Conversations in the Arts is a program developed by the Huntington Arts Council to stimulate and promote the arts. These participatory talks featuring artists and scholars from our community, enrich our arts experiences and help us to more fully understand the value and contribution the arts have made, and continue to make, to society. Conversations are engaged inquiries and dialogues used to explore ideas, facilitate collaborations and provide networking opportunities.
We would welcome input for topics and panels. If you are interested in curating one of these events, please submit a brief outline of an arts-related topic and suggested panelists to director@huntingtonarts.org. Limit your submission to no more than 500 words please. Check our website for examples of what we present in this series and model your proposal accordingly.
Upcoming Conversations in the Arts
February 11, 2021, 7:00 -8:30PM–Call to Community: Anti-Racism and Inequality
Panelists:
Alicia Evans, Educator and Artist
Lauren Gonzalez, Art Teacher and Artist
Ebony Thompson, Visual Artist
Moderator:
Dr. Nichelle River, Multimedia Artist & Educator
These events will all be presented via Facebook LIVE. Click facebook.com/HuntingtonArts/live/ to access the Huntington Arts Council Facebook LIVE event.
Previous Conversations in the Arts and related topics.
January 14, 2021, 7:00 – 8:30pm – Jazz
Panelists:
Hollis A. King, Creative Director
Julie Lyon, Jazz Vocalist
Tom Manuel, President and Founder, The Jazz Loft
Dudley Salmon, Dudley Music
Moderator:
Dan Bilawski, Educator & Drummer
For more information on our panelists click here.
December 10, 2020, 7:00 – 8:30pm – Visual Artists
Panelists:
Jan Guarino, Fearless Watercolors, Artist & Teacher
Thais Osorio, Autodidactic Visual Artist and Model
Scott Schneider, Toxic/Nature Studios
Danangelowe A.J Spencer, Artist & Creative Director, ARTBOii Studio
Moderator:
Kevin McEvoy, Artist & Teacher
For more information on our participants, click here.
November 12, 2020, 7:00 – 8:30pm – Classical Music in the 21st Century
Panelists:
Lauren Ausubel, Co-Director, Oyster Bay Music Festival
Jared Berry, Artistic Director & Conductor, Babylon Chorale
Lisa Richardson, Soprano, President, eVoco Voice Collective
David Stewart Wiley, Music Director, Orchestra Long Island
Moderator:
Marc Courtade, Executive Director, Huntington Arts Council
For more information on our panelists and moderator click here.
October 8, 2020, 7:00 – 8:30pm – Amplifying Voices in the Arts
To generate a conversation on equality, inclusivity and diversity from different angles of the creative world.
Panelists:
James “JB” Barreiro, Curator
Jeanette Berry, Musician
Dillon Brown, Poet
Joseph Santarpia, Artist
Moderator:
Jose Tutiven, Founder, Colored Colors
For bios of the panelists click here.
September 2020 Musical Theater
Panelists:Lisa Berman, Actress & Singer
John Brautigam, Composer & Lyricist
Kevin Harrington, Producer/Director, Plaza Theatricals
Yolanda Wyns, Director of Music, Harlem School of the Arts
Moderator: Marc Courtade, Executive Director, Huntington Arts Council
June 2020 The Arts and Women
Panelists Erika Duncan, Executive and Artistic Director/HERstory
Karen Levitov, Director and Curator Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Stony Brook University, Staller Center for the Arts
Sally Shore, Artist
Kay Sohini, PhD Candidate & Instructor, Humanities/Stony Brook University
Moderator Deborah Cosher, League of Women Voters
May 2020 The Arts and the Digital Age.
Panelist Ahmad Kahn, People Like Games
Kasmira Mohanty, Arts Educator
Doron Spleen, Executive Director/Morrison Mentors
Moderator Paul Lipsky, MFA Professor at Five Towns College
February 2020 The Arts and African American Experience.
Panelists Maurice Brandon Curry, Executive & Artistic Director/Eglevsky Ballet
Ama Karikari-Yawson, Storyteller and Author
Harper Bella, Artist, Board member of American Society of Media Photographers in the NY Chapter
Moderator Marc Courtade, Executive Director/Huntington Arts Council
January 2020 The Arts and LGBTQA+.
Panelists Anu Annam, Artist, Art Educator and Curator
Greg Fox, Artist and Writer
Christie LaSpina, LI Pride Chorus
Matt Rosenberg, Production Manager/Eastline Theatre
Moderator Dr. Nichelle Rivers/Artist and Educator
December 2019 The Arts and Science: STEAM Powered
Panelists Lorraine Sopp, Project Coordinator, Eastern Suffolk BOCES & Retired Assistant Principal and District Art Coordinator
Susan Buroker Artist
Abigail Holmes, Captain of Huntington High School Robotics Team 5016
Moderator Eric Reynolds, Director of Fine and Performing Arts/Huntington Union Free School District
November 2019 The Arts and Propaganda.
Panelists Barbara Applegate, Director, Steinberg Museum of Art/LIU Post
Leonard Lehrman, Founder & Director, The Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus
John Torres, Director & Actor/Eastline Theatre
Moderator Marc Courtade, Executive Director/Huntington Arts Council
October 2019 The Arts and LatinX Heritage.
Panelists Gil Bernardino, Founder and Executive Director of Círculo de la Hispanidad
Maria Loreta Celitan Founder of Sol Y Sombra Dance Company
Natalia Chamorro PhD candidate in Hispanic Languages and Literature/Stony Brook and Fellow/HERStory Writers Workshop
Jessica Valentin of Muñeca Arthouse,
Moderator Eileen Melendez of The LatiNerd Experience podcast
Sept 2019 The Arts and Social Change
Panelists Daniel Higgins/Artistic Director, Eastline Theater,
Ruthie Pincus/Executive Director/Stage the Change
Dr. Nichelle Rivers/Artist and Educator
Questions contact Director@huntingtonarts.org