The Other Side

Retrospective - Opening Reception
2025-02-07 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | The Other Side, 2011 Genesee St, Utica, New York, 13501
Heather Abrams
Paintings – Watercolors – Monoprints
Opening Reception: Friday, February 7 from 5-7pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, March 1 at 1pm
Gallery Hours from 12-2pm:
Saturday 2/8
Thursday 2/13
Saturday 2/15
Thursday 2/20
Saturday 2/22
Thursday 2/27
Saturday 3/1

Retrospective - Gallery Hours (click for all upcoming dates)
2025-02-08 12:00 - 14:00

Anncoustic - An Open Rehearsal
2025-02-09 14:00 - 16:00
Ann Carey has been vocalizing in Central New York bands for gas money ever since the late seventies, morphing herself into the “music flavor of the month” in bands from Steppin’ Out, Blue Steel, Ted Radley and Co., Puttin’ on the Ritz, to her latest adventure in the duo Nook n’ Crannie.
The doors are open for Ann’s open rehearsal at The Other Side. “I’d like to do a low-key prep for a future solo recording, so I figured an open rehearsal on Sunday afternoons would be fun. I’m more productive when I have a gig in the books. It gives folks a space to pop into while they’re in town, perhaps to frequent the Emerson Cafe or The Onion.”
Expect to hear an eclectic mix of singer-songwriter tunes by Townes Vans Zant, Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, and Nora Jones, along with a few surprises, in a bare bones style with her baritone ukulele.

Hamilton at The Other Side
2025-02-20 19:30 - 21:30
Scott MacDonald, Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Hamilton College, has been teaching film history for over 50 years. He is the author of many books on film, two of which are just out: Comprehending Cinema (from Oxford University Press) and Publication as Autobiography (Sticking Place Books).
After all that time and all his books, MacDonad’s answer to the question he’s most often asked and not only by students–“What’s your favorite film?”–is finally becoming clear to him.
How would you answer that question? Join us on February 20th at 7:30pm to find out how Scott answers it.

Ruth Dandrea -- "Casting" Book Release and Reading
2025-02-22 13:00 - 14:00
Throughout Casting Ruth Ann Dandrea expresses thanks and angst; gratitude for life’s gifts of grandchildren, the bits and bounty of the natural world; distress over wars and waste, violence and greed.
This collection is one of self discovery through love, loss and lessons learned. The images in Casting allow us a glimpse into the rhythms of Dandrea’s life, and just possibly encourage us to reexamine our own perspectives. Dandrea is exceptional, and Casting a thoroughly enjoyable read.
~Kathy DeLong, co-author Wow: Women on Water
Join us to celebrate the release of Ruth’s new book! She will be on hand to read selections from her book and more. Copies will be available thanks to Doubly Mad Books.

Retrospective - Artist Talk
2025-03-01 13:00 - 14:00

Temenos Talk
2025-03-02 09:00 - 23:00

Herbal Study Group
2025-03-05 18:00 - 19:30
This month we will offer a discussion of real life experiences using
herbal medicine to heal ailments. Please come and share your stories of
success, failure or indeterminate outcome when using a plant based
remedy. I have some experiences working with others, friends, family and
myself. I hope this is an opportunity for us to see what has worked in
the real world, not just in the pages of some book or website, and in
this way give us the confidence to attempt to heal ourselves and those
around us. Or perhaps to get some ideas of why what we used did not
work.
$5 suggested donation.

The Cheese Man - Isle de Formaggio
2025-03-08 08:00 - 17:00

West Coast Blues Revue - Blues at The Other Side
2025-03-13 19:30 - 21:30
Tom Townsley, Morris Tarbell, Sean Peters, Jake Lozo, Lenny Milano
with special guests Todd Fitzsimmons, Ron Spencer, and Frank Talarico
$20 / $15 for students
sponsored by The Green Onion Pub

Jazz at The Other Side presents: Annette St. John
2025-03-15 19:30 - 21:30
“Subtle shades of Sarah, a hint of Ella, but with a style and sparkle that’s uniquely her own…” PJS Jazz Society
Born and raised in Harlem, Annette St John stands out in a neighborhood of many show business notables. She grew up watching her mother and aunt perform as top dancers, and her uncle play the drums, which would inform her musical style–equal parts jazz, blues, standards, and gospel. She has appeared all over Manhattan, including at the Apollo, the Blue Note, The Cotton Club, the Village Vanguard, Sugar Bar, and Tavern on the Green, and has sung back-ups for Lou Donaldson, George Benson, Al B Sure, and Beverly Crosby. In recent years she has led her own groups at Smoke, the Red Rooster, and on many performances for the Jazz Foundation of America. Annette always says, “It’s Not Work If You Love What You Do!”
featuring:
Bill Dobbins – piano
Peter Chwazik – bass
Tom Killian – drums
Mike Dubaniewicz – sax

Tickets are $20, $10 for students
Seating is limited * call 315-735-4825 or email kodomenico@verizon.net to reserve seats

THANK YOU to our sponsors:
Bank of Utica
The Green Onion Pub

Big and Glassy Book Club
2025-03-18 18:30 - 20:00
The Big and Glassy Book Club is back and ready for more. This time we will be reading the American masterpiece: Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Originally published in 1885, it is the novel, Ernest Hemmingway claims, from which “All modern American literature comes… There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.” I doubt I need to explain anymore, as the book is practically imprinted on the collective American psyche.

We will be meeting to discuss it on Tuesday, March 18th at 6:30pm at The Other Side of Utica (2011 Genesee St).
Due to popular demand, the potluck format of the meeting will be returning, so if you would like to bring a dish to pass, and are by no means obligated to do so, please do; we will set up tables and have a grand ol’ time.

As always, the meeting is open to the public, whether you have read the book or not.

Following Huck Finn, we will be reading Percival Everett’s James, a retelling of the classic tale from Jim’s perspective.
More information can be requested from Sherman at thesteins3@outlook.com.

50-Pound Blanket - Joshua Ives - Opening Reception
2025-03-21 17:00 - 19:00
Photography
March 21 – April 26, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, March 21 from 5-7pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, April 26 at 1pm
Gallery Hours:
Saturday, March 22
Thursday, March 27
Saturday, March 29
Thursday, April 3
Thursday, April 10
Saturday, April 12
Thursday, April 17
Saturday, April 19
Thursday, April 24
Saturday, April 26

50-Pound Blanket - Joshua Ives - Gallery Hours (click for all upcoming dates)
2025-03-22 12:00 - 14:00

Exploring Historical Changes in Tree Cover Across Utica - Hamilton at The Other Side
2025-03-26 19:30 - 21:30
Exploring Historical Changes in Tree Cover Across Utica
Implications for Urban Heat and Greenspacet
with Heather Kropp, Assistant Professor for Environmental Studies
Urban tree cover and greenspaces offer a wide array of social benefits and play a critical role in cooling the land surface during the summer. Changes in tree cover are largely shaped by historical urban planning decisions, landowner preferences, and biological processes. Combining historical aerial photography with artificial intelligence allows for a better understanding of how changes in tree cover and pavement shape the current urban landscape in Utica. I explore the implications of these changes for urban heat and access to greenspaces across Utica.
Part of the Carl A. Rubino Hamilton at The Other Side Series
Free to the public
Donation Welcome

The Big Conversation - Della Medicina: Italian American Folk Medicine
2025-04-02 19:30 - 21:30
During this discussion we’ll explore the cultural healing practices that the Southern Italian immigrants brought with them and cultivated in the Italian enclaves, such as Utica, NY. These practices, though often described as witchcraft, were a fundamental aspect of Italian-style folk Catholicism, but rooted in the ancient pagan traditions of Rome, Greece, and the greater Mediterranean world.
Italian folk medicine is a broad term that encompasses the diverse healing practices of the many regions of Southern Italy. These were methods of resilience and self-sufficiency that emerged from the agricultural peoples of the Mediterranean and are linked to ancient worship of the land, fields, and agricultural deities. These traditions were brought to the United States by the immigrants who fled Southern Italy after the Risorgimento (the unification of Italy) and aided their adaptation and survival in a new land. Many of these folk healing traditions are linked to folk Catholicism as well as the much older pagan, animistic practices of the Italic tribes.
During this talk we will discuss the techniques of Italian folk medicine, the way these techniques are linked to village/communal society, and how they are linked to “stregoneria” (witchcraft) and Benedicaria (the unique style of folk medicine developed by Italian Americans).
Lisa Fazio grew up in Utica, NY and is a second generation Italian American whose paternal grandparents immigrated from Calabria and Benevento regions of Southern Italy. She is a clinical herbalist with 30 years of experience as well as an author and folkloric witch. She is the founder of “The Root Circle,” a mystery school focused on promoting and revitalizing traditional healing practices and peasant wisdom as a form of community resilience in collaboration with plants, place, and magic.
Lisa is the mother of 4 children, a nonna (grandmother), and currently resides in Newport, NY.

Adding Saffron - Book Release and Reading
2025-04-03 19:00 - 20:00
Join us to celebrate the release of Will’s new book “Adding Saffron”
Adding Saffron loosely traces its author’s life over the last ten years, but autobiographical events are not the focus of the poems so much as they are incidental facts. “Attentiveness is the natural prayer of the soul:”—so quipped Nicolas Malebranche, and that axiom underlies this collection. Often prayer-like in their tone, composed of meticulous observations, these poems are studies in the art of attention.
More information can be found here: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/adding-saffron-by-william-welch/
William Welch lives in Utica, NY where he works as a registered nurse. His poetry has appeared in various journals, including Little Patuxent Review, Stone Canoe, Rust+Moth, and Cider Press Review. Adding Saffron (Finishing Line Press, 2025) is his first full length collection. He is poetry editor for Doubly Mad (doublymad.org). Find more about him on his website, williamfwelch.com.

Big and Glassy Book Club
2025-04-08 18:30 - 20:00
More information can be requested from Sherman at thesteins3@outlook.com.

Why Songs Matter -- Hamilton at The Other Side
2025-04-16 19:30 - 21:30
Why Songs Matter
with Doctuh Michael Woods, Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Music Etmeritus
Songs are “mile markers” in our lives; they can strongly evoke past moments, places, events, and loves. Using music theory and examples from popular music, Doc will shed light on how particular sounds evoke effects in the listener, making an emotional imprint that can last a lifetime
Q and A to follow!
Free to the Public — Donations Welcome!

Jazz at The Other Side presents - Freddie Hendrix
2025-04-19 19:30 - 21:30
“…one of the most exciting trumpet voices on the music scene” – All About Jazz
An accomplished performer, composer, arranger, and educator who has worked with legends of music including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, The Count Basie Orchestra, and The Christian McBride Big Band over the last twenty years, Freddie Hendrix has made a name for himself as one of the most exciting and in demand trumpeters in the world of music today!
Featuring:
Dan Pugh – piano
Peter Chwazik – bass
Mike Melito – drums
Mike Dubaniewicz – sax
Tickets are $20 or $15 for students.
To reserve call 315-735-4825 or email kodomenico@verizon.net

50-Pound Blanket - Joshua Ives - Artist Talk
2025-04-26 13:00 - 14:00

Blood & Spit - Opening Reception
2025-05-02 17:00 - 19:00
Carlie Sherry and Sarah Phyllis Smith
Photography
May 2 – 31, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, May 3 from 5-7pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, May 31, 1pm
Gallery Hours from 12-2pm:
Thursday, May 8
Saturday, May 10
Thursday, May 15
Thursday, May 22
Saturday, May 24
Thursday, May 29
Saturday, May 31

Isle de Formaggio - "The Cheese Man"
2025-05-03 08:00 - 17:00

Blood & Spit - Gallery Hours (click for all upcoming dates)
2025-05-08 12:00 - 14:00
Carlie Sherry and Sarah Phyllis Smith
Photography
Carlie Sherry Bio
Carlie Sherry is an interdisciplinary artist based in New Hartford, NY and Assistant Professor of Foundations at Pratt Munson. Carlie has exhibited work both nationally and internationally. Notable group exhibitions include the National Association of Woman Artist Gallery in New York, NY, The Spinning Plate Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA, “Not So Crazy Girls,” at the Espace Futur in Paris France and “Vilomah,” Citizens Art Gallery, London England. Solo exhibitions include “Act Like a Lady” at Apostrophes Art Gallery in Syracuse, NY and “The Secret Garden” at Creative York’s Project Space in York, PA. In 2022, Sherry gave the Elizabeth Lemieux Faculty Lecture at Pratt Munson where she premiered her first animated short, “Nowhere to Go.” In 2023, Sherry was awarded a CNY Arts Grant for an animation titled “The Flood.” In 2024, Carlie Sherry displayed work in two group exhibitions at Munson, Generations and Stilled Waters.
Sarah Phyllis Smith Bio
Sarah Phyllis Smith is based in Utica, NY where she is an Associate Professor of Photography at Pratt Munson. Recent notable solo exhibitions include Respite at Whitespec in Atlanta, GA and Where the Great Lakes Leap to the Sea at The ShedSpace in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has also shown at Perspectives Gallery at MIAD, Ground Floor Gallery (Nashville), Whitespace Gallery (Atlanta), Roman Susan Gallery(Chicago), Wedge Projects (Chicago), and Vanderbilt University (Nashville). Recent accolades include giving a workshop titled, “Hybridization of New and Old Technologies in Handmade Films” at Tasmeem 2022: Radical Futures conference in Doha, Qatar as well as being a recipient of the 2022 Grant in Photography from LightWork.
May 2 – 31, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, May 3 from 5-7pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, May 31, 1pm
Gallery Hours from 12-2pm:
Thursday, May 8
Saturday, May 10
Thursday, May 15
Thursday, May 22
Saturday, May 24
Thursday, May 29
Saturday, May 31

Private Event
2025-05-17 13:00 - 16:00

Jazz at The Other Side presents - John Piazza and Alan Cron
2025-05-17 19:30 - 21:30
Music, Friends and Stories
with special guests
John Piazza Jr. – Trumpet
Alan Cron – Trombone

Hosted by:
Mike Dubaniewicz – Saxophone

featuring:
Rick Montalbano – Piano
Lou Smaldone – Bass
Jimmy Johns – Drums

Tickets are $20 or $10 for students with a student I.D.
To reserve tickets:
call 315-735-4825
or email kodomenico@verizon.net

Thank you to our sponsors:
The Green Onion Pub
The Bank of Utica

Pysanky-Making Meetup
2025-05-18 14:00 - 16:00
Join us for another round of pysanky-making! Pysanky are often referred to as Ukrainian Easter eggs, but the tradition is much older than Easter itself. It’s the perfect craft to celebrate spring’s return. Rather than a class, we’ll gather together and sit side-by-side as we create these seasonal works of art. Like most traditional craft practices, pysanky were meant to be made while spending time with community members, and it’s more about the experience than the end result.
Never made pysanky? Fear not! Come try it out, ask questions along the way, and you’ll get the hang of it in no time.
All supplies will be provided. All ages are welcome, but please note that the process requires us to use candles, hot wax, raw eggs, and glass jars, so little hands may need some help. Free to the public – donations to The Other Side are greatly appreciated! Contributions in any amount support us in being able to continue hosting community and cultural events like this one.

Big and Glassy Book Club
2025-05-20 18:30 - 20:30
This meeting will be held to discuss the various writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the first philosopher of the American spirit. His lecture “Nature” and essay “Self-Reliance” will be specifically discussed, as well as any other writings or works, Emerson’s or otherwise, that members feel is relevant to his philosophy. The meeting is open to the public and will be held over a potluck dinner. Reading Emerson or bringing a dish to pass is not required to attend.

Swamp Blues Extravaganza!
2025-05-22 19:30 - 21:30
Tom Townsley
Morris Tarbell
Sean Peters
Jake Lozo
Lenny Milano
with Adam Bishton

$20 or $15 for students
Sponsored by The Green Onion Pub

Blood & Spit - Artist Talk
2025-05-31 13:00 - 14:00
