this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF LIGHT 2019

international day of light

Multiple venues
Thursday, May 16, free
www.lightday.org

Every May 16, UNESCO’s International Day of Light is celebrated around the world, “a global initiative that provides an annual focal point for the continued appreciation of light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy.” There are several events here in New York City, all free. “Art of Light” at the HoloCenter at 352 Canal St. is hosting film screenings and discussion, held in conjunction with the exhibition “Iridescence,” comprising art holograms by Michael Bleyenberg, =Lana Blum, Philippe Boissonnet, Patrick Boyd, Betsy Connors, Pascal Gauchet, Setsuko Ishii, Sam Moree, August Muth, Ray Park, and Fred Unterseher; among the participants are Max Clarke, Eric Leiser, Lindsay Packer, Matthew Schreiber, and Moree, with a showing of Ikuo Nakamura’s 3D Gentle Storm, images of the Aurora Borealis under a G2 magnetic storm, with music by flutist Hayes Greenfield. Appropriately for the International Day of Light, there will be a Flash Mob in Times Square, a live pop-up installation choreographed by Carlos Neto and with cinematography by Jayna Maslechko; if you want to join in, meet up at 6:00 at Valerie at 45 West 45th St.; the event takes place at 8:05 at 47th St. and Broadway. Let there be light!

Harlem EatUp!

Chefs Marcus Samuelsson and JJ Johnson (left) return for the fifth annual Harlem EatUp! Festival (photo courtesy Harlem EatUp!)

Multiple locations in Harlem
May 13-19, free – $250
harlemeatup.com

The fifth annual Harlem EatUp! Festival takes place May 13-19, with dozens of chefs, restaurants, culinary organizations, mixmasters, and artists participating in tastings, dinners, concerts, and more celebrating Harlem culture, hosted by Bevy Smith. Below are only some of the special events happening uptown, with part of the proceeds benefiting Citymeals on Wheels, Historic Harlem Parks, and Harlem Park to Park.

Monday, May 13
Dine in Harlem: BLVD Bistro, hosted by owner Carlos Swepson and guest chef Leah Cohen, $135, 7:00

Tuesday, May 14
Dine in Harlem: FieldTrip, hosted by chef JJ Johnson and guest chef Marc Vetri, $85, 7:00

Wednesday, May 16
Dine in Harlem: Melba’s Restaurant, with owner Melba Wilson and guest chef Jerome Grant and DJ Nas Leber, $100, 7:00

Thursday, May 16
The Harlem EatUp! Annual Luminary Award Dinner, honoring Lana Turner and David N. Dinkins, hosted by chef Marcus Samuelsson and guest chefs Mashama Bailey of the Grey and Emma Bengtsson of Aquavit, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars, and Andre Mack of Maison Noir, with live music by the Rakiem Walker Project, Red Rooster Harlem, $250, 6:30

Saturday, May 18
The EatUp! Main Stage at the Harlem Stroll, with culinary demonstrations and live performances, Morningside Park, free, 12:30 – 5:30

Ultimate Grand Tasting at the Harlem Stroll, featuring participants Alvin Lee Smalls of Lee Lee’s Bakery, Alyah Horsford-Sidberr of Cove Lounge, Angel Grande of Nocciola Ristorante, Antonio Settepani of Settepani, Ashley Dikos and Andrew Martinez of Bo’s Bagels, Carlos Salazar of Rincón Mexicano, Carlos Swepson of BLVD Bistro, Cédric Durand of Tastings Social presents GAUDir, Cédric Durand of Charles’ Country Pan Fried Chicken, Drunken Fruit, Giannina Gutierrez, Harlem Haberdashery, Camaron Fagan of Harlem Tavern, Humberto Guallpa of Row House, Jake Timmons of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Jamaica Tourism Board, Norma Jean Darden of Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread, Jelena Pasic of Harlem Shake, Jessica Spaulding of Harlem Chocolate Factory, Juliet and Justine Masters of the Edge Harlem, Lara Land, Lexis Gonzalez and Dr. Sharon Gonzalez of Lady Lexis Sweets, Leticia “Skai” Young and Raymond Zamanta Mohan of LoLo’s Seafood Shack, Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster Harlem/Ginny’s Supper Club, Matthew Trebek & Nodar Mosiashvili of OSO Harlem, Milton Washington, Melba Wilson of Melba’s Restaurant, Nick Larsen and Petrushka Bazin Larsen of Sugar Hill Creamery, Nocciola, RanDe Rogers of Sisters Caribbean Cuisine, Raymond Weber of CUT by Wolfgang Puck, and Zach Sharaga and Samantha Phillips of Dear Mama, adults only, Morningside Park, $85, 12:30 – 5:30

Saturday, May 18
and
Sunday, May 19
The Marketplace at the Harlem Stroll, with more than two dozen food vendors, a kids’ zone, demonstrations, live performances, and more, Morningside Park, free, 12:30 – 5:30

Sunday, May 19
The EatUp! Main Stage at the Harlem Stroll, with DJ Stormin’ Norman, David Burtka, JJ Johnson of FieldTrip/Henry by JJ, Marcus Samuelsson, Neil Patrick Harris, Scott Conant of Cellaio Steak, Karl Franz Williams of Solomon & Kuff Rum Hall, Charles Gabriel of Charles’ Country Pan Fried Chicken, Johnny Mambo & Friends, Vy Higginson’s Sing Harlem Choir, and more, Morningside Park, free, 12:30 – 5:30

Ultimate Grand Tasting at the Harlem Stroll, featuring participants Aliyyah Baylor of Make My Cake, Amie Kiros of Piatto d’Oro, Andrew LoPresto of Bar314, Antonio Settepani of Settepani, Aromas Boutique Bakery, Camaron Fagan of Harlem Tavern, Carlos Salazar of Rincón Mexicano, Carlos Swepson of BLVD Bistro, Chris Pollok of Bier International, Davie Simmons of Uptown Veg & Juice Bar, Dear Mama, Drunken Fruit, Greedy Pot, Harlem Haberdashery, Humberto Guallpa of Row House, Jamaica Tourism Board, Jessica Spaulding of Harlem Chocolate Factory, Julian Medina of La Chula Harlem, Kenichi Tajima of Tastings Social presents Mountain Bird, Lara Land, Leon Johnson, Lexis Gonzalez and Dr. Sharon Gonzalez of Lady Lexis Sweets, Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, Betty Campbell-Adams of Maison Harlem, Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster Harlem/Ginny’s Supper Club, Mark Rosati of Shake Shack, Neca Bryan of Kingston Restaurant & Bar, Norma Jean Darden of Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread, RanDe Rogers of Sisters Caribbean Cuisine, Yohey Horishita, and Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin of Lion Lion, adults only, Morningside Park, $85, 12:30 – 5:30

COMPASSIONATE ACTION: THE HEALING POWER OF TELLING YOUR STORY

Jamia Wilson, Lisa Weinert, and Kate Johnson will come together for Compassionate Action at the Rubin on May 15 (photos by Aubrie Pick, Renee Choi, Filip Wolak)

Who: Kate Johnson, Jamia Wilson, Lisa Weinert
What: Thought Party (“mindfulness of thinking”) and Group Journaling
Where: Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave., 212-620-5000
When: Wednesday, May 15, $25 (use discount code CA20 to save $5), 7:00
Why: On May 15, Feminist Press executive director Jamia Wilson, Narrative Healing founder Lisa Weinert, and meditation teacher Kate Johnson will gather at the Rubin Museum for the latest installment of Compassionate Action, a series of interactive events with artists, healers, and others that will help guide participants in strengthening their skills and making a difference in the ever-more-challenging contemporary world. The evening’s theme is “Thought Party (‘mindfulness of thinking’) and Group Journaling” and will include a mindful contemplation meditation, a conversation about how stories can lead to healing, and an activity to find your voice and express it, as we all have stories to tell and to hear. Co-created and hosted by Johnson, Compassionate Action continues Wednesdays in May and June with such other programs as “Pleasure, Power, and Sexual Liberation” with Lama Rod Owens and Johnson, “The Power of Hope in a Changing Climate” with Ibrahim Abdul-Matin and Jungwon Kim, and “Joy, Rigor, and the Power of Wise Masculinity” with Bobbito Garcia and Johnson.

ARUNDHATI ROY: THE ARTHUR MILLER FREEDOM TO WRITE LECTURE

Arundhati Roy will deliver the Arthur Miller lecture at PEN America World Voices Festival (photo by Mayank Austen Soofi)

Who: Arundhati Roy, Siddhartha Deb
What: The Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, PEN America World Voices Festival
Where: Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th St.
When: Sunday, May 12, $30-$65, 6:00
Why: The fifteenth annual PEN World Voices Festival comes to a close in New York City on May 12 with Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy delivering the prestigious Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, the keynote event of the weeklong celebration of the written word, which seeks to “broaden channels of dialogue between the United States and the world.” The Indian screenwriter, essayist, novelist, and activist is the author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness; her collection of essays, My Seditious Heart, is coming out in June. She will be speaking about “the defense of the collective, of the individual, and of the land, in the face of the destructive logic of financial, social, religious, military, and governmental elites”; the talk will be followed by a Q&A with Indian writer and professor Siddhartha Deb. Among the other events this weekend are “Secrets and Lives” with Boris Kachka, Dani Shapiro, and Bridgett M. Davis, “The Art of Violence” with Rodrigo Rey Rosa, Tommy Orange, and Mohammed Hanif, “Women Uninterrupted” with Jennifer Egan, Inês Pedrosa, and Elif Shafak, and the free debate “A Question of Justice” at the Center for Social Innovation.

JEAN-CLAUDE CARRIÈRE: YOYO / HEREUX ANNIVERSAIRE

All the wealth in the world can’t make a lonely millionaire (Pierre Étaix) happy in Yoyo

YOYO (Pierre Étaix, 1965) / HEREUX ANNIVERSAIRE (Pierre Étaix & Jean-Claude Carrière, 1962)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Thursday, May 9, 4:30, and Wednesday, May 15, 7:00
Series runs May 9 – June 16
www.moma.org

French auteur Pierre Étaix’s strange and beautiful films were long inaccessible, the subject of nearly two decades of legal wrangling, but on May 9 and 15, MoMA will be presenting his 1965 bittersweet black-and-white slapstick charmer, Yoyo, as part of its “Jean-Claude Carrière” series, celebrating the screenwriter and master collaborator who worked with such legends as Luis Buñuel, Louis Malle, Miloš Forman, Jean-Luc Godard, Andrzej Wajda, Nagisa Oshima, and Peter Brook; the eighty-seven-year-old Carrière will introduce the May 9 screening. (In April 2010, Étaix was finally able to once again bring his films to the public, his entire output restored and making their New York debut at a festival at Film Forum in October 2012.) Étaix, who wrote Yoyo with Carrière, stars as a ridiculously wealthy but extremely bored man who lives alone in an ornately decorated, absurdly large chateau. It’s 1925, and he has servants for absolutely everything, as well as his own private band and flappers, but he pines for his lost love, Isolina (Claudine Auger). One day she arrives with a traveling circus, along with a young boy (Philippe Dionnet) who turns out to be his son. She at first rejects the multimillionaire, but when he loses it all on Black Tuesday, the three of them form their own traveling circus, with the boy ultimately turning into a popular clown named Yoyo (played as an adult by Étaix) and seeking to restore the chateau and his family.

French auteur Pierre Étaix takes clowning around very seriously in rediscovered classic

The first section of the film is a glorious homage to the silent film era and other cinematic comedians, with Étaix evoking his mentor, Jacques Tati; Charlie Chaplin; Buster Keaton; and, later, Jerry Lewis, with whom he’d appear as Gustav the Great in Lewis’s never-to-be-seen Holocaust film The Day the Clown Died. Nouvelle Vague cinematographer Jean Boffety (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge; Je t’aime, je t’aime) shoots Yoyo in a sharp, gorgeous black-and-white, composing breathtaking shots that boast a dazzling symmetry that must make Wes Anderson giddy with delight, while Étaix fills the film with ingenious sight gags that would make Ernie Kovacs proud (just wait till you see the supposed still-life painting), all anchored by Jean Paillaud’s memorable musical theme. But once the stock market crashes and talkies take over, dialogue enters the picture, and the camera is often off balance, the perfect symmetry a thing of the past. With Yoyo, Étaix, who had previously made Le Soupirant and would go on to make The Great Love and En pleine forme, was influenced by the sudden, tragic death of his father, his love of the circus — he had already worked under the big tent, and he would leave films to become a clown in a traveling circus in the early 1970s — and his viewing of Fellini’s 8½ (look for the La Strada poster) resulting in a film that sometimes gets a little lost and too surreal, but he ultimately brings things back around as Yoyo grows into a star and the story travels through the arc of twentieth-century entertainment, from the silent era to talkies to television. Truffaut called it “a beautiful film in which I loved every shot and every idea, and which taught me many things about movies.”

Pierre Étaix and Jean-Claude Carrière’s Heureux Anniversaire kicks off Carrière festival at MoMA with Yoyo

It’s a real treat that Étaix’s work is undergoing this rediscovery; lovers of Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist will particularly enjoy Yoyo, which is being shown with Heureux Anniversaire, Étaix and Carrière’s deliriously funny black-and-white short that won the 1963 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Subject. As a woman (Laurence Lignières) prepares a special anniversary dinner at home, her husband (Étaix) gets trapped in all kinds of craziness as he desperately tries to make it home in time, but the traffic and parking gods are against him. Hysterical slapstick ensues virtually without dialogue, like a classic silent film with a wacky score. And you’ll never be able to look at Mr. Bean the same way again. “Jean-Claude Carrière” runs May 9 to June 16 and includes such other works Carrière wrote and/or directed as Philip Kaufman’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Godard’s Every Man for Himself, Buñuel’s The Phantom of Liberty, and Wajda’s Danton, with Carrière introducing several screenings.

AI: ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH FOR THE BRAVE NEW WORLD?

live ideas

LIVE IDEAS 2019
New York Live Arts
219 West 19th St.
May 8-12, $10-$20
newyorklivearts.org

New York Live Arts’ seventh annual Live Ideas humanities festival explores artificial intelligence with five days of art, dance, discussion, music, lectures, and more, asking the question “AI: Are You Brave Enough for the Brave New World?” Inaugurated in 2013, the festival previously focused on Dr. Oliver Sacks and James Baldwin; social, political, artistic, and environmental issues; a nonbinary future; and strengthening democracy. Among those participating in the 2019 edition are Bill T. Jones, Nick Hallett, Yuka C Honda, Scorpion Mouse, Kyle McDonald, Patricia Marx, and Eunsu Kang, delving into technological dreaming, coding, mental illness, drones, and the truth. Tickets for most events are between ten and twenty dollars; below are some of the highlights.

Wednesday, May 8
What Is AI?, keynote/performance with Nick Hallett, Meredith Broussard, Patricia Marx, Baba Israel, and Ragamuffin, $15, 6:00

Wednesday, May 8
through
Saturday, May 11
Rhizomatiks Research X ELEVENPLAY X Kyle McDonald: discrete figures, performed on stage designed for interactivity between performers, drones, and AI, $36-$45, 8:00

Thursday, May 9
Future of Work, panel discussion with Arun Sunderarajan, Matthew Putman, Carrie Gleason, Madeleine Clare Elish, and moderator Ritse Erumi, $20, 6:00

Rational Numbers: Music and AI, performance by Yuka C Honda and Angélica Negrón, $10, 9:00

Friday, May 10
Does Truth Need Defending?, panel discussion with Ambika Samarthya-Howard, Hilke Schellmann, Jeff Smith, and moderator Malika Saada Saar, $10, 6:00

Algorave: LiveCode.NYC, rave featuring AI experiments and live performances by Scorpion Mouse, CIBO + Ulysses Popple, Colonel Panix + nom de nom, ioxi + Zach Krall, and Codie, $10, 9:00

Rhizomatiks Research, ELEVENPLAY, and Kyle McDonald collaborate on interactive performance piece discrete figures (photo by Tomoya Takeshita )

Saturday, May 11
Symposium: AI x ART, including “Body, Movement, Language: AI Sketches” with Bill T. Jones, “Between Science & Speculation: Technological Dreaming” with Ani Liu, “AI in Performance: Making discrete figures” with Kyle McDonald, “Yes, AI CAN help you develop a new relationship with your audience” with Dr. Brett Ashley Crawford, “Livecoding Traversals through Sonic Spaces” with Jason Levine, “GANymedes: Art with AI” with Eunsu Kang, “Emergent Storytelling with Artificial Intelligence” with Rachel Ginsberg, and “Creating in the Age of AI” with Ani Liu, Dr. Brett Ashley Crawford, Eunsu Kang, Kyle McDonald, and Bill T. Jones, $15, 4:30

Sunday, May 12
Class: How to Question Technology, Or, What Would Neil Postman Say?, with Lance Strate, $15, 1:30

HACK-ART-THON: ACT LABS, “Breaking the Stigma Around Mental Illness,” prototype presentation, jury deliberation, and award ceremony, with Katy Gero & Anastasia Veron, Artyom Astafurov & Beth Graczyk, Jennifer Ding & Dominika Jezewska, Ishaan Jhaveri & Esther Manon Siddiquie, Keely Garfield & Cynthia Hua, Keira Heu-Jwyn Chang & Nia Laureano, Jared Katzman & Rachel Kunstadt, and Marco Berlot & Zeelie Brown, free with advance RSVP, 6:30

WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL 2019

World Science Festival kicks off with theatrical production written by Brian Greene

Multiple venues
May 22 – June 2, free – $100
www.worldsciencefestival.com

Tickets are now on sale for the twelfth annual World Science Festival, as many of the globe’s finest minds gather at the NYU Skirball Center, John Jay College, Lincoln Center, Washington Square Park, and other venues to discuss the state of the planet, the universe, and ourselves, in lectures, panel discussions, workshops, multimedia presentations, and theatrical performances. This year, boasting the theme “Awaken Your Inner Genius,” features celebrations of the centennial of the confirmation of Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing. Some of the events have already sold out, so you better act quick; below are a dozen highlights, including an evening science sail.

Wednesday, May 22
Light Falls: Space, Time, and an Obsession of Einstein, theatrical piece with Brian Greene, Francesca Faridany, Michael Winther, Joanna Kaczorowska, Brian Avers, and Drew Dollaz, written by Greene, designed by 59 Productions, and directed by Scott Faris, with music by Jeff Beal, Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, $45-$85, 7:00

Wednesday, May 29
Big Ideas — The Right Stuff: What It Takes to Boldly Go, with Miles O’Brien, Michael Collins, Scott Kelly, and Leland Melvin, NYU Skirball Center, $20-$100, 7:00

Big Ideas: We Will Be Martians, with Kim Binsted, Yvonne Cagle, and Ellen Stofan, NYU Skirball Center, $20-$100, 8:00

Thursday, May 30
Big Ideas — Revealing the Mind: The Promise of Psychedelics, with Alison Gopnik, Stephen Ross, and Anil Seth, Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, $20-$100, 8:00

Friday, May 31
Big Ideas — Making Room for Machines: Getting Ready for AGI, with Garry Kasparov, Yann LeCun, Hod Lipson, and Shannon Vallor, Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, $20-$100, 8:00

Astronauts Michael Collins, Scott Kelly, and Leland Melvin will discuss the Right Stuff at World Science Festival

Saturday, June 1
The Great Fish Count, multiple locations in all five boroughs, free (advance RSVP encouraged,) 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Women in Science: Lab Tours for Girls, with Chiye Aoki, Shara Bailey, Daniela Buccella, Catherine Hartley, Lara K. Mahal, Wendy Suzuki, and Alexandra Zidovska, NYU Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, free with advance registration, 1:00

Big Ideas — Rethinking Thinking: How Intelligent Are Other Animals?, with Faith Salie, Simon Garnier, Frank Grasso, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, and Denise Herzing, NYU Skirball Center, $20-$100, 4:00

Scientific Sails: Evening Sail, with Denise Herzing, aboard the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 5, $65, 7:00

Big Ideas: The Richness of Time, with Brian Greene, Lera Boroditsky, and Dean Buonomano, NYU Skirball Center, $20-$100, 8:00

Sunday, June 2
City of Science, Washington Square Park, free (advance RSVP encouraged), 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Science and Storytime, with Jennifer Swanson, Rachel Dougherty, Brian Floca, Bruce Goldstone, Ruth Spiro, and Lily Xu, NYU Kimmel Center, Commuter Lounge, free (advance RSVP encouraged), 11:00 am – 4:30 pm