Community Arts

The Luna Negra Collective of Latine musicians and vocalists utilized their GRCAP residency to compose original salsa music, as well as learn classic salsa favorites that their audience knew well and sang and danced along to with gusto at the finale concert on April 24, 2026.

“…One of the most important shows I have ever gotten to do. I do not come from a family of performers or theatre people, nor do I come from a family that all speaks English. To be able to sing in a language that they can all understand and enjoy, to be able to sing songs that THEY listen to, to be able to perform the genres of music they grew up with, feels like the greatest privilege as a performer.” -Singer, Miclo Gonzalez

Goddard Riverside Community Arts Program’s season 2025-2026 visual artist in residence Corey Wesley was selected to exhibit his first-ever gallery, a collection of digital photos printed on aluminum sheets titled Unapologetic, challenging perceptions of Black beauty. The gallery was activated by a ‘Paint & Sip’ workshop for beginner participants led by Scott M. Lilly. Following the workshop, an older adult participant finally decided she’d enroll in free art classes at her Goddard Riverside Older Adult Center. She claimed the workshop inspired her to ‘stop judging herself as not having the talent or skill to begin’, showing how our programs can spark ongoing engagement.

The Community Arts Program’s season 2025-2026 resident artists House of Chow are an Asian hip-hop dance ensemble weaving cultural fusion while exploring their relationships with their origins. They shared hip-hop dance techniques with the Goddard Riverside community and performed an original show June 4-6, 2026, developed at the Bernie Wohl Center by lead artist Yvonne Huatin Chow.

“I left opening night of Yvonne Chow’s Find a Good Husband deeply inspired… it was a beautiful journey through continents and consciousness, in the voice of a woman honoring who she came from and who she is. Witnessing the performance and hearing about Yvonne’s residency experience reinforced just how valuable this program is for both artists and the community.” – Audience Member

“An epic event that will be talked about for years to come.” On March 1, 2025, Community Arts celebrated “Courage” in the form of bold, independent fashion design and stunning styling by an all-star roster of community partners. Three creative collections by three amazing women leaders had a runway debut: inspired streetwear by Harlem Hope Center, one-of-a-kind crochet looks by Kulture Krochet, and couture headwear by Lisa McFadden Millinery. Barrier-breaking supermodel Shailah Edmonds emceed the evening incorporating live R&B by Amira B, and hip-hop dance by Ballet & Beyond NYC students whose “enthusiasm, and joy [were] absolutely contagious!”

An uplifting portrait of how our community came together to keep the arts accessible by celebrating local emerging music talent of all ages at the first-ever Upper West Side Talent Show. The featured contestants were selected during open auditions at the Bernie Wohl Center. In this BTS documentary, hear original songs and witness the local artists “share their shine” with our Community Arts program staff and crew.

93-year-old artist Nancy Brandon is a lifelong New Yorker and a frequent presence in the streets of the Upper West Side. She is often seen strolling on her way to an event at our Bernie Wohl Center (BWC), a multi-use space that houses our Community Arts Program, the Westside NORC program, and Youth Programming.

Nancy’s career retrospective solo exhibition was on view at BWC all of March 2024, as part of the Community Arts Program’s annual W.H.A.M. Festival celebrating the female visionaries in our local arts scene throughout International Women’s Month.

As 2023-2024 Artists in Residence at Goddard Riverside’s Community Arts Program, Good Light Productions conducted the Real Life Writers Poetry Project (RLWPP), a multi-session spoken word poetry workshop for young adults addressing Goddard’s program values to inspire and heal. Crafted through a social justice lens, RLWPP is a series of poetry writing projects designed for participants to learn the craft, styles, and methods of creating award-winning spoken word by professional spoken word artists. RLWPP purposefully sets out to de-center the notion that poetry is an elite, inaccessible, art form and inspires participants to develop and perform poetry reflecting their ideas, thoughts, and lived experiences. The culminating performances covered difficult and important topics such as breast cancer, fatphobia, gun violence, economic injustice, and misogyny. 

“When I reflect on 2023/2024 in the coming years, I will fondly recall how a small group of us decided together to create more beauty in the world by telling stories that needed to be told.” – Season Artist in Residence Carolyn Harrison “I am forever moved by the lives we’ve been able to touch with this project.” – Lyrical Faith