Live Arts News Coverage of “American Goulash”

Old Format, New Work: First Person Salons

Men in dresses parading, poignant and creative autobiographical art, a collection of the true stories of gay people worldwide, and a Transylvanian grandmother who wraps Christmas presents in used tin foil. And that's just the beginning.

At the Arts Bank's Laurie Beechman Cabaret, red velvet curtains line the walls while deep purple crushed velvet frames the performance space. Against this plush backdrop, the First Person Salons unfold every month. Produced by First Person Arts, the salons illustrate how narrative shades the work of artists across virtually all media. Last week I took in the most recent salon to watch four artists tell their own stories and discuss how narrative shapes their work.

Painting and autobiography are infrequent bedfellows (at least overtly) but painter Sarah McEneaney integrates both in her colorful and...
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Happy Birthday, Nagymama!

Over the weekend (April 5th to be exact), Nagymama celebrated her 98th birthday! We had to tell her in every language she speaks to make sure she knew we were HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY:

Happy Birthday! (English)
Boldog születésnapot! (Hungarian)
La mulţi ani! (Romanian)
Alles gute zum Geburtstag! (German)
Hartelijk gefeliciteerd met je vejaardag! (Dutch)

Since it's impossible for everyone to reach out and say "Happy Birthday" to our 4 ft x 4 ft cube of adorable granny, please celebrate her birthday by taking a moment to call your own grandma or grandpa. If you don't have a grandparent,  perhaps you should give your parent a ring if you haven't talked to them in a while, or do something really nice for an old lady at the grocery store.

Get off your fanny and talk to your granny!

And if she says something interesting, please post it here :)