GROUP ACTIONS - ART HABITATIONS
Jan 2026
Concept and Art Direction: Monique Allain
Rehearsal at Bedford Playhouse. Photo by Helen Houghton on March 1st 2026.
CONCEPT
ART BLITZ are a series of events offered by artists to institutional, private, and public spaces. The project consists of one-day pop-up actions, or habitations for a longer period, to be replicated forming an artistic wave of interventions which support human rights and nature preservation. Art is a powerful tool for transformation. The precise and effective actions have unlimited potential for growth, always happening within the same consistent pattern, thus constituting an identity. The artworks presented are engaged with peace and sustainability, varying in each performance, making events new and fresh.
The project aims to insert art into daily life. It poetically advocates for collaboration. It also enables a direct connection to the public, giving voice to the artists.
Rehearsal at Bedford Playhouse. Photo by Helen Houghton on March 1st 2026.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Photo by Jim Siano
Statement: One of the joys of being a photographer is following the light, a gift we receive each morning. At special moments that light shines within an object or living being giving it extra vibrancy and emotion, revealing something hidden right before our eyes. It is my goal to share the excitement of seeing with fresh eyes the visual poetry in this complex, unfathomable, and wonder-filled world we live in.
Short Bio: Helen H. Houghton, photographer, grew up on Long Island’s North Shore, and has lived for extended periods in New York City, Washington, D.C., Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and the Bay Area. In addition to being a photographer, she is a conservatory-trained pianist, a poetry editor and anthologist, and has served on multiple poetry boards, including the Hudson Review and three decades with the Academy of American Poets. She has a BA (English and French) University of Utah, and MA (Comparative Literature) U.C. Berkeley, and has done post-graduate work at Stanford, Oxford, and NYU. Helen currently lives in North Salem with her husband Frank. She photographs horses and wildlife, and author events and parties in Manhattan, and elsewhere.
VISUAL ARTISTS
Statement: I’ve begun making Leperellos made largely in oil and charcoal on paper as a way of exploring ideas for larger paintings. The images are connected only by proximity, like a to-do list of future paintings, and inspire spontaneity and a sense of delight shared by the commedia character these folded books are named after.
Short Bio: Anne Harmon Gale is a North Dakota native now based in New York. She moved to Europe for 10 years where she studied at L’Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. Her work has recently been exhibited in group shows at Time & Space Limited, Lagstein Gallery, Perry Lawson Gallery, LABspace and her first solo show at Bau Gallery in Beacon, NY.
Statement: My art promotes love for the planet and engages themes of ecology, sustainability, climate change, endangered species, clean water, deforestation, and humanity. A recurring heart symbolizes love for nature—what remains, what we have lost, and what is still worth protecting. You may sense a quiet plea: in my work, as in ecosystems worldwide, nature asks for care. I depict the world and confront threats such as plastic pollution.
Short Bio: Bibiana is an artist, fine arts photographer and curator who combines installation art, collage and photography. She has studied at the Maryland School of Art and Design and at the Corcoran School of Art. Bibiana has been involved in a variety of projects ranging from mixed media installations to performance art, with recent focus on environmental issues. Her work has appeared in major exhibits and publications in the US and Europe, in New York City, Chicago, and Berlin. Her photograph is on permanent display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture – Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C. Bibiana is the founder, co-chair and curator for the Inspiration Art Group International, a not-for-profit organization in the State of New York.
Statement: “We Are All Artist’s” is a game created for individual players to conceive a series of artworks for an art show. The artist that uses the most inspiration and materials which pertain to the Concept of the Show, wins. Players move around the board to collect and use cards from each of the four NSEW quadrants, for their series of pictures, gathering materials, and inspirations from places, adventures, and live situations.
Short Bio: Connito works in various media, investigating concepts of time, memory, disintegration, folklore, permanence, and impermanence. Her oil paintings reflect everyday life and often include snippets of culture, politics, history, music, art history, painted in layers. Symbols are everywhere in her artwork, used to narrate a concept. There are elements of surrealism, expressionism, and conceptualism throughout her paintings and photography. She has an online gallery a accessible through her resume and is a member of the Salmagundi Club in Manhattan and has received many artistic awards from the club.
Statement: I investigate the processes of identity construction. To do so, I explore the relationship between these processes and space, time, and alterity. My practice is guided by a commitment to life, peace, and sustainability. Through video, photo, print, mixed media and painting, I produce actions, installations and interventions in which immersive experiences, meeting situations, and connections with the environment can be experienced.
Short Bio: I am a multidisciplinary and multimedia ART(IV)IST with a bachelor’s degree in biology and visual arts, and a master’s degree in visual arts. Born and raised in São Paulo to French/Mexican parents (1958), I moved to US (2018) and settled in North Salem, NY (2020). From 2013 to 2018, I founded and coordinated the "Núcleo de Arte” of ABER, the Brazilian Association of Bookbinding and Restoration, developing study programs and producing artist's books. In 2023, Estela Vilela, Chica Boyriven, Liliana Pardini and I conceived the M.A.L.A project, an artist book residency, where I am now one of the advisors.
PAIGE DE LEO
Statement: Paige De Leo current paintings focus on animals, mainly chickens, as she is drawn to their rich textures and sculptural presence. Treating them as portrait subjects, she shifts their context, giving them personality and presence, and prompting viewers to see something ordinary in a new and more personal way.
Short Bio: She studied communication design and illustration at Syracuse University and painting at NYU. She has worked for major companies, including AOL/Time Warner and McGraw Hill, as a graphic designer and art director frequently incorporating her own illustrations.
Statement: Penny Dell is a printmaker who enjoys making woodcuts, etchings, and monotypes and many combinations of these. The interior patterns from security envelopes have provided a treasure trove —these are cut up in hexagonal forms and combined in artworks with diverse print making, collage and encaustic techniques.
Short Bio: A Poughkeespie resident, Penny Dell regularly shows her work in the Hudson Valley including member exhibits at the Woodstock Art Association & Museum, Woodstock-Byrdcliffe Guild. She has had two solo exhibitions at Montgomery Row in Rhinebeck,
as well as The Cunneen Hackett Art Center in Poughkeepsie, and other galleries. With the National Association of Women Artists, her work is frequently exhibited in NYC as well as traveling regional exhibitions. Recent awards: 2024 Chautauqua Institution Art Residency / 2023 Randy Globus Award / 2023 Residency at Chateaux Orquevaux, France / 2020 Anna Walinska Memorial Gold Medal in mixed media for National Association Of Women Artists / 2019 Dutchess County Executive Award for Individual Artist / Best in Show “Rise Up“ at the Strathmore Mansion Bethesda, MD / 2015 Robert Angeloch Award for Excellence in Print Making.
as well as The Cunneen Hackett Art Center in Poughkeepsie, and other galleries. With the National Association of Women Artists, her work is frequently exhibited in NYC as well as traveling regional exhibitions. Recent awards: 2024 Chautauqua Institution Art Residency / 2023 Randy Globus Award / 2023 Residency at Chateaux Orquevaux, France / 2020 Anna Walinska Memorial Gold Medal in mixed media for National Association Of Women Artists / 2019 Dutchess County Executive Award for Individual Artist / Best in Show “Rise Up“ at the Strathmore Mansion Bethesda, MD / 2015 Robert Angeloch Award for Excellence in Print Making.
Statement: My work reflects my ongoing search for a deeper connection with nature. I strive to capture the essence of nature’s energy that flows through the natural landscape. My imagery emerges through the layering of environmental patterns. I’m inspired by the structured chaos of leaves, branches and roots. Spontaneity and intention converge—branches intertwine and unexpected connections emerge. Each layer reveals new depth, echoing the organic beauty and mystery of the natural world.
Short Bio: Sally Frank has been making original etchings, lithographs, woodcuts and monotypes for more 50 years ago. She earned a master’s degree in printmaking from C.W. Post College. Her work has been selected for exhibition by a variety of museum jurors, including David Kiehl, Whitney Museum curator of prints, David Max Horowitz, assistant curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Jennifer Farrell, associate curator of prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other jurors for gallery exhibitions in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. Frank’s studio is in Waccabuc, NY. She also makes her prints at Zea Mays Printmaking in Northampton, MA and the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, CT. She is a member of The Boston Printmakers and the Monotype Guild of New England.
TANYA KUKUCKA
Statement: Tanya Kukucka draws on deep worlds of the unconscious and the fantastic. She dwells within a place of fears and dreams, nightmares and touches of reality. Her work reflects upon Death and Rebirth as she incorporates both feelings of sadness and grace. Her work is cathartic and personal, as she believes that she is purging her soul as she creates, which becomes a cleansing and healing process.
Short Bio: Tanya Kukucka has been creating art her entire life. She predominantly works in Mixed Media Sculpture, Painting, Ceramics and Printmaking. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with printmaking as her major, studying under the renowned woodcut artist Antonio Frasconi. She currently enjoys working with other artists for a living, helping them create their artwork. Her work has been shown in many venues, including the Hammond Museum, Katonah Museum of Art, Windows on Hudson and she recently attended a residency in Puerto Rico. Tanya lives in the Hudson Valley.
Photos by Helen Houghton.
REHEARSAL AT BEDFORD PLAYHOUSE
Photos from the rehearsal at Bedford Playhouse by Helen Houghton on March 1st 2026.
TYPE OF ACTIONS
Pup-ups - One-afternoon 3 hours event with performance
Habitations – Exhibition for a period with performance at the opening and closing dates
ABOUT THE TITLE
Blitz comes from the German word for lightning, implying a swift and decisive action. The title combines the idea of rapid occupation with the concept of art.
DESCRIPTION
Participants wearing black clothes arrive all together in a coordinated operation, each carrying a white folding table and a black soft bag containing their artwork and minimal personal items. Uniformity and lightness are essential features of the action. Artists purchase their own table and bag. The tables, which are white, small, and portable, match the model and size below. The bags are black, soft, and discreet.
In 10 min the participants set up the space. They open their table and display their artwork on top. There is nothing on the walls or elsewhere. The black bags with personal items are left together in a corner or somewhere in the space (established previously depending on the specificity of the location), creating one or more little black piles. They compose a collective installation. All the rest is neat and visually clean.
Thereafter, the artists are ready to present the artworks, interact, and chat with the public. The duration of the activity is variable and depends on the circumstances. However, it is estimated to be a maximum of 3 hours.
In the end, all participants, in a synchronized time, pack the works, fold the tables, and leave the space together. This operation is completed in 10 min. Punctuality is a crucial aspect of this event. Every participant arrives 10 minutes early and waits nearby, in a secluded location, avoiding congregating until it is the right time to be in the designated spot.
Surprise and synchronization powerfully engage the public. At the scheduled time, we all advance and occupy the performance space.
As the project is meant to grow, there will be a first generation of maximum 15 artists participating in the events, discussing together adjustments and new possibilities. They will constitute a “council” for the ART BLITZ project. Periodically, depending on the available locations, each first-generation participant can invite another artist for next actions, sharing all procedures and logistics with their “protégé”. This procedure can be replicated, and the artists from the 2nd generation are able to invite a 3rd generation participant, and so on.
The strategy of occupation adopted for ART BLITZ is inspired by LE DÎNER EN BLANC created in Paris in 1988 by François Pasquier.
The actions are pacific, inclusive, and legal. All participants act in accordance with the law.
LOCATION PROFILE
The locations for our actions are public or private and aligned with our values of promoting peace, environmental preservation, and non-discrimination.
ACTIONS SCHEDULED
