Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Uptown Arts Stroll Celebrates 15 Years and Picks Poster Contest Winner

By Carolina Pichardo | March 24, 2017 12:07pm | Updated on March 26, 2017 4:11pm
 Washington Heights resident Alexis Agliano Sanborn won the 2017 Uptown Arts Stroll poster contest, said Joanna E. Castro, Acting Executive Director, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance.
Washington Heights resident Alexis Agliano Sanborn won the 2017 Uptown Arts Stroll poster contest, said Joanna E. Castro, Acting Executive Director, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance.
View Full Caption
Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The winner of this year's Uptown Arts Stroll contest has been selected — out of a record-breaking 40 submissions, officials said.

Washington Heights resident Alexis Agliano Sanborn wowed the judges with her colorful rendition of Uptown highlighting a variety of flags from different parts of the world intertwined with the parks, museums and historic parts of the community, including the subways, bridges and homes.  

Sanborn, who grew up in grew up in suburban California and works as a program coordinator at New York University, is also a founding committee member of the Washington Heights and Inwood Food Council, as well as board member of the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra.

"I think Alex did an amazing job of answering our calls for submission… adding that inclusiveness and diversity that’s in our community," said Joanna E. Castro the acting executive director of Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, the organization that has run the poster contest and art stroll in Northern Manhattan for the past 15 years.

“All those flags represent the richness in the cultures we have, and have had in our community.”

The poster contest gives local artists an opportunity to submit their best work for a chance to be featured on the promotional materials for the month-long Uptown Arts Stroll, which runs from West Harlem through Washington Heights and Inwood in June.

Previous winners include graphic designers Edwin Ureña, who designed a woman painting the skyline of Upper Manhattan with a George Washington Bridge Background, and Andrew Short, with an emblem design that highlighted the arts in the community with microphones, musical instruments, a film strip and clusters of buildings.

Other past winners include Felipe Galindo and popular T-shirt designer, M. Tony Peralta, whose works were inspired by the George Washington Bridge and Little Red Lighthouse.

This year, the poster contest prize money was increased to $1,000 from $750, organizers said. The funds were donated by Pizza Haven at 4942 Broadway in Inwood, Ms. Carole Mulligan of Inwood, the Calabar Gallery in Harlem and anonymous donors.

"It just made sense to bump it up," Castro said, adding that the stroll is celebrating a “quinceañera” or 15-year anniversary of arts strolling in Northern Manhattan. “We wanted to honor whoever won with a nice prize.”

The Uptown Arts Stroll kicks off on Wednesday, May 31 at the United Palace on Broadway and West 175th Street and runs through June 30. 

This year’s Uptown Arts Stroll will host open studios for two straight weekends, on Saturday, June 10 and Saturday, June 17, rather than the one-day version in previous years. Open studios allow art locals and professionals to open up their creative spaces to give visitors a glimpse into their art life and process.

The Uptown Arts Stroll will once again offer a technical assistance workshop where artists can get tips and tools on how to use social media for their work, how to write grants and how to improve their personal image online, or, as Castro described it, “if you’re doing a facelift for your blog or Facebook, how to make sure your artwork is being seen in the best possible light."

Last year the arts stroll hosted 106 cultural events, 28 exhibits and 25 open studios, and there are aleady 50 events scheduled for this year’s stroll, Castro said. "I'm pretty confident that we’ll surpass [last year's] number of events," she said.

Castro said the growth in events also reflects how art is experienced in the community.

"It's interesting how it started as a grassroots, one-day event and over the years it expanded to a week, then two weeks and now it’s a whole month," Castro said.

"Our neighborhood has historically — and continues to — have a rich history of cultures, inclusion and diversity… and this festival one example that showcases all the different disciplines: visual, performing, spoken word."