Thursday, July 14–Friday, August 19

Photo Credit: Recess Art Space. Courtesy of Recess via Flickr.

1. Taylor Renee Aldrige, Jessica Bell Brown, Kimberly Drew, and Jessica Lynne, The Black Art Incubator at Recess
Taylor Renee Aldridge, Jessica Bell Brown, Kimberly Drew, and Jessica Lynne have taken over an art space in Soho to talk about black art in a summer-long project of public programming. The group kicked off The Black Art Incubator this past Saturday with a conversation between artist Lauren Halsey and art critic Antwaun Sargent, and they’re just getting started.

In a series of public events, which run the gamut from workshops on archiving practices led by artists like Kameelah Rasheed, to a book swap and reception on July 28, The Black Art Incubator seeks to “provoke new understandings of the myriad sectors that comprise the contemporary art world.” This Thursday, visitors can catch artist Dread Scott leading a workshop on different strategies, both tried and unconventional, that artists can adopt to promote their work in the industry.

Location: Recess, 41 Grand Street 
Price: Free
Time: Varies

—Rain Embuscado

Tuesday, July 19–Wednesday, July 20

Becca Blackwell. Courtesy of Michael DeAngelis.

2. Becca Blackwell, “This Is My Worst Nightmare” via Elastic City
Transgender icon Becca Blackwell is leading an artist tour though the West Village, and will be reminiscing about bartending at Crazy Nanny’s, as well as venturing into other queer spots, such as Henrietta Hudson and Cherry Lane Theater. “What I want to people to take away is deeper knowledge of space,” Blackwell writes in an email to artnet News. “What it is to create it, need it, find it and remember it.”

The tour, which is titled, “This Is My Worst Nightmare” is limited to 12 people each night, and it appears both nights are booked. Maybe if you stand on the corner looking cute, you can tag along?

Location: 21 7th Avenue South
Price: Free
Time: 7:00–8:30 p.m.

—Kathleen Massara

Tuesday, July 19–Thursday, July 21

Eduardo Navarro, We who spin around you. Courtesy of High Line Arts and the artist.

3. Eduardo Navarro, We who spin around you at the High Line
For his latest work, Eduardo Navarro has teamed up with astrophysicists Jana Grcevich and Summer Ash on a scientifically-inspired performances. The artist has created special bronze masks to be worn while watching the sunset on the High Line. Similar to the special viewfinders used to safely observe solar eclipses, the small opening in the disc-shaped mask distorts wearers’ view of the sun, so that it appears as a tiny dark green sphere. As dusk falls, Ash and Grcevich will give a short lecture on the history of solar studies.

Location: High Line at the Rail Yards at West 32nd Street and 12th Avenue
Price: Free
Time: 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Wednesday, July 20

Dread Scott with flag, A Man Was Lynched By Police Yesterday. Courtesy of Connie Julian via Facebook.

4. Discussion of Artists’ Freedoms in the Age of Black Lives Matter at Jack Shainman Gallery
Artist Dread Scott will participate in a discussion about artists’ freedoms—and attempts to curtail them—in the midst of social and political upheaval roiling the United States.

Scott and New York’s Jack Shainman Gallery were recently targeted with threats after the artist hung a provocative banner decrying police brutality at the gallery’s entrance. Joining him will be fellow-artist Eric Gottesman, co-founder of the political action committee For Freedoms, and Lauren van Haaften-Schick, associate director of the Art & Law Program in New York.

Location: Jack Shainman Gallery, 513 West 20th Street
Price: Free
Time: 6:00–7:00 p.m.

—Brian Boucher

Wednesday, July 20–Sunday, September 25

Photo: Courtesy of New Museum.

5. The Keeper at The New Museum 
Given a certain best-selling book that tells people how to de-clutter by questioning whether the objects they posess “spark joy,” it is particularly timely that the New Museum is opening an exhibition curated by Massimiliano Gioni about our obsession with possessions.

It reflects on the desire to preserve both precious and worthless objects alike. The centerpiece is Partners (The Teddy Bear Project) (2002) a sprawling display conceived by Canadian artist, curator, and collector Ydessa Hendeles. Comprised of more than 3,000 photos of people posing with teddy bears, it “establishes the teddy bear as a metaphor for the consolatory power of artworks and images and underscores the symbiotic relationship that ties people to their objects of affection,” according to a statement from the museum.

Location: New Museum, 235 Bowery
Price: $16 adults, $14 seniors, $10 students.
Time:

—Eileen Kinsella

Wednesday, July 20

Ted Riederer, “Drums and Roses” at Ryan Lee Gallery. Courtesy Ryan Lee Gallery.

6. Joe Goretti Performance at Ryan Lee Gallery
For the run of Ted Riederer’s solo show, “Drums and Roses” (on view July 13–September 10, 2016), which features a site specific sculpture of a drum kit, the artist has arranged for a series of performances featuring famous musicians. Riederer replaces drumsticks with roses, which quickly shed their petals as they are slammed against the instrument. This week, Moby drummer Joe Goretti will take the stage, with the carpet of flowers left behind by his performance becoming part of the sculptural work.

Location: Ryan Lee Gallery, 515 West 26 Street
Price: Free
Time: 5:30 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, July 21–Friday, August 19

Photo Credit: Kate Werble Gallery. Courtesy of Flickr via Creative Commons.

7. Sexting at Kate Werble Gallery 
In an age where the smart phone becomes an extension of the body, the group exhibition “Sexting” at Kate Werble explores our dependency on our devices in relation to sex and the selfie. As artist Carmen Winant states in the show’s accompanying text: “When else in history have we been both author of, and witness to, our own bodies in sex?”

Location: Kate Werble Gallery, 83 Vandam Street
Price: Free
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

—Caroline Elbaor

Thursday, July 21

Bill Cunningham photographing the streets of New York. Courtesy CreditFirst Thought Films/Zeitgeist Films.

8. Memorial Screening of Bill Cunningham New York at the IFC Center
Director and cinematographer Richard Press and producer Philip Gefter will be on hand for a question and answer session following a special screening of their hit 2011 documentary about legendary street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, who died last month at 87.

Whether you’ve seen it already or not, now is the perfect time to revisit this touching portrait of an unforgettable New York icon.

Location: IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas
Price: $14
Time: 7:00 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, July 21

László Moholy-Nagy. A 19, part of Moholy-Nagy: Optical Sound (1927). Courtesy of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

9. Moholy-Nagy: Optical Sound at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 
In partnership with the exhibit “Moholy-Nagy: Future Present“, this program will feature a mix of sound and light, with a performance by Marina Rosenfeld and Greg Fox and a live sound and video mix by Thomas Dexter and David Linton. Tickets include admittance to the exhibition and entrance to the reception.

Location: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue
Price: $30, $20 members, $15 students.
Time: 7 p.m.

—Daniela Rios

Through Sunday, July 24

Photo: Courtesy Noguchi Museum.

10. Tom Sachs: Tea Ceremony at the Noguchi Museum 
This week is your last chance to observe the tea ceremony performed by Tom Sachs and his “friend and colleague in tea,” Johnny Fogg. Visitors are allowed to watch as the artists perform the tea ritual for guests in both the indoor and outdoor gardens.

Location: Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Road, Long Island City
Price: $10 adults, $5 senior citizens & students
Time: Varies

—Daniela Rios

Through Monday, July 25

Raúl de Nieves. A walk up a hill never meant to dry me out, I’m like the tallest tree you’ll ever find (2016). Courtesy of American Medium.

11. Raúl de Nieves, Sofia Leiby, David Roesing: A Dance That Describes at American Medium 
New Yorkers may have caught Raúl de Nieves’s Day(Ves) of Wonder at MoMA PS1 during the most recent version of Greater New York. If not, catch him in the last week of A Dance That Describes at American Medium in Brooklyn, where a new work, A walk up a hill never meant to dry me out, I’m like the tallest tree you’ll ever find (2015), hangs in a glittery homage to Alan Turing’s theory on natural patterns.

Location: American Medium, 424 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn
Price: Free
Time: Varies

—Kathleen Massara