Artists and participants in Gala
 
Monday, September 15 through

         Tuesday,
December 9, 2014          
                                 
Opening Reception, Wednesday, October 1, 2014

 
The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture (HCAC) in partnership with the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) presents painter Ian Charles Scott’s first solo exhibit in the Bronx, running September 15 through December 9 in the Main Gallery at the Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse in the Bronx.

From Wick To Mott Haven: The Magic Realism of Ian Charles Scott” curated by Assistant Professor Sarah Sandman, features 26 paintings where magical elements are a natural part of an otherwise mundane environment that bring to life an extended cast of characters – ministers, boxers, art critics – that stretch from Scott’s hometown of Wick in remote Northern Scotland to his studio at Hostos Community College in the Mott Haven district of the Bronx.  

Concurrently, a collective exhibit in the project space, entitled “5 from 150” will showcase the artworks of Vanessa Isabella, Dennesa Usher, Lee Jacob Hilado, Osaretin Ugiagbe and Ptah Miller, five of Scott’s former students who are all now professional artists.
 
Gallery hours are Monday through Friday (except Wednesday), 12 pm to 5 pm. The opening reception for both exhibits will be on Wednesday, October 1, from 5 pm to 9 pm, with additional public events scheduled throughout the run.

Ian Charles Scott holds a First Class Honors B.A. degree in Fine Art and an M.F.A. from Dundee University. For over 20 years, he has taught art to novices and post-graduate students alike. Earlier in his career, Scott directed an Art School in Dorset, England and taught an art-therapy based course in Shotts Prison, Scotland. In 1992, Scott won The Alastair Salvesen Scholarship, Scotland’s top art honor. The prize included a three-month painting and travel research project, which culminated in a one-man exhibit at the Royal Scottish Academy.

Every year, Scott is invited to show in the annual exhibition opened by his Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. His work can also be found at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, The Aberdeen Art Gallery, The Dundee Art Gallery, and the Dublin Art Gallery, among others. In the United States, his work has been exhibited at the Silverstein Gallery, the Kravits Wehby Gallery, and the touring exhibition “Conversations with Jeff Koons and Frank Gehry.”

Scott explains that some of the people that appear in his paintings are from the Bronx and Scotland, among other places. “They are all people who fascinate me and help me to understand life as I try to understand them…I use paint as a way of understanding and coming to terms with the world around me and inside me,” states the artist.
 
The curator of Scott’s solo show is the artist and designer Sarah Sandman.  Her work has been exhibited at The Wassaic Project in New York, the 2010 Open Engagement Conference in Portland, Oregon and the 2013 Playtime Symposium at Eyebeam in New York City. Sandman is also an assistant professor in the Media Design Programs at Hostos Community College, where she co-coordinates the Hostos Design Lab. She has been a visiting lecturer and critic at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Syracuse University, The Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons The New School for Design. From 2009 to 2013, she served on the board of FEAST (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics), a Brooklyn-based arts granting organization whose efforts have been presented at the Creative Time “Living As Form” exhibit and the 2011 New Museum “Festival of Ideas.”
 
Ian Charles Scott, an art professor at Hostos Community College since 1999, chose the works that will be showcased in the concurrent exhibit “5 from 150”. The exhibit’s title refers to five of his past students - Vanessa Isabella, Dennesa Usher, Lee Jacob Hilado, Osaretin Ugiagbe and Ptah Miller - and to the room number of the Hostos Painting Studio.

“The students whose work I have selected to accompany my paintings are all true artists. Each has a unique mature vision and each has learned over the years how to incorporate being an artist into their practical lives,” says Scott. “They are shining examples of the best from Hostos Community College Alumni.”

About the Artists
Artist Vanessa Isabella received the bronze medal for her academic achievement at Hostos Community College in 2003.  Later, her work was chosen for the cover of the publication of the Hostos Schedule of Classes. Isabella is now pursuing a master’s degree with a concentration in painting at Lehman College, while teaching art to children of all ages. Her work has been exhibited at Hunter College, Bowery Electric Art Display and the Haven Arts Gallery Outdoor Show in the Bronx.

Dennesa Usher launched her first solo show “LooKinOut” in 2013, as part of a larger project that aims to empower the community through the arts.  Since 2009, she has been painting community murals for The Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation in the Bronx. In 2004, a photo of her work appeared on the cover of the publication of Hostos Schedule of Classes. Her paintings have been featured in Street Art NYC, the Bronx Artists Documentary Project (BXADP), Norwood News and NBC. Usher works as an Exhibition Manager at the New York Public Library, and has previous experience working at the Children’s Museum of Art, The Bronx Museum of Art, Christie's and Sotheby's.

Lee Jacob Hilado was born and raised in the Philippines. In 2009, he moved to New York and is now studying Electronic Design and Multimedia at The City College of New York. As a graduate of the Media Design Program at Hostos Community College, he received an honorable mention in the design competition to beautify the scaffolding on the Church of the Incarnation in Midtown Manhattan. Other awards include the Hostos Excellence in Animation 2013, the Hostos Excellence in Art Contribution 2012 and the second place in the 2013 One Club Boot Camp Competition. His paintings were recently showcased at the Madison’s Browne Fellowship third year anniversary.

Osaterin Ugiabe, originally from Lagos, Nigeria, discovered his interest in art while attending Scott’s class at Hostos Community College, where he was later awarded for the painting “Savannah Celebration”. In 2011, The Itkowitz PLLC selected him to be part of the “Empty Walls Itinerant Art Initiative”, an ongoing exhibition at the law firm’s office space. This year, one of his paintings was chosen for the cover of Stillborn, a novel by Diekoye Oyeyinka (East African Educational Publishers, 2014). He also finished murals for the film Lion's Den by Ben Hozie. Ugiabe’s painting have won The ArtSlant Prize five consecutive times.

Painter Ptah Miller attended Hostos Community College and The City College of New York. He has exhibited his paintings at the Longwood Art Gallery@ Hostos, City Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, JVC Jazz Festival, El Museo del Barrio and Victory Hall Gallery, in New Jersey. His work has been reviewed by The New York Times and Escriba, a multilingual literary and art journal published at Hostos.

These exhibits are made possible by the Hostos Community College Foundation, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Bronx Council on the Arts / Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos receives support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYS Council on the Arts,  the Lambent Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., the Bronx Delegation of the City Council, Bronx Tourism Council, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. and BCA members.
 
What:                 
From Wick To Mott Haven: The Magic Realism of Ian Charles Scott” and “5 from 150”
a collective exhibit with five former students of Ian Charles Scott.           

When:               
Exhibit runs from Monday, September 15 to Tuesday, December 9
                           
Public Events:
Opening Reception & Trolley, Wednesday, October 1, 2014, 5 pm to 9 pm

Discussion with Ian Charles Scott, moderated by Sarah Sandman,
Thursday, October 16, 6:30 pm

Reception & Trolley: Wednesday, November 5, 2014 5 pm to 9 pm

Discussion with the five alumni artists, with Ian Charles Scott,
moderated by Sarah Sandman, Thursday, November 13, 5 pm

Closing Reception & Trolley: Wednesday, December 3, 2014, 5 pm to 9 pm
 
Where:              
The Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos                                                                             
The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture                                                    
450 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York 10451

Gallery Hours:  
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 12 pm to 5 pm

How much:         
Free

Phone Number: 
718-518-6728

Website:             
www.hostos.cuny.edu/culturearts

Subway/Bus:  
IRT Trains 2,4,5 and Buses BX1, BX2, BX19 to 149th Street and Grand Concourse.
 
About the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture
The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture consists of a museum-grade art gallery, a 367-seat Repertory Theater, and a 900-seat Main Theater, presenting artists of national and international renown. It is easily accessible from Manhattan, Queens and New Jersey and is a mere 15 minutes by subway from midtown Manhattan.
 
About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities since 1968. It serves as a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs. The College’s unique "Student Success Coaching Unit" provides students with individualized guidance and exemplifies its emphasis on student support services. 
 
Hostos offers 27 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to CUNY’s four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of The City University of New York (CUNY), the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 480,000 students at 24 colleges.