Want to find art and culture things to do in New York City this weekend? Here’s a brief list. Expect a talk, a Victorian Christmas lantern show, a world premier of a dance work, an opera holiday sing-along, and more through December 6, 2015.
1. A Conversation On Mark Rothko With Christopher Rothko
Drawing from his newly published volume of 18 essays titled Mark Rothko: From the Inside Out (Yale University Press), the artist's son Christopher Rothko will speak on the “the range, meaning, and impact” of his father's body of work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Thursday, December 3 at 6:30 p.m. The talk is part of the Met's Ticket Talks series, regularly programmed lectures by curators and experts, and takes place in the museum's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium.
Tickets are $30 and include museum admission. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10028. www.metmuseum.org.
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2. World Premier of Tere O’Connor’s The Goodbye Studies
Chelsea performing arts venue The Kitchen presents the world premier of a new dance work by dancer and choreographer Tere O'Connor titled The Goodbye Studies, which has 8 p.m. performances Thursday to Saturday (December 3 - 5). Involving 12 New York-based performers, O'Connor's work “promotes complexity as a key feature of consciousness and seeks to fully detach from comprehension as a value” and continues O’Connor’s "decades-long commitment to strictly movement-based investigations." There’s a score by longtime O'Connor collaborator James Baker and lighting and design by Michael O'Connor.
Tickets are $15. No late seating. The Kitchen is located at 512 West 19 Street, New York NY 10011. thekitchen.org.
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3. Coney Island First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum presents an evening of music, talks, performances and more celebrating all things Coney Island on Saturday, December 5 from 5 to 11 p.m. The event, part of the museum’s Target Free First Saturdays series, is tied to the exhibition Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland 1861-2008, on view through March 13, 2016.
Expect different events every hour, including a curator tour and following Q & A on the exhibition led by Robin Jaffee Frank, chief curator of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art; a screening of the 1978 film The Wiz; a book club discussion with photographer Harvey Stein, who speaks on his book of 200 photographs titled Coney Island: 40 Years 1970-2010 (Schiffer Publishing); a performance by Brooklyn-based gypsy band Amour Obscur; and a presentation of BodySpeak, a burlesque performance touching on historical, political and social issues by Brown Girls Burlesque.
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"The Hug: Closed Eyes and Smile" by Harvey Stein, 1982. Digital, inkjet archival print, 13 x 19 inches. Collection of the artist. © Harvey Stein, 2011.
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Also find pop-up gallery talks by museum staff and performances of classic Coney Island sideshow acts curated by Adam Rinn, professor of Sideshow Arts at Coney Island University.
There’s also a screening of the 2015 short film Radiant Presence and a following conversation with Ted Kerr, Shawn Torres, Rusti Miller-Hill, Jawanza Williams about the “use of art and social media in AIDS activism to combat stigma and increase awareness and esteem for people with HIV.” The screening and talk is planned in conjunction with World AIDS Day/Day With(out) Art, which took place on December 1.
Free admission. The Brooklyn Museum is located at 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238. www.brooklynmuseum.org.
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"Coney Island: 40 Years 1970-2010" at the Brooklyn Museum. Photo courtesy the Brooklyn Museum.
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4. A Victorian Christmas Magic-Lantern Show
The Museum of the City of New York presents a 1890s-style magic-lantern show created by The American Magic-Lantern Theater and its director Terry Borton on Sunday, December 6 at 3 p.m. at the museum. The performance incorporates projected color images using antique projection equipment, live music and audience participation. Expect stories by Hans Christian Anderson and holiday carols. The program is presented in conjunction with the museum's exhibition Jacob A. Riis: New York's Other Half and aims to bring alive how people were entertained during the time of Riis, a photojournalist who was also known for giving lectures using lantern slides. The exhibition is on view through March 20, 2016 with additional programming planned.
Tickets are free for members, $12 for adults and $7 for children. The Museum of the City of New York is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10029. www.mcny.org.
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"The Little Match Girl." Image courtesy American Magic-Lantern Theater.
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5. The Metropolitan Opera National Council Holiday Sing-A-Long
Greenwich Village performance space Le Poisson Rouge presents a holiday concert on Sunday, December 6, at 6 and 9 p.m. hosted by The Eastern Region committee of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, which leads the competition to discover new operatic talent with career potential. Expect operatic songs, traditional carols and modern songs sung by competition finalists joined by coloratura soprano Erin Morley. Opera singers Matthew Anchel, Felicia Moore, Brian Michael Moore and Virginie Verrez will also perform. Children encouraged for the 6 p.m. performance.
Tickets are $40, and $30 for standing room only. Le Poisson Rouge is located at 158 Bleecker Street, New York NY 10012. www.lpr.com.
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Soprano Erin Morley. Photo by Carlo Allemano
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"5 Things To Do" event columns for New York City and The Hamptons / East End of Long Island are published weekly on Wednesdays.
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