They say you shouldn’t talk religion
or politics at the dinner table. Sound advice. But we
think art falls in the same category. Ever bring a still-life lover to an art
installation where doll parts hang from the ceiling? Chain a free-spirited
drumming-circle dancer in front of a four-hour ballet? There are some very
strongly held beliefs out there about what qualifies as art and culture. We
know that some people would rather watch performance art than Broadway
musicals, while others are more into a well-planned literary lecture than
free-form poetry.
So we’ve organized this list to give
you some places to start, both for the straight-aheads
and the veer-off-courses. This isn’t every venue or group dedicated to the
arts. If you already know what you like, check the weekly listings in City for all the events and groups out
there trying to keep you cultured.
Visual arts
Safe
bets: If you’re of the they-call-this-art?!? ilk, you don’t have to sweat trips to the MemorialArtGallery
or the George Eastman House. Both are established institutions with world-class
exhibits in art and photography, respectively. You also can’t beat GeneseeCenter for the Arts for pottery and
photography (both disciplines are taught there, and sales are held throughout
the year). Oxford Gallery shows artwork with a more traditional
aesthetic, mostly paintings.
And the Arts & Cultural Council
knows all the Rochester artists, so
you know the work it displays will be the pick of the litter. For the history
buff, UR’s Rare Books Library chooses items from its collection
with care; exhibits are linked to events at the university and in the
community.
Newcomer on the scene Image City
Photography Gallery has so many shows (every three weeks) and uses so much of
its available gallery space, at any given moment there’s bound to be something
you like.
Worth
a gamble: The alt-art quartet: A\V, Rochester Contemporary, Visual Studies
Workshop, and (newbie) Door7. These places are run by (often harried) devoted
individuals with a love of the off-balance. Be patient with erratic hours and
low budgets and you’ll be rewarded by seeing art you didn’t know could exist.
Sound and video installations, pop-up books, hat pins, and drawing robots —
you’d better believe they call this art.
To be wowed by sheer quantity (and
some definite quality) try ARTISANworks. The whole
place is a marvel.
All
Things Art 65 S Main Street,
Canandaigua, 396-0087
American
Association of University Women494 East Avenue,
244-8890
Anderson
Alley Artists 250 N Goodman Street, #212,461-3940, www.andersonalleyartists.com
Art
Stop Gallery 10 North Avenue,
Webster, 872-5710, www.artstopllc.com
ARTISANworks565
Blossom Road, Suite L, 288-7170,
www.artisanworks.net
A\V 8 Public Market, 423-0320, www.avspace.org
1570 Gallery 1570
East Avenue, 770-1923
CasaItalianaNazarethCollege, Le Chase Lounge, 389-2468
Friendly
Home Memorial Gallery 3156 East Avenue, 385-0298
Galleryblue277 Alexander Street, Suite 204,
703-6087, www.galleryblue.com
Genesee
Center for the Arts713 Monroe Avenue,
271-5183, www.geneseearts.org
George
Eastman House900 East Avenue,
271-3361, www.eastmanhouse.org
Image
City Photography Gallery 722 University Avenue, 271-2359
Little
Theatre Cafรฉ 240 East Avenue,
232-3906, www.little-theatre.com
LinkGalleryCity
Hall, 30 Church Street
Memorial
Art Gallery 500 University Avenue,
473-7720, mag.rochester.edu
MercerGalleryMonroeCommunity College, 1000
E Henrietta Road, 292-2021
MillArtCenter and Gallery61
N Main Street, HoneoyeFalls, 624-7740
My
Sister’s Gallery Episcopal Church Home, 505 Mt
Hope Avenue
New
Gallery Arts & Cultural Council, 277 N Goodman
Street, 473-4000, www.artsrochester.org
Nan
Miller Gallery3450 Winton Place,
292-1430, www.nanmillergallery.com
Oxford
Gallery 267 Oxford Street,
271-5885, www.oxfordgallery.com
Rochester
Contemporary137 East Avenue,
461-2222, www.rochestercontemporary.org
Rochester Institute of TechnologyBevierGalleryJamesE.BoothBuilding,
475-7680 | Gallery r775 Park
Avenue, 242-9470, www.rit.edu/~galleryr
| NTIDDyerArtsCenterJohnsonBuilding,
475-6855 | SPAS Gallery Gannett Bldg
7B, 475-2770
SUNY
GeneseoLederer Gallery Brodie Hall, 245-5211 | Lockhart
Gallery McClellan House, 245-5814 | OpusGalleryMacVittieCollegeUnion, 245-5516
TowerFineArtsCenter and Rainbow GallerySUNY
Brockport, 180
Holley Street, Brockport, 395-2805
University
of Rochester Gallery at the Art and
Music Library Rush Rhees Library, River Campus,
275-4476 | HartnettGalleryWilsonCommons,
River Campus, 275-4188 | Rare Books and SpecialCollectionsLibraryRiver
Campus, 275-4477 | Rossell Hope Robbins Library Rush Rhees Library, River Campus, 275-0110
Visual
Studies Workshop 31 Prince Street,
442-8676, www.vsw.org
WilliamsGalleryFirstUnitarianChurch, 220
S Winton Road, 271-9070
Williams-Insalaco Gallery34 Finger Lakes Community College, 4355 Lakeshore Drive, Canandaigua, 394-3500
Museums
Safe
bets: The George Eastman House is grand and the gardens are beautiful, as
are the house and grounds at Sonnenberg. If you have
kids you can’t avoid trips to Strong Museum (visiting exhibits, Sesame Street,
a kids’ grocery store) or Rochester Museum and Science Center (planetarium,
interactive exhibits, Science Saturdays), and why would you want to?
Seneca Park Zoo is, well, a zoo,
replete with animals of every climate and temperament. GeneseeCountryVillage
and Museum is a paradise of the 19th-century — butter-churning, quilt-making,
old-school baseball-playing and all.
Worth
a gamble: Unless there’s a sponsored event going on, the interaction at the
outdoor ARTWalk is of your own design. Sit on a bench, admire the sculptures, or think, “I could do that.”
There may be limits to all you want
to know about Jell-O. But the museum may be worth a trip if only because when
you talk about Rochester to
outsiders, everyone’s heard of Jell-O. Not so with garbage plates or white hots.
ARTWalk University Avenue, 234-6670,
www.rochesterartwalk.org
Center at High Falls 60 Browns Race, 325-2030, www.centerathighfalls.org
Charlotte-GeneseeLighthouseMuseum 70 Lighthouse Street, 621-6179
Ganondagan State Historic Site 1488 Route 444,
Victor, 742-1690, www.ganondagan.org
Geneva Historical
Society Museum543 S Main Street, Geneva,
315-789-5151, www.genevahistoricalsociety.com
Granger Homestead
& Carriage Museum 295 N Main Street,
Canandaigua, 394-1472, www.grangerhomestead.org
GreeceHistoricalMuseum 595 Long Pond
Road, Greece, 225-7221,
historicalsociety.greeceny.org
Honeoye Falls-Mendon
Historical Society1 Allen Park Drive,
Honeoye Falls, 624-9803
JELL-OMuseum23 E Main, LeRoy,
768-7433
New York Museum of
Transportation6393 E River Road,
533-1113, www.nymtmuseum.org
Ontario County
Historical Society Museum 55 N Main Street,
Canandaigua, 394-4975, www.ochs.org
Rochester Museum and
Science Center657 East Avenue,
271-1880, www.rmsc.org
Seneca Park Zoo 2222 St Paul Street, 467-WILD, www.senecaparkzoo.org
Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion151
Charlotte Street,
Canandaigua, 394-4922, www.sonnenberg.org
Strong Museum1 Manhattan Square, 263-2700, www.strongmuseum.org
Susan B. Anthony House17 Madison Street, 235-6124, www.susanbanthonyhouse.org
TinkerHomestead &
FarmMuseum475 Calkins Road, 359-7042
Poetry and literature
Safe
bets:Rochester Arts &
Lectures brings household-name writers to town to talk about their work. It’s
almost always a sellout, and it may be the most attentive you’ll ever be in a
church pew. The Brockport Writers Forum is also top-notch, with both creative
writers and poets on tap. BOA Editions’ volumes are, if you like poetry, always
a treat. It’s a tremendous little press with big standards and several
award-winning poets on its roster.
Worth
a gamble: You never know what you’re going to get from a writing class; the
right chemistry comes from a delicate balance of students, teacher, muses, and
celestial alignment. But if you need to find out if you’re the next Faulkner or
Frey, Writers & Books is your place. For a more trial-by-fire type of test,
bring your notebook and your courage to the Pure Kona
Poetry open mic. Yes, there are others, but this is
the oldest.
Blackstorytelling League of Rochester 234-7710, www.blackstorytellingleague.org
BOA
EditionsLimited260
East Avenue, 546-3410, www.boaeditions.org
Brockport
Writers Forum SUNY Brockport, 395-5713, www.brockport.edu/wforum/
HazMat Review www.hazmatlitreview.org
Lake Affect
Magazine 288-4239, www.lakeaffectmag.com
Pure
Kona Poetry Daily Perks Coffee House, 389
Gregory Street, 271-2340,
www.dailyperkscoffeehouse.com
Rochester Arts & Lectures 546-8658, www.artsandlectures.org
Writers
& Books 740 University Avenue,
473-2590, www.wab.org
Dance
Safe bets: You like
to dance? This is quite a dance-centric town. Garth Fagan is an award-winning
choreographer (he did Lion King), and
his shows, always reviewed in the Times,
are must-sees when he brings his troupe home from world tours. Also popular are
Rochester City Ballet’s performances; the troupe dances the Nutcracker every
Thanksgiving and usually one spring show as well.
Worth
a gamble: Modern dance isn’t everybody’s thing, but there are some talented
people around here contorting their bodies for your amusement: SUNY Brockport
has a great dance department with frequent shows for a song, and the
Contemporary Dance Collective, a group of local choreographers, is in its third
year of spring performances of new, regional choreography in a family-friendly
Sunday-afternoon format.
But if you really want to gamble,
prove you like to dance and join in with any of the participatory groups around
town. Bush Mango is a great place for West African style accompanied by drums
and the Swing Dance Network is a tireless, well-organized option for swing and
its outcroppings, but there are at least a dozen others listed every week in City‘s community calendar, from
Argentine tango to contra to Irish folk.
Bush
Mango Drum & Dance 34 Elton Street,
235-3960, www.bushmango.com
Elizabeth
Clark Dance Ensemble 442-5988
Garth
Fagan Dance50 Chestnut Street,
454-3260, www.garthfagandance.org
Hallmark
Danceworks www.hallmarkdanceworks.org
Park Avenue Dance 461-2766, www.parkavenuedancecompany.org
Rochester
City Ballet 1326 University Avenue,
461-5850, www.rochestercityballet.org
Rochester Swing Dance Network 244-2815,
www.rochesterswingdance.com
SUNY
Brockport 350 New Campus Drive,
Brockport, 395-2787, www.brockport.edu/finearts
Theater
Safe
bet:GevaTheatreCenter
is our biggest regional professional theater and the shows range from
Shakespeare classics to established musicals to commissioned works. With two
stages, one for larger-scale shows and one for newer plays, there’s
bound to be something you like, and you know it will be done with care and
sparkle.
Rochester Broadway Theatre League
brings the big touring musicals to us poor souls up here in the sticks. They’re
polished, they’re showy: you can’t go wrong.
Downstairs Cabaret Theatre is the
most prolific little theater with three locations and all the musical and
ensemble theater you could want. Lots of fringe-festival favorites have come
through in recent years, all in a cabaret-style setting.
Blackfriars
is a community theater that consistently puts on solid shows — well-acted and
well-designed. You can tell they put time into these.
Worth
a gamble: We don’t know what you find funny, so in a way Nuts and Bolts and
Geva Comedy Improv are a
bit of a gamble, though both are very talented troupes of quick-on-their-feet
comedians.
Same with opera.
But Mercury Opera (a merger last year of three groups) tries to help you along
with supertitled performances and introductory
programs throughout the year. And the voices are excellent.
Shipping Dock Theatre is a small
theater group that picks some of the most weighty, emotional, and
difficult-to-stage plays out there. It’s always worth a try; whether you like
it or not just depends in some measure on if you want
your entertainment to make you think.
Blackfriars Theatre 28 Lawn Street,
454-1260, www.blackfriars.org
Downstairs
Cabaret Theatre 20 Windsor Street, 172 W Main Street, and 540 E Main
Street, 325-4370, www.downstairscabaret.com
Geva Comedy Improv 232-4382,
www.gevatheatre.org
Geva Theatre Center 75 Woodbury Boulevard,
232-4382, www.gevatheatre.org
Greater
Rochester Repertory Companies 624-8360,
www.grrc-arts.org
JCCenterstage Jewish Community
Center, 1200 Edgewood Avenue,
461-2000, www.jccrochester.org
A
Magical Journey Thru Stages 935-7173, www.mjstages.com
Mercury
Opera 473-6567, www.operafactory.org
Nuts
and Bolts Comedy Improv 503-7815,
www.nutsandboltsimprov.com
Off-Monroe
Players 234-0500, www.off-monroeplayers.org
Rochester
Association of Performing Arts727 E Main Street,
325-3366, www.ggw.org/rapa/index.html
Rochester Broadway Theatre League 875
E Main Street, 325-7760, www.rbtl.org
Rochester Children’s TheaterNazarethCollege, 4245
East Avenue, 385-0510,
www.rochesterchildrenstheatre.org
Shipping
Dock Theatre Visual Studies Workshop, 31 Prince
Street, 232-2250, www.shippingdocktheatre.org
Film
Safe
bet: The old, grand Cinema Theater has $3 double features. Three dollars. Beat that, city folk. The Little Theatre (a
nonprofit movie house) is your place for arthouse
films. You may even catch some protests outside as you’re waiting in line.
Worth
a gamble: The Dryden Theatre (in the George Eastman House) has access to
crazy underground vaults of all kinds of film footage. Every day of the week
there’s something different. Some of it may be too weird for you, but there are
well-loved classics in there, too, and every frame is film history.
The High Falls Film Festival
(dedicated to women in film) and the ImageOut Film
Festival (dedicated to gay and lesbian films) bring a golden sheen to each Rochester
fall. There are more movies, shorts, parties, panel discussions, and workshops
than you could possibly attend, and a lot of the films are still raw. But who
wants to be safe all the time?
Cinema Theater 957
S Clinton Avenue, 271-1785
Dryden Theatre George
Eastman House, 900 East Avenue,271-4090, www.eastmanhouse.org
HighFalls Film FestivalNovember 8-13, 279-8307,
www.highfallsfilmfestival.com
ImageOut Lesbian & Gay Film & Video
Festival October 6-15, 271-2640,
www.imageout.org
Little Theatre 240
East Avenue, 232-3906, www.thelittle.org
This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2006.
