Howl! Arts

Bushwick Book Club: Guilt Sport
2026-02-05 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
A celebration of songwriter, composer, bandleader, record label founder, Chris Rael’s first book of short stories Guilt Sport.

Come see what these artists and musicians have to say about it in new art, song and snacks!
With:
Penny Arcade
Lisa Barnstone
Patrick Brennan
Rima Fand
NO DISCIPLINE (Ed and Susan)
Charlie Nieland
Chris Rael
Don Rauf
Anni Rossi
Patricia Santos
Henry Tenney
Alejandro Vargas (Billy Plastered)
and others!
Guilt Sport is the first collection of short stories by writer/musician Chris Rael, visionary of New York City world pop orchestra Church of Betty. The consummate lyricist/poet tackles the short-story format with anecdotal tales grounded in his long, strange voyages around the sun. Settings and premises emerging from the author’s life are embellished into fictional litanies of whimsy, insight and regret.
Nine stories tackle the commitment of parenthood, bullying and racism in the ’60s, cultural identity and adoption, discomfiting nuances of urban gentrification, a regrettable walkabout ending in darkness, corporate intrusion into employees’ lives, America’s private prison industry, Latino drug culture in the American West, and a self-proclamation of spiritual chaos.
Composer Chris Rael loves to turn short story collections into song cycles. In 2011 he won the New York International Fringe Festival’s composition award for Araby, which retold the stories of James Joyce’s Dubliners in one song per story. His group Church of Betty is currently recording his latest song cycle: Eleven Kinds of Loneliness, the short stories of Richard Yates, to be released in spring 2026. This penchant for transforming literature into songs makes him a natural devotee of the Bushwick Book Club.

Richard Hambleton: Blood & Glitter
2026-02-26 - 2026-05-03 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Exhibition of works by Richard Hambleton (1952-2017) from our collection.

A Hambleton Discussion with Eileen Doster, Anne Hanavan, and Curt Hoppe
2026-03-13 19:00 - 21:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
A conversation with 3 who knew him.

Wasteland by Jason Haaf and Scooter LaForge Book Launch
2026-03-28 18:00 - 20:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Wasteland, an art novel and collaboration by Jason Haaf and Scooter LaForge invites you to a place where Queer angst grows. Limited amount of signed copies and original art available to purchase.
Watch on YouTube

Welcome to the ‘Wasteland’: A queer ‘sex memoir’ that throws out all the rules in written word and art

Arturo Vegathe merch master
2026-04-10 - 2026-06-14 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Strength to endure: East Village gallery honors Arturo Vega, the man who made The Ramones punk rock’s most fashionable band

Arturo Vega Talk with Sandra Schulman
2026-04-11 17:00 - 18:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Read the essay here
RAMONES: Arturo Vega and the Making of the Logo Heard Round the World

A CERTAIN RATIO Live at Hurrah by Merrill Aldighieri
2026-05-21 18:00 - 21:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Filmmaker Merrill Aldighieri returns to Howl! with her latest work, A Certain Ratio – Live at Hurrah, a 45-minute document of the legendary Manchester post-punk ensemble captured in their element at New York City’s iconic Hurrah nightclub. A Certain Ratio were among the most viscerally alive acts to emerge from the Factory Records orbit; a band that fused funk basslines, percussion, and an almost feverish minimalism into something that defied easy categorization. Long revered by cult followers on both sides of the Atlantic, their American club appearances remain the stuff of downtown legend, and Aldighieri – with her singular eye for the charged space between performer and audience – was there to catch it. The result is not merely an archival record but a work of atmosphere: a film that puts you in the room, in the dark, in the heat of a scene that would ripple through underground music for decades to come.
The evening will also feature Wallflowers; a silent wall projection and looped animation created by Aldighieri as a companion piece. Designed to inhabit the edges of the space, the piece transforms the venue itself into an extension of the screen. It is a fitting gesture from a filmmaker whose work has always refused to stay contained within the frame. Aldighieri’s body of work – which includes her celebrated documents of New Order’s New York debut and the shape-shifting new wave spectacle of Shöx Lumania – has established her as one of the great visual archivists of a moment when music, fashion, and avant-garde film collapsed into one another on the floors of Lower Manhattan clubs. With A Certain Ratio – Live at Hurrah and Wallflowers, she once again invites us not just to watch history, but to feel its presence on all sides.

Allen Ginsberg at 100
2026-06-04 17:00 - 20:30 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Allen Ginsberg at 100: A Brief Walk Through Ginsberg’s Life

Deborah Baker & Bob Holman: “Ginsberg in India”
Baker, author of A Blue Hand: The Beats in India, and Poet Holman, co-director of Ginsberg’s Karma and Bob Holman’s India Journals, discuss Allen’s near mythical 18 months in India.
Gordon Ball: “Allen As I Knew Him”
Allen’s friend and early journals editor will share a slideshow of his own photos of Allen.
Bill Morgan: Allen Ginsberg: “The Unknown Photos” slideshow
Allen’s biographer and bibliographer takes us through a slide show of new unseen photography.
Bob Rosenthal: Allen Ginsberg’s Theory of Idiots
Bob Rosenthal, Allen’s long time personal secretary, reads his new work, which breaks down Allen’s humourous Theory of Idiots.
Illustration by Harsho Mohan Chattoraj

Arturo Vega Exhibition Closing Celebration
2026-06-13 17:00 - 20:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Pat Byrne presents a 2006 video interview with Arturo.

Ethan Minsker presents videos of his friendship and work with Arturo.

Music by Screamin’ Rebel Angels!
Photo by Nico Malvaldi

5 at 250 Group Show
2026-06-20 - 2026-07-26 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
5 at 250
JOEL HANDORFF
HUCKLEFAERY/KEN
BOBBY WATLINGTON
ANDE WHYLAND
ALEX WOLKOWICZ

5 at 250 Exhibition Closed 7/3 and 7/4
2026-07-03 - 2026-07-04 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
We’re back on Sunday July 5th, as our group show continues at 250 Bowery.

5 at 250 Group Show

Plants That HealBook Signing
2026-07-09 18:00 - 20:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Please join us for a book signing event with author/illustrator Susan Ottaviano
With special guests John Bartlett, Nora Burns, Blair Fell, Scooter LaForge, and DJ Angela Di Carlo.
Plants That Heal is a vibrant, beautifully illustrated guide to harnessing the natural power of herbs and plants for wellness, mindfulness, and everyday nourishment. Created by Chris Young and Susan Ottaviano, this book offers a treasure trove of recipes and remedies designed to support physical, emotional, and mental health. Readers will discover how to craft teas, tonics, bath sachets, and plant-based foods using ingredients like lavender, ginger, basil, and rosehips.
About the Authors
Chris Young is a passionate self-taught gardener who believes in the power of the flower. His written work has appeared in Country Living, L.A. Parent, and Martha Stewart Living. In 2023, Chris and his creative partner Susan Ottaviano came together to produce the book The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants and Flowers.
Susan Ottaviano is an artist, performer, and author. When not making music with her band Book of Love, Susan works as a recipe developer and food stylist for magazines, cookbooks, and international brands.

GonzoFest 2026 NYC
2026-07-17 - 2026-07-19 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
GonzoFest honors Hunter S. Thompson’s literary legacy and the lasting mark he has made on American journalism, culture, politics.
Through lectures, live music, art, panel discussions and spoken word, GonzoFest celebrates the life and times of Hunter S. Thompson. GonzoFest 2026 NYC will focus on Hunter’s political writing and political activism, his connections with the Beat Generation, and will feature Gonzo artist Ralph Steadman and Ralph’s daughter Sadie Williams. It will also feature Hunter S. Thompson’s son Juan Thompson, grandson Will Thompson, Joe Iconis and musical numbers from the musical based on Hunter’s life, also Phoebe Legere, Puma Perl, Penny Arcade, women poets of New York, and many other scholars, artists, and poets.

GonzoFest poster by Grant Goodwine
Flyers by Chris Dean

Friday Schedule
Saturday Schedule
Sunday Schedule

Words at 250 Reading
2026-07-23 18:00 - 20:00 | HA/HA, 250 Bowery, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Jimmy Cajoleas
Izzy Casey
Janie Heath
Bud Smith

Jimmy Cajoleas is from Jackson, Mississippi. He has published five novels and is an associate editor for Southwest Review. He lives in New York.

Izzy Casey has been published in The Baffler, The Yale Review, and The Columbia Review. Her debut poetry book, Queen of the Little Stinkers, received the 2025 Nightboat Poetry Prize. She lives in New York City, where she works for The Paris Review.

Janie Heath has lived most of her life in the East Village. She was born on the banks of the Brazos River and she writes fiction.

Bud Smith is the author of the novels Mighty (Knopf), Teenager (Vintage), among others. His memoir Work will be released this summer from Perfect Day. He works construction in the boilermakers union and lives in Jersey City.

Bushwick Book Club PresentsMARILYN and Her BOOKS
2026-07-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Howl! Happening, 6 East 1st Street, New York City, NY, 10003, United States
Let’s celebrate Marilyn Monroe’s 100th b-day by looking at her personal library and responding with new song, performance, film, puppetry and perfume.
Presenting new creative work for MARILYN and Her BOOKS by Gail Crowther.
FEATURING
Irina Adam @phoenixbotincals
Penny Arcade (video) @penny_arcade_forever
Parody of Art (Ed and Susan @soozee3 )
Ellia Bisker @sweetsoubrette)
Jennifer Blowdryer @jblowdryer
Ray Brown @kill4raynbeau
Rolf Carle @rolfcarle_
Cary Curran @carycurran)
Bugsy Gabriel @bugsygabriel
Dora Graham @dorakgraham
John S. Hall @john_s_hall
Chase Horseman @chasethehorseman
Pinc Louds @pinclouds
Josiah Parks @amalone_orgle
Teresa Toro @teresatoro
Lynnea Villanova
Karen Zasloff @schmoogytunes1
