Approaching New Year With Many Creative Events All Around Us
Art All Around Us — 12.10.25
Happy Holidays, everyone. I hope you all experience some joy in the weeks to come. Here are some things you might want to check out, maybe with your visiting friends or relatives!
PHOTOGRAPHY
“Diggin’ in the Frames,” a photo exhibit at Bronx Documentary Center in Melrose, stems from the publication “MyEyeGotLazy,” which “has grown into a collective platform that uses photography as a tool for connection, visibility, and shared experience.” More info here. One of the photos above. The exhibit runs through this Sun., Dec. 14. FREE!
An exhibit at Pregones/PRTT Theatre through Feb. 20, 2026 places the works of renowned artists Lola Flash and groana melendez in dialogue with works and family archives of Bronx community members who participated in En Foco’s Legacy Lab workshop series this summer at the BxArts Factory. All the details here.
DANCE
Through Sat., Dec. 13, BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance) in Westchester Square presents Los Nutcrackers: A Christmas Carajo, written by BAAD! co-founder and executive director Charles Rice-González, and directed by Gama Valle. This year marks the play’s 22nd year at BAAD! The play interweaves two holiday classics, The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol, to create a queer, Latinx play about a couple who go on a psychedelic trip through their lives one Christmas Eve. More info here.
And speaking of “The Nutcracker,” from Dec. 11 to Dec. 14, Westchester Ballet Company performs just that at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in Bedford Park. All the info here.
Another Tree Photo? Yes, I Am Obsessed.
THEATRE
Riverdale Children’s Theatre presents its holiday show, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” at St. Barnabas Church in Woodlawn, Dec. 11 to Dec. 14. More info and tickets here.
“Burned” is an interactive play, on through Dec. 18, that is part of Pregones/PRTT’s Abrazo/Embrace initiative for Bronx community wellness and mental health. Following is a full Pregones layout of what it’s about and why it’s so important (including video above!).
“Burned tells the story of Linda, a Bronx native and former hospital worker during the pandemic. After quitting her job and losing her apartment, she moves in with her sister, Chelsea. Emotionally drained and struggling to stay afloat, Linda fails to find the support she needs from Chelsea or Chelsea’s boyfriend, Joe. In classic forum theater style, audience members get to choose and model an ending for this affecting short play at each performance.
“Burned is a rehearsal for action! Developed through creative dialogue and workshops with Bronx residents, all participants are invited into a safe space where they may think critically about the lasting impacts of COVID-19 and other mental health stressors, practice listening and empathy, and rehearse actions for heightened personal and community
“Performances are followed by facilitated conversations with qualified mental health counselors and service providers.”
MUSIC
There are two holiday music events, organized by Bronx Art Ensemble in Bay Plaza (next to Co-op City in east Bronx) both with Bronx native Jennifer Jade Ledesna, on Sat., Dec. 13, and Sun., Dec. 14 from 2 to 3 PM. All the info here. FREE!
On Sat., Dec. 13, at 4 PM and 6 PM, Van Cortlandt House Museum in Van Cortlandt Park presents “Van Cortlandt by Candlelight,” a winter evening with crafted cocktails, period music, 19th-century dance, historic games, wassail, and winter traditions. To sign-up and pay, go here. And there’s also a similar event the next day for families. Info right here.
It’s not on their website, but Neem, a lovely Indian restaurant on Johnson Avenue in Riverdale, has live music one eve a week. I’ll let you know what day and time it’s at next week, but you could also could just call them.
ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES
Every year, Bronx Council on the Arts provides grants (usually around $5,000 each) to Bronx artists of all kinds (musicians, writers, actors, painters, sculptors, dancers, etc) via its BRIO (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) awards. For more information, see all the dates here for virtual info sessions, regarding applications, through Dec. 16. The deadline for applying is Jan. 2, 2026.
If you’re a Bronx artist interested in having a BxArtsFactory gallery exhibition, check out the last sentence here.
ART EXHIBITS/OPENINGS/HAPPENINGS
“Fantastical Realities,” exhibits the work of Bronx artist Maya Ciarrocchi, and her artist parents, Sandra Caplan (photo of her work above) and Ray Ciarrocchi. It’s at the Derfner Judaica Museum at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale. Don’t miss it. It’s on through Jan. 11, 2026. More details here. FREE!
Opening: Bronx River Art Center’s upcoming exhibit, “Living Matter,” will begin with an opening reception on Sat., Dec. 13 from 5 to 8 PM. It features 15 artists in an exhibit that “occupies the space between transformation and stillness, where materials like ceramic, mycelium, fiber, light, metal, paper, and glass are both held and in flux.” More info and details here. The opening reception is FREE! And the exhibit runs through Jan. 25, 2026.
Riverdale Art Association invites you to their end of the year holiday party on Tues., Dec. 16, at 7 PM, at the Hudson House, 3247 Johnson Ave. It includes “a pot-luck array of goodies will be offered for all to enjoy. There will be music by Walter Levis, and a fun artist swap and share as we socialize.” All meetings are open to the public. More info here.
Interested in seeing the work of a great sculptor at Bronx Museum? Then check out Reverend Joyce McDonald’s work there. The museum space is more than half under reconstruction, but this one exhibit is worth heading over there, as I recently did. I posted more info, and photos, about her work in the last two issues, here and here. The exhibit is on through Jan. 11, 2026. FREE!
Through Dec. 20, The Gun Hill Six, a diverse collective of emerging Bronx artists, will take aim, so to speak, at the Artificial Intelligence boom. The exhibit, “Human Touch,” is at Bronx Art Space. More details here. FREE!
The New York Latin American Art Triennial presents “Smart Cities,” a collective exhibition at Lehman College Art Gallery that forms part of its 2025 curatorial program, “Sensorial Fusion.” The exhibit is on through Jan. 17, 2026. All the info here. FREE!
The well-known Holiday Train Nights at The New York Botanical Garden’s Haupt Conservatory is up and going, and on through Jan. 10, 2026. The scenes of buildings and other city structures surrounding the tracks are beautiful wood sculptures, made by workers from by Applied Imagination, a Kentucky-based company founded by Paul Busse in 1991. Lots of activities related to the show, including in the evenings as displayed above. All the info here and here.
A BIT BEYOND THE BRONX …
Art Exhibit: The Riverfront Art Gallery at Yonkers Public Library has a really interesting exhibit, “Mithlii” — meaning “like me” in Arabic — which brings together queer artists from the SWANA region and diaspora. It’s on through Dec. 15. All the info here. FREE!
This Sun., Dec. 14, from 2 to 4 PM, is Poetry and Jazz Day at Blue Door Art Center in downtown Yonkers which has some creative fun in the same place at same time for kids. All the info here. FREE!
Art Exhibits: The Hudson River Museum in Yonkers has several exhibits up and running. It’s just a bit beyond the Bronx. All the info here.
Art Exhibits: Current exhibits at the Neuberger Museum of Art at Purchase College in Purchase, NY listed right here. FREE!
Music & Dance: The Purchase Performing Arts Center at Purchase College in Purchase, NY presents music and dance performances throughout the college year. Details here.
A New Abstract Piece of Mine …
A couple more holiday happenings:
The next two Saturdays before Christmas, Wave Hill hosts Saturday Nights Out! That and more special events right here.
There’s a holiday art boutique through Dec. 23 at Pelham Art Center, in Pelham, just a tad north of the Bronx. All the info right here.
I hope you can explore something above. After all, that’s the whole reason I created Art All Around Us a couple of years ago. Not just to go check out and learn about the exhibits and shows for myself, but to share and open the door to y’alll! And, as I’ve said before, if you did learn about something to check out from this newsletter, I would LOVE to know what you experienced! (You can email me at aaaubronx@gmail.com)
Justice & Peace,
Jordan
Excellent curation of hyperlocal arts infrastructure. The mix of free versus ticketed events really shows how community access doenst have to mean low quality programming. Forums theater like Burned at Pregones feels especially timely since we're still processing pandemic traumas but rarely create structured spaces for that collective processing. Makes me wonder if more neighborhoods need this kind of deliberate culture mapping.