Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below.

Tuesday, February 14

Courtesy Red Bull Arts

1. Bjarne Melgaard, “The Purge,” at Red Bull Arts New York
Ahead of the debut of his ongoing project, “The Casual Pleasure of Disappointment” artist Bjarne Melgaard will be giving away his personal collection of designer fashion and streetwear free of charge to anyone who turns up. It will be on a first come, first served basis. In groups of 100, shoppers will have anywhere between five to ten minutes to stock their custom-made “Melgaard” garbage bags with as much material as they can carry. According to a description of the event, once their time is up, “shoppers will be immediately evacuated from the premise.” The hoard reportedly includes pieces by Commes des Garcon, Issey Miyake, Raf Simons, Stussy, and more.

Location: Red Bull Arts New York, 220 West 18th Street
Price: Free
Time: 5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.

—Eileen Kinsella

Christmas tree “Yolka,” the protester’s art space in Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Courtesy of Tania Poshyvailo/the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

2. “Viral Images: Exploring the historic and conservation challenges of objects created for social protest and solidarity” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works takes a look at how art is used for social expression and protest, asking what happens to protest art when the demonstrators disband, and how we can archive this aspect of our cultural heritage.

Panelists include Michael Gould-Wartofsky, sociologist and author of The Occupiers. The Making of the 99% Movement; Christian Scheidemann, conservator and founder of Contemporary Conservation Ltd.; and Gregory Sholette, founding member of Political Art Documentation/Distribution. Programming will also include a performance by artists Rebecca Goyette, Kenya Robinson, and Brian Andrew Whiteley, the creator of the Donald Trump tombstone that appeared in Central Park last spring.

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, 1000 5th Avenue
Price: Free
Time: 2:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Recommended Reading

Now We Know Who Created the Donald Trump Headstone

By Brian Boucher, May 11, 2016

Wednesday, February 15

Louise Bourgeois, 1946. Louise Bourgeois’s art, writings and archival material are © The Easton Foundation, Licensed by VAGA, NY. Courtesy of the New York Public Library.

3. “Intimate Geometries: Robert Storr, Deborah Kass, Christopher Lyon, Irving Sandler, and Special Guest,” an Art Book Series Event at the New York Public Library
Art historian, critic, curator, and painter Robert Storr takes part in a discussion about his new book, Intimate Geometries: The Art and Life of Louise Bourgeois, which documents the artist’s nearly 75-year-long career. Storr and Bourgeois worked closely together on the project for two decades. The talk will feature artist Deborah Kass and art critic Irving Sandler, while author and Bookforum columnist Christopher Lyon will serve as moderator.

Location: New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Celeste Auditorium, 476 Fifth Avenue (42nd St and Fifth Ave)
Price: Free
Time: 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, February 16

Cynthia Daignault at the opening for Etel Adnan, Gerhard Richter, and Cynthia Daignault at FLAG Art Foundation. Courtesy of Shane Drummond/BFA.

4. “This Never Happened to Pablo Picasso,” a conversation between artist Cynthia Daignault and Matthew Israel at the FLAG Art Foundation
Artist Cynthia Daignault and curator Matthew Israel tackle the topic of how artwork is increasingly experienced online “supplanting the purpose and primacy of brick-and-mortar-spaces,” according to a statement. The conversation coincides with “There is nothing I could say that I haven’t thought before,” Daignault’s ongoing solo show (through May 13), at the FLAG, for which the artist used JPGs of works she solicited from other artists as her point of departure.

Location: The FLAG Art Foundation, 545 West 25th Street, 9th Floor
Price: Free with RSVP to [email protected]
Time: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Talk begins at 6:30 p.m.

—Eileen Kinsella

Thursday, February 16–Sunday, February 18

Robert Longo, Untitled (Rick), from the series “Men in the Cities” (1979–83). Courtesy the artist and Metro Pictures, New York.

5. “The Critical Matter of Performance” at the New Museum
The New Museum hosts its first-ever colloquium, featuring screenings of works by artists including Simone Leigh, Tania Bruguera, Wu Tsang, and Malik Gaines. Painter and sculptor Robert Longo will appear as special guest speaker, while four key-note speakers pair their talks with works of art for a full-day series of “duets.”

Location: The New Museum theater, 235 Bowery
Price: $15
Time: February 16, 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.; February 17, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, February 16–Wednesday, March 1

Scherezade Garcia, Untitled (2016), from the series “Memories Afloat.” Courtesy of Lyle O Reitzel Gallery.

6. “Scherezade García: Memories Afloat” at Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery
Scherezade García’s first show with the newly-opened branch of the Santo Domingo gallery Lyle O. Reitzel showcases her new body of work, constructed during a residence in Granada, Spain, this past summer.

Never has it been more relevant to view the work of immigrant artists (in this case, García is originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), a crucial component of the complex cultural fabric that is New York City. The artist’s fascination with memory and history (at times dark and paradoxical, and at times simply beautiful) come through in works that examine settlements like those of the Spaniards in the American continent some five centuries ago, and their consequences over time.

Location: Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery NY, 139 Eldridge Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m.; Monday–Friday, 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; Sunday, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

—Kiki Olmedo

Saturday, February 18

Amy Jorgensen, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, 2014 . Photo courtesy Amy Jorgensen.

7. “Amy Jorgensen: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue,” Artist Reception and Talk at Elizabeth Houston Gallery
Amy Jorgensen will give a talk on her body of work “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue,” now on view at Elizabeth Houston Gallery. The works focus on the relevance of the suffragette movement, with portraits of English suffragettes printed on vintage handkerchiefs.

Location: Elizabeth Houston Gallery, 190 Orchard Street
Price: Free
Time: 2:00–4:00 p.m.

—Sarbani Ghosh

Sunday, February 19

Tania Bruguera in Havana, on December 31, 2014. Courtesy Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images.

8. “Culture in a Changing America,” at the Park Avenue Armory
The Park Avenue Armory hosts a daylong symposium on gender, race, and politics, featuring such boldface names as Cuban artist and political activist Tania Bruguera, author Ta-Nehisi Coates, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs commissioner Tom Finkelpearl.

Location: Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue
Price: $15
Time: 1:00–8:00 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

E.S.P. TV’s, WORK. Courtesy of Pioneer Works.

9. Second Sundays at Pioneer Works
See E.S.P. TV’s first institutional solo exhibition at the Red Hook venue, which spans the main exhibition space on the first floor. At 7 p.m., catch Daytime Viewing, billed as “an extended narrative song, based on a casual analysis of daytime television drama and the audience phenomena such programming addresses.”

Location: Pioneer Works, 159 Pioneer St, Red Hook, Brooklyn
Price: $10 suggested donation
Time: 4:00–10:00 p.m.

—Kathleen Massara