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

Tuesday, June 9

Cocktails at Cooper Hewitt in the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden. Courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

1. Virtual Museum Mile, New York 

Every June for the last 41 years, New York’s Fifth Avenue museums have staged a joint evening of free admission. The tradition now moves online, with virtual exhibition tours, streaming musical performances, and other programming from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Neue Galerie, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, El Museo del Barrio, the Africa Center, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Price: Free
Time: 9 a.m.–9 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Photo from DESCENT Kinetic Light; photo by BRITT /Jay Newman.

2. “Performance-in-Place: An Evening with Kinetic Light” at the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, New York

The disability arts and dance ensemble Kinetic Light—the only American art collective entirely led by disabled artists—will offer a candid look at their rehearsal process, choreographic process, and history in this online conversation. The collective is currently developing their latest work, Wired, an immersive, aerial experience that traces the gender, race, and disability histories of barbed wire. Members Alice Sheppard, Laurel Lawson, and Jerron Herman will be in conversation with the Rubin’s Sara Reisman.

Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 7 p.m.–8:15 p.m.

—Nan Stewert

Wednesday, June 10

Courtesy of Green-Wood Cemetery.

3. “Full Stop: Letters Cut in Stone” at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn 

You probably haven’t given much thought to gravestone typography, but Green-Wood Cemetery boasts thousands of unique tombstone designs. Green-Wood historian Jeff Richman with speak with Angela Voulangas and Doug Clouse, graphic designers and type historians who run the company the Graphics Office, about the art and design of the cemetery’s inscriptions.

Price: $5 with registration
Time: 5 p.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

4. “Remake The Model: Arts Funders Forum‘s Ethics Conversation” with Darren Walker and David Callahan

With renewed calls for arts and cultural organizations to take action to fight injustice, Art Funders Forum,  the new initiative dedicated to the future of arts philanthropy, is hosting a Zoom webinar talk on ethics and equity. The latest edition of AFF’s virtual “Remake the Model” series will examine the role of philanthropists and culture-sector leaders in this moment of turmoil. The two-part conversation will feature Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, and David Callahan, founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy.

Price: Free with registration
Time: 1 p.m.–2 p.m.

—Eileen Kinsella 

Wednesday, June 10

Left to right: CAAM deputy director and chief curator Cameron Shaw; Vivian Sming of Sming Sming Books & Objects; artist ad CASSANDRA press co-creator Kandis Williams; founding editor of ARTS.BLACK Jessica Lynne. Courtesy of the California African American Museum.

5. “Points of Access: Publishing” at the California African American Museum, Los Angeles

The California African American Museum is collaborating with well-known Los Angeles nonprofit Art + Practice to embark on a four-part seminar series to shed light on the under-appreciated but critical process of documentation in the arts. The kickoff edition focuses on the text and publishing side of the equation—a valuable element that doesn’t always come naturally to visually inclined people and organizations. The panel brings together artist and CASSANDRA Press co-creator Kandis Williams, Sming Sming Books & Objects imprint creator Vivian Sming, and founding editor of ARTS.BLACK Jessica Lynne, with Cameron Shaw, the museum’s deputy director and chief curator, handling moderation.

Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 8 p.m.–10 p.m. EST/5 p.m.–7 p.m. PST

—Tim Schneider 

Friday, June 12 

Juan Ramos, Alvin Ailey performance, opening night of Studio 54, April 26, 1977. Courtesy of Paul and Devon Caranicas. © The Estate and Archive of Antonio Lopez and Juan Ramos.

6. “LGBTQ+ Teen Night: Xtravagant Xpressions” at the Brooklyn Museum, New York

The Brooklyn Museum may be closed, but it’s still organizing a version of its annual LGBTQ+ Teen Night inspired by the exhibition “Studio 54: Night Magic.” While a teen-organized evening of art-making, panel discussions, and drag and music performances is decidedly less fun over Zoom, there are still some exciting events tied to the celebration of joyful community spaces, trailblazing underground nightlife, and unapologetic freedom. The teens in your life can enjoy makeup tips inspired by drag performance, a download from the Ackerman Institute’s Gender & Family Project about health resources and ways to keep safe while taking action, and performances by Dynasty, LustSickPuppy, DJ Pauli Cakes, and others.

Price: Free for all LGBTQ+ teens and their allies 14+, but registration is required.
Time: 5 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

—Julia Halperin