Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting and thought-provoking shows, screenings, and events. In light of the global health crisis, we are currently highlighting events and digitally, as well as in-person exhibitions open in the New York area. See our picks from around the world below. (Times are all EST unless otherwise noted.) 

Monday, August 3–Wednesday, August 26

“#19SuffrageStories.” Image courtesy of the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and National Archives, Washington, DC.

1. “#19SuffrageStories” at the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and the National Archives, Washington, DC

The Smithsonian is teaming up with the Library of Congress and the National Archives to mark the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote on August 26, 1920. Counting down 19 days to that historic milestone, the three institutions will share objects from their collections and share stories about the fight for equal voting rights. First up is the original copy of the 19th Amendment, held by the archives. The series will trace the women’s right’s movement from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 through the 1960s, the era of women’s liberation, particularly highlighting the efforts of women of color, who were denied the right to vote long after it was officially enshrined into law.

Price: Free
Time: Daily posts on Instagram and Twitter

—Sarah Cascone

Tuesday, August 4

2. “Art and Typography of the Victorian Textile Merchant” at Textile Trademarks

Street artist Adrian Wilson is revealing his hidden passion for 19th- and early 20th-century Manchester textiles with this Zoom tour of his collection, showing the ethnographic images used to market it around the world. It once featured on the Antiques Roadshow!

Price: Free
Time: 4 p.m.–4:45 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Installation view of “Hide/Seek” at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

3. “Queer Art and Controversy at the Smithsonian: A Conversation with Lonnie G. Bunch III and John W. McCarter Jr.” at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC

Debates about censorship at museums have implications that go far beyond the disputes reported in the press, shaping exhibition planning practices behind the scenes and the way the public experiences art. Just ten years ago, the Smithsonian faced a major controversy surrounding the exhibition “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” a groundbreaking show that focused on sexual and gender identity in art. Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie G. Bunch III and former member of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents John W. McCarter Jr. will be in conversation with NPG Senior Historian Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw to discuss censorship in art, and the far-reaching impact of the then-Smithsonian Secretary’s decision to censor one of the videos originally included in the exhibition.

Price: Free with registration
Time: 5 p.m.

—Katie Rothstein 

Tuesday, August 4–Saturday, October 10

Lai Chiu-Chen, Hey,
Which Eye You Are Using to Stare at Me, 2013 Courtesy of Eli Klein Gallery

4. “Lai Chiu-Chen: 99% Unreal” at Eli Klein Gallery, New York

Eli Klein Gallery presents the first solo exhibition of Taiwanese artist Lai Chiu-Chen in the US, showing fifteen paintings made between 2012 and 2019. The cartoon imagery in the works is an interplay between pop-culture and political tension between Taiwan and mainland China, something that a lot of Taiwanese artists growing up in the ’70s-’80s drew inspiration from. It’s a pop-inspired, colorful show, and can be viewed by appointment only.

Location: Eli Klein Gallery, 398 West Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: By appointment only

—Neha Jambhekar

Wednesday, August 5

Barry Yusufu, Dark Horse (2019). Courtesy of Christie’s New York.

5. “Artist Talk — From Our Eyes Only” and “Black Legacies Matter: Curating a New Standard for Equitable Artist Engagement” at Christie’s New York

In conjunction with its upcoming online exhibition “Say It Loud,” curated by Destinee Ross-Sutton and featuring 22 Black artists, Christie’s has teamed up with the Harlem Arts Alliance on a digital artist talk and consortium. Part one will be moderated by Stephanie George, and part two by Halima Taha, with a set from DJ Spinna in between. Expect discussions on inequality, the need to amplify artists’ voices, and the barriers to entry to the art world for people of color.

Price: $25 suggested donation to the Harlem Arts Alliance
Time: 1 p.m.–3 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Wednesday, August 5–Friday, September 4

Linus Borgo, “fuzzy ftm transsexual amputee plays with magic wand and poppers (self portrait)”, 2020.

6. “We Must Begin Wherever We Are” at Zürcher Gallery, New York

Zürcher Gallery will open a group, benefit exhibition curated by artist Ernesto Renda this Wednesday. Each participating artist will be selecting a charity to donate 100 percent of their proceeds. Artists include Anthony Cudahy, Bony Ramirez, Skye Volmar, Renda himself, and many more. Public viewing hours will vary by week, so sign up for the curator’s newsletter to receive weekly notifications about public viewing hours or email at least 48 hours in advance to make an appointment.

Location: Zürcher Gallery, 33 Bleecker Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: By appointment

—Cristina Cruz

Thursday, August 6

Dan Colen, Qiana Mickie, Linda Goode Bryant, and Sonia Chopra, image courtesy of 92nd Street Y.

7. “A Conversation on Contemporary Food Justice and Security” at the 92 Street Y & Gagosian, New York

Though they might seem strange bedfellows, the worlds of contemporary art and the movement for food justice have many overlaps, including some of the most fervent activists in the field. Linda Goode Bryant, the groundbreaking founder of art gallery Just Above Midtown is also the force behind Project EATS, an urban farming initiative that serves communities in New York City. Goode Bryant will be joined by artist Dan Colen, who founded the nonprofit Sky High Farm, and Qiana Mickie, special projects consultant for Just Food, for a virtual conversation moderated by Eater’s Sonia Chopra hosted by the 92nd Street Y with Gagosian.

Price: $10 (a portion of sales will be donated to Just Food, Project EATS, and Sky High Farm)
Time: 5 p.m. EST

—Caroline Goldstein

Duane Michals. Photo courtesy of the artist.

8. “MAM Conversations: Duane Michals” at the Montclair Art Museum

New Jersey’s Montclair Art Museum is hosting virtual studio visits each week. This Thursday, photographer Duane Michals will be on hand to go behind the scenes with his recent video series “The Corona Follies” as well as other work. Other speakers on the schedule this month include Vanessa German and Cara Romero.

Price: $10 with registration
Time: 6 p.m.–7 p.m.

—Tanner West

Through Thursday, August 6

Nan Goldin, Sirens (2019–20). Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery.

9. Nan Goldin’s Sirens at Metrograph, New York

With movie theaters still closed indefinitely, Metrograph has introduced a new live screening program called Metrograph Digital, meant to replicate the in-theater experience at home, airing online at scheduled times with introductions and Q&As. The series’s first guest curator was photographer Nan Goldin, who paired her new film Sirens with Liberty’s Booty and Beauty Becomes the Beast by No Wave filmmaker Vivienne Dick. If you missed the screening, which featured an introduction from the artist, you can still catch Sirens, made entirely from found footage, for a few more days if you sign up as a Metrograph member. The film, which is dedicated to the late Donyale Luna, the first black super model, who overdosed on heroin at just 33, debuted last fall at Marian Goodman Gallery in New York.

Price: Free with Metrograph membership ($5 a month or $50 a year)
Time: Available via video-on-demand

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, August 6–Thursday, August 27

Andy Warhol, Kiss (1963–64). Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Digital media management by MPC New York. Film scanning by Technicolor-PostWorks New York.

10. “Virtual Views: Film Vault Summer Camp” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Thursday nights in August will mean diving back into MoMA’s film archives to screen treasures from the collection each Thursday. Kicking things off this week are the institution’s first film acquisitions, The Flying Train (1902) and Great Actresses of the Past (1911–
16), compiled in 1938. Other highlights will include a 1934 Katharine Hepburn screen test for Joan of Arc, Andy Warhol’s Kiss (1963–64), and a trio of films from the Dada movement of the 1920s.

Price: Free
Time: Weekly releases on Thursdays

—Sarah Cascone

Friday, August 7

“Projection: The High Yellow Pavilion for Renisha McBride and Other Works by Tomashi Jackson” at the Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York. Photo courtesy of Tilton Gallery, New York.

11. “Projection: The High Yellow Pavilion for Renisha McBride and Other Works by Tomashi Jackson” at the Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York

The new trend of drive-by art continues with video collage works made by Tomashi Jackson between 2014 and 2017, projected on the Parrish’s barn-like building in a 50-minute loop. The presentation by New York’s Tilton Gallery is named after Renisha McBride, a 19-year-old Black woman who was shot and killed while seeking help after a car accident in 2013. Jackson has drawn on legal records, court transcripts, and photo documentation relating to the killing of Black children and young people at the hands of the police and vigilantes for her series “The Subliminal is Now,” one of two bodies of work that will be on view. (In the event of rain, the event will be postponed until August 8.)

The evening screening coincides with the museum’s reopening, which features a trio of new exhibitions on Fairfield Porter and his circle, Lucien Smith, and Jackie Black.

Location: Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, New York
Price: Free
Time: 9 p.m.–11 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Friday, August 7–Fall 2021

Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood, Sketch for the Pollinator Pavillion. Courtesy of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.

12. “Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood: The Pollinator Pavilion” at Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill, New York

Husband and wife artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood have teamed up once again, this time on a new public artwork designed to attract hummingbirds—yes, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird can be found in New York—and other pollinators. The two have built a Gothic-style gazebo, painted it lavender, and filled it with their own paintings. It’s an open air space, which is a plus in the age of social distancing, but it’s also built for just one human guest at a time. The piece was created to coincide with the traveling exhibition “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church and Our Contemporary Moment”—now delayed a year—and is inspired by the 19th-century artist Martin Johnson Heade’s series “The Gems of Brazil,” which will be included in the show when it opens next spring.

Location: Thomas Cole National Historic Site,218 Spring Street, Catskill, New York
Price: Free
Time: Open daily, dawn to dusk

—Sarah Cascone

Saturday, August 8

Front cover of The World’s Worst: A Guide to the Portsmouth Sinfonia, published by Soberscove Press. Courtesy of Soberscove Press and Artbook DAP @ Hauser and Wirth Los Angeles.

13. “The World’s Worst: A Guide to the Portsmouth Sinfonia (Live Conversation)” at Artbook @ Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles

It sounds like a prequel to Flight of the Conchords: In 1970, a motley crew of students at England’s Portsmouth College of Art created an orchestra in which members could only play instruments with which they had no experience, for the purpose of performing “only the familiar bits” of symphonic classics such as the “William Tell Overture” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” But the parodic character of the Portsmouth Sinfonia, as the outfit called itself, shifts once you know it counted the likes of sonic shaman Brian Eno and minimalist film-score titan Michael Nyman as founding members. It also drew inspiration from John Cage and other revolutionary composers of the era. Join Christopher M. Reeves and Aaron Walker, editors of the first book about the Sinfonia, for a conversation with Tosh Berman about the group’s history, intent, and legacy.

Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT

—Tim Schneider

Through Thursday, August 27

Aleksandra Stone, Mobile Home (2020). Courtesy of Monica King Contemporary, New York.

14. “Aleksandra Stone: Stimulate the American Household” at Monica King Contemporary, New York

As New York entered lockdown, and many young artists became hyper-aware of how current events were limiting their ability to make and sell their work, photographer Aleksandra Stone turned to money as a medium, finely shredding US currency and using it to make intricate collage works. A critique of the federal stimulus package, the exhibition is meant to illustrate the shortcomings of the one-time payments to taxpayers—and the mortgage relief for homeowners without any freeze on rent—who are struggling to support their households during this difficult time.

Address: Monica King Contemporary, 39 Lispenard Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Thursday, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.; Friday, 12 p.m.–4 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Through Sunday, August 30 

Jean Shin’s Floating MAiZE in the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, co-presented by Arts Brookfield and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) as part of River To River 2020: Four Voices. Photography by Ryan Muir. Courtesy of Brookfield Place

15. “Four Voices” with River to River, Lower Manhattan

This year, River to River, New York’s annual summer festival, has a new look. Having to forgo its signature outdoor celebrations, River to River has launched “Four Voices,” collaborations with artists Mona Chalabi, Muna Malik, Jean Shin, and Asiya Wadud. The artworks—which are each installed in four locations throughout lower Manhattan—are meant to create a space for individual contemplation within our urban community.

Location: Artworks are installed downtown at the Seaport District, the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, Battery Park City, and Westfield World Trade Center
Price: Free
Time: Hours vary by location

—Katie White

Through Tuesday, September 1

16. “Andy Warhol: Toys” at Galerie Gmurzynska, Zurich

Warhol collected tin and wind-up toys from around the world, amassing a collection that featured toys from Japan, Hungary, China, Germany, Russia, Korea, and the US. In 1983, he created the series “Toy Paintings,” unique silkscreen and hand-painted compositions of the his favorite toys and packaging. Gmurzynska has sourced them from around the world for a virtual viewing room show.

Price: Free
Time: On view at all times

—Eileen Kinsella

Through Monday, August 31

Courtesy of the Rubin Museum of Art.

17. Mindfulness Meditation at the Rubin Museum, New York

Since closing their doors in March, the Rubin Museum has intermittently hosted online mediation sessions. Now the museum is returning to a more structured schedule with Zoom meditations every Monday afternoon led by expert teachers. For the month of August, the sessions will be free for everyone (starting in September, the program will be $10 a session; free for members). Meditation is believed to calm the body and the mind, increase focus, and create internal peace and refuge from the world around us—which sounds like a welcome way to start off the week.

Time: Mondays, 1 p.m.–1:45 p.m.
Price: Free through August with registration

—Katie White