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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Arts & Culture

Poughkeespsie Talk Examines Brooklyn Influx

Posted By Peter Aaron on Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 9:00 AM

If you’re anything like me, you’d sooner skewer your ears with a leather worker’s awl than hear the phrase “the new Brooklyn” bandied about in reference to the Hudson Valley one more time. Yet and still, however, the influx of artsy types from Downstate (guilty, class of 2003) has lately been picking up steam and has no signs of slowing down any time soon. And one of the questions that arises is this: How will the arrival of these cultural newbies impact the region’s arts and music scenes? That question and others are the focus of “Looking for the New Brooklyn: Creative Migrations and Musical Landscapes in Upstate New York,” a symposium on April 8 at Vassar College.

The talk will be led by Piotr Orlov, a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, curator, DJ, and media strategist, who has been reporting on the changing musical landscapes of Upstate New York. Joining him will be Leonard Nevarez and Hua Hsu of Vassar’s Urban Studies Program “to discuss the growth of Upstate’s microscenes, the exodus of artists from major cities, and the recent discourse around the Hudson Valley as ‘the new Brooklyn.’” Questions to be addressed in the seminar include: “How is the urban experience represented aesthetically?” “How do cities sustain artistic milieus and cultural production?” and “What is genuinely ‘local’ about local culture?”

“Looking for the New Brooklyn: Creative Migrations and Musical Landscapes in Upstate New York” takes place at Vassar College on April 8 at 8pm. The event is free. For more information, call (845) 437-5370 or visit www.vassar.edu.