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 exhibitions available digitally. See our picks from around the world below. (Times are all EST unless otherwise noted.)
Tuesday, May 5
Courtesy of Renata Marinaro.
1. “Health Insurance Workshop for Artists and Arts Professionals” on Zoom
Renata Marinaro, the national director of health services for the Actor’s Fund, is leading an online information session on how artists and freelancers can better navigate the US healthcare system. In addition to discussing the options for low- and no-cost insurance coverage that were available pre-COVID-19, Marinaro will also cover how to recalculate your claims if you’ve lost work and are receiving government benefits.
Price: Free with registration
Time: 5:30 p.m.–7 p.m.
—Rachel Corbett
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Photo courtesy of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
2. “Celebrating Thirty Years at the Aldrich: Q&A with Richard Klein, Exhibitions Director” at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
Richard Klein joined the Aldrich full time as a registrar/preparator back in 1990, when the museum had just five full-time staff members. He’s since held a variety of different roles, including a stint as acting director and two as interim co-director. On his 30th work anniversary, he’s sharing his memories of serving under museum founder Larry Aldrich, curating more than 90 exhibitions, and watching the institution grow over the years, all live in a Zoom conversation.
Price: $10, free for members
Time: 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
—Tanner West
Robin Cembalest. Courtesy of Lauren Kallen.
3. “Social Media Workshop for Artists and Educators” at the Latinx Project
Looking to boost your social media following? Former ARTnews editor in chief turned social media consultant Robin Cembalest is offering a free online class about how artists and educators can grow their online presence with thoughtful, editorially minded content.
Price: Free with registration
Time: 2 p.m.– 4 p.m.
—Nan Stewert
Wednesday, May 6
Juan Antonio Guirado, El tercer ojo (The Third Eye), 1986–89. Courtesy of Galstian Advisory LLC.
4. “Catalina Guirado: In Conversation with Robert Galstian” at Galstian Advisory LLC
Join Robert Galstian of Galstian Advisory LLC in conversation with Catalina Guirado, daughter of the late Spanish artist Juan Antonio Guirado, on how she has made her father’s art more approachable for new art collectors. Catalina Guirado is president of the late artist’s estate and responsible for setting up exhibitions of his work in the US and Europe, including a solo exhibition at the Coral Gables Museum during Art Basel Miami Beach. The talk will take place on Zoom.
Price: Free with registration
Time: 11 a.m. (PST)
—Neha Jambhekar
A PAMM virtual classroom visit. Photo courtesy of the Pérez Art Museum Miami.
5. “A Whole New World: Educators in the Digital Learning Landscape” at the Pérez Art Museum Miami
The Pérez Art Museum Miami is hosting a Teacher Appreciation Week panel moderated by speaker and author Octavia Yearwood and the museum’s teaching artist, Darwin Rodriguez. Streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, the conversation is being held in partnership with the Miami-based nonprofit PS 305.
Price: Free
Time: 7 p.m.
—Nan Stewert
Thursday, May 7
This online workshop repositions alt-text accessibility compliance into a form of creative expression.
6. “Alt-Text as Poetry” at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art
Alt-text is an integral feature of web accessibility that allows blind and low vision people to hear descriptions of visual content—but often this data is overlooked or given cursory effort. This online workshop, led by multidisciplinary artist Shannon Finnegan and visual artist and disability advocate Bojana Coklyat, will reimagine alt-text as a kind of poetry that engages simple but expressive language to convey the experience of an artwork. Co-organized by the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, Eyebeam, and the Grey Art Gallery, this webinar will workshop several writers’ descriptions of artworks commonly found on institutional websites to cultivate best practices, strategies, and, most importantly, a sense of linguistic playfulness.
Price: Free
Time: 6–8 p.m., register here
—Katie White
Maria Malpecki, Manifesto of The New Onirism. Photo: Witek Orski.
7. “Maria Malpecki & Tomek Pawłowski Jarmołajew” at KW Institute for Contemporary Art
Polish artists Maria Magdalena Kozlowska and Maria Tobola perform as one identity under the pseydonym Maria Malpecki. Described as “a superhero of arts and culture, creating essays at the intersection of theater, video art, and performance,” Maria will be “showing” a video work that is an unusual cocktail-hour-meets-variety-show, curated by Tomek Pawłowski Jarmołajew as part of KW Institute for Contemporary Art’s Pogo Bar, the underground club that shows emerging performance artists beneath the museum, which has now moved its programming online. As a collage of video calls and performances, the work explores modes of communication in times of isolation and the kinds of collaboration that emerge.
Price: Free
Time: 9 p.m. (CET)
—Kate Brown
“All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50” installation view. Photo courtesy of the Oakland Museum of California.
8. “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50” Online Video Premiere at the Oakland Museum of California
In 2017, the Oakland Museum of California celebrated a half century of the Black Panthers with the popular exhibition “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50.” With the museum currently closed under the state’s shelter-in-place order, the institution has decided to make the film created for the show available online for the first time. Dropping Thursday evening, the short video features commentary from artists, poets, and community advocates, as well as former members, about the Black Panther’s lasting legacy as civil rights activists.
Price: Free
Time: 9 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Friday, May 8
Joseph Mallord William Turner, Harbor of Dieppe: Changement de Domicile (1825–26). Photo by Michael Bodycombc courtesy of the Frick Collection, New York.
9. “Cocktails With a Curator: Turner’s Harbor of Dieppe” at the Frick Collection
Every Friday at happy hour, the Frick loosens its tie and premiers a new episode of its YouTube series “Cocktails With a Curator,” where one of its experts enjoys a classy drink while enlightening viewers about a work from its prestigious collection. For this edition, Xavier F. Salomon, the Frick’s Peter Jay Sharp chief curator, will tell you everything you need to know about Joseph Mallord William Turner’s Harbor of Dieppe: Changement de Domicile. Viewers are invited to join him in enjoying a Widow’s Kiss, a specialty cocktail that relies on the Norman brandy Calvados. Although the recipe is on the Frick’s website, feel free to substitute a less eccentric (or non-alcoholic) libation. We all know options out there are limited.
Price: Free
Time: 5 p.m.
—Tim Schneider
Shahzia Sikander, Parallax. Photo: Sean Kelly Gallery.
10. Screening of Shahzia Sikander’s Parallax at Sean Kelly Gallery
One of the most pleasing side effects of the social-distancing era is the energy galleries are putting into sharing video art—a medium often marginalized at art fairs and even in IRL gallery spaces—with the public. Sean Kelly Gallery has launched a #FilmFridays series, in which it screens full-length video works on its Vimeo for free for 24 hours. This week’s film is Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander’s Parallax, which presents animations made in collaboration with composer Du Yun that combine Indo-Persian miniature painting with abstraction. The film’s release coincides with what would have been the artist’s first New York gallery show in nine years. If you tune in, make sure to post a picture of your at-home screening setup and tag the gallery—the best environment will win a signed copy of a Sikander catalogue.
Price: Free
Time: 9 a.m., for 24 hours
—Julia Halperin
Saturday, May 9
Carrie Mae Weems, I Looked and Looked to See What so Terrified You from the Louisiana Project (2003). Courtesy of the artist and the Nasher Museum at Duke University.
11. “Carrie Mae Weems Studio Visit With Liza Lou” at Apartogether
Since lockdown began, Liza Lou, known for her intricate beaded sculptures and paintings, has begun a new communal initiative called Apartogether, inviting the public to join her in making a comfort blanket. As part of the project, she’s been hosting other artists for studio visits on Instagram live. Next up, in a special Mother’s Day edition, is Carrie Mae Weems.
Price: Free
Time: 4 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Through Sunday, May 10
Installation view of “Neopangean Nest”, Keep-Showing Club. Photo by Aron Weber.
12. “Neopangean Nest: Botond Keresztesi, Ádám Ulbert, Tom Volkaert” at Keep Showing Club
In the middle of an undisclosed forest in Budapest is an offline exhibition (yes, one that can be physically visited, with proper social-distancing measures of course), curated by Everybody Needs Art founder Peter Bencze. Paintings and sculptures by Botond Keresztesi, Ádám Ulbert, and Tom Volkaer coexist in the fictional land of Neopangea. Ulbert’s snakes and amphibians hang on trees, Keresztesi’s meditative chrome figures are positioned across a grassy field, and Volkaert’s snails emerge from bushes. Inquire via the venue’s website for a hint at the exact location if you happen to be in the area.
Price: Free
Time: 24/7
—Cristina Cruz