OPEN HOUSE | OPEN STUDIO
Saturday, May 12, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Program of Activities
Welcome to the Art Students League’s Landmark Birthday Extravaganza! The OPEN HOUSE | OPEN STUDIO program features more than 20 art happenings including demonstrations, exhibitions, workshops, and tours.
About the workshops Art-making workshop are available on a drop-in basis. You can stay for the entire time or get something done in as little as 15 minutes. Materials are provided for all workshops.
About the exhibitions There are exhibitions in eight locations around the League. Work is for sale in the Ground Floor galleries. Proceeds are split between the artists and the League.
KEY: All Family-Friendly Activities recorded in TEAL.
All-Day Activities 11am-3pm
LIVE! Street Art Like You’ve Never Seen It
On 57th Street | 11am-3pm | All ages
Top League artists draw, paint and sculpt to create art on 57th Street, working from models in the League’s front windows.
Clay for Beginners
with League Artist Jeanette Farrow and Miguel Del-Rey Vergara
Basement Level, Stone Carving Studio | 11am-3pm | Age 6 and Up
Join a drop-in workshop exploring the basics of clay sculpture and relief work.
Heady Sculpture Demonstration
with Instructor Barney Hodes
Basement Level, Clay Studio | 11am-3pm | Age 16 and Up
Watch and learn as Sculpture Instructor Barney Hodes sculpts a big head (a REALLY BIG HEAD).
Live Sketch and Modelling
with League Instructor John Varriano and League model coordinator Valentine Aprile
Ground Floor, Vanderbilt Gallery, Studios 15 and 16 | 11am-3pm | Age 8 and Up
Have you always wanted to try your hand at drawing the model? Have you ever thought about what it’s like to be an artists’ model? Well this is your chance! You’ll be able to draw inspiring League models or try out your own best poses along with them.
Printmaking Demos
with League Instructor Sylvie Covey and Master Printer Tomomi Ono
3rd Floor, Printmaking and Lithography Studios, Studios 3 and 4 | 11am-3pm
Demonstrations of the relief laser engraving, pigment transfer and stone lithography process.
11:30 am – 12:00 pm Introduction to lithography by Tomomi Ono
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Demonstration of relief laser engraving by Sylvie Covey
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Demonstration of pigment transfer by Sylvie Covey
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Demonstration of stone lithography by Tomomi Ono
Let’s Paint Together
with League Artist Amy Digi
4th Floor, Studio 8 | 11am-3pm | Age 6 and Up
When was the last time you painted? Yesterday? Yesteryear? Let’s paint together, every level welcome. Tips on how to get started, mixing paint, and the painting process. You’ll go home with a painting.
Still Life Painting
with League Instructor Karen O’Neil
4th Floor, Studio 6 | 11am-3pm | Age 16 and Up
A demonstration of the alla prima method of painting, from start to finish. Highlighting the relationship between light and color. Discussion of methods of seeing, composing and relating color to build space and form.
ASL Tours & Historical Display
Running every half-hour – led by the League community
5th Floor, Studio 9 & 10 | 11am-3pm | Age 16 and Up
Take a tour around the League’s 125-year-old Landmark building and see original(ish) paint drips from Jackson Pollock (maybe). Find out stuff that even most of the people who go to the League don’t know. Also explore a collection of images from the League’s studios from over 125 years on 57th Street and key historical documents.
Midday Activities 11am-1pm
Drawing & Mixed-Media for Kids
with League Instructor Susan Cirigliano
Basement Level, Mixed Media Studio | 11am-1pm | 3 years old and Up
Use a prompt to create a 3-D environment with League Instructor Susan Cirigliano.
Art for Animation
with League Instructor Jeff Buckland
2nd Floor, Studio 1 and 2 | 11am-1pm | Age 12 and Up
Get acquainted with one of the classic principles of animation by learning how to draw the famous Flour Sack! A perfect vehicle for exploring mass, volume, organic shape, and movement.
ART BASTARD
Screening followed by Q&A
2nd Floor, Phyllis Harriman-Mason Gallery | 11am-1pm
Screening of ART BASTARD, a historical documentary film on Robert Cenedella’s life and work, followed by a Q&A with Mr. Cenedella and Executive Director, Mr. Michael Rips. This film was released in June of 2016 by Concannon Productions to critical acclaim.
A New York Times Critic’s Pick! Described as a “Robust documentary portrait of lifelong rebel and art-world gadfly … Cenedella comes across as a reassuring voice of sanity,” by Stephen Holden of The New York Times.
Watercolor Demonstration
with League Instructor Naomi Campbell
4th Floor, Studio 5 | 11am-1pm
Naomi Campbell instructs the Contemporary Figure in Watercolor exploring a wide range of dynamic approaches from the representational to very contemporary views, for which she is known. Explore a rare short demo alongside a sample of artworks created by League students.
The Legacy of Studio 7
with League Instructor Thomas Torak
4th Floor, Studio 7 | 11am-1pm | Age 16 and up
Portrait demonstration and discussion on the legacy of Studio 7 including the importance of classical tradition lineage, from Frank Vincent DuMond to Frank Mason to Thomas Torak.
Afternoon Activities 1pm-3pm
Psychedelic Monoprints!
with League Artist Crystal Durant
Basement Level, Mixed Media Studio | 1pm-3pm | Age 6 and Up
Crystal Durant will teach you how to create a groovy, one-of-a-kind print, using multi-colored tempera paints & household foil.
Live Sketch for Kids
with League Instructor Marilyn Friedman
Ground Floor, Studio 11 | 1pm-3pm | Age 6 to 18
Using a variety of drawing techniques and materials, young artists will explore different ways of capturing quick poses.
Make Your Own Graphic Novel
with League Instructor Steve Walker
2nd Floor, Studio 1 and 2 | 1pm-3pm | Age 12 and up
In this workshop, Instructor Steve Walker will go over some of the fundamentals that you need to begin to make your own comic or graphic novel.
The Essential Differences Between Figure Conceptions of Michelangelo and the Greeks
with League Instructor Michael Burban
2nd Floor, Phyllis Harriman-Mason Gallery | 1pm-3pm
A talk with drawing demonstrations of the essential differences between figures portrayed by Michelangelo and those created by the Greeks, as discussed by Auguste Rodin in his book; “Art: Conversations with Paul Gsell.”
Creative Writing
with League Instructor Silya Kiese
4th Floor, Studio 5 | 1pm-3pm | Age 16 and Up
Be inspired by the sounds of nature! While listening to recordings from nature, League Instructor Silya Kiese will guide you through short, simple, writing exercises to access and expand your inner creativity.
Drawing a Portrait on Toned Paper
with League Instructor Costa Vavagiakis
4th Floor, Studio 7 | 1pm-3pm | Age 12 and Up
Demonstrating Costa Vavagiakis’s process of creating a portrait on toned paper using graphite and white chalk.
Exhibitions and Auctions: See Art (and Possibly Take Some Home!)
League Printmakers
Ground Floor Office
See a sample of work from students and instructors that comes out of the League’s venerable printmaking studios. Then visit the studios on the third floor.
Young Artists Exhibition Gallery
Ground Floor, Studio 11
The finest exhibition of work by artists aged 8-18 you’ll ever see. Works are $125 each.
Student, Member, and Alumni Auction Gallery
Ground Floor, Studio 13 and 14
A market of work by emerging artists affiliated with the League. Bring home amazing art for a very affordable price. Reserve prices range from $50 to $3,500. Proceeds benefit the League.
The League’s Permanent Collection & Instructor Work
Ground Floor, Vanderbilt Gallery, Studios 15 and 16
In a re-creation of the famed 19th century Vanderbilt gallery, you can commune with Permanent Collection works by League alumni including Alexander Calder, Charles Alston, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Georgia O’Keeffe; and by dozens of master artists who teach at the League today.
Student Class Exhibitions
2nd Floor, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery
Each year from January through May, student work is presented in the League’s gallery. This week’s class exhibitions show sculpture and realistic drawings and paintings from four different studios.
Work from the Permanent Collection
3rd Floor, Café Atelier
More work from the League’s Permanent Collection. And coffee and pastries.
Display of Historical Items
5th Floor, Studio 9 & 10
Explore a collection of images from the League’s studios from over 125 years on 57th Street and key historical documents.
Visit the League’s Art Supply Store and the Café Atelier
Art Supply Store
Ground Floor | Open 11am-3pm
The League’s Art Supply Store specializes in fine art supplies for drawing, painting, sculpting, and printmaking. We also have gifts (and gift certificates) to help you remember your visit to the League.
Café Atelier
3rd Floor | Open 11am-3pm
Best Food Value on 57th Street: Fresh Pastries, Sandwiches, Soups, Specialties of the House: Empanadas and Tandoori-Chicken Kebabs and … Coffee!