Photographer brings living art to village
By Nicole M. Wells, Special Writer
Local photographer Frank DiGiovanni knows how to capture the moment, but he had a little help Friday night when he hosted an evening of music and comedy at his studio on Route 27 in Kingston.
Opening his door to the public, Mr. DiGiovanni, 40, said he wanted to find a way to increase his presence in the community while putting unused space in his studio to work showcasing local artists.
”I don’t really use the space for much so it kind of just sits dormant,” Mr. DiGiovanni said. “So I figured what a great way to bring publicity to the place.”
Acknowledging that most people wouldn’t think of a photography studio as a place to hear a band play, Mr. DiGiovanni said, “I wanted something different.”
A photographer by trade, with 20 years in the business, Mr. DiGiovanni said his other love is music.
”I’ve been obsessed with music all my life,” Mr. DiGiovanni said. “Ever since I was a little kid my mom had music playing, from the minute I woke up to the minute I fell asleep.”
When he moved into his studio, which includes an apartment in the back, Mr. DiGiovanni’s father and brother built a stage to do portraits on and, with the space and the stage, he thought it was the perfect set up to hold an event.
”As soon as I saw it (the stage) I thought, ‘I’m going to have a show here one day!’” Mr. DiGiovanni said.
Feeling uninspired by Kingston’s lacking cultural scene, Mr. DiGiovanni said he thought about moving to someplace where there were more things to do, before the proverbial light bulb went on.
”Why don’t I bring the creative people to me?” he said.
After talking to one artist about doing an arts night, he put out an ad on Facebook and, before he knew it, there were too many artists interested in playing the show.
Five years in the making, “Live From Kingston,” came together in about two months.
Mr. DiGiovanni said he hopes to host the “random night of art” one night a month.
In an effort to feature something for everyone, Mr. DiGiovanni said he wants to have a jazz night, a documentary film night, and maybe a live visual arts night.
”It’s going to morph into all kinds of things,” he said.
With the recent opening of The Pind restaurant down the street, Mr. DiGiovanni said that now was the time to get “Live From Kingston” going.
”It’s all about cross promotion,” Mr. DiGiovanni said. “If I can do an eight o’clock to 10 o’clock type of event here and then they can go over there after, I can bring them some people.”
The idea, he said, is to pull people into Kingston for a few hours and give them an experience they’ll want to come back to.
Eventually, Mr. DiGiovanni said he would like to move the event into a larger space to give more people the chance to attend. His studio space can accommodate 40-50 people. He also said he would like to give back to the town through the shows by using them to raise funds for various causes.
”Live From Kingston” will return on March 22 with a hip-hop show. It will be held at Mr. DiGiovanni’s photography studio, located at 4577 B, Route 27, in Kingston.

