A vintage clothing boutique turned art gallery is making noise on Park Avenue in Union City. The almost two-year old ArtsEcho Galleria recently received an estimated $5,000 grant from the Hudson County Office of Cultural Affairs and Tourism to promote live music at the local artist haven.
“We’re one of the first art groups to get a grant in this neck of the woods,” said executive director of the gallery Sandra Bendor. “And we know how to use every single penny.”
Although the gallery opened a year and a half ago, Bendor and her husband Ben created the ArtsEcho non-profit organization back in 1987. Dedicated to setting up educational programs for kids, their most popular program, “Arithmeticals,” is performed 750 times across the country each year, making it the most popular math school assembly in the nation.
“So many people consider art to be a luxury, but I don’t.” – Sandra Bendor
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Overlooked area
Since Hoboken and Jersey City have flourishing artist communities, Bendor said that North Hudson galleries sometimes get overlooked.
“There are so many spectacular artists from Union City to West New York; it’s just amazing,” she said. “We’re not on Madison Avenue or anything, but we do have a wonderful space to show great artwork and live music.”
World music
The gallery in Union City hosts live music once every two months, with the next concert welcoming Brazilian-style sounds called “Bravo Brazil” in March.
“We literally convert our little boutique into a cabaret space,” Bendor said.
Featuring mostly eclectic styles of music from all around the world, the gallery also serves food and drink that match the theme of the show.
“From the art to the music to the food, it’s really a cultural experience,” she said.
She added, “There are so many art galleries going out of business, and even fewer places to hear live music without having to drink beer or pay $100.”
Bendor has a lot of experience in world music. She received a bachelor’s degree in piano and music education from Montclair State University, has worked with the arts all over the world.
After performing with the National Endowment for the Humanities, Bendor lived in Israel, where she gave a solo concert for President Ford, performed with Leonard Bernstein, and was even voted Israeli Singer of the Year in 1985.
All performances at the gallery are free and open to the public.
Show at the Rotunda
After applying for the grant, Bendor said the county was thrilled to provide the tiny boutique with the funding.
“When the county realized how much were doing here on a shoestring, they were really blown away,” Bendor said. “They even asked us to curate a show at the County Court House.”
The show, called “Art Vivo!” at the Brennan Court House Rotunda Gallery in Jersey City, featured international artists and welcomed many forms of artistic media, including works in paper sculpture, microphotography, watercolor, Hanga woodblocks, and live music from Sergio Rivero.
“It’s a spectacular rotunda gallery,” Bendor said. “The show was a huge success.”
The show, which was the first at the Court House this year, ran through January.
Brand new show
In addition, Bendor recently hung a show at the ArtsEcho Galleria featuring 30 pieces of work from Union City artist Teddy Shapiro.
“He’s a fabulous artist with a real outsider point of view,” Bendor said.
According to her, Shapiro has been around the art community for a long time and has a “tremendous background in art.”
The show, called “Schizofrantic,” is up now and will be showing for the foreseeable future.
“So many people consider art to be a luxury,” she said, “but I don’t.”
For more information visit www.artsechogalleria.com, or the look up the boutique on Facebook.
Sean Allocca can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com