403 Presents - The Beauty in Decay

“Great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men.”

-       Richard Nickel

It all started with a random bike ride through Brooklyn with a friend.  We eventually found ourselves at Admiral’s Row, a stretch of mansions on the edge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  Built between 1864 and 1901 to house high-ranking Naval officers, the buildings were in various states of decay, though it was clear they were once grand.  Curious to know and see more, I returned home and started researching.  What I came to discover is that there is a small cadre of people who like to document notable abandoned and decaying buildings - oftentimes at great personal risk.  Part urban archaeology, part guerrilla architectural preservation, the work of this month’s presenter had me utterly fascinated.  His stunning photography, in conjunction with his in-depth knowledge of the history and context of the subjects, was unparalleled among the websites I discovered.  I spent hours that evening reading his blog, The Kingston Lounge, in its entirety.

Ian Ference’s photography of urban decay is both transporting and beautiful.  The histories that he writes are meticulously researched.  They are a peek at a bygone era, a slice of history.  From his haunting images of Admiral’s Row, North Brother Island, or Hart Island, to the images of abandoned hotels and theatres along the Eastern seaboard, the stories behind the buildings touch on issues of architectural heritage, societal mores and attitudes of the time, demolition-by-neglect, development, zoning, and landmarking.  And then there are photos of hospital beds, still with sheets, in the middle of deteriorating rooms, which conjure up thoughts on a more human scale.  That he shoots primarily film using available light, makes his photography that much more compelling.

Please join me for an intimate evening with Ian as he presents his images and discusses his photographic adventures, his research and his preservation efforts.  It is sure to be of equal fascination to fans of photography, architecture and history alike.

IAN FERENCE is a self-taught photographer who shoots in a wide variety of styles, with specialty in architectural interiors and utilizing available light.  His work has been featured at the Brooklyn Museum, and he has served as a consultant on numerous preservation projects.  Though he started his photodocumentation project of abandoned buildings in 2003, he has been fascinated by them since the early 1990s, in particular, sanatoria and insane asylums.  He is based in Brooklyn.

Catering for this event will be provided by my dear friends VANCE BROOKING and MEY BUN.  Frequent co-collaborators in cooking, they share a keen appreciation for all things comestible and finely tuned palates.  Both are young, self-taught, and intuitive and experimental in the kitchen.  Raised in New Zealand, Vance can catch, grow and cook just about anything.  Mey grew up in Brooklyn on her mother’s cooking and Saturday Cooking Channel marathons with Jacques, Julia and Lydia.  They post more pictures of their home-cooked food than anyone else I know.

MONDAY, JUNE 27 from 7 - 11PM

PRIVATE BUILDING DOWNTOWN NYC (address provided upon rsvp)

ENTRY INCLUDES LIGHT DINNER AND WINE (vegan options available)

$60 VIA PAYPAL

Please respond to 403rsvp – at – gmail – dot – com.  An invoice and the address well be emailed.  PLEASE NOTE: pre-paid guests are eligible for a refund if cancellation is made via email 72 hours prior to event time.  If the cancellation occurs after that time, you may transfer your entry to a friend, but the fee is non-refundable.   For the best 403 experience, we ask that guests please commit to the evening and be prompt. 

World surfing champion Shaun Tomson was in NYC this week for the launch of his updated book Surfer’s Code, and I had the good fortune to meet him twice, first at the Waves for Development fundraiser on Monday, and then again for the book event at Saturdays NYC.  When I first saw him on Monday, I knew exactly who he was.  (When I was a little girl, I actually collaged my closet doors with surfing pics of all the greats of the day.)  He introduced himself, and we proceeded to chat.  We were standing there talking with a friend of mine who did not know who he was, and I was so incredulous that I eventually blurted out, “Dude, you don’t know who this is??”  The next day, I emailed my friend the link for Bustin’ Down the Door - the film about the South Africans and Aussies who took the surfing world and the North Shore by storm during the winters of 1975 and 1976.  With their new maneuvers and techniques, desire to elevate the perception of surfers in the worlds’ eye, and their winning form, Shaun, along with Mark Richards, Ian Cairns, Pete Townend, and Rabbit Bartholomew, became the first world champions of the sport and were tremendously influential in establishing the professional surfing circuit.  As I told my friend, Shaun is legendary. A few years back, I had the great fortune of being taken to Tavarua, Fiji, (a much-coveted, but private surfing resort) by the man I was dating, himself a notable shaper.  It was where I would finally get on a surfboard for the first time after growing up immersed in the culture, and watching, but never trying.  A mutual friend of ours, a long-time surfer who surfed with Shaun many, many years ago, had gifted me with the first version of the book before the trip.  I was finally, and rather unexpectedly, presented with the chance to get the book signed.  Of course I was thrilled that he remembered me from earlier in the week.  Who wouldn’t be?  He gave a talk out on the back patio, where he told stories which were, at turns, moving, poignant, and funny.  Memories of past rivalries, of the infamous duel and epic wave with MR at Off the Wall, and what it represented, touching stories of his father, and of his son Matthew.  And stories of how the lessons in the book relate to, and can serve us well in life. Shaun is a wonderful ambassador for the sport, and comes across incredibly warm-hearted.  He has a lovely soul, which is evident in his outlook and approach to life, to hardship, and to his responsibilities as a man, father, husband, fellow surfer, and former world champion. It was a great honor to meet him.

World surfing champion Shaun Tomson was in NYC this week for the launch of his updated book Surfer’s Code, and I had the good fortune to meet him twice, first at the Waves for Development fundraiser on Monday, and then again for the book event at Saturdays NYC. 

When I first saw him on Monday, I knew exactly who he was.  (When I was a little girl, I actually collaged my closet doors with surfing pics of all the greats of the day.)  He introduced himself, and we proceeded to chat.  We were standing there talking with a friend of mine who did not know who he was, and I was so incredulous that I eventually blurted out, “Dude, you don’t know who this is??”  The next day, I emailed my friend the link for Bustin’ Down the Door - the film about the South Africans and Aussies who took the surfing world and the North Shore by storm during the winters of 1975 and 1976.  With their new maneuvers and techniques, desire to elevate the perception of surfers in the worlds’ eye, and their winning form, Shaun, along with Mark Richards, Ian Cairns, Pete Townend, and Rabbit Bartholomew, became the first world champions of the sport and were tremendously influential in establishing the professional surfing circuit.  As I told my friend, Shaun is legendary.

A few years back, I had the great fortune of being taken to Tavarua, Fiji, (a much-coveted, but private surfing resort) by the man I was dating, himself a notable shaper.  It was where I would finally get on a surfboard for the first time after growing up immersed in the culture, and watching, but never trying.  A mutual friend of ours, a long-time surfer who surfed with Shaun many, many years ago, had gifted me with the first version of the book before the trip.  I was finally, and rather unexpectedly, presented with the chance to get the book signed. 

Of course I was thrilled that he remembered me from earlier in the week.  Who wouldn’t be?  He gave a talk out on the back patio, where he told stories which were, at turns, moving, poignant, and funny.  Memories of past rivalries, of the infamous duel and epic wave with MR at Off the Wall, and what it represented, touching stories of his father, and of his son Matthew.  And stories of how the lessons in the book relate to, and can serve us well in life.

Shaun is a wonderful ambassador for the sport, and comes across incredibly warm-hearted.  He has a lovely soul, which is evident in his outlook and approach to life, to hardship, and to his responsibilities as a man, father, husband, fellow surfer, and former world champion.

It was a great honor to meet him.

403 Presents - Milk Wars and Freedom Fighters

This 403 is about the right to sell raw milk to consumers who want it.  Nutritionally dense, and a tastier option to pasteurized milk, the people who want it, and the people who sell it to them will not be denied, despite harassment and raids by the FDA and other governmental agencies. In the end, this battle is really part of a larger war over food freedom, the ability to make our own food choices as we see fit, and why we need the permission of a governmental agency to eat real food.

Please join Lelaine Lau and film-makers DECLAN O’DRISCOLL, RICHARD PARADISO, for an exclusive NYC screening and discussion of their film ‘Milk War’, about a Canadian dairy farmer’s battle with government authorities to legally sell raw milk. The film, a 2011 James Beard Foundation award nominee, tells the story of Canadian organic dairy farmer and food freedom fighter MICHAEL SCHMIDT, whose farm was raided in 2006. The film is not only about his personal battle, but the battle over the fundamental right to choose what we eat.  

 

MONDAY, MAY 9 from 7 - 11PM

PRIVATE RESIDENCE DOWNTOWN NYC (address provided upon rsvp)

ENTRY INCLUDES LIGHT DINNER AND WINE (vegan options available)

(Catering will be provided by Top Chef alum Camille Becerra.)

$50 IN ADVANCE VIA PAYPAL

Please respond to 403rsvp – at – gmail – dot – com.  An invoice and the address well be emailed.  Please note that the fee is transferable, but non-refundable should your plans change.  We ask that guests be prompt and be able to commit to the evening.

403 is a cultural salon and community celebrating the exchange of ideas, discussion and action through presentations on the arts, culture and humanitarian concerns.

I'm feeling humbled, honored and delighted to have been chosen by Thierry Mugler's Womanity Project as their current Woman of the Month for my work around my cultural salon, 403. As they describe it, their selections are "an inspired woman who can serve as an inspiration to the Womanity community." It's recognition like this that brings me the most fulfillment in life, and tells me I am on the right path. Click to see the profile/interview.

Squeeze the love!  Video of Julien Isore’s latest LOVE project in NYC.  On Easter Sunday, a small troupe of fans and friends committed a little bit of mischief in the name of love.  When we were finished putting up the image, we spontaneously started asking people walking by to “Squeeze the love.”  Julien’s LOVE project is a global, interactive, advertising campaign for love!  We love!  

We love this video Derek Yamada did for the NYC Hearts Japan fundraiser! 

NYC HEARTS JAPAN  Please join Benjamin Dewar, myself, and the Host Committee for a fundraiser to show our love for Japan!  Tuesday, March 29, 7-10pm at LAVO.  $20 minimum donation at the door.  All door proceeds and 10% of the bar/food sales will go to Doctors Without Borders to support their work in Japan.  All donations are tax-deductible.  (Please note that DWB does not typically accept donations earmarked for specific arenas of operation.  They rely on unrestricted donations in order to deploy rapidly to areas of need.  Our donation will be unrestricted.) 

NYC HEARTS JAPAN  Please join Benjamin Dewar, myself, and the Host Committee for a fundraiser to show our love for Japan!  Tuesday, March 29, 7-10pm at LAVO.  $20 minimum donation at the door.  All door proceeds and 10% of the bar/food sales will go to Doctors Without Borders to support their work in Japan.  All donations are tax-deductible.  (Please note that DWB does not typically accept donations earmarked for specific arenas of operation.  They rely on unrestricted donations in order to deploy rapidly to areas of need.  Our donation will be unrestricted.) 

"If you tickle the earth with a hoe, she laughs with a harvest."
— Douglas William Jerrold
Save the Date! 403 Presents - The Greenhorns

Dear Friends:

Farming and agriculture are one of the backbones of this country, and indeed, Thomas Jefferson viewed independent farmers as the backbone of our democracy.  Over the last century, with the mass exodus from rural areas to cities, farming as a way of life has been in decline.  Currently, less than 2% of America’s population are farmers, and their average age is 57.

Recent years have seen an overwhelming interest in where our food comes from and how it is produced.  As consumers have become more aware of the issues, they have become much more savvy, and with the corner supermarket no longer good enough, consumers are looking at alternative and local sources, from farmers’ markets, CSAs (community supported agriculture), urban agriculture and community gardens.  Not surprisingly, there is a new generation of young people who are part of this movement to serve their country good food, who are seeking out farming as a way of life once again, who care about the earth, and who are producing artisanal products.  These, my friends, are The Greenhorns.

Please join Severine von Tscharner Fleming and me for a sneak preview of her upcoming documentary on the young farmers bucking the system and tide in creating a new movement to reclaim, restore, retrofit and respect this great country of ours.  Severine explores their lives, motivations, spirit, practices, and needs, and is using the film to build the case for those considering a career in agriculture, as well as the case for policy changes to ease their way.  It’s a very hopeful and inspiring look at a movement for a better future and a better America.

Severine von Tscharner Fleming is a farmer, activist and organizer based in NY’s Hudson Valley.  Her film has grown into a grassroots nonprofit organization that recruits, promotes and supports the growing tribe of new agrarians, providing tools and resources for beginning farmers.  Severine attended Pomona College and University of California at Berkeley where she graduated with a B.S. in Conservation/AgroEcology. She co- founded the Pomona Organic Farm and founded UC Berkeley’s Society for Agriculture and Food Ecology. She is a proud co-founder and board member of the National Young Farmers Coalition

Catering for this event will be provided by a talented, self-taught, young cook, my dear friend Vance Brooking.  Raised in New Zealand, he can catch, grow and cook just about anything.  (Those Kiwis are a scrappy and resourceful lot.)  He has a keen appreciation for all things comestible, and a palate like no one else.  This is his first time cooking for 403, and he is excited to be a part of a presentation related to farming.

MONDAY, MARCH 7 from 7 - 11PM

We ask that guests commit to the evening and be prompt.

ENTRY INCLUDES LIGHT DINNER AND WINE (vegan options available)

$50 VIA PAYPAL, $60 AT THE DOOR

Please respond to 403rsvp – at – gmail – dot – com.  An invoice and the address well be emailed.  Please note that the fee is transferable, but non-refundable should your plans change. 

403 is a cultural salon and community celebrating the exchange of ideas, discussion and action through presentations on the arts, culture and humanitarian concerns.

403 Presents - Love Is…

Love Is… is a celebration of love of all kinds as told through the stories of my presenters.  Love Is… is meant to be an expression of the various ways that love manifests.  Love Is… is a storytelling event and an interactive art project.


Please join me at the next 403, where presenters including chanteuse, French punk, and cult icon Edwige Belmore, singer/songwriter David Raleigh, writer and cartoonist Anthony Haden-Guest, Super Sprowtz founder Radha Agrawal, purveyor of love Katia Tallarico, and other members of the 403 community will share what love is to them. 

 

French painter, poet and conceptual artist Julien Isore will also present his LOVE project – an experimental and interactive international art work and “advertising campaign” for LOVE.  The aim of the campaign is to combine materiality and immateriality and transform humanity into a work of art.  Julien’s work explores theoretical questions about metaphorical thought and the process of imagining, and his campaign has captured the hearts of people all over the world from Lisbon, Paris, Shanghai, Brussels, Los Angeles, Geneva, Bogota, Stockholm and Bombay.  This is his first LOVE campaign in New York City.

 

Love Is… will feature the cuisine of Camille Becerra, a NYC-based chef and restaurateur known for incorporating the Latin spices of her heritage and her dedication to the farm-to-table movement.  A top graduate of the Academy of Culinary Arts, she went on to open the popular Paloma in Greenpoint, which lasted 3 years before being shuttered by fire, and she competed in Season 3 of Top Chef.  Most recently she held a series of wildly successful pop-up restaurants called The Hunger, which drew raves from the likes of Tom Colicchio and Todd English. 

 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7 from 7 - 11PM.

LIGHT DINNER AND WINE

(vegan options available)

Private residence near 13th Street and Hudson in NYC.

$55 VIA PAYPAL, $60 AT THE DOOR

Mandatory RSVP to 403rsvp - at - gmail - dot - com  is required for the guest list as the event is held in a private residence. We ask that guests commit to the evening and be prompt.  Please note if you wish to pay via paypal, and a request for payment will be forwarded. Fees are transferable, but non-refundable should your plans change.  Cash only at the door.

 

I hope you can join us!

 

 

"My promised land is filled with people who are of all colors, of all classes, who are in complete understanding that they have something important to contribute to the world. If everybody felt that way, this would be a world filled with giving and love and strength and power, because we knew that we had it in abundance to give."
— Majora Carter
"One word of truth shall outweigh the whole world"
— Solzhenitsyn

WikiRebels.  This is an absolute must see.  A compelling, balanced and insightful documentary on the shaping of, and history of Wikileaks.

Save the Date: 403 PRESENTS - THE FEIRING LINE January 10

My parents were the very first food and wine enthusiasts I ever knew.  They both possessed finely tuned palates, following their favorite chef from place to place, (Michael Chiang at Twin Dragon and Mandarin Gourmet), and making regular pilgrimages for the superlative dining experience that was Richard Wing’s internationally renowned, 5-star Imperial Dynasty in Hanford, CA.  I recall as a young girl, that their outings were often-times wine tastings and/or dinners with groups like Les Amis du Vin or the French gastronomic society, La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (while my brother and I were left home with the babysitter and a TV dinner.  Ah, the irony.) 

My father was an avid wine drinker and collector – he had a wine locker and soaked the labels off each and every bottle, carefully indexing and cataloguing them so he could savor them into perpetuity.  In those days, wine was mostly a French affair, with California wineries just starting to ruffle feathers, and I recall names such as Stony Hill, Stag’s Leap, Caymus, BV, and the Châteaux - Margaux, Latour, Lafite, Mouton-Rothschild, d’Yquem.  Through my father’s unwavering passion, I was afforded the opportunity to sample many of what were considered great wines, though I never took to it as he did.

It was Alice Feiring who opened up a fascinating universe for me that I never considered when it came to wine, tequila drinker that I am.  A James Beard Foundation Award-winning wine writer and journalist with a deep passion for, and knowledge of her subject, she is feisty, outspoken, and a champion of natural wines – those made with nothing added and nothing taken away, (thus allowing for a true showing of the grape’s nature and vintage).  Her book, The Battle for Wine and Love or How I Saved the World From Parkerization takes on Robert Parker’s hegemony, positing that palates are highly individual.  It has kicked up such a stir in the wine establishment that she has created a polarizing effect, being called both the Michael Pollan of wine as well as its “pot stirrer.”  Who knew wine could be so controversial?  Nevertheless, it is her fearless take on wine which has won her many fans among independent thinkers and drinkers who have been disenfranchised by Parker, the world’s most powerful palate.

Please join Alice and I at the next 403, where we’ll swirl and swallow some delicious wines as we dig into the fallacy of absolute palates, oeno-powers, and how natural wines are shaking the wine establishment to its core.

With this 403, I am thrilled to announce a new direction for the food.  The upcoming 403 will feature the global soul food of the talented Josie Smith-Malave.  A child of Italian, Filipino and Puerto Rican cultures, Chef Josie’s cuisine blends these flavors with the love she brings to her craft, and is evident in her skill at creating inventive and transportive dishes.  A graduate of the Culinary Arts program of the Art Institute of New York, a former Sous Chef at Brooklyn’s Marlow and Sons, and former Executive Chef at the Norwood Club and NY Yankee Steak, Josie’s bold and high-spirited personality won her legions of fans on Season Two of Top Chef.  Most recently she can be found cooking and entertaining her guests at her latest venture, The Speakeasy in Brooklyn where she is a partner.  She is one of my favorite people and I await her culinary delights!

MONDAY, JANUARY 10 from 7 - 11PM.  

LIGHT DINNER AND WINE (vegan options available)

$55 VIA PAYPAL, $60 AT THE DOOR

Please RSVP to 403rsvp-at-gmail-dot-com.  The address will be provided at that time. We ask that guests commit to the evening and be prompt.  Please note if you wish to pay via paypal, and a request for payment will be forwarded. Fees are transferable, but non-refundable should your plans change.  Cash only at the door.

403 is a cultural salon which seeks to encourage discussion and the exchange of ideas through presentations on the arts, culture and humanitarian concerns.

Many thanks to our wine sponsors for the evening: JENNY AND FRANCOIS SELECTIONS AND JOSE PASTOR SELECTIONS.

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Themed by: Hunson