From: Michelle Gemma <mgemmaphoto@gmail.com>
Subject: Portersville & Greenmanville: Representing Mystic Art & Culture during the 1990s
Name:
Michelle Gemma
Phone Number:
8605361877
Event Address:
Cottrell Street Mystic CT 06355
Event Date:
2022-09-29
Event Time:
6 pm- 8 pm
Event Name:
Portersville & Greenmanville: Representing Mystic Art & Culture during the 1990s
Event Description:
Join us for this special presentation on the unique history, arts, and culture of Mystic during the 1990s at Mystic River Park featuring the local artists, writers, and musicians who were there: Matthew Tarbox, Arden Levine, Michelle Gemma, Stephen Chupaska, and djshecky. With MC Dan Pearson.
Matthew Tarbox, co-editor of Hozomeen Press who published over 30 magazines and poetry chapbooks throughout the 1990s in Mystic. He will show the audience the Mason’s Stoup process, and how the originals were also used as promotional material.
Arden Levine, poet, author, literary editor and urban planner. Originally from Washington, DC and now living and working in New York City, she was saturated in Mystic and New London culture during her years as a Connecticut College student. She will be reading new work, including poems from her recent collection Ladies’ Abecedary (Harbor Editions, 2021), and discussing how the various art forms of female identity-assertion in the 1990s (from pop music to photography to politics) influence her approach to writing in the current moment.
Michelle Gemma, owner of Mystic Army Navy in Downtown Mystic. She became a fine art photographer and contributed to the iconic Mason’s Stoup and the Root of Twinkle, as well as being a founding member of Greenman Collective, where she housed her darkroom throughout the 1990s. She will discuss the impact of the Root of Twinkle on the Mystic art scene, and read from her forthcoming photography book, and show her most recent artistic creation: Weatherall- a music video which highlights the dance culture in Mystic in the 1990s.
Stephen Chupaska, writer, reporter, and producer. A member of The Day reporting staff from 2004 to 2011 and a former radio host, Stephen covered arts, culture, and politics in Southeastern Connecticut and San Diego, CA after growing up in the New London and Mystic music scene in the 1990s, including spending hours in front of the bins at Mystic Disc. Now a resident of New York City working as a communications professional, Stephen has developed and performed live storytelling (featured on Netflix and NPR) exploring the humor of ‘90s young adulthood.
djshecky, one of the house DJs at the famed Mystic dancehall “Mars Hall”, which is featured tonight in the “Weatherall” video production helmed by Michelle Gemma. He hosted a weekly radio show “Radio Post” on WCNI from 1990-1996, honing his layered style of mixing up to six sources into one cohesive mix. In addition, he has produced demo recordings for local bands at his Centraal Studio since 1997, spanning hip-hop, electronica, art rock, and indie rock bands from Mystic.
This event is free and open to the public.
