Samantha Katz rocks Art Basel Miami: Graffiti Gone Global

Samantha will give us a recount of her exciting ventures to sunny Florida as soon as she recovers but for now, check out the SushiSamba Graffiti Gone Global Blog to get an idea of the good vibes and even better graffiti that went on.

Keep checking in to REPUBLIC Worldwide because the new year

is going to bring a ton of new stuff your way.

Roger Ricco & the Canha Family at the Cooke Center Academy: Success!

Success!

On Wednesday Dec. 9, students of the Cooke Center Academy were treated to a film presentation and lecture by Roger Ricco of Ricco/Maresca Gallery on a selection of artists who were born with a variety of developmental disorders and who have used the creative process to communicate in unique and inspiring artistic ways.
One of the artists in the film was Justin Canha and he was on hand with his father Briant Canha who followed Mr. Ricco with a special presentation of his own.
Diagnosed with autism at an early age, Justin began his artistic career at the age of 13 with the support of Arts Unbound, a New Jersey based non-profit organization dedicated to the artistic achievement of people with disabilities. Since the age of 15, Justin has been represented by Ricco/Maresca Gallery and in August 2006, Justin’s artwork was featured in Oprah Magazine. Aspects of his autistic and artistic life have been described in two recent documentaries, “Autism: A Different Way of Communicating” and “Sidecars.” In January 2008, Justin successfully made his world debut at the Outsider Art Fair in NYC and In April 2008, his artwork was shown at Art Chicago, the world-renowned international contemporary and modern art fair.
Since then, Justin’s family has been using his experience to educate and inspire others by presenting the trial and error techniques that they employed to first begin to communicate with Justin and then to develop his fruitful artistic career.

Thanks again to Roger Ricco along with artist Justin Canah and his parents Briant and Maria Teresa Canah for their participation. Thank you also to Mary Munsch and Emily Mason from The Cooke Center Academy and to REPUBLIC community relations coordinator and charity Director Jay Isch for for all of their time and efforts.

For more information about the Cooke Center for Learning and Development

www.cookecenter.org

For more information about the work of Justin Canha

www.justinart.com

For more information abour Roger Ricco and Ricco / Maresca Gallery

www.rogerricco.com

www.riccomaresca.com

For more information about REPUBLIC WorldWide

www.republicworldwide.com

www.republicbrooklyn.blogspot.com

or contact

Jason@republicworldwide.com

Photos by Sean McGurn

Check out A.I.R Gallery "Mother/mother" film series 12/12/09

Head over to A.I.R. Gallery Saturday, December 12th from 6-8pm for a special screening of films from:

Mother/mother-*
And Beyond!

On Saturday, December 12 from 6-8pm, A.I.R. Gallery will hold a screening, open to the public, of additional video works that augment the selections that comprise the month-long Mother/mother-* exhibition. The films screened on December 12th are a critical component of Mother/mother-*.

The films are:

Ilana Rein’s Julie, a documentary shot over the course of seven years and edited in 2008

Marie-Francoise Theodore’s Rebel in the Soul, a stirring narrative that traces the connection between a contemporary African-American artist and a Georgia sharecropper’s wife lynched in 1915

Emilie Upzak’s Weaning Gideon, documenting the physical changes associated with weaning

Ingrid Berthon-Moine’s Midriff, a short film comprised entirely of a close-in shot of a woman twanging her tampon string to music.

Lindsay Page, Untitled from the series Spawn, archival Pigment Print, 33" x 44”, 2007

Mother/mother-* is a group exhibition curated by artist and 2008-2009 A.I.R. Gallery Fellow Jennifer Wroblewski. The exhibition is of works made by artists within the years immediately following a pregnancy or the birth of a child. The artists live and work in the U.S., Canada, Scotland, England, and Spain. For the purpose of the exhibition, the title Mother/mother-* also refers to father artists. "Mother" is the term that elicits the great frisson when uttered within the larger art culture.


For further information about Mother/mother-*, please read the press release<http://www.airgallery.org/images/motherPRFINAL.pdf>

This event is free and open to the public!

A.I.R. Gallery

111 Front Street, #228
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Sunday 11am - 6pm
212-255-6651
info@airgallery.org <mailto:info@airgallery.org>
www.airgallery.org <http://www.airgallery.org/>
A.I.R. BLOG! airgalleryblog.blogspot.com<http:/airgalleryblog.blogspot.com>
A.I.R. Twitter! Twitter.com/airgallery<http://twitter.com/AIRGallery>

Wheelchair access to the building is through the 55 Washington Street entrance. Take the elevator to the 2nd Floor.

Directions: The F train to York St. (first stop in Brooklyn) Turn right as you exit the station, walk 1 block down hill to Front St. Turn left on Front St. and walk 2 1/2 blocks. Or take the A/C train to High St. (first stop in Brooklyn) and walk through Cadman Plaza Park and down Washington St. toward the water until you reach Front St, then turn right.

Roger Ricco & the Canha Family at the Cooke Center Academy: 12/9/2009

On December 9^th, 2009, REPUBLIC presents a film and lecture by Roger Ricco and the family of artist Justin Canha at the Cooke Center Academy High School in New York City. In the early 1980s, Roger Ricco established one of the first galleries in New York devoted entirely to American Folk, Self-Taught and Outsider Art and is presently co-owner of Ricco/Maresca Gallery, located in New York City’s Chelsea gallery district.

In addition to his own extremely successful artistic career, Roger frequently speaks across the country on creativity and art, has taught at New York’s School of Visual Arts, and in recent years he has become known as an authority on artists with Autism. Artist Justin Canha and his parents, Briant and Maria Teresa, will accompany Roger at this presentation. Justin Canha is a 20-year-old artist with autism, who is represented by Ricco/Maresca Gallery. His work has been featured in Oprah Magazine and aspects of his autistic and artistic life have been described in two recent documentaries, Autism: A Different Way of Communicating and Sidecars. In January 2008, Justin successfully made his world debut at the Outsider Art Fair in NYC and in April 2008, his work was shown at Art Chicago, the world-renowned International Contemporary and Modern Art Fair. Due to Justin having such a variety of different artistic interests and talents, his work ranges from pastels and paint to digital animation.

In addition to Justin’s story, this presentation will focus on several other celebrated artists who, faced a variety of different personal and developmental challenges, have utilized their unique talents to discover unconventional means of communication. These are the stories of individual artists with rare gifts and inspiring abilities who clearly illustrate the prevailing human creative drive and the urge to communicate with the world, even when a traditional means of communication has been impaired or is an unavailable option.

The presentation begins at 12:30 at the Cooke Center Academy located at 60 MacDougal Street in SoHo, NYC. All parents and teachers are encouraged to participate and refreshments will be served after the presentation. Roger, Justin and his family will also be available for questions and discussions after the presentation.

For more information please contact republicbrooklyn@gmail.com or emason@cookecenter.org. Or call 212. 280. 4473 x 11.