Culture

NYC “Vaccine for All Corps” is Hiring to Help with Local Vaccination Roll-Out Efforts

By SÍLE MOLONEY
In his recent State of the City address, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the creation of “Vaccine for All Corps,” an initiative that aimed to create jobs for 2,000 New Yorkers, by supporting vaccination efforts across the five boroughs. On March 10, the City announced that it is now hiring for the first of these positions via nyc.gov/vaccinejobs.   Recruitment for the “Vaccine for All Corps” jobs is being led by the Workforce1 Career Center System operated by the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), and is targeting candidates from those communities hardest hit by COVID-19.


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Student Filmmakers Sought for 3rd Annual NYC Public School Film Festival – Deadline March 16

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and NYC Department of Education (DOE) announced on March 10 that they are calling on DOE student filmmakers to conduct on-camera interviews with leading film industry professionals, as part of the 3rd Annual New York City Public School Film Festival taking place May 6, 2021. The interviews, designed to inspire young people across the city to consider careers in media and entertainment, will be available online following the festival.   Representing five distinct leadership roles in the filmmaking process, the professionals to be interviewed by student filmmakers include: Kristan Sprague, award-winning editor


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Lehman College’s Turnbull Speaker Series Resonates during Women’s History Month

Some Americans may not know it, but they have a woman to thank for the N95 medical masks that have become indispensable during the pandemic. Sara Little Turnbull, one of the nation’s first female industrial designers, inspired an early prototype after noticing how frequently medical facility staff needed to adjust flimsier face masks. She reimagined her previous design for molded bra cups to conceptualize a mask that fit better—one of many inventions she’d be linked to throughout her career.   Sixty years later, a new generation of women designers is driving the innovations consumers have come to rely on. That includes


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Espaillat Calls on District 13 High School Students to Enter Congressional Art Competition

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who represents New York’s 13th congressional district (NY-13), released a statement on Thursday, March 4, to encourage high school students throughout New York’s 13th congressional district to submit entries to this year’s Congressional Art Competition.   The national contest is open to high school students from around the district to showcase their artistic talents and provides an opportunity for students to display their winning art in the United States Capitol for up to one year.   Espaillat serves as a national co-host of this year’s art competition, which is open to high school students from around the nation. The


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Upload a Free Dance Video Entry in the “Dare To Dance” Challenge for a Chance to Win $1,000

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  Dance Parade New York is, once again, launching its popular, “Dare to Dance” challenge, inviting choreographers and dance groups to submit videos of newly created work for cash prizes, with winning submissions broadcast during the virtual Dance Parade on Saturday, May 22, 2021, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. EST.  The first place winner, selected by a five-person review committee receives $1,000, $500 for second place and $250 for third place.   The Dare to Dance challenge was launched last year when Dance Parade, an outdoor dance festival which brings together the dance community in New York annually, had


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Teddy Car Dealers Awards Music Grant to Bronx House School of Performing Arts

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Teddy Cars, a car dealership in Nissans and Volkswagens based on Boston Road in the Bronx, is continuing its monthly commitment, which began in 2020, of awarding $20,000 to various music education programs in the Bronx, as part of the Teddy Cars Bronx Music Grant Program.   This month, the recipient is Bronx House School for Performing Arts. Teddy Cars General Manager, Julio Batista, visited Bronx House in December 2019 to see the program in action, first-hand (see the video). “It’s an excellent program,” he said. “At Teddy Cars, we feel strongly about doing things to help the community and


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Black History Month Continues at Lehman College with Poetry & Discussion Series

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  When 22-year-old Amanda Gorman reflected on the fraught state of the country at President Joe Biden’s inauguration with her poem “The Hill We Climb,” she became, in that moment, one of the most visible examples of a rich tradition: Black poets who speak to the urgency of the day, and center African American historical perspectives.   Throughout February, an innovative initiative has been giving the public an opportunity to learn more about that tradition, which stretches back some 250 years, and Lehman College’s Leonard Lief Library has taken a leading role in the effort.   Entitled, “Lift Every Voice: Why African American


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BCC Students Shoot Short Film: “The Essential Bronx: COVID Stories”

By SÍLE MOLONEY
    Like shows on Broadway, live performances by Bronx Community College (BCC)’s Theatre Workshop have been shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its students found another outlet for their talents in Essential Bronx COVID Stories Part 1, a powerful short film written, performed and shot by the students themselves.   Chronicled over the past year, these unique stories are now available to watch, and the public can get to know the lives of the students affected by the pandemic and experience them recounting their stories of struggle.   Dr. John Socas is director of the workshop at BCC.


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“Shaun Leonardo: The Breath of Empty Space” Virtual Walk-Through at Bronx Museum

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A special virtual walk-through of “Shaun Leonardo: The Breath of Empty Space” exhibition is currently on view in the Bronx Museum’s North Gallery. Shaun Leonardo will be joined by the exhibition’s curator, John Chaich, for an in-depth look at the exhibition and the artist’s process on Thursday, Feb. 25, between 1 and 2 p.m. Following the tour, the public is invited to ask questions and have a robust public conversation with both the artist and the curator. Register in advance HERE to receive the link to join.