Season 8: Year in Review

Part 2 of 4. For a short review of our whole season, please click here.

We were proud to place our reclaimed factory in the hands of many of Hudson’s inspiring community groups in 2018. The programs of our friends and neighbors complemented our own expanded free community programming, introducing new audiences and new horizons to Basilica. From environmental and green energy fairs to our annual marketplaces of the independent and the beautifully handmade, 2018 saw us build upon long-standing relationships with our Hudson Valley neighbors and friends, as well as meet new audiences through the shared language of art and culture.


BASILICA GREEN ACTION

We are proud to make our home in the birthplace of America’s modern environmentalist movement, and we continued to expand our FREE environmental programming in 2018. From our long-standing Hope on the Hudson series in partnership with National Geographic filmmaker Jon Bowermaster, to new ventures into showcasing affordable green energy options, starting with hosting the inaugural ONE Fair, our environmental programming aims to share the advice and expertise of local environmental advocates, demystifying the process of getting involved in advocacy and proving that it is possible for all of us to do our bit in protecting our planet. We were honored to once again screen new films from Bowermaster and Oceans 8 Films’ stunning Hudson River Stories. The series of shorts examines the health of, and risks to, our waterways, and introduces those working tirelessly to protect them.

We invited Woody Tasch, the pioneering economic thinker behind the Slow Money Institute to present the ideas in his new book SOIL and explain to us his vision of sustainable, local ‘nurture capital’.

With our eyes on new Basilica green ventures in 2019, our 2018 programming placed the health of our environment at the heart of our mission at this crucial moment in our planet’s future.

BASILICA X HUDSON YOUTH

Hudson’s young minds brought new impact to all our programs this season, from our special free public screening of Hudson Area Library’s Hack The Library summer tween filmmaking program, to our new youth employees, who completed job training to work at a number of Basilica events. We expanded our partnership with Perfect Ten after-school club, welcoming teens Quianna and Zarria to Basilica to take part in a work training program ahead of Basilica Farm & Flea Holiday Market. We partnered with Columbia Greene Community College on a new summer internship, with teen Adrianna learning to work at our free public film screening events.


Our neighbors at alternative education non-profit Kite’s Nest hosted several programs in the factory this season, from their ambitious and creative Camp Cardboard to their multidisciplinary Social Justice Leadership Academy summer program, whose participants created an Afrofuturist public Back Gallery visual art show open to all.

The talented teens from St Julian’s Juggling Troupe once again regaled us with a free afternoon performance of their impressive circus skills, raising money for their class pilgrimage to Rome.

We were also happy to welcome many families and kids to our first Winter Spiral celebration, hosted and organised by lifelong events producer J. Patrick Doyle of Harpooned Productions. The event closed out our 2018 season with an interactive musical procession of candles, humans and myths celebrating the arrival of winter and inviting our neighbors to take some quiet time out of the modern world, into the candlelit past.

 

BASILICA FARM & FLEA

For the 7th year, we presented Basilica Farm & Flea, two large scale marketplaces, inviting over 20,000 visitors to sample the bounty and splendour of our beautiful region at the booths of over 200 local and independent artists, makers, farmers, collectors and chefs.

By participating in Basilica Farm & Flea, vendors and attendees directly support Basilica Hudson’s mission to foster sustainable community. With attendance for both Basilica Farm & Flea continuing to grow in 2018, we were able to reach new local and regional audiences while offering important platforms for independent and emerging artists, local chefs, farmers, artisans and other talents to engage and exchange with new audiences.

(FREAK) FLAG DAY

Our annual freaky counterpart to Hudson’s Flag Day celebrations hosted the multi-textured sculpture of Catskill artist Ben Fain in 2018. Ben launched his Gone Fishin’ exhibition at the event, the culmination of our inaugural Back Gallery artist residency of the year.

Hudson karaoke legend Amanda Lees hosted our first (FREAK) FLAG DAY darkwave karaoke pageant happy hour, before we decamped outside to watch the spectacular Flag Day fireworks, launched from Basilica’s own parking lot.

As the night continued, we turned over the reins to legendary house DJ and Hudson resident Tedd Patterson for a special one-off DJ set before our friend DJ BLACKOUT finished the night with a gothic industrial new wave dance party done right.

 

JACK WALLS X TEDD PATTERSON X WASTEDLAND

We held our second 4th of July all-day-all-night art x music x community party, hosted by the one-and-only Jack Walls, a Hudson resident and NYC Downtown veteran multi-disciplinary artist.

Soundtracked by DJs Tedd Patterson, Uncle Rudy and Full Synthetic, the party featured film and artwork by Andrew H Shirley. Shirley also unveiled an onsite installation of The Beginning If Not The End, the mysterious spaceship sculpture created by UFO907 and William Thomas Porter and used in his film Wastedland 2.

 

HUDSON AT BASILICA SOUNDSCAPE

We once again opened up the Sunday of SoundScape as a free event, hosting both Hudson community radio station WGXC’s Record Fair and the return of Triptych – a multidisciplinary day of performance hinged on queer performers of color. Hosted by Hudson writer/performer Shanekia McIntosh and NYC poet Joey De Jesus, Triptych also featured the talents of dancer Davon, rapper Don Christian and queer performance artist Martine Gutierrez, among others.

Meanwhile, over 50 different vendors joined the WGXC Record Fair, selling everything a music aficionado could want, from vinyl, to cassettes, to books to music instruments. Nicole LoBue of Alimentary Kitchen served up bright and fresh, locally sourced brunches for attendees to close out the weekend with a hearty Hudson Valley meal.

 

LOCAL FOOD

Local food and drink was a feature of every Basilica program in 2018, with Yummy Kitchen’s Asian fusion-inspired dishes, served out of their food truck at film screenings, art openings, music events and beyond. Basilica’s chef-in-residence Nicole LoBue of Alimentary Kitchen also returned for our 8th season, serving up light, bright and locally sourced meals at Basilica Farm & Flea Spring Market, 24-HOUR DRONE and Basilica SoundScape. Our neighbors from Lil Deb’s Oasis hosted the bar at Basilica Farm & Flea Holiday Market, providing tropical cocktails, color and flavor on a cold November holiday weekend.

Our friends at Six Depot Roastery made the trip across from The Berkshires to serve coffee at both Farm & Flea marketplaces and at our free SoundScape Sunday. Meanwhile, Bread Alone showcased the wares of their new, fully solar-powered ovens at Basilica Farm & Flea Holiday Market and April’s ONE Fair.

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING BASILICA HUDSON

Over the next two years, Basilica will redouble our efforts to provide free community space, and to expand our free programs and regional partnerships by taking on the immediate climate and energy crisis our planet faces. Help us expand our programming into 2019 and beyond by contributing to our programs, or by becoming a Basilica Member.

COLLABORATORS: Jon Bowermaster, Ocean’s 8 Films, Good Work Institute, Elise McMahon and LikeMinded Objects, Kite’s Nest, Hudson Area Library, Youth FX and NeXt Doc, WGXC, Shanekia McIntosh, Joey De Jesus, Bread Alone, Harpooned Productions, Lil Deb’s Oasis, Alimentary Kitchen, Yummy Kitchen

IMAGE CREDITS: Basilica Hudson by Melissa Auf der Maur, Kid Flicks Hudson Youth Dept and Hudson Area Library film screening field trip by Zebi Williams, Adrianna Servider at Basilica Hudson by Zebi Williams, SJLA Afrofuturist Basilica Back Gallery exhibition by Zebi Williams, Huntress Home at Basilica Farm & Flea Holiday Market by Elise McMahon, Amanda Lees’ Darkwave Karaoke Pageant Happy Hour by Tomm Roeschlein, Kris Perry’s Revolution at (FREAK) FLAG DAY by Tomm Roeschlein, Bright Future Bar-BQ July 4 party by Tomm Roeschlein, Andrew H Shirley sculpture by Tomm Roeschlein, The Beginning If Not The End sculpture installation by Andrew H Shirley, Don Christian at Triptych at Basilica SoundScape by Tomm Roeschlein, WGXC Record Fair at Basilica SoundScape by Bryan Zimmerman, Lil Deb’s Oasis bar at Basilica Farm & Flea Holiday Market by Elise McMahon