this week in music

CELEBRATE CHITRA GANESH

Chitra Ganesh (b. 1975, Brooklyn, NY); Dakini Eclipse; 2018; mixed media on paper; 40 x 60 in.; courtesy of the artist

Chitra Ganesh, “Dakini Eclipse,” mixed media on paper, 2018 (courtesy of the artist)

Rubin Museum of Art
West 17th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Friday, May 4, $10-$15, 6:00 – 11:20
Programs continue through June
Exhibitions run through November 4 and January 7
rubinmuseum.org
www.chitraganesh.com

The Rubin Museum is handing over much of its always fascinating programming for May and June to innovative multimedia artist and Brooklyn native Chitra Ganesh, whose “drawing-based practice brings to light narrative representations of femininity, sexuality, and power typically absent from canons of literature and art,” as explained in her artist statement. In February, the Rubin opened Ganesh’s “The Scorpion Gesture,” featuring magical large-scale animated interventions in the “Gateway to Himalayan Art” and “Masterworks” exhibitions, and “Face of the Future,” a fellowship program consisting of new works on paper and collage-based pieces by Ganesh in addition to contributions from emerging artists Maia Cruz Palileo, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Tammy Nguyen, Jagdeep Raina, Sahana Ramakrishnan, Anuj Shrestha, and Tuesday Smillie. On Friday, May 4, Ganesh will be at the museum for “Celebrate Chitra Ganesh: A Night with DJ Rekha, Special Tours, and Performances,” including a dialogue with the art collective BUFU, remarks by Ganesh, docent-led tours of Ganesh’s two shows, a performance by Jacolby Satterwhite (Blessed Avenue), a dance party in the K2 Lounge with DJ Rekha, and a screening of Fred M. Wilcox’s 1956 sci-fi classic, Forbidden Planet, introduced by Ganesh.

Chitra Ganesh will participate in a series of special events at the Rubin Museum (photo courtesy Brooklyn Museum)

Ganesh, a Rubin Museum Future Fellow whose “Eyes of Time” was on view at the Brooklyn Museum in 2015, has also selected the films and speakers for the Cabaret Cinema “Face of the Future” series, which continues May 11 with Gojira (Godzilla) (Ishiro Honda, 1954), introduced by Nguyen; May 18 with Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995), introduced by Ramakrishnan; June 8 with Born in Flames (Lizzie Borden, 1983), introduced by Smillie; and June 22 with Barbarella (Roger Vadim, 1968), introduced by Palileo. In addition, there will be a series of conversations pairing scientific and legal experts with artists and activists, beginning May 9 with “The Future of Feminism” with Linda Sarsour and Ganesh and continuing May 16 with “The Future of Transformation with Qasim Naqvi,” May 23 with “The Future of Evidence” with Alexis Agathocleous and Elizabeth Phelps, May 30 with “The Future of Science Fiction” with Nisi Shawl and the Otolith Group, June 6 with “The Future of #Mood” with Janelle James and Richard Friedman, June 13 with “The Future of Mythology” with Mimi Mondal and Ganesh, June 20 with “The Future of Responsibility” with the Guerrilla Girls and Ganesh, and June 27 with “The Future of Justice” with sujatha baliga and Robert Yazzie.

BROOKLYN MUSEUM FIRST SATURDAY — RADICAL WOMEN: LATIN AMERICAN ART, 1960–1985

Sylvia Palacios Whitman, Passing Through, Sonnabend Gallery, 1977, documentation of performance (photo by Babette Mangolte)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, May 5, free (“David Bowie is” requires advance tickets, $25), 5:00 – 11:00
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

Latin art is the centerpiece of the Brooklyn Museum’s free First Saturday program on May 5. There will be live performances by Batalá New York, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana (Mujeres Valientes), Combo Chimbita, and Jarina De Marco (with visuals by Screaming Horses); a curator tour of “Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960–1985” led by Catherine Morris; a community talk about the Sylvia Rivera Law Project; a hands-on art workshop in which participants can make a mask honoring their cultural heritage; a candle-decorating collage workshop with feminist collective Colectiva Cósmica, featuring a set by Ecuadorian-Lithuanian producer, DJ, and cultural activist Riobamba; screenings of experimental short films by Latin American women filmmakers, hosted by Jesse Lerner; a book-club talk about Marta Moreno Vega’s When the Spirits Dance Mambo; and pop-up gallery talks on “Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960–1985” by teen apprentices. In addition, the galleries will be open late so you can also check out “William Trost Richards: Experiments in Watercolor,” “Arts of Korea,” “Infinite Blue,” “Ahmed Mater: Mecca Journeys,” “A Woman’s Afterlife: Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt,” and more. However, please note that advance tickets are required to see “David Bowie is,” at the regular admission price.

BRIC OPEN: BORDERS

BRIC House exhibit serves as inspiration for four-day free festival on borders (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

BRIC House exhibit serves as inspiration for four-day free festival about borders (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

BRIC House
647 Fulton St., Brooklyn
April 26-29, free (advance RSVP recommended)
718-683-5600
www.bricartsmedia.org

The theme of this year’s BRIC OPEN festival is “Borders,” four days of free programs focusing on borders both real and imagined, physical and ideological. The series is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Bordering the Imaginary: Art from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Their Diasporas,” a collection of sculpture, painting, installation, and video that, in the words of BRIC contemporary art vice president Elizabeth Ferrer, “consider the complicated interrelated histories of two Caribbean countries that share a single island, their tradition of cultural and social exchange, and the social injustices that have long burdened the people of both nations.” The exhibit includes impressive work by Raquel Paiewonsky, Pascal Meccariello, Fabiola Jean-Louis, iliana emilia garcia, Patrick Eugène, and others. “Borders” begins April 26 at 7:00 with “Art Intersecting Politics,” a conversation between Paola Mendoza and Darnell L. Moore, preceded by a spoken-word performance by slam poet Venessa Marco. Friday night’s schedule consists of a concert by Blitz the Ambassador, Lido Pimienta, and the Chamanas (as well as a screening of Blitz’s fifteen-minute film, Diasporadical Trilogia), the ninety-minute walking tour “Borders We Carry” led by Kamau Ware through downtown Brooklyn, an Immigration Action Fair, and Alicia Grullón’s “Empanar!” mobile art project.

On Saturday, there will be a family art-making workshop in which participants can add to a Building Bridges mural; a Greenlight Bookstore pop-up shop; a “Drawn Together” workshop led by “Bordering the Imaginary” artists Vladimir Cybil Charlier, Antonio Cruz, and garcia; Juanli Carrión’s “Memelismos: Memories from the Other Side” participatory storytelling installation; more walking tours; screenings of short films and Jeremy Williams’s On a Knife Edge; the discussions “Reflections on the DACA and the DREAM Act: Erika Harrsch & Yatziri Tovar” and “Haiti-NYC-DR: Reflections from the Diaspora,” the latter with Suhaly Bautista-Carolina, Edward Paulino, Albert Saint Jean, Ibi Zoboi, and moderator Carolle Charles; and a RAGGA x BRIC dance party with DJs Oscar Nñ of Papi Juice, Serena Jara, LSXOXOD, and Neon Christina and a live performance by Viva Ruiz. Sunday features a gallery tour and the closing talk “Biscuits without Borders” by Jess Thorn, aka Touretteshero. In addition, the exhibitions “Under the Same Sky . . . We Dream” by Erika Harrsch and “What time is it there?” by Katie Shima will be on view throughout the festival.

THE ORCHID SHOW: EARTH DAY CELEBRATION

Earth Ball is part of Earth Day festivities at last weekend of the Orchid Show at New York Botanical Garden (photo courtesy NYBG)

The New York Botanical Garden
Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx
April 20-22, $12 children two to twelve, $28 adults ($38 for Orchid Evenings, adults only, 6:30 – 9:30)
718-817-8700
www.nybg.org

The New York Botanical Garden’s 2018 orchid show, featuring installations by Belgian floral artist Daniel Ost, closes this weekend, but not before a flurry of special events in conjunction with Earth Day. On Friday at 11:00 am, Charles Peters will discuss his new book, Managing the Wild: Stories of People and Plants and Tropical Forests, in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, and the Discovery Center at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden will host activities for children from 1:30 to 5:30. Orchid Evenings take place Friday and Saturday night, with specialty cocktails, music by DJ X-RAY, Alice Farley’s Orchid Dancers, and a nighttime viewing of the show. On Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 4:00, there will be a Herbarium Open House in the Steere Herbarium and “The Scientist Is In” booth on Conservatory Plaza. In addition, the fifteen-minute animated film Tree of Life will screen continuously in Ross Hall from 11:00 to 5:00, there will be tours of the conservatory and laboratory and demonstrations of the Hitachi TM4000 PLUS Tabletop Scanning Electron Microscope, and the Earth Ball will be on display on the Conservatory Lawn.

LEONARD BERNSTEIN AT 100: CANDIDE

candide

Who: Paul Appleby, Erin Morley, Patricia Racette, William Burden, John Lithgow, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Mansfield University Concert Choir, more
What: A One-Night-Only Benefit Concert in Celebration of the Bernstein Centennial
Where: Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, 881 Seventh Ave. at 57th St., 212-247-7800
When: Wednesday, April 18, $47-$155 7:00
Why: In celebration of the centennial of the birth of Leonard Bernstein, Carnegie Hall is hosting a one-night-only benefit concert version of Candide, the Maestro’s 1956 musical adaptation of Voltaire’s 1759 satire. The operetta features the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Mansfield University Concert Choir, with Paul Appleby as Candide, Erin Morley as Cunegonde, Patricia Racette as the Old Lady, William Burden as the Governor, Ryan Silverman as Maximilian, Bryonha Marie Parham as Paquette, Glenn Seven Allen and Ross Benoliel as the Inquisitors, and John Lithgow, Voltaire and Dr. Pangloss. The cast also includes the vocal quartet of Christine DiGiallonardo, Andrea Jones-Sojola, David Scott Purdy, and Nathanial Stampley and ensemble dancers Paloma Garcia-Lee, Stephen Hanna, Akina Kitazawa, and Devin Roberts. The book is by Hugh Wheeler, with lyrics by Richard Wilbur and additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman (who wrote the original book), Dorothy Parker, and Bernstein; Bernstein also did the orchestrations with Hershy Kay, with additional orchestrations by John Mauceri. The production is directed by Gary Griffin, with musical direction by conductor Rob Fisher and choreography by Joshua Bergasse. Among the other upcoming “Leonard Bernstein at 100” programs are “Total Embrace” at St. Paul’s Chapel (Thursdays at 1:00 through June 2, free), “Notes from 108th Street” at the Broadway Presbyterian Church on April 19 at 6:00 ($100), the National Children’s Chorus of the United States of America presenting “Prism” at Zankel Hall on April 29 at 3:00 ($46-$89), and the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing “Chichester Psalms” at David Geffen Hall on April 29 at 3:00 ($60-$70).

LIVE IDEAS: RADICAL VISION

“Public Reading on Democracy” at Live Ideas festival features Tamar-kali, Aisha Tandiwe-Bell, Greg Tate, Liz Abzug, and others reading works by Medgar Evers, Ida B. Wells, Muhammad Ali, Shirley Chisholm, Harvey Milk, Bella Abzug, and more

New York Live Arts
219 West 19th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
April 18-22, free – $30
212-924-0077
newyorklivearts.org

The annual Live Ideas festival at New York Live Arts has previously explored the legacies of Dr. Oliver Sacks and James Baldwin, examined social, political, artistic, and environmental issues (curated by Laurie Anderson), and looked into a nonbinary future (curated by Mx Justin Vivian Bond). The five-day 2018 festival, “Radical Vision,” asks such questions as “How do we not simply protect democracy but make it stronger?,” “What are new (radical) ways forward — ways that go to the roots of our current democratic crisis?,” “What is your radical vision of Democracy?,” and “What would you give up to make it real?” New York Live Arts will host live performances, panel discussions, special presentations, and participatory events addressing these issues, kicking things off on April 18 with a gala at Irving Plaza honoring Elizabeth A. Sackler and Bryan Stevenson, with performances by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes, Abby Z and the New Utility, and Esperanza Spalding. The festivities then move to New York Live Arts, with three days of free public readings on democracy, the forum “Bending Towards Justice?,” “The Press + the Resistance,” “By the People?,” and “How Do We Prepare for Trump’s Second Term?,” with such creators and thinkers as Xenobia Bailey, Lawrence Lessig, Alicia Hall Moran, Roger Berkowitz, Emily Johnson, Max Kenner, and Erin Markey. Live Ideas 2018 concludes April 22 at 7:30 ($10) with the Democrazy Ball, with DJ JLMR and performances by Daphne Always and the Dauphine of Bushwick. Below are some of the other highlights of “Radical Vision.”

Wednesday, April 18
Contents Under Pressure: Democracy in Crisis, keynote conversation with Sherrilyn Ifill and Professor Lawrence Lessig, moderated by Bill T. Jones and with an opening performance by mezzo-soprano Alicia Hall Moran with artist and puppeteer Matt Acheson, $15-$30, 6:30

Thursday, April 19
Dahlak Brathwaite: Spiritrials, one-man multidimensional play written by and starring Dahlak Brathwaite, with a score by Brathwaite and Dion Decibels, directed by Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Sean San Jose, $15-$30, 8:00

Friday, April 20
Mike Daisey: The End of Journalism, monologue, $15-$30, 8:00

Saturday, April 21
Zephyr Teachout: Hands-on Politics, workshop with Zephyr Teachout, free with advance RSVP (suggested donation $5-$10), 1:00

Dahlak Brathwaite will perform Spiritrials at New York Live Arts’ Live Ideas festival

Resistance & Friends, with live performances by vocalist and composer Like a Villain (Holland Andrews), singer Joseph Keckler, choreographer and dancer Marguerite Hemmings, drag queen and performance artist Ragamuffin, poet and performer Saul Williams, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, and choreographer and dancer Keely Garfield (Mandala), hosted by drag king Elizabeth (Macha) Marrero, $15-$25, 8:00

Sunday, April 22
Cynthia Hopkins: Learn a Song of Resistance, free with advance RSVP (suggested donation $10), 11:00 am

The Secret Court, staged reading by Abingdon Theatre Company, written by members of the Plastic Theatre and conceived by Tony Speciale, $12-$15, 12:30

Kenyon Adams: Prayers of the People, a secular liturgical performance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” participatory ritual/performance conceived by Kenyon Adams (little ray), directed by Bill T. Jones, featuring Cynthia Hopkins, Padraic Costello, Vinson Fraley, Rebecca L. Hargrove, Walker Jackson, and Adams, $15-$25, 6:00

KINSTILLATORY MAPPINGS IN LIGHT AND DARK MATTER

Emily Johnson is hosting free interdisciplinary fireside gathering on monthly Fridays outdoors at Abrons Arts Center

Abrons Arts Center
466 Grand St. at Pitt St.
April 13, May 25, June 8, and July 24, free, no RSVP necessary
212-598-0400
www.abronsartscenter.org
www.catalystdance.com

Nobody builds an artistic community quite the way Emily Johnson does in her interdisciplinary, immersive works. With her Catalyst company, Johnson, a native Alaskan of Yup’ik descent who is based in Minneapolis and New York, creates unique, multisensory experiences that bond the performers with the audience. For Shore, she led ticket holders on a walk from a public school playground to New York Live Arts, following the path of the old Minetta Creek. For Then a Cunning Voice and a Night We Spend Gazing at Stars, dozens of people came together on Randall’s Island from dusk to dawn, with art, dance, storytelling, cooking, eating, napping, and more. Her latest participatory presentation is Kinstillatory Mappings in Light and Dark Matter, taking place April 13, May 25, June 8, and July 24 from 7:00 to 10:00 in the outdoor amphitheater at Abrons Arts Center. On April 13, the celebratory fireside gathering will feature story and song offerings from Rick Chavolla, Tatyana Tenenbaum, and Georgia Lucas, a look at the stars, and dancing. Admission is free, and no RSVP is necessary. You can bring food, but sharing is up to you. The event will not be held in case of inclement weather. Prepare to be charmed by the effervescent Johnson, whose other works include Niicugni, The Thank-You Bar, Pamela, and Give Me a Story, Tell Me You Love Me.