Open Studio Events This Weekend

Please join me this weekend for two open studio events at my studio Garden Level Gallery

Art Supply Swap: 4/13

Marie Condo your art supplies. Bring a bag of art supplies you are not using and swap it for something else. Craft paper, paint, colored pencils, frames, yarn, fabric… you get the idea.

If you are saving recycled bottle caps for me this is the perfect time to visit my studio and see what i’m doing with your gifts

Save the Date: Saturday, April 13, 12:00-3:00pm, RSVP here

LOCATION: Garden Level Gallery, 315 3rd Street, Jersey City NJ

Yarn Wrapping Circle: 4/14

Imagine, hair. The elusive, coveted “good” hair. On some days and for some people, that is my hair. Or was. Or can be. But you should know by now – Don’t. Touch. My. Hair. That is unless you come help me make hair made from rope and yarn in this Yarn Wrapping Circle. No experience necessary, I will teach you the knots. Come for the fellowship or to try something new.

Date: April 14th 2019, 1:00-4:00pm

LOCATION: Garden Level Gallery, 315 3rd Street, Jersey City NJ

Please follow Garden Level Gallery on Facebook to stay on top of our event schedule

Love and Fear Exhibition

Please join me for an exhibition visually depicting love or fear on a personal, social, or cultural level.

Love: warmth, tenderness, kindness, compassion, devotion, affection

Fear: anxiety, terror, hatred, malevolence, jealousy, anger. We all experience these emotions. I channel my emotions into my artwork so I can feel FREE from constraints.

Exhibition Dates: April 2- 29, 2019

Opening Reception: Sunday, April 7, 2009, 3-5:45pm

Panel Discussion from 4-5pm.

LOCATION: Montclair Public Library Gallery located a 50 S. Fullerton Avenue in Montclair, NJ.

Theda’s April Art Schedule

Women of Wonder

I only move forwards, never backwards, darling.

Grace Jones

Exhibition: On display through April 7th.

LOCATION: One River; 292 Millburn Ave, Millburn, NJ

I Only Move Forwards, Never Backwards, Darling Size: 12 x 12 x 1 in Medium: Acrylic paint, Xerox image transfers, stencil printed deli, paper, paper punched recycled envelops, tissue paper, buttons, glitter appliqués, glitter, Diamond Dust on canvas. July 2018

Give Me Body!: Femme Re-Divined

Give Me Body!: Femme Re-Divined Seeks to unravel how far society has come in our understanding, recognition, and celebration of the femme form — mind, body, and soul.

Exhibition Dates: Show is on display through April 12th. Don’t miss it.

LOCATION: Museum of African Diaspora Arts (MoCADA) 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn NY

“Neon Auto Tune” Theda Sandiford Digital Collage on Metallic Photo Paper, AP 14″x11″m 20″x16″ framed

Studio Montclair’s: Love And Fear

Exhibition Dates: April 2 – April 29, 2019

Opening Reception: Sunday, April 7th, 3:00-5:45pm with a Panel Discussion 4:00-5:00pm

LOCATION: Montclair Public Library located at 50 S. Fullerton Avenue in Montclair NJ.

Spring Art Supply Swap

Marie Condo your art supplies… Bring a bag of supplies you are not using and swap it for something else. Craft paper, paint, colored pencils, frames, yarn, fabric… you get the idea. Anything goes.

Save the Date: Saturday, April 13, 2019, 12:00-3:00pm. Please RSVP

LOCATION: Garden Level Gallery, 315 3rd Street Jersey City NJ

Yarn Wrapping Circle

Imagine, hair. The elusive, coveted “good” hair. On some days and for some people, that is my hair. Or was. Or can be. But you should know by now – Don’t. Touch. My. Hair. That is unless you come help me make hair made from rope and yarn in this Yarn Wrapping Circle. No experience necessary, I will teach you the knots. Come for the fellowship or to try something new.

Save the Date: Sunday, April 14th 2019, 1:00-4:00, Please RSVP

LOCATION: Garden Level Gallery, 315 3rd Street Jersey City NJ

Viewpoints 2019

Exhibition Dates: May 2- June 15, 2019

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 4th from 7:00pm-9:00pm

LOCATION: Studio Montclair Gallery, 127 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair NJ

Wonder Woman Selfie Mixed Media 48″x36″x1″

Meet Me at 14C Art Fair Room 860

I am exhibiting with Calabar Gallery at the inaugural edition of Art Fair 14C, happening March 15-17, 2019 on the Jersey City waterfront.

The Hyatt Regency is located at 2 Exchange Place, easily accessible by PATH from Manhattan. There are fifty exhibitors (galleries, art organizations and individual artists).

I will be in room 860.

Come see me and BEATRICE LEBRETON, IBOU NDOYE and JIMMY JAMES GREENE next weekend.

Here is the link to the fair to get your tickets. https://www.artfair14c.com

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HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY Are you looking for African American, Caribbean and African Art? . Works shown is by THEDA SANDIFORD, see it at the fair and buy it. . CALABAR GALLERY will feature a series of Portraits and Mixed Media pieces from Jersey City and New York based artists: . BEATRICE LEBRETON, IBOU NDOYE, JIMMY JAMES GREENE AND THEDA SANDIFORD. Check us out! Come to Jersey City and see our four artists at the Hyatt in room 860 Register to attend here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/art-fair-14c-tickets-54937371156 Calabar Gallery showcases contemporary African Artists and African Diaspora artists globally curated by Atim Annette Oton, visit us at www.calabargallery.com #calabargallery #africanamericanart #africanamericanartist #artexhibition #senegal #americanartist #artgallery #artexhibition #thedasandiford #atimannetteoton #newyorkart #visualstoryteller #contemporaryart #galleryexhibition #newyorkart #senegaleseartist #buyart #artcollectors #artfair14c #artfair #jerseycity #hyattjc @artfair14c #whattodoinjc #downtownjc #jerseycitynj #jerseycityart #jerseycitylife #jerseycitylocal

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Women of Wonder: Artist Talk March 12

Join me at One River this Tuesday March 12th @ 6:30pm for a talk about my Women of Wonder series, a pure celebration of expression, music, femininity, and belief in oneself.  A confirmation of life repeated as a cannon of ‘I am who I am.’

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 from 6:30-7:30pm

LOCATION: One River; 292 Millburn Ave, Millburn, NJ 07041

We often travel to the corners of the planet looking for safe places to BE. When what is actually necessary is a declaration: “We are our own selves!” There is a place for all of our being; the sexy, the demure, the loud and the reticent.

On our own terms of being in our own skin when and how we need to be…

Ella, Eartha, Grace, Diahann, Billie, and Nina (YES! Nina) taught us and made way for the Cardi’s, Beyonce’s and Nikki’s of this world. We all fit and there is plenty of room for us. When we make room for ourselves.

I Only Move Forwards, Never Backwards, Darling Size: 12 x 12 x 1 in Medium: Acrylic paint, Xerox image transfers, stencil printed deli, paper, paper punched recycled envelops, tissue paper, buttons, glitter appliqués, glitter, Diamond Dust on canvas. July 2018

Femme Re-divined” Opening Party, March 8

Inspired by the Queen Latifah lyric from “Come into my House”, MoCADA seeks to unravel how far society has come in its understanding, recognion, and celebration of the femme form –mind, body, and soul– to deliver anew vision for the future.

Curated by Amy Andrieux and Sophia Rose

Opening party: March 8, 2019 @ 7pm-9pm (w/ performance artists)
On View: March 8 – April 16, 2019

Location: MoCADA, Central Exterior Gallery @ 80 Hanson Place Brooklyn NY

To find out more about the exhibit, click here.
“Neon Auto Tune” Theda Sandiford Digital Collage on Metallic Photo Paper, AP 14″x11″m 20″x16″ framed

MoCADA’s Give Me Body! Conversation at Brooklyn Museum

On Saturday (3/2), I will be participating in a conversation about gender, woman, femme, and feminism today at the Brooklyn Museum.. Please join me.

Social norms have long dictated gender, from their public facing meanings to their private impact. Mother. Shorty. Wifey. Bitch. Woman. Trans. Feminist — and other various descriptors for the female sex gradient, also come diabolically attached to a long antiquated idea of femininity, whose trappings and boundaries suffocate rather than uplift. This is especially true for women of color, whether cis or non-binary, who most often face the corrosive extremes of these imposed values at either end of the spectrum.
Through MoCADA’s next exhibit, Give Me Body! Femme Re-divined, MoCADA seeks to unravel how far society has come in our understanding, recognition, and celebration of the femme form –mind, body, and soul– as a spiritual rite. Our greatest wish is to further unpack and expand this necessary conversation to deliver a new vision for the future. 


Date: Saturday, March 2, 2019

Time: 6:00-7:30pm

Location: Brooklyn Museum: 200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11238


THEDA SANDIFORD ARTIST COLLECTION WITH PLANET COWBOY LAUNCHES

Mixed Media Artist Celebrates Wearable Art Collaboration with Space Cowboy’s Signature Western Apparel Brand 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New  York,  New  York  â€”  February  25,  2019  â€”The  Theda  Sandiford  Art  Show  kicks  off  a  historic  partnership  for  the  Planet Cowboy  brand. Theda  Sandiford  in  collaboration  with  Soho-based  Space  Cowboy  Boots  marks  the  release  of  the  Theda Sandiford Artist Collection on Thursday, February 28, from 6 to 9pm, on site at the well-known store front on Mulberry Street. Sandiford reimagines her painting Future Past using leather as canvas to create the shaft of the boot. The footwear is  available for purchase beginning at $429. 

“We all wear masks. Masks to pretend, to hide or just to put our best face forward in a selfie,” says Sandiford, a self-taught artist and music industry digital marketing veteran. “I construct masks to protect myself from my fears. What may start as an ugly statement about myself in the end becomes something beautiful.” The “boot-spiration” came, too, as an opportunity for the artist to repurpose a message of empowerment: “The original art was made in response to my being asked to dim my light so that less dynamic people would not be threatened by me. Reimagined as a boot, this work of art is now a potent reminder to always be you, no matter what.” 

Often grappling with themes of grace, power, and healing in her art, this trailblazing inaugural union for the artist and Planet Cowboy takes places as Black History Month ends and Women’s History Month begins and nods to ways that groups, as well as, individuals  can  reclaim  their  power.“Fashion  is  powerful,”  says  President  and  Space  Cowboy  co-owner  Jaylin  Ramer.  â€œThis wearable art collaboration with Theda is cutting edge and charts new territory for Planet Cowboy.” Since 2011, Space Cowboy has been a purveyor of Country Western apparel. “The boots are unisex, handcrafted in Mexico, and embroidered from heel to toe,” shares Ramer. “Fashion is about the individual and is completely unique. This is a pioneering opportunity to put art with a message on our signature boots.”

The Theda Sandiford Art Show will also stage selections from various collections by the People’s Choice Award-winning artist at the in-store event. Brooklyn-based Duke’s Liquor Box will offer whiskey pours for the evening alongside a salsa tasting by Salsa Pistolero. 

About Theda

Theda Sandiford, is a self-taught mixed media artist based in Jersey City, NJ. Though art is engrained in her psyche, Theda’s first creative endeavors were in the music business as a digital marketing executive. After years of ground breaking digital branding work for musicians, she began exploring her own artistry by transforming found and meticulously collected materials into mixed media works, photographing her process and then digitally manipulating these images to extend the narrative as part of her personal mythology. Fragmented identity juxtaposed with the existence of infinite possibilities is a recurring theme in her work. Her work Selfie-Joy was licensed to BET’s Being Mary Jane in 2017. Theda has shown extensively in Jersey City, Brooklyn and Los Angeles.

About Planet Cowboy

Planet Cowboy is Space Cowboy Boots own brand. President and co-owner Jaylin has been designing cutting edge styles in Soho for a number of years.  She combines fashion-forward, remarkable boots that look as timeless as they last. Space Cowboy Boots tailors the brand to fit the Urban cowboy look, but keep the integrity of fit, comfort, style and durability. Planet Cowboy boots can be seen walking the street of NYC, in the ‘burbs, by the oceans, and at ranches around the globe.

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CONTACT Michael Counter (929) 269-5325

michael@counterculturellc.co

Open Studio Party March 1

Im celebrating my birthday by opening my studio March 1st as part of JCFridays. Come take a tour of Garden Level Gallery. See new works in progress and maybe try your hand at wrapping some rope. All are welcome.

DATE: Friday, March 1st

TIME: 6:00pm -9:00pm

LOCATION: Garden Level Gallery; 315 3rd Street, Jersey City NJ. Between Cole and Monmouth Streets. From Manhattan take the PATH train to Grove Street. It is a short walk from there up Newark Avenue.

RSVP: Please let me know if you are going to make it so I get a headcount and can make sure there is enough food and drink for all….

Come see what I have been up too…