Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.
Monday, August 14–Monday, September 18
“Storefront: The Disappearing Face of New York” by James and Karla Murray.
1. “Capturing the Lower East Side’s Storefronts” at the Theater for the New City
This exhibition brings together photography and oral histories to document the changing landscape of one of New York City’s most beloved neighborhoods. Following workshops led by photographers Karla and James Murray, the community uses photography and oral history to encourage advocacy and raise awareness.
Location: Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Streets)
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Tuesday, August 15
Carrie Mae Weems, Scenes & Takes (To Look Back in Anger) 2016. © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the Watermill Center.
2. Carrie Mae Weems at the Watermill Center
As part of the Watermill Center’s “Summer Lecture Series,” Carrie Mae Weems will discuss the role of history in her extended oeuvre. Over the past 30 years, Weems captures prescient images that inform our reckoning with the past, and understanding of the future. Currently the artist is completing a residency at the Park Avenue Armory.
Location: 39 Water Mill Towd Road, Water Mill
Price: $12, reservation required; information here.
Time: 7:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Wednesday, August 16
Sarbani Ghosh, Origins 2 2016). Courtesy of the artist.
3. “Sarbani Ghosh: COSMOGRAPHIES” at Gallery Sensei
Recent Pratt MFA grad and (full disclosure) former artnet News intern Sarbani Ghosh creates impossibly detailed multimedia work that combines painting, digital collage, and embroidery. Her spiritually infused, otherworldly compositions draw on her experiences as a first generation American. Blending American and Indian culture and religion in her alien landscapes, Ghosh has created a mythology all her own in this visually compelling work.
Location: Gallery Sensei, 135 Eldridge Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, Friday, August 18, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.; Wednesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Wednesday, August 16
Still from “Romance and Cigarettes” starring James Gandolfini and Susan Sarandon. Courtesy of moviestillsdb.com.
4. Romance and Cigarettes film screening at Socrates Sculpture Park
John Turturro, the director of Romance and Cigarettes, will be present to discuss the humorous, raunchy, witty 2005 flick starring Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, and Christopher Walken. Enjoy food from East Coast Foodies, an Astoria-based restaurant, and a pre-screening performance by the band Pat Irwin & J. Walter Hawkes.
Location: Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City
Price: Free
Time: Pre-screening performance begins at 7 p.m., film begins at sundown.
—Caroline Goldstein
Thursday, August 17
Cocktails at Cooper Hewitt in the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden. Courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
5. Julliard Night: Julliard Jazz Ensemble at the Cooper Hewitt
Every Thursday night this summer, the Cooper Hewitt hosts Cocktails at Cooper Hewitt in the museum garden. This week, the Julliard Jazz Ensemble will treat guests to tunes out of 1920s and ’30s New Orleans.
Location: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden, 90th Street between
Madison & Fifth Avenues
Price: $13 online/$15 at the door
Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Cheeky LaShae. Photo by Carlos David. Courtesy High Line Art
6. Cheeky LaShae: Karaoke Universal: Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 01011863 by Kenya (Robinson) in Out of Line at the High Line
The glamorous Cheeky LaShae, a fluid-identity avatar and performative structure designed by artist Kenya (Robinson), will host a night of karaoke that promises to blur the line between audience and performer. For “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 01011863,” pop songs and politics combine in an investigation of freedom, offering us the opportunity to sing, reflect, and own the performer in us all.
Location: The High Line at West 14th Street
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 9:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
—Eileen Kinsella
Friday, August 18
NYBG Summer Concert Series: Jazz & Chihuly. Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden/photographer Lauren Desberg.
7. NYBG Summer Concert Series: Jazz & Chihuly at the New York Botanical Garden
Enjoy a concert under the stars developed in collaboration with Catskill Jazz Factory and Absolutely Live Entertainment, sitting on a picnic blanket at the Botanical Garden. Once the music is done, experience Dale Chihuly’s luminous glass sculpture as night falls—an especially enticing proposition for his electrifying Neon 206, a new work that lights up.
Location: New York Botanical Garden, Conservatory Lawn, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx
Price: $45
Time: Doors, 6 p.m.; concert, 7 p.m.–8:30 p.m.; “CHIHULY” viewing, 8:30 9.m.–10 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Friday, August 18–
Toyo Miyatake, Untitled (Opening Image from Valediction), 1944. Courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, © Toyo Miyatake Studio.
8. “An Incomplete History of Protest” at the Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney takes a look at activism and political and social protests from the 1940s through the present, as seen through the museum’s collection. The exhibition, which covers seminal events such as the Vietnam War, the Civil Right’s Movement, and the AIDS crisis, becomes a lens through which we can view our nation’s history, and the artists who tried to use their work to help change our country for the better.
Location: Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort Street
Price: $25
Time: Sunday–Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wed–Thu 10:30 a.m.–6 p.m.; Friday–Saturday, 10:30 a.m.–10 p.m.
—Sarah Cascone
Saturday, August 19
The original members of Clay Club frolicking in Staten Island. Image courtesy of SculptureCenter.
9. “Clay Club: Community Sculpture Studio” at the SculptureCenter
Founded in 1928, SculptureCenter was originally called the Clay Club, and every summer until 1939, the organization’s artists and students would spend a day picnicking and building temporary sculptures on Staten Island. The Center is reviving that tradition on Saturday, and the public is welcome to come for music, food from local vendors, and 2,000 tons of clay to sculpt to your heart’s content.
Location: Sculpture Center, 44-19 Purves Street, Long Island City
Price: Free
Time: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Saturday, August 19–Saturday, September 16
Marshall Arisman, Blue Angel (1997). Courtesy of the School of Visual Arts.
10. “Marshall Arisman: An Artist’s Journey from Dark to Light, 1972–2017” at the School of Visual Arts
The 45-year-long career of Marshall Arisman (1937–) takes center stage at SVA, which will showcase paintings, sculpture, and short films by the artist, as well as illustrations of real life and fictional villains ranging from Adolf Hitler in US News & World Report to Darth Vader in TIME. His “Angels and Demons” series, featured in the SVA Subway Series of posters, will be among the exhibition highlights.
Location: SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th Floor
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, Tuesday, August 22, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. until Labor Day
—Sarah Cascone