Onassis Cultural Center NY
Olympic Tower
645 Fifth Ave. at 51st St.
October 8-11
www.onassisfestivalny.org
The Onassis Cultural Center is celebrating its newly renovated home in Midtown with a four-day festival built around the myth of Narcissus. As the Onassis Festival NY website explains, “From psychoanalysis to selfies, the Narcissus myth serves as an emblematic example of the unparalleled influence of Classical antiquity on our culture.” The festivities begin on October 8 with the opening-night presentation (free with advance RSVP) of choreographer Jonah Bokaer and composer Stavros Gasparatos’s specially commissioned Triple Echo, a site-specific work exploring mimesis, with solos by dancers Hristoula Harakas, Sara Procopio, and Callie Nichole Lyons, live percussion by Matt Evans, and recorded vocals by Savina Yannatou. The festival, curated by BAM director of humanities Violaine Huisman, continues through October 11 with more than two dozen free events (most requiring advance registration). Below are some of the highlights; there are also art installations by Lynda Benglis (“Now”), Blind Adam (“Columns”), Andreas Angelidakis (“Mirrorsite”), Jenny Holzer (“You Must Know Where You Stop and the World Begins”), and others, as well as satellite events at BAM and McNally Jackson.
Thursday, October 8
Triple Echo, by Jonah Bokaer and Stavros Gasparatos, featuring Hristoula Harakas, Sara Procopio, Callie Nichole Lyons, Matt Evans, and Savina Yannatou, Onassis Cultural Center Atrium and Gallery, 7:00
Friday, October 9
Narcissus & Art in the Woods: A Lecture with the Bruce High Quality Foundation, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 11:00 am
Narcissus & Fashion, with Sarah Lewis, Konstantin Kakanias, and Mary Katrantzou, moderated by Judith Thurman, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 2:30
Narcissus & Technology, with Zachary Mason and Sree Sreenivasan, moderated by Dominic Rushe, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 5:30
Saturday, October 10
Narcissus & Ballet, with Heléne Alexopoulos and Jennifer Homans, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 11:00 am
Narcissus & Acting, with Paul Giamatti and Vanessa Grigoriadis, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 1:00
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (Jonas Mekas, 2000), part of the BAMcinématek series “Diaries, Notes, and Sketches: Cinematic Autobiography,” BAM Rose Cinemas, $10, 2:00 – 7:20
Narcissus & Song, with Eleanor Friedberger, BAMcafé Live, Lepercq Space, 30 Lafayette Ave., 9:00
Sunday, October 11: Family Day
Narcissus & Space: A Short Film, Moon Mirrors, with filmmakers Sharon Shattuck and Ian Cheney and astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, moderated by Matthew Stanley, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 10:00 am, 12 noon, and 2:00
Tell It Again! with Efi Latifi, Onassis Cultural Center Atrium, 11:15 am & 1:15 pm
Narcissus & Echo, with Benjamin Weiner, Onassis Cultural Center Atrium, 12:15 & 2:15