An autobiographical series of artwork by multimedia artist Sana Musasama reflects on her work throughout the past decades and rebuilding herself, as she looks toward retirement.  Sana Musasama’s latest exhibition, “Returning to Ourselves,” is now on display through April 28 at the Everson Museum. Musasama explores history and historical figures through her own interpretations. “Returning to Ourselves” has three components: 10 topsy-turvy dolls representing female figures of diverse ethnicities, a historical house series and a contemporary house series made out of ceramics. The Queens-nat ..read more

Central Current is hiring a reporter to its growing staff. We’re looking for a motivated and curious journalist with a passion for digging into systems and reporting on tough issues. We are looking to give a reporter the freedom to explore a topic that excites them.  If you came to Syracuse, what would you want to cover? We’d love for you to pitch us on a beat. Some of Syracuse’s most critical issues include ever-increasing rents, housing instability and childhood poverty — all at the same time that the region expects an influx of private and public money. Over the next decade, Syracuse ..read more

“Chromatic Expressions by Megan Lewis: A Celebration of Vibrant Diversity,” at the Community Folk Art Center, displays a selection of 23 portraits, most of which were created in 2023 and 2024. The paintings, and a few mixed-media pieces, incorporate bold colors, a range of emotions, and various motifs– flowers, geometric patterns and glitter (sparkly forms). Lewis’ subjects, Black women and men, are seen in a series of non-traditional portraits. They appear at a street corner, in a room containing three bookshelves, and in other settings. The works, many large-sized, document a distinctive vi ..read more

This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here. One hundred days into her tenure, New York’s self-described “first mom governor” signed a law committing to slash the state’s child poverty rate by half. She had inherited a serious problem: In the decade leading up to Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2021 inauguration, more than seven hundred thousand children in New York, or about one in five, had been living in poverty — including nearly one in three Black and Latino children. “Alleviating pove ..read more

People in Central New York and across much of New York State were able to experience Monday a total solar eclipse, rarely seen in the United States. At one destination, Sodus Point Lighthouse on the shores of Lake Ontario in Sodus Point, NY,  hundreds of people gathered to see the spectacle, although clouds became thicker as totality approached, making the weather cold and gray and viewing more difficult. The total solar eclipse covered parts of North America, from Mexico to Canada, and crossed parts of the U.S. The last time a total solar eclipse occurred in the United States was in 201 ..read more

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh has proposed a $341 million budget for the city’s upcoming fiscal year, a 10% increase in spending from the 2023-24 budget. Walsh’s proposed budget would require the city to spend nearly $25 million from the city’s fund balance and calls for a 2% increase in the city’s property tax rate. The city projects to collect an additional $7.3 million in property taxes, $7 million from an improved investment program and another $4.5 million from a growth in sales tax. Walsh’s proposed budget is the last to include American Rescue Plan Act funds from the federal government. The ..read more

Three years ago, Tim and Jenny Cianciola began running the Syracuse Wine Festival to keep the event alive. Their predecessors, Tim and Jodi Tarry, the founders of Syracuse Wine Festival, had stepped down. The Cianciolas wanted to keep showcasing Upstate New York winemakers. The couple owns an events management company in Vermont called Craftproducers. On Saturday, the Syracuse Wine Festival will return for its third iteration under the Cianciolas. It’ll be held at the Central New York Regional Market in building F at 2100 Park St. More than 30 wineries and distilleries from across New York St ..read more

“Made in New York 2024,” at Auburn’s Schweinfurth Art Center, features work created by artists from across our state– from Oneonta and Ithaca, Brooklyn and Syracuse. This is an annual, juried exhibition whose roster of artists shifts from year to year; so do the media and themes explored in each show. The 2024 exhibit will be remembered for its emphasis on portraits, landscapes and turmoil, both personal and societal. The range of portraits begins with “Bedazzled,” Kathleen Bolin’s oil depicting a young woman; Greg Cost’s “Lindy,” a digital photo of a middle-aged man who still lets his freak ..read more

About 75 kids and adults enjoyed a “Taylor Swift Dance Party & Karaoke” at the Fayetteville Free Library on March 25. “They had a ball,” said librarian Kristen Peirson. The post Swifties party at the Fayetteville Free Library (photo of the week) appeared first on Central Current ..read more

Hundreds of Syracuse University workers in clerical roles announced at a rally Thursday they are organizing a union to secure better wages and benefits. The rally was the latest in a series of moves by workers and labor organizers, under the United Syracuse name, made to propel unionization and collective bargaining campaigns across various sectors of SU’s workforce in the last two years. On Tuesday, graduate students who have organized over the last year ratified their first union contract.  United Syracuse is made up of workers and labor organizers with the Service Employees Internatio ..read more