SoHo News Roundup

       It seems recently in the news SoHo’s position as local patron of the arts in is in full force. From celebrity activism to old school galleries, the neighborhood is  bustling in it’s former artistic glory. The attention placed on SoHo at the moment, however, is not without controversy. Check out the stories below to see what I mean..

•  SoHo remains a home to an alternative and experimental art scene, according to the New York Times. New galleries, such as Third Streaming, and old favorites like the Artists Space keep SoHo’s edgy artistic feel alive with new exhibitions this spring. 
• Speaking of alternative art, tomorrow SoHo’s Cristina Grajales Gallery opens “Sebastin Errazuzuz: Beautiful Premonitions." The collection will feature 21 eccentric pieces from the Chilean-born, New York- based designer. 
•  But edgy artists aren’t the only one’s paying attention to the neighborhood this week. The Black Eyed Peas will be opening an arts academy for high school students in SoHo this summer. The academy, run by the group’s charitable organization the  Peapod Foundation and the Adobe Foundation, will offer video and music production classes. 
• The group’s interest in the neighborhood is the latest in a string of celebrity activism.  On April 15^th, a coalition of local residents and celebrities from SoHo and TriBeCa lost a battle against the building of a sanitation garage in the area. The group sued to stop the planned construction, but a state court ruled unanimously in it’s favor. Notable protestors included James Gandolfini, Kirsten Dunst, Michael Stripe, John Slattery and Jennifer Connelly. 
• One celebrity missing from the action, Donald Trump, is having SoHo trouble of his own. A year after the opening of the Trump SoHo, the team behind the incredibly popular Quatro Gastronomia will be ending its contract with the hotel. 
• One final controversy plaguing the neighborhood involves an angry mom, a lawsuit, and a highly protested anti-abortion advertisement. Tricia Fraser sued Texas anti-abortion group Life Always this week for using her daughter's image in an advertisement that went up briefly in the neighborhood. The ad read, "The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb."  Fraser claims the advertisement's use of her daughter's image is defamatory.

Fales Library - A Place for 19th Century Literature Buffs and Punk Aficionados Alike

       Bobst library is NYU's research powerhouse - the gathering spot for the school's 40,000 students in the search of academic conquest. Hidden in the bowels of the enormous beast, lies Fales library - a special collection of primary source materials. Last week, Marvin Taylor, director of Fales library, took my journalism class on a journey through time in a climate controlled space.
      The crux of the collection's ability to stand out against NYU's vast library facilities is its versatility. Fales is home to everything from a cuneiform tablet dated 3250 B.C. to a journal Patti Smith gave to fellow punk founder Richard Hell in 1973. 
      The library, located on the third floor of Bobst,  holds a collection of rare books and manuscripts in English and American literature, the Downtown Collection, the Food and Cookery Collection and the general Special Collections of the NYU Libraries. The Downtown Collection "documents the downtown New York art, performance, and literary scenes from 1975 to the present", according to the library Web site.  A newcomer that goes hand in hand with the Downtown Collection is the Riot Grrrl Collection, an attempt to document the evolution of the political, artistic, and cultural movement that is Riot Grrrl.

Grrrl Power, Indeed.

       It is also home to one of the largest food research libraries in the country - the Food and Cookery Collection. The ever-expanding collection was recently featured in the New York Times.
      What was most refreshing was the respect Taylor shows to all sorts of archival materials. He said he has to disagree with some of his colleagues who think age makes things more important.
       Referring to the Riot Grrrl Collection, he said, "They are just as evocative of a moment in time and just as rare. Medieval manuscript or zine - we treat them with the same respect," he said.

Marvin Taylor showing us a papyrus fragment containing 11 lines from the Illiad! "It's my favorite document in the collection," he said. Photo courtesy of Betty Ming Liu