THE SUMMER OF LOVE HAS COME TO PATCHOGUE
It has been 50 years since the young descended en masse on the city of San Francisco and began a cultural revolution. Over 100,000 flower children gathered in Haight-Ashbury to spread their idealistic counter-cultural movement, which embraced the themes of peace, love, psychedelia, and Zen philosophy. It is this revolutionary time that is at the core of this year’s Summer of Love 1967-2017, presented by the Patchogue Arts Council.
Beginning this past April and continuing through late September, The Summer of Love 1967-2017 features a series of exhibitions and events inspired by the themes of the late 1960s. On view at the Patchogue Arts Gallery is 1967: The Summer of Love, a group exhibition curated by John Cino and featuring artwork inspired by the Summer of Love, psychedelia, and flower power themes. The exhibition is on view through June 25, while next door the Artspace Residents’ Gallery features the exhibition Surreal Abstract Expressions, curated by Dave Rogers and on view during the month of June.
Satellite exhibitions can be found in Roast Coffee & Tea Trading Company, Toast Coffeehouse, the Patchogue-Medford Library, and the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts. Roast Coffee & Tea Trading Company hosts the solo exhibition Neil Leinwohl: The Summer of Love, which presents select ink-jet prints by Neil Leinwohl, on view through July 16. Toast Coffeehouse hosts the solo exhibition You Spin Me Round, which exhibits new work by Ratgrrl from June 1 – August 30. The Patchogue-Medford Library and the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts both exhibit the iconic photography of renowned artist Rowland Scherman during the month of June. The political photography of Rowland Scherman can be found at the Patchogue-Medford Library in the exhibition Lens on the Later Sixties; selections of his cultural and musical imagery of the 1960s can be found at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts in the exhibition Sounds of the Sixties. All exhibitions are on view during the business hours of their respective venues.
The festival also incorporates the 2nd annual Arts on Terry street fair, co-presented by the Patchogue Arts Council, Artspace Patchogue, and the Patchogue-Medford Library. The full-day event features pop-up art exhibits from Long Island-based arts organizations, individual artist booths, family-friendly vendors and activities, street artists, live music, demonstrations, and much more. Arts on Terry will be held on Sunday, June 4, from 12:00 – 6:00 PM, on Terry Street in front of the Artspace building in Patchogue, NY. The event is rain or shine and free to attend.
In addition to the multitude of exhibitions and Arts on Terry, the Patchogue Garden Club hosts outdoor sculpture installations by John Bell, Laurence Lee, Bill Shillalies, Dwight Trujillo and Ratgrrl in the garden at the corner of Terry Street and South Ocean Avenue in Patchogue, NY. The sculpture garden also features painted logs that were created during the Patchogue Arts Council’s 8th annual Log Jam Festival that took place at Blue Point Brewery on May 28. The sculpture garden will be on view from June 4 to September 30. The Patchogue-Medford Library will also display a temporary mural painted by John Hollingsworth. As with the rest of the festival, the mural is inspired by the Summer of Love, psychedelia, and flower power themes. The mural will be on view on the rear wall of the Patchogue-Medford Library through September 3.
The Patchogue Arts Council, Inc. was formed to encourage, support, and promote the arts while aiding in the revitalization and sustainability of the community. The Patchogue Arts Council, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose focus is to serve the greater south shore of the Town of Brookhaven. For more information on The Summer of Love 1967-2017 and Arts on Terry, please visit www.patchoguearts.org.
Jay Schuck
Patchogue Arts Council
20 Terry St., Suite 116
Patchogue, NY 11772
Image Credit
Red Lady Spin Me Round © Ratgrrl 2017
Love the One You’re With © Neil Leinwohl 2016
All images courtesy of the Patchogue Arts Council