videos directed by Flloyd, attendees will get a full view of Flloyd’s breadth and depth as a filmmaker.
The evening will begin with a summary of Flloyd’s short films and music videos, including a short film titled “Field Day” (4 min, 50 sec), music videos made for his band 3Puen, music videos made with his band Flock of Slits, the opening credits of Channel 69, and selections from Flloyd’s own public access TV show Gay Action News.
Following a short intermission, the event will culminate in a screening of Flloyd’s feature length film, Jack the Ripper. Directed between 1992 and 2002, Flloyd directed and produced a film adaptation of Blacklips Performance Cult’s greatest plays, Love Forever’s “Jack the Ripper.” Starring the cast of Blacklips, this all-black-and-white feature follows the story of local sex workers living under the black cloud of a serial killer of women lurking the streets at night. One by one, they are murdered in high stylized fashion by Jack (played by Flloyd).
Never released and rarely screened, Jack the Ripper remains a high mark in Flloyd’s prowess as a director and the entire cast of Blacklips, who provide their singular talents in this historic drag film.

CANCELED
Saturday, October 14th / 6 PM
Flloyd Presents: Flock of Slits: A Premiere Performance

Image: Flloyd, Sissy, oil on canvas, 2023.

LINDA LUNDGREN SVERRE LUNDGREN: SYMBIOSIS
2023-09-16 - 2023-11-19 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Curated by Michael Holman and Sara Holman
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 16th, 6–8 PM
NEW GALLERY HOURS: Wed—Sat 12–6 PM or Sunday by Appointment
To make an appointment to visit HA/HA on Sundays email: aldo@howlarts.org or call 212-500-6804. Email preferred.
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive is pleased to present a special exhibition of the work of Swedish artists Linda Lundgren and Sverre Lundgren. As solo artists that also show their work together, Symbiosis tells the story of an ongoing, creative conversation between two artists and their powerful, evocative work. The exhibition continues through November 19th at HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd floor. (Please see new gallery hours above.)
Linda Lundgren’s sweeping, large-scale paintings bow to the dynamics in nature, and are about color, while using layers of oil paint mixed with tempera and sometimes bee’s wax. She uses a palette knife to create intricate details that build into new, larger surfaces of vibrant abstract shapes.
Sverre Lundgren is known for his brutalist wooden sculptures made from densely grown “Norrlandsfura” (Swedish fir wood) colored with black iron oxide, tempera, linseed oil and tar. All of Sverre’s complex, delicately balanced sculptures are chiseled from a single piece of wood.
Image: Linda Lundgren, painting 1999 and Sverre Lundgren, sculpture Balance.

Flloyd’s Channel 69 Trilogy: Hosted by Linda Simpson and Flloyd
2023-09-23 18:00 - 20:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
A special screening of Flloyd’s breakthrough drag performances of the 1990s, followed by live commentary with Flloyd and Linda Simpson. In the early 1990s, Linda Simpson hosted Channel 69, a variety entertainment program which brought the East Village drag scene to public television. The series featured new and upcoming queens of the era, including Flloyd’s special dedicated episodes, where he presented his groundbreaking “Drag Trilogy.”
While many of the performances featured on Channel 69 constituted of regular drag performance, Flloyd’s “Drag Trilogy” marked a conceptual turn for the show, and for Flloyd as an artist. Prior to 1990, Flloyd performed as Felicia with his band The People Tree. Taking inspiration from RuPaul, Ethyl Eichelberger, and Lypsinka, Felicia soon transformed into a more daring performer who would go on to make a greater impact in the East Village scene.
Flloyd would go onto the develop the “Drag Trilogy” for Channel 69 the same year. The cycle is broken down in three 30-minute specials: “This You Won’t Believe,” “Sex Clown,” and “Facility Girl (A Tribute to National Secretary’s Day).” Each of the numbers bleed into each other conceptually, innovating and expanding on performative elements first explored by artists like Lypsinka, such as the inclusion of dialogue. Flloyd’s “Drag Trilogy” marks an outstanding breakthrough in drag history and for Flloyd as an artist.
The evening will open with Flloyd’s Wigstock Performance, following a screening of the complete “Drag Trilogy,” followed by a Q+A discussion with Flloyd and Linda Simpson to discuss the importance of these performances and their legacies within the community.

Dicks and Divas Silk Screening event with Flloyd
2023-09-30 15:00 - 17:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
You’re invited to Howl! for a Dicks and Divas silk-screening event open to the public. Artist Flloyd will provide the silk-screens, inks, and designs for attendees to silk-screen personal items in various sizes and designs. Attendees will be able to choose 4 design options, two dicks and two divas.

ALLEN GINSBERG’S THE FALL OF AMERICA VOL II
2023-10-06 18:00 - 20:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Album Release and Film Screening
Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive celebrates the release of Allen Ginsberg’s The Fall of America Vol II, a musical interpretation of poems from Ginsberg’s The Fall of America: Poems of These States 1965-1971.
Join us for a film screening including Philip Glass & Allen Ginsberg’s Have you Seen this Movie, Ai Weiwei and O_Future‘s Allen Ginsberg’s Hum Bom, Jack Dangers & Allen Ginsberg‘s Holy Ghost on the Nod over the Body of Bliss, CJ Mirra and Kai Campos & Allen Ginsberg‘s Bixby Canyon, and Seb Taylor & Allen Ginsberg, Over Denver Again.

Vinyl and CDs will be available for purchase at the event. All proceeds from sales will benefit Pen America.
The Fall of America Volume II, a musical tribute to Allen Ginsberg to benefit Pen America will be released digitally as well as on CD and vinyl on October 6, 2023, via Allen Ginsberg Recordings. The album features performances by Ai Weiwei, Philip Glass, Anne Waldman, Thurston Moore With Saul Williams, Devendra Banhart, Miho Hatori, Jack Dangers, Yoni Wolf, Fennesz & Taylor Deupree, Stephen Hillage & Miquette Giraudy, Kai Campos & Cj Mirra, Dj Spooky / Aka That Subliminal Kid Feat Antoine Drye, and more.
“Allen could often seamlessly mix the secular with the divine, the past to the future, and enact transformation and liberation through poetry. It’s an honor to mouth these words with the shaping of music composed here.” – Anne Waldman
“Well, here we are now dearest Allen, rallying and resisting, revolting and revealing, your ‘prophecy’ in constant manifestation, fighting fascism as soldiers of peace, informed by your singing out from the ‘mind jail.’” -Thurston Moore
“Allen’s spirit of true freedom clearly resonates in his words & in the soul that he was.” -Ai Weiwei
“Wow! It’s just like when we used to perform together! It’s like the pieces were made for each other.” – Philip Glass
PRE-ORDER THE FALL OF AMERICA VOLUME II
Fall of America Poems published by City Lights Books in San Francisco, covers the years 1965-1971 when Ginsberg was crisscrossing the country, exploring a system of composition by narrating into the portable reel-to-reel Uher that Bob Dylan had gifted him.
“In 1965, Ginsberg began planning an ambitious project, a book of thematically connected poems, a collection that ‘discovered’ America in poetry similar to the way Kerouac’s On the Road had explored the country in prose. The Vietnam War would be a constant presence overhanging Ginsberg’s travel writings like a darkening shadow affecting daily life in the country. It would be a study of contrasts: natural beauty slammed up against an ugliness that rose out of the tensions of violence. The public’s polarized dialogue over Vietnam and, earlier in the decade, the civil rights movement, convinced Ginsberg that America was teetering on the precipice of a fall.”
– Michael Schumacher, from Introduction to The Fall of America Journals 1965-1971
For more information and to preview tracks please contact (co-producers) Peter Hale phale@allenginsberg.org & Jesse Goodman jgoodman@allenginsberg.org
