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free things to do in New York City
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Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City! Read More
New York attracts world's best minds to its shores: they come here to interact with each other at conferences and seminars, and while they are here they are often invited to give a talk, a lecture, to be a part of a public discussion. We at Club Free Time give you an opportunity to be a part of it: to watch how those best minds in the world work! Don't miss the opportunities that only New York City (NYC) provides!
Join the Club!
The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.
So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.
So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
100 free talks, lectures, discussions in New York City (NYC) Wed, 09/23/2026 - and on...
In New York City, you can talk with and listen to the best minds in the world without spending a dime! Just take a look at free talks, lectures, discussion, seminars, conferences listed on this page below!
Discussion | Diplomats & Climate Experts Dicuss the Future of the UN's Paris Climate Agreement
A conversation with Laurence Tubiana and Alexis Abramson, moderated by M. Sanjayan. The Paris Climate Agreement was unanimously adopted by 194 countries in 2015 against considerable odds. The Agreement set an ambitious goal of limiting the global average temperature increase to well below 2?C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to restrict the increase to 1.5?C. The United States, a major force in the successful ratification of the Accord, has since pulled out of the agreement twice, most recently in January 2026. Please review the venue's access requirements.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 23
12:00 pm
free, registration required
12:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Book Launch: Vanity Fair-Featured Writer's New Memoir
Downhill is Juana Libedinsky’s account of a couple of terrible years, told with the sharp eye of a seasoned reporter and a signature dry humor that surfaces in unexpected places. Woven throughout are reflections on the writers who sustained her through interminable hospital stays and the logistical ropes course of caregiving: Joan Didion on grief, Jorge Luis Borges on memory, Abraham Verghese on the orderly nature of tennis. Their voices form a kind of chorus, grounding Juana as she—and we—are reminded of the transcendental and practical powers of reading.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 23
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Critic Discusses His New Biography/Memoir/Cultural History Book, The Death of the Clinic (In Person AND Online!)
To mark the launch The Death of the Clinic: Radical Experiments in the Art of Medicine, author Benoit Loiseau discusses the book with Emily Apter. Weaving together biography, memoir and cultural history, The Death of the Clinic is a groundbreaking exploration of five experimental clinics in recent Western history: a sex clinic housed in a stately mansion in Weimar Berlin; a preventive health centre in pre-NHS London; a post-war institute of psychiatry in a French chateau; a feminist health centre in 1970s Geneva; and a grassroots research initiative run by and for people with AIDS in New York. Each of these clinics emerged in response to seismic political shifts and era-defining global events. Yet at their heart lie the stories of extraordinary individuals who dared to reimagine how we care for one another. Reframing Michel Foucault's seminal book, Loiseau's The Death of the Clinic is a radical invitation to rethink the clinic - not as a fixed institution but as a living, evolving practice rooted in care, resistance, and collective imagination.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 23
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Book Discussion | Musicians Discuss New Memoir from Infuential Electronic Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto
A celebration of the life and legacy of a renowned musician and composer. A panel conversation with Arto Lindsay, Dedekind Cut, and Sam Bett to celebrate the release of the candid memoir of one of the world's most influential electronic composers. The conversation will be moderated by Sasha Frere-Jones, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 23
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Quiet Reading Meet Up
Bring a book or check one out of the library to read to yourself for one hour. After that, spend an hour socializing with those around you!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 23
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Author Discussion on Autofiction Novel Finalist for the 75th National Jewish Book Awards
Author Sam Sussman in conversation with author Julian Tepper for a special evening celebrating the paperback release of Boy from the North Country. At the heart of Boy from the North Country is a question that confronts us all: How well can we ever know the people who made us? Through the story of a young man returning home to care for his dying mother, Sussman’s acclaimed debut explores family secrets, the search for identity, the burden and gift of inheritance, and the ways love can persist through grief, uncertainty, and time. The conversation examines the novel’s central themes of memory, loss, healing, and forgiveness, as well as the profound relationship between parents and children. Sussman will discuss the stories families tell, the stories they conceal, and the role of fiction in helping us understand both. The evening also explores the creative process behind transforming deeply personal questions into a work of resonant and emotionally powerful literature.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 23
6:30 pm
$5, RSVP required
6:30 pm
$5, RSVP required
Lecture | Environmental Artist Discusses Artworks & the Climate Crisis
Artist Sarah Cameron Sunde will lead a panel on public art and climate change. They will discuss the role of art, rituals, and listening in preparing for extreme weather events, and how they can reveal invisible infrastructure all around us. Sunde is an interdisciplinary environmental artist and a cofounder of the Works on Water Triennial.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 23
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Wed, Sep 23
7:00 pm
Regular: $40
Member: $0
7:00 pm
Regular: $40
Member: $0
Join the Club!
Talk | Network Science Expert Discusses Modern Architectural History & Visual Journey of Networks
In this talk, Albert-László Barabási will chart the 25-year odyssey of BarabásiLab in crafting the visual lexicon of networks and connectivity. He will focus on their recent monumental project for the 2024 Venice Architecture Biennale, which charts 50 years of architectural history. Dr. Barabási is the Robert Gray Professor of Network Science at Northeastern University. He has exhibited at galleries all over the U.S and Europe and recently co-designed the opening experience for the Biennale Architettura di Venezia.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 23
7:00 pm
free, registration required
7:00 pm
free, registration required
Forum | Creative Climate Activism Promoting a Sustainable Future (Panels, Workshops, Nature Walks, & More)
An all-day forum of art, panels, and workshops on urgent creative responses to the climate crisis. This event welcomes artists, youth, educators, community members, advocates, and anyone ready to explore creative tools, build new connections, and take action for a more just and sustainable future. Through performances, panels, workshops, and immersive installations, participants activate the power of imagination and collaboration to respond to the climate crisis—together. What to Expect:
Live Performances with climate artivists
Powerful panels on fast response and systemic change
Workshops on climate storytelling, justice, care, and community mobilization
Morning and afternoon nature walks with climate leaders
An all-day immersive Climate Action Room featuring interactive installations
A vibrant networking celebration to end the day
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
9:00 am
free, tickets required
9:00 am
free, tickets required
Gallery Talk | Explore Notions of Orientalism in Arty History at a Landmark Museum
Hear from curators of the exhibition Orientalism: Between Fact and Fantasy to explore notions of "the East" in 19th century art, when globalism, shaped by colonialism and imperialism, fueled unprecedented encounters, connections, and exchanges in Europe and the Middle East. Gain a deeper understanding of how Islamic works of art made their way to European dealers, collectors, international expositions, and museums, introducing a new visual language to artists, architects, and designers. Take a closer look at featured exhibition objects from 12 museum departments along with rarely seen loans from the U.S. and abroad, spanning from easel paintings to drawings, photographs, illustrated books, architecture, arms and armor, textiles, garments, glassware, ceramics, and metalwork.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
3:00 pm
free with museum...
3:00 pm
free with museum...
Book Club | Book Club: Modern Japanese Classic
Discuss Runaway Horses by Yukio Mishima! The second novel in the tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility, narrated by a judge in Osaka who believes he has met the successive reincarnation of his childhood friend, Kiyoaki Matsugae.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
4:30 pm
free, no reservation required
4:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Book Launch: People Positive (Book Signing & Discussion)
Author Gayathri Unnikrishnan for the NYC discussion of her new book during Climate Week NYC—a warm, high-energy evening exploring the human side of climate action, architecture, and sustainability. At the center of the evening is a one-night conversation with Stephen Bruno, former Park Avenue doorman and author of the acclaimed memoir Building Material. Together, they will explore the people behind our buildings, whose experiences count as evidence, and how human impact can be measured with the same seriousness as cost and carbon. Expect a warm, lively evening with sharp ideas, funny stories, audience questions, drinks, snacks, a book signing, and time to connect with people working across climate and the built environment.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
5:00 pm
free, RSVP required
5:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Discussion | Former French Ambassador Discusses His Life & Career (In Person AND Online!)
Philippe Étienne will present his memoir, Le Sherpa, in an English-language conversation with La Maison Française of NYU Advisory Board Chair Guy Sorman. Together, they will explore four decades of front-line global diplomacy, offering rare behind-the-scenes insights into transatlantic relations, European crises, and high-stakes negotiations at the pinnacle of international power.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Lecture | Learn about the Rich Lineages of Bharatanatyam Indian Classical Dance
Rama Vaidyanathan presents a lecture demonstration on this traditional dance. Rama Vaidyanathan represents the convergence of two rich Bharatanatyam lineages - one through Guru Yamini Krishnamurthi, and the other through Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan. This dual tradition forms the foundation of Rama’s unique style, which balances classical authenticity with artistic freedom. Rama has redefined Bharatanatyam by blending classical precision with expansive spiritual inquiry. Her evocative choreographies - abstract, yet deeply grounded- transform dance into a medium for exploring universal consciousness and inner transformation.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Museum Curator Shares His New Book, Andrew Wyeth: The Masterworks (+ Signing)
William L. Coleman celebrates his book, a monograph chronicling Wyeth's artistic legacy across seven decades. He will be in conversation with Stephanie Herdrich, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Where Artisan Meets Story: A Conversation with Fashion Industry Legend Paul Tazewell
Join a conversation with acclaimed costume designer Paul Tazewell and bestselling author and former Editor-in-Chief of Ebony, Harriette Cole. Tazewell is a multidisciplinary artist who has designed the Oscar-winning costumes for Wicked, as well as West Side Story and The Wiz Live! On Broadway. His groundbreaking work on Hamilton, Death Becomes Her, and Suffs has earned him multiple Tony Awards and nominations. Tazewell's current work centers on storytelling and spans product design, interiors, publishing, and architecture. With upcoming projects across fashion, home, and media, he continues to reimagine what it means to design with intention in the digital age.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
6:00 pm
free, registration required...
6:00 pm
free, registration required...
Book Discussion | New York Times Journalist Celebrates Work of Weimar "Culture Pope"
Ralph Blumenthal discusses Alfred Kerr's work as a Weimar author in exile. Alfred Kerr was an influential writer and journalist before the Nazis seized power and subsequently declared him a target for his criticism of the party. In celebration of the publication of New York and London: A Journey After the Great War by Alfred Kerr, Ralph Blumenthal will discuss Kerr's travelogue. As he explored the U.S. and Britain after the First World War, Kerr reflected on the Weimar Republic's struggle for democracy as he searched for help and understanding amongst his mew interlocutors.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
6:30 pm
free, tickets required
6:30 pm
free, tickets required
Book Discussion | New York Times-Columnist Shares His New Biography on Literary Icon Judy Blume
Mark Oppenheimer pulls back the curtain to reveal the woman behind the icon, and the unlikely journey of her literary ascension, in this "vibrant, authoritative account" (Wall Street Journal). For fifty-five years, Judy Blume's work has rewired the world's expectation of what literature for young people can be--frank, candid, earthy, and unafraid to show the messier sides of humanity. Pen America cites Blume's titles among "the fifty-two most banned books" of recent years. Blume's novels --including Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great; Forever...; and Summer Sisters--have touched the lives of millions of adults and children.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Sep 24
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Humanities Scholar Shares His New Book Exploring NYC in the 20s
Jonathan Ezra Goldman, James Joyce Society President and Professor at New York Tech, provides a fresh look at 1920s New York City in this conversation with recent Manhattan Borough Historian Robert Snyder. Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New York offers a fresh look at 1920s New York City, unearthing stories of everyday life and marginalized communities. In sections that intertwine entertainment, politics, art, technology, crime, shopping, eating, and recreation, the book portrays sweeping events such as the Harlem Renaissance, Prohibition, and immigration reform through anecdotes of individual experiences that counter the era's popular conceptions of ballooning wealth and uproarious celebration.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Sep 25
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | MoMA & Metropolitan Museum of Art-Featured Photographer Shares Her Two Latest Books (+ Signing)
Andrea Modica on her wide-ranging photographic career and how to balance observation, distance, and intimacy in photography. She celebrates her newest monograph, Italian Story, a meditation on her 40 year relationship with Italy, as well as Catholic Girl, her first monograph of large-format platinum-palladium print portraits. She will be in conversation with Vince Aletti, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Sep 25
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Fashion Historian Shares Her New Book on the Evolution of Gilded Age Wardrobe
Author Raissa Bretana shares her new book, Fashion of the Gilded Age. It's an in-depth look at the evolution of the fashionable silhouettes from 1870 to 1910, along with the cultural context and customs of etiquette surrounding dress during this dynamic period in American history. Raissa Bretana has hosted a video series for Glamour, and appeared as a guest on Follow the Thread for Turner Classic Movies and HBO Max. She currently works at the Museum at FIT and is the author of Shoes (2021) and co-author of Moxie: The Daring Women of Classic Hollywood (2024). Nothing embodied the resplendence of the Gilded Age like the opulent fashions worn by the women of elite society. With their well-appointed wardrobes, they achieved social prominence by ensuring they were elegantly and appropriately dressed for every luncheon, reception, promenade, and ball. It was an era marked by an increasingly style-conscious public, shaped by the expanding fashion press that reported on both the couture houses of Paris's Rue de la Paix and the department stores of New York's Ladies' Mile.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Sep 25
7:00 pm
free, registration required
7:00 pm
free, registration required
Gallery Talk | Oil Painter Discusses Her New Multi-Figure Compositions& the Broad Spectrum of Human Connections
Artist Yooyeon Nam and moderator Nuohan Jiang have an artist talk on the exhibition Stray Gravity. Nam will discuss expanding her practice into multi-figure compositions through original characters, tracing a broad spectrum of human connections — from immediate, intimate relationships to a quiet empathy for unknown strangers across history. The conversation unpacks her noseless figures inspired by Korean Buddhist sculpture, wings as markers of vulnerability and solidarity, and her vibrant palette with dense spatial layering. The talk will be followed by an open Q&A.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Sep 26
2:00 pm
free, RSVP required
2:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Book Club | Korean Book Club: Nobel Prize WInning Writer's Novel, Human Acts
A special book club meeting celebrating Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, with a discussion of Korean literature in English translation. The group will discuss Human Acts by Han Kang, exploring the novel’s historical and cultural context. Book synopsis: The novel draws upon the democratization uprising that occurred on 18 May 1980, in Gwangju, Korea. In the novel, one boy's death provides the impetus for a dimensional look into the Gwangju Uprising and the lives of the people in that city.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Sep 26
2:30 pm
free, registration required
2:30 pm
free, registration required
Gallery Talk | Scenes of Becoming: Multimedia Solo Exhibition Exploring Memory, Migration, Identity, & Beginning Again (Artist Talk)
A new exhibition bringing together seven mixed-media works and an original accompanying song, Now or Never, the exhibition considers the moments—both visible and unseen—that shape a life. Artist Huey-Min Chuang's work moves between memory and imagination, migration and belonging, absence and presence, asking what happens in the spaces between who we were, who we are, and who we are still becoming. The exhibition approaches the gallery as a kind of film set. Each artwork becomes a scene: a fragment of a larger story whose beginning may have already happened and whose ending has yet to be written. The works invite viewers to consider their own unwritten scenes—the places they have left, the people they have carried with them, the identities they have inherited or reinvented, and the possibilities that emerge when they choose to move forward.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Sep 26
3:00 pm
free, RSVP required
3:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Talk | Artist AA Bronson, Member of General Idea, Interviewed by Curator
The seminal Canadian artist trio General Idea played parodically and subversively with the mass media and popular culture, never more so than in the early 1990s when they appropriated Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” to indelibly spell “AIDS” and “infe©ted” modernist icons such as Rietveld chairs and Mondrian paintings by altering their color schemes. AA Bronson, the group’s surviving member speaks about General Idea’s trajectory and work and its keen interest in “viral” images. Since the end of General Idea in 1994, Bronson has embarked upon an acclaimed career as a solo artist and shamanic healer. Interviewer: Adam Welch, Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Ontario, and Curator of the 2022 General Idea retrospective.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Sep 26
3:00 pm
free, no reservation required
3:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Learn the History of NYC's Bowery
An illustrated talk about the Bowery, the oldest street in Manhattan! Author David Mulkins will also be signing his book, The Bowery: A Pictorial History. Special guest: Harpist/vocalist Christina Britton.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Sep 26
3:00 pm
free, no reservation required
3:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Talk | Architectural Historian Discusses the Design & Construction of NYC's Historical Buildings
A talk by Francis R. Kowsky, a leading authority on the Jefferson Market Courthouse (now library), and an expert on our building's architects: Calvert Vaux and Frederick Clarke Withers, in cooperation with the Calvert Vaux Preservation Alliance (CVPA). Learn about the celebrated Gilded Age careers of architect Frederick Clarke Withers and architect/landscape designer Calvert Vaux, co-designer of Central Park. Also find out about restoration efforts underway at The Point, the landmark Hudson Valley estate in Staatsburg, NY, designed by Vaux for the Hoyt family in 1855!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sun, Sep 27
2:00 pm
free, registration required
2:00 pm
free, registration required
Gallery Talk | Curator & Writer Discuss the Legacy of Johannes Vermeer at a Landmark Museum
It's thought that only around thirty-five paintings by the Dutch Golden Age artist survive in the entire world. Of these, five are at this museum--more than at any other museum. Explore the beloved 17th-century Dutch painter in a talk with curator Adam Eaker and writer Ruth Bernard Yeazell, author of Vermeer's Afterlives. Vermeer's works at this museum trace his artistic developments, from early explorations to refined mastery. Though his masterpieces are famous today, Vermeer virtually dropped out of sight after his death in 1675, remaining relatively obscure until the end of the 19th century. Gain insight into the rise of this extraordinary painter and the ways in which Vermeer's captivating art has been interpreted through the centuries.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sun, Sep 27
2:00 pm
free with museum...
2:00 pm
free with museum...
Discussion | Art Scholars Discuss the Relationship between Florine Stettheimer & Georgia O’Keeffe (In Person AND Online!)
Barbara Bloemink (lead scholar of the forthcoming Florine Stettheimer Catalogue Raisonné Project) and Barbara Buhler Lynes (Georgia O’Keeffe: Catalogue Raisonné) in a conversation moderated by renowned journalist Julia Halperin. Florine Stettheimer and Georgia O’Keeffe are prominent American women modern artists. As friends, they exhibited widely in galleries and museums — and were highly admired by curators and art critics during the first half of the 20th century. Their approaches to artmaking, however, are remarkably different. Bloemink and Lynes will discuss the artists’ relationship, how they controlled their public image, how their work differs and yet reveals a mutual interest in simultaneity, and more. This event will also call attention to published and forthcoming catalogues raisonnés that document all known works by Stettheimer and O’Keeffe.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sun, Sep 27
3:00 pm
free...
3:00 pm
free...
Book Discussion | Rock Steady Crew Dancer Shares His New Book, Rock Steady for Life: Bringing Breakdancing to the World (+ Signing)
A conversation with Richard ("Crazy Legs") Colón to celebrate his new book, a one-of-a-kind illustrated look at the dancing collective that brought breaking and breakdancing into the light. He will be in conversation with D-stroy, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Sep 28
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | New York Times Reporter Shares Her New Book on AI in American Classrooms + Expert Panel
Explore how AI's role in classrooms is being shaped in New York City and beyond with Coding Kids author Natasha Singer and other panelists at this discussion presented by the research and policy institute Data & Society. This is a pivotal year for shaping the role AI will play in American classrooms. Around the country, states have already begun distributing AI products across school districts, and this school year, New York City’s Department of Education has barred student AI use in elementary and middle schools. This event will explore what's at stake for the city's more than 1,700 schools and the millions of students and families they serve.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Sep 28
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Pulitzer Prize Finalist Shares His New Book on Syrian Political Struggle
Noted journalist and author Anand Gopal discusses his new book, Days of Love and Rage. The book, which has been compared to George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia, tells the story of how, 15 years ago, in a northern Syrian city, a small group of men and women began a movement that overthrew a brutal dictatorship, carrying out one of the most remarkable experiments in democracy in modern times.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Sep 28
6:30 pm
free, RSVP required
6:30 pm
free, RSVP required
Talk | Met Opera & Public Theater Professionals Discuss Shakespeare Adaptations + Performance from Met Opera Cast
Louisa Proske, director of the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Verdi's Macbeth, and James Shapiro, the Public's Shakespeare Scholar in Residence and Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, lead an evening of Shakespearean comparison. They will discuss the parallels between the original text and Verdi's opera. Alexa Smith, associate artistic director and director of cultural transformation at The Public Theater, moderates. The event will also include performances of selections from the opera by members of the cast, including soprano Felicia Moore, baritone Quinn Kelsey, and pianist Bradley Moore, alongside excerpts from the play performed by award-winning actors Elizabeth Marvel and Bill Camp.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Sep 28
7:00 pm
free, registration required
7:00 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Art History & Curatorial Experts Discuss the Visual Culture of Pahari Paintings
Moving beyond questions of attribution, the conversation with art historian and professor Molly Emma Aitken traces artists, patrons and practices across regions. This talk reveals a shared visual culture shaped by movement and exchange. Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, the Pahari kingdoms of the northwestern Himalayas created a luminous world of painting—intimate, expressive and richly coloured. In this richly illustrated session, celebrated curator Sonya Rhie Mace explores a remarkably dispersed collection that offers new ways of seeing these works.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Sep 29
11:00 am
free, registration required
11:00 am
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Bestselling Children's Book Author Shares His New Title, Wide Load on the Road
A conversation with Stephen Savage to celebrate his new book, the illustrated story of a big truck persevering to finish a big job. He will be in conversation with Steven Guarnaccia, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Sep 29
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Explore Dorothy Day's Journey to Possible Sainthood
Robert Ellsberg, a former managing editor of the CW and editor of Dorothy Day’s writings, will describe her New York journey. Dorothy Day, champion of the oppressed, witness for peace, was born in Brooklyn and spent most of her life in New York’s Lower East Side. In the 1920s, while working as a journalist for progressive papers, she became close to Eugene O'Neill and others in the Greenwich Village scene. After her conversion to Catholicism, she founded the Catholic Worker newspaper and the first of her “houses of hospitality,” combining service to the poor and work for justice. The founder of the Catholic Worker movement, Dorothy Day established her first “houses of hospitality” in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1933, living with the poor, practicing the “works of mercy,” and struggling for peace and justice. Greenwich Village played an important part in her early life, when she was close to Eugene O’Neill and immersed herself in the literary/activist/bohemian scene. Later, as a Catholic, she modeled a version of radical Christianity, was arrested repeatedly for acts of civil disobedience during the civil defense drills of the 1950s, and spent time in the Women’s House of Detention on Sixth Avenue.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Sep 29
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Bioethics Experts Discuss Ethics and Medical Aid in Dying (In Person AND Online!)
This timely conversation features leading faculty from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics--Jeffrey Kahn and Anna Mastroianni--who will frame the core issues, offer deep analysis, and engage in discussion with the audience on a defining ethical challenge of our era, part of the ongoing series Conversations in Bioethics: Life, Death, and Who Decides? At the intersection of medicine and morality sits a profound question: Should individuals facing terminal illness be allowed to hasten their death?
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Sep 29
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Classical Scholar Discusses Martha Graham's Greek Myth-Inspired Choreography (In Person AND Online!)
In this program, Ronnie Ancona draws material from her new book, Martha Graham's Greek Myth-Based Dances and Her Collaboration with Isamu Noguchi. She argues that the bold and woman-centered receptions of Greek myth created by Graham emerged from Graham and Noguchi's mutual understandings of space and movement, objects and bodies. She traces the influences of ancient Greek myth on these dances as well as the ways in which Graham (and Noguchi) have created something new from this heritage through their own interpretations. This presentation will include photos and video clips.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 30
1:00 pm
free, registration required
1:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Book Launch--Jean Louis: Hollywood's Bombshell Designer (+ Signing)
Mauricio Padilha and Roger Padilha celebrate their book, a comprehensive look at how the designer defined Hollywood's most famous films, actresses, and iconic fashion styles. The conversation will be followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 30
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Quiet Reading Meet Up
Bring a book or check one out of the library to read to yourself for one hour. After that, spend an hour socializing with those around you!
Manhattan, New York, NY
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 30
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Historian Shares Her New Book on the Death Penalty in the Soviet Union
A discussion with Yana Skorobogatov for her book, Fate in My Hands. Anne O'Donnell will join as a conversant. Book synopsis: A striking examination of the death penalty in the Soviet Union that documents in heart-rending detail how its citizens, hopeful for a new life post-Stalin, lost faith that their transgressions could be forgiven.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Sep 30
7:00 pm
free, RSVP required
7:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Gallery Talk | Artist Discusses Her New Work Inspired by Hotel Chelsea's Cultural History
Hear from artist Tiffany Shlain about her new artwork "If These Walls Could Talk: Women of the Chelsea." Inspired by her stays at the Hotel Chelsea in her twenties, the work draws on the hotel's rich cultural history and the remarkable women who have created within its walls. Shlain will speak about the work and news about upcoming projects.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 1
5:00 pm
free, RSVP required
5:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Talk | Japanese Kawaii Subculture as a Mode of Rebellion & Resistance
FIT Professor Yuniya Kawamura will be in conversation with fashion and art creator Sebastian Masuda. He is internationally recognized as the leading figure in Japan’s kawaii (cute) subculture. Masuda understands kawaii not merely as an aesthetic, but as an explicit, nonviolent mode of rebellion and resistance—one comparable to other Japanese youth subcultures that assert identity through unconventional forms of dress and self-presentation. A book signing follows the event.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 1
5:30 pm
free, registration required
5:30 pm
free, registration required
Discussion | Mental Health Experts Discuss & Demo Breakthroughs in Brain Health Tech (In Person AND Online!)
This event brings together leaders in psychiatry and technology to discuss what’s next, and what it means for treating mental illness. The future of mental health is being rewritten. Breakthroughs in gene therapy, AI, and brain stimulation are creating new possibilities. Featured speakers will include Dr. Alexander Charney with Dr. Nicole Simons, who will discuss what we know about serious mental illness, how our understanding is changing, and introduce emerging approaches including gene therapy, AI, and deep brain stimulation. Dr. Benjamin Glicksberg and Dr. Matteo Danieletto will demonstrate vision wearables and discuss how audiovisual data, along with AI analysis, may support clinical assessment and symptom monitoring. Sandip Trivedi, who built an AI companion chatbot for his brother struggling with a mental health diagnosis, will discuss the app’s development, safety features, and ethical guardrails as it is tested with a larger audience to explore its potential to support people living with schizophrenia and their families. Finally, Dr. Nicola Cascella and Erin Decker will discuss deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, including a conversation about the experience of undergoing DBS treatment.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 1
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | New York Times Journalist Shares His New Book, The Yahoo Boys
Carlos Barragan discusses his work of immersion journalism about four young romance scammers in Lagos, Nigeria, exploring how and why they scam, and the moral dilemmas they face. Through the Yahoo Boys' twisting fortunes, Barragan discovers the psychological tactics they perfect, the brutal economic realities that drive them, and the moral dilemmas they confront. A work of radical empathy, this book reveals the human face behind a global phenomenon, and shows how loneliness in the West and poverty in Nigeria are two sides of the same screen.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 1
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Gallery Talk | Art Historian/Art Critic Shares Her New Book on Philosopher & Writer Vilém Flusser
Martha Schwendener hosts a talk and launch of her recently released title, The Society of the Screen: Vilém Flusser’s Radical Prescience. The author will be in conversation with Eileen Quinlan and Liz Deschenes. In this book on the idiosyncratic and prescient Czech-Brazilian philosopher, Schwendener explores the profound effect of art on Vilém Flusser’s thought. The Society of the Screen reveals how Flusser’s lifelong engagement with experimental practices—from abstract painting and concrete poetry in Brazil to video, cybernetics, and photography in Europe and the United States—as well as his extensive involvement with the São Paulo Biennial informed his belief that we were moving from “history”—a civilization informed by linear writing—into “post-history,” dominated by technical images
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 1
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Lecture | Art Historian Explores the Legacy of an Influential Portrait Photographer
Drawing on her book, Napoleon Sarony's Living Pictures: The Celebrity Photograph in Gilded Age New York, Dr. Erin Pauwels explores the remarkable career of this eccentric artist and entrepreneur whose theatrical approach to photography transformed portraiture into performance. Through lavish staging, carefully directed poses, and an instinctive understanding of public image, Sarony helped shape the modern celebrity portrait while influencing ideas about fame, artistic identity, branding, and copyright that continue to shape how public figures cultivate their images today.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Oct 2
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Book Discussion | Metropolitan Museum of Art-Featured Photographer Shares His Latest Book, The Mental Image
Stephen Shore shares his new book in a conversation with James Willing. The Mental Image is the latest book by Stephen Shore, one of the most influential photographers, writers, and teachers working today. Here, Shore turns to the inner life of images: how photographs are imagined, sensed, and carried in the body. The sequel to his global bestseller The Nature of Photographs (2013), this richly illustrated volume brings together numerous anecdotes, influences, references, and teachings to show how visualisation, attention, and embodiment can fundamentally alter how we perceive the world around us. Both practical and philosophical, The Mental Image offers a luminous and disciplined approach to seeing, for photographers, artists, and anyone drawn to a deeper understanding of perception.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Oct 2
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Shares Her "Stunning New Novel," The Things We Never Say
A conversation with Elizabeth Strout. In her most recent novel, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout tells the story of a beloved teacher, Artie Dam, and a chance incident that sparks a powerful realization and change in his life. He looks out at the world - at himself and the people around him - and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us? With exquisite prose and profound insight, Strout's new novel provides a poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, parenthood, and the importance of truth in a capsizing world. "A stunning new novel from one of our most acclaimed observers of the human heart." - The Guardian
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Oct 2
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Gallery Talk | Artists Discuss Works Calling on Histories of Pointillism & Divisionism
An artist talk with Asher Liftin, Phong H. Bui, and Arne Glimcher. Within the gallery, Bui and Glimcher will discuss with Liftin his new paintings and drawings on view, in which he translates photographic images refracted in a glass eye into meticulously hand-crafted renderings on canvas and paper. The resulting images both evoke and extend histories of pointillism and divisionism while sitting on the border between the human and the mechanical.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Oct 3
4:00 pm
free, RSVP required
4:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Book Discussion | Panel Discussion on the Craft of Short Story Writing
Nina Mansfield will moderate a talkl that includes award-winning authors Kathleen Marple Kalb, Richie Narvaez, and Lori Robbins to discuss how to put your best foot forward when composing a story submission. The group will delve into the craft of writing short stories, and cover submission do’s and don’ts so that your anthology submission will have the best chance of being accepted.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sun, Oct 4
2:00 pm
free, registration required
2:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | New York Times Cooking Contributor SHares her First-Ever Cookbook (+ Signing)
A conversation with Kay Chun to celebrate her debut cookbook, Gather Around My Table, a book of 100 recipes that take inspiration from every corner of the globe in exciting, unexpected ways. She will be in conversation with Chris Morocco, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Oct 5
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Lecture | Biographer Explores the Groundbreaking Work of Jazz Dancer & Choreographer Buddy Bradley
Maureen Footer has written a new biography of Buddy Bradley, Feel the Floor, that delves into his far-reaching influence. Nearly every famous name in dance in the mid-twentieth century was touched by the innovative, often groundbreaking work of the jazz dancer and choreographer. Iconic choreographers from George Balanchine to Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins to Agnes deMille, were among the many major artists who drew inspiration from his work. Here, with a panel including tap, jazz, and ballet dancers, the subject of how one art form can significantly influence another will be discussed and demonstrated, live. When Balanchine and Bradley were brought together in London in 1931 to co-choreograph Charles B. Cochran's famous revue, the star, and the chorus had been trained by Buddy Bradley, providing Balanchine with his first hands-on opportunity to experiment with jazz mechanisms and movement. Some of Bradley and Balanchine's "creative synergies" will be displayed by the dancers in work such as Agon, Rubies and Symphony in C.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Oct 5
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Art Dealer Shares Her New Book, Trading Beauty: Art Market Histories from the Altar to the Gallery (+ Signing)
A conversation between Valentina Castellani and Tobias Meyer, to celebrate Castellani's new book. An illustrated survey that traces the evolution of the Western art market from the medieval era to the present day, Trading Beauty analyzes how the social, cultural, religious, and economic circumstances of different periods have defined models of art production, validation, and valuation. Castellani peppers her lively account with anecdotes and profiles that highlight key moments and personalities, providing a captivating insight into the mechanisms that have shaped the art market as we now know it. After the talk, Castellani will sign copies of the book, which will be available for purchase.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 6
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Cultural Commentator Discusses 250 Years of Greenwich Village History
A talk with John Strausbaugh, author of The Village: 400 Years of Beats and Bohemians, Radicals and Rogues, a History of Greenwich Village. The renowned author will share some of the fascinating stories from the book and celebrate 250 years of this Revolutionary Village. Across four centuries and especially over the last 250 years, Greenwich Village has been a magnet for misfits and a refuge for outsiders. Blacks, Italians and Irish, artists, anarchists and communists, gays and lesbians, intellectuals, eccentrics, visionaries and life's adventurers were all drawn here. In the 20th century a Who’s Who of global culture came to “the Left Bank of America,” from Kahlil Gibran to John and Yoko, Marcel Duchamp to Jimi Hendrix. They came because this tiny speck of real estate, a neighborhood they could stroll through in twenty minutes, was the one place in America where they were not only allowed but actively encouraged to live and express themselves freely.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 6
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Lecture | DIscussion on Newfound Artwork by Franz Kafka
A lecture by Andreas Kilcher (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich). The lecture will be followed by a conversation between Andreas Kilcher and Paul North (Maurice Natanson Professor of German and Professor of Philosophy at Yale University). The year 2019 brought a sensational discovery: hundreds of drawings by Franz Kafka that had been kept under lock and key for decades were made accessible. Although Kafka is renowned for his written work, his drawings are evidence of what his literary executor, Max Brod, termed his 'double talent'. Irresistible and full of fascinating figures, shifting from the realistic to the fantastic, the grotesque, the uncanny, and the carnivalesque, they illuminate a previously unknown side of the quintessential modernist author. Four new and fascinating stories can be told in relation to Kafka's drawings: the story of their transmission, the story of Kafka's engagement with the visual arts, the story of Kafka as a draftsman, and the story of his drawing practice in the context of his writing, which implies a complex aesthetic question: How are these drawings to be understood in their own right, yet at the same time as connected to his writing?
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 6
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Book Discussion | Historical Novelist Shares Her Latest Title, What Happens at Nightfall
Lauren Willig launches her new book. About the Book: In the sprawling Gothic expanse of Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, some secrets refuse to stay buried. Recently laid off and searching for purpose, Jess reluctantly joins her best friend on a supposedly fun nighttime cemetery tour. Separated from her group by accident, she discovers a bunch of terrified boys and a strange, ancient key. Both lead to Green-Wood’s surprisingly handsome resident arborist, Adam Chervinsky. Recently widowed, Adam has more to protect than the leafy residents of Green-Wood. His children, still dealing with the loss of their mother, are acting strangely. A haunting is afoot, and Jess seems to know more than she’s letting on. Sparks fly between Jess and Adam—and the unquiet spirits of Green-Wood rise from their century-long slumber.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 6
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Talk | Roxane Gay & Feminist Press Lead a Conversation on Feminist Thought & Activism
A bold conversation about how feminism prepared us for this political moment, even when the world refused to listen. Feminist Press and Roxane Gay lead a powerful conversation exploring how feminist thought and activism have equipped us to navigate today’s urgent political landscape. An inspiring evening with some of the country's leading feminist thinkers, writers, and activists. Books by the authors will be available for purchase and signing after the program!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 6
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Spooky Season Celebration Launching Best New Horror Book List (+ Free Books) (In Person AND Online!)
A celebration of all things horror. Authors Deena Helm, Saratoga Schaefer, and Kailee Pedersen discuss the year's buzziest horror books with moderator Becky Spratford, librarian and horror expert. Following the talk, Pedersen--an award-winning novelist and opera singer--takes the stage for an unforgettable haunted opera performance, accompanied by Brian Wong. Attendees will receive a free book by one of the featured authors--available while supplies last! Following the event, there will be an author Meet and Greet with book signing and sales by local bookstore.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 6
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Art Historians Discuss Their New Book, What Was America?
Elise Armani and Katy Siegel will be joined by Lauren O'Neill-Butler in a lively conversation about artists, communities, and citizens at a moment when art and culture were seen (and supported) as a civic good. Where is art going, who is it for, and what can it tell us about our world? To think these questions through, we might begin by looking back. Published this month, Elise Armani and Katy Siegel's book, What Was America? offers a prismatic view of American art and culture in the years leading up to the 1976 Bicentennial. Over ten years of planning, the Bicentennial inspired and supported an unprecedented culture boom across the United States, as artists, designers, performers, historians, writers, and participants of all kinds wrestled with the pressing issues of the day, including the environment, immigration, heritage, media, and what it means to be American. From individual artworks and blockbuster exhibitions to community quilts and time capsules, projects unfolded across wildly disparate venues, demographics, and geographies, eliciting mass participation in negotiating US history and imagining the nation's future. Many of the questions asked in 1976 resemble those of 2026, but the responses offered in that earlier moment make for an electric contrast with those of our own present--they also hold genuine potential for remaking our own future.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Oct 7
6:00 pm
free, reservations required
6:00 pm
free, reservations required
Book Discussion | Design Firm Founders Share The New Book, Post Company: Character Studies (+ Signing)
Jou-Yie Chou, Leigh Salem, and Ruben Caldwell celebrate their new book, a beautifully illustrated monograph conveying their firm's signature projects. The conversation will be moderated by Spencer Bailey, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Oct 7
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Discussion | Black Arts Salon with Visual Artists, Poets, Dancers, & More
Contributors to the publication Thinking from Black: A Lexicon, an expansive lexicon of words, terms, concepts, and ideas that takes the multiplicity of Black life as its point of departure, will use the exhibition, To Uncover and Reveal to the World, to activate a selection of keywords that engage both the exhibition and ethics of caring for and preserving Black life. The contributors are visual artists, poets, dancers, historians, writers, architects, painters, theorists, activists, anthropologists, filmmakers, educators, and musicians. Each has engaged with the idea of a lexicon of Black living and taken up the invitation to think from Black in relation to their own medium.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 8
5:00 pm
free, registration required
5:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Artist & Poet Shares His New Memoir, How to Exi(s)t
A conversation with Truong Tran to celebrate his new book, an autobiography in reverse, and ultimately an examination of the volatile relationship between memory and the present moment.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 8
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Lecture | Discover the Work of Spanish Painter Francisco Jose de Goya
This talk explores the life and work of an old master. Goya was well-versed in the best tradition of Spanish painting from El Greco to Velazquez; he is known as the last of the old masters and first of the moderns. In 1786, he became court painter to the Spanish Crown; his work includes portraits of the aristocracy and the royals, as well as tapestries. He shows no pity for the mighty, revealing their vanity, greed and emptiness. A severe illness in 1793 left him deaf, after which there is a thread of violence and fear in his work. He became a prolific master of etchings and aquatint, expressing fantastic nightmares. He abandoned Spain to retire to Bordeaux in 1824 and died there at age 82.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 8
6:00 pm
$5, RSVP required
6:00 pm
$5, RSVP required
Talk | Comparative Literature Scholar Discusses Literary Censorship in the USSR (In Person AND Online!)
For Banned Books Week, Yasha Klots of the Tamizdat Project helps shed light on smuggled literature that defied Soviet censorship and illuminates the enduring power of the printed word. Throughout the Soviet century, tamizdat (literally, “published over there,” or abroad) comprised manuscripts rejected, censored, or never submitted for publication at home but smuggled through various channels across the Iron Curtain and printed elsewhere, with or without their authors’ knowledge or consent. Until perestroika, when the curtain began to rust, these books were used as weapons on the cultural fronts of the Cold War. In this talk, Yasha Klots will speak about the history of tamizdat as a literary practice and political institution from the Cold War era to the present, when censorship and political repressions in Russia and Belarus have forced an increasing number of authors, publishers, and readers into exile, especially after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He will also speak about the Tamizdat Project, a public scholarship initiative for the study of banned books from the former USSR and Easter Europe, as well as a small press and a philanthropic organization.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 8
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Discussion | Panel & Discussion on NYC Green Spaces with Horticulture Experts
This panel will bring together plant and nature experts to discuss how plants and gardens can enhance human health and well-being while providing solutions to mitigate the detrimental effects of climate chaos. Moderator, Richard Hayden, Senior Director of Horticulture for the High Line, and panelists Tami Lin-Moges, Director of the Cities Program in New York for The Nature Conservancy, and Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture for the Native Plant Trust, show a series of short presentations followed by a lively discussion and audience Q&A. This event takes place rain or shine—the event space is fully covered.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 8
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Bestselling Novelists Discuss Their Books Commenting on Italian Identity (In Person AND Online!)
Jennifer Anton, author of Under the Light of the Italian Moon, and Laura Morelli, author of The Keeper of Lost Art, discuss their novels and celebrate Italian Heritage in conversation with Lisa Ackerman. Under the Light of the Italian Moon tells the story of Nina Argenta, the daughter of a village midwife in a small mountain town in northern Italy, whose dreams of joining the man she loves in America are shattered by family duty and the rise of Mussolini. As fascism tightens its grip and World War II brings Nazi occupation to her village, Nina must summon extraordinary courage to protect those she loves. Inspired by the true experiences of the author's own family, the novel explores the enduring bonds of family, the resilience of ordinary women, and the choices that shape identity across generations. The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli tells the story of twelve-year-old Stella, coming of age in Tuscany 1943, in a world at war. When her mother sends her to safety with distant relatives at a villa in Tuscany, she finds them tasked with a great responsibility: hiding over 300 priceless masterpieces from the Uffizi Galleries. Inspired by the true story of the heroic efforts to safeguard Italy's cultural treasures during World War II, The Keeper of Lost Art is a sweeping and emotionally powerful tale of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Oct 9
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Discussion | Death Cafe Discussion Group
An informal, group-directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. The purpose of Death Cafe is "to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives." This is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Oct 10
3:30 pm
free, no reservation required
3:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Photojournalist & Designer Shares His New Book, Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion (+ Signing)
A conversation with Ivan McClellan to celebrate his new book, a stunning monograph, documenting African-American cowboy culture. He will be in conversation with Maria Soccor, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Oct 12
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Prize-Winning Author Discusses Her New Literary Fiction Novel
Carol LaHines in conversation about her new book, Miracle Grow of the Mind. Miracle Grow of the Mind is a funny, heartbreaking exploration of parenthood, disability, medical bureaucracy, Big Agro, food allergies, and environmental pathogens. When Amy and Michael’ s son is born prematurely, they are thrust into a world of pediatric neurologists, sensory reintegration therapy, and endless evaluations.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 13
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | New Yorker-Featured Artist Shares His New Memoir, Work in Progress (In Person AND Online!)
Made globally famous by his portraits captured on New York City's subways, artist Devon Rodriguez sits down with his editor Elizabeth Méndez Berry to discuss his memoir of growing up in the Bronx. In this memoir, he explains how his art, his grandmother, and his own relentless drive saved him from heart-wrenching circumstances and led him to redefine out-of-fashion realist portraiture as fresh and magical. Rodriguez writes with rhythm, verve, and an artist’s POV, painting a vivid picture of his native Bronx, the tattoos and rooftop graffiti that mesmerized him as a kid, and the teachers who saw his potential and nourished it.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 13
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Talk | UN Ambassador Discusses Heritage & History of Australia's Kakadu National Park
Mr. James Larsen, the Permanent Representative of Australia's Mission to the United Nations, will address the audience on the occasion of International Archaeology Day, the committee's most significant annual lecture of each series. Ambassador Larsen discusses the incredible heritage and history of the Kakadu region in Australia's Northern Territory. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kakadu National Park, inhabited by Aboriginal people for over 65,000 years, is recognized for both its outstanding natural ecosystems and its rich cultural landscape, including one of the world's greatest concentrations of rock art paintings.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 13
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Vanity Fair & Vogue Featured Editorial Photographer Disucsses Her Artistic Journey
A talk by fashion and beauty photographer Lindsay Adler. Adler has risen to the top of her industry as both a photographer and educator. Based in New York City, her fashion editorials have appeared in such publications as Harper's Bazaar, L'Officiel, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. As an educator, she is one of the industry's most sought-after international speakers, delivering keynote presentations at photography's most prestigious events. She is also the recipient of the United Nations Photographic Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the photographic industry.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 13
7:00 pm
free, registration required
7:00 pm
free, registration required
Gallery Talk | Artists Discuss the Current Art Ecosystem
In a conversation moderated by Eugenie Tsai, New York-based curator and writer, Jane Dickson and Julie Heffernan will discuss their works on view in the Shelter from the Storm exhibition. They imagine changes to the current art ecosystem that could further empower artists.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Oct 14
6:00 pm
free, reservations required
6:00 pm
free, reservations required
Talk | Artistic Exploration of Historical Gender Flexibility with Artists & Historians
Sophia Club brings its unique blend of philosophy and performance to the stage. For this debut, New York–based choreographer, composer, and performance artist Kinlaw joins classicist Kristina Milnor and Byzantine historian Leonora Neville in an artistic exploration of gender flexibility in the long Roman Empire. From the early Etruscans to Byzantium in the East, discover the poets, princesses, and queer pioneers who broke binaries, claimed authority, and declared their desires in defiance of social norms. The Sophia Club is a global series of live philosophy events from Aeon Media, the publisher of Aeon and Psyche magazines. There are two ways to access this event: 1. General Admission, first-come first-served. Just show up! 2. Fast Track opening the Monday before the event at noon.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Oct 14
7:30 pm
free, fast-track available
7:30 pm
free, fast-track available
Discussion | Architects, Politicians, & Activists Explore the Future of Urban Ecology in a Changing World
This conversation will explore different ways of effectively integrating ecological considerations into urban planning and design, preserve biodiversity in cities, protect species and their habitats, and transforming our built environments and landscapes to address the climate crisis, support the shift to a renewable economy, and grow more vibrant and resilient cities. Please review the venue's access requirements.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 15
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | International Center of Photography (ICP)-Featured Artist Discusses Photography through Language and the Senses
Photographer and filmmaker Neal Slavin will be in conversation with artist and author M. Leona Godin. Book signings to follow after their discussion.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 15
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Club | Luddite Book Club: Martyr Loser King by Saul Williams
Offline Book Club is a space for in-person conversation about the role technology plays in our world. This month's pick: Martyr Loser King by Saul Williams. About the Book: An Afrofuturist fable set in the coltan mines of East Africa during a global cyberattack. This graphic novel critiques technological exploitation while also imagining rebellion and the possibility of transformative change.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 15
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Discussion | Weill Cornell Ob-Gyn Discusses Women's Health through Age
Susan Loeb-Zeitlin, M.D., FACOG, explores the role of hormones during midlife, including common changes women may experience and how these shifts can affect overall health and well-being, as well as how they can be treated. More About Hormones: Midlife Women Hormonal changes are a natural part of midlife for women, with shifts in estrogen and other hormones potentially affecting sleep, mood, energy, metabolism, bone health and overall well-being. Understanding these changes and the range of symptoms that may accompany them can help women make informed decisions about their health and explore strategies for managing symptoms and supporting healthy aging.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Oct 16
11:00 am
free, registration required
11:00 am
free, registration required
Book Discussion | National Book Critics Circle Award Winning Author & Editor of Bestsellers in Conversation
A conversation with Yahdon Israel and Claudia Rankine. The event will conclude with a reception/signing with books for sale. Yahdon Israel is a cultural steward, editor, and educator who helps cultural figures and institutions transform important ideas into lasting public impact. After more than five years as a Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster, where he edited award-winning and bestselling books, he founded The Compound Collective, a cultural strategy agency that partners with authors, artists, athletes, nonprofits, and cultural institutions to engineer cultural impact. Claudia Rankine is the author of eight books, including Just Us: An American Conversation, Citizen: An American Lyric, and Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Oct 16
5:00 pm
free, RSVP required
5:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Book Discussion | Pushcart Prize-Winning Novelist Shares His Latest Book, Passengers
Alexander Maksik celebrates his newest novel, the story of a father and daughter reckoning with each other, and with the looming collapse of the outside world. He will be in conversation with Michael Reynolds, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Oct 16
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Lecture | Celebrate the Life of the Father of the Dadaist Art/Literature Movement
An event dedicated to the surreal work of Tristan Tzara. This year marks the 130th anniversary of his birth. Tristan Tzara (1896 – 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist, and performance artist best known as a founder and chief theorist of the anti-establishment Dada movement. Operating out of the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich during World War I, Tzara spearheaded a chaotic, nihilistic assault on traditional bourgeois culture and societal standards, which he viewed as complicit in the horrors of the war. Valery Oisteanu will present his view on the historical spiral of DADA through Romania, Paris, America, and globally. Tzara in Paris and his conflicts with Breton. The globalization of Dada and the American contribution have been continuous since 1913 till today.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sun, Oct 18
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Art Historian & Critic Shares Her 2025 Book on the History of Artists' Protests
Writer and editor Lauren O’Neill-Butler discusses her new book, The War of Art. Named a best book of 2025 by NPR, The War of Art tells the history of artist-led activism and the global political and aesthetic debates from the 1960s to the present. Artists in America have long battled against injustices, believing that art can, in fact, “do more.” The War of Art tells this history of artist-led activism and the global political and aesthetic debates from the 1960s to the present. In contrast to the financialized art market and celebrity artists, the book explores the power of collective effort — from protesting to philanthropy, and from wheat-pasting to planting a field of wheat.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Oct 19
6:30 pm
free, RSVP required
6:30 pm
free, RSVP required
Discussion | History & Film Scholars Discuss Portrayals of the Nuremburg Trials
Sylvie Lindeperg presents an illustrated lecture featuring the archival research for her award-winning book, Staging Nuremberg: How the United States and the Soviet Union Fought Over the Portrayal of Nazi Crimes (2026), Columbia University Press's translation of La Bataille des images (2021). Lindeperg will be joined in conversation by Annette Insdorf. Please review the venue's access requirements.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Oct 19
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Book Club | Read & Analyze Poetry of Migration
Poetry enthusiasts unpack the layered meanings of poetry through an informal group discussion. Each session focuses on a theme that celebrates the diversity and range of the poetic form and contemporary poetry culture. This month, read poems that chart memories and histories of migration across the world. Please note that contemporary poetry deals frankly with contemporary issues, and all works discussed are artistic expressions selected for an adult audience.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 20
2:30 pm
free, registration required
2:30 pm
free, registration required
Book Club | Poor Things Book Discussion
Dscussion of a postmodern, feminist novel inspired by Frankenstein, set in Victorian Glasgow, about a woman named Bella Baxter who is resurrected with the brain of an infant. Themes: Weird science, feminism, identity, the nature of reality, the relativity of truth, and the critique of Victorian patriarchy. Accolades: Winner of the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 20
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Talk | Architectural Historian Journeys through the Structural Remnants of Early New York
A virtual tour from the comfort of the this historic building to architectural landmarks - some of national importance, some unknown, scattered all over Manhattan Island. The number of pre- and post- Revolutionary structures surviving in The City That's Never Finished keeps growing. From a grand country mansion, to a farmhouse, taverns, townhouses, churches, and the earliest park in New York City, discover remnants of early New-York from one tip of Manhattan to the other.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 20
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Book Discussion | Book Launch: Getting Even / Letting Go
Julian Tepper shares his new novel. About the book: On a single spring afternoon in New York City, Gene Mills—a once-successful writer now living on fumes—hosts friends in his apartment while waiting for an art auction that could change everything. The paintings on the block were made by his ex-wife, now a global art star. They depict her affair, her ambition, and the life she detonated when she left him. Gene believes selling them is justice. Or survival. Or both. Getting Even/Letting Go is a novel about what remains when intimacy turns transactional, and whether freedom can ever be purchased without exacting a final, private price.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 20
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Vanity Fair-Featured Writer Shares Her New Book on cultural icon Jane Birkin
Bestselling author Marisa Meltzer discusses the life, style, and legacy of a fashion star, as captured in her dazzling biography It Girl, in conversation with the chief fashion critic of The New York Times, Vanessa Friedman. Jane Birkin was synonymous with chic. Her effortless style and artistic legacy have been immortalized through her music and film career. And, of course, she was the inspiration behind one of the world's most coveted bags, the Hermes Birkin. But who was the real woman behind the it girl? Now, New York Times bestselling author Marisa Meltzer sheds new light on Birkin's enigmatic life and explores her profound influence on generations in a rigorously reported biography unlike any other.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Tue, Oct 20
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Novella Discussion: Classic of Satirical, Feminist Horror, The Stepford Wives
The group is reading Ira Levin's 1972 book. About the Book: Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife, and young mother who suspects that something in the town of Stepford is changing the wives from free-thinking, intelligent women into compliant wives dedicated solely to homemaking. As her friends slowly transform, Joanna realizes the horrific truth.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Oct 21
4:30 pm
free, no reservation required
4:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | James Beard Award-Winning TV Food Expert Shares Her New Book on Chinese Cuisine
Fuchsia Dunlop explores the magical complexity of one of the world's greatest cuisines. 'Fuchsia Dunlop has done more to explain real Chinese cooking to non-Chinese cooks than anyone', according to The New York Times. Dunlop, a four-time James Beard award winner and TV food expert (Chef's Table; Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown) has already explored Hunan cooking and Szechuan food with her large legion of readers. Now, in her latest book, she tackles the "five tastes" which a Chinese chef needs to be able to marshal harmoniously: salty, sweet, sour, bitter and pungent. The delectable result might be green beans with "strange-flavor" sauce, spicy peanut butter noodles, or a steamed fish that sings with citrus notes.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Thu, Oct 22
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Photographer & Historian Explore the Dandy Subculture
Explore an inclusive landscape where dandyism belongs to anyone obsessed with masculine elegance, regardless of class, race, age, sexuality, or gender. For more than a decade, photographer Rose Callahan and writer Nathaniel Adams have explored the many meanings of dandyism through their acclaimed books I Am Dandy, We Are Dandy, and most recently, They Are Dandy. Far from a homogeneous relic of the past, contemporary dandyism offers a powerful means of asserting identity, embracing visibility, and challenging rigid societal norms. Rose Callahan is a photographer known for her evocative portraits that celebrate the transformative power of style, while Nathaniel Adams is a writer and historian with a focus on dandyism, subculture, and men's fashion. Books will be available for purchase. Dandy Style is highly encouraged!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Fri, Oct 23
7:00 pm
free, registration required
7:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Club | Discuss Your Favorite Romance Books with Fellow Readers
If you love romance or want to get into it, you're welcome at this romance book club! Attendees will be discussing their favorite romance books, current reads, and more!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Oct 24
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
Discussion | How Art and Science Can Honor Indigenous Histories & Ecologies
Mohawk artist Alan Michelson and ecologist Eric W. Sanderson join together. They explore how art and science can surface and honor the Indigenous histories and ecologies embedded in contemporary New York, while considering strategies for recovering lost abundance.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Oct 24
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Broadway Producer (Just in Time, South Pacific, Oklahoma) Discusses the Far Reaches of Musical Theater
Ted Chapin discusses his unparalleled career in the arts. Ted Chapin is the ultimate Broadway insider--responsible for the revivals of South Pacific, The King and I, Carousel, Oklahoma, and The Sound of Music. As president of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, head of the "Lyrics and Lyricists" program at the 92NY, where he conceived the Broadway hit Just In Time, and as a leading producer, director, and author about all things Broadway, Chapin engages in a candid discussion with Daniel Okrent, editor and author of Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn't Easy. They will talk about his life and why musical theatre continues to matter in the life of New York and beyond.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Mon, Oct 26
6:30 pm
free, registration required
6:30 pm
free, registration required
Talk | Choreographer & Dancer Shares Her Research on Marth Graham's Works
Virginie Mécène, a former Principal Dancer, will discuss her experience in the reconstruction of Graham's Panorama, Prelude to Action, and The Puritan Duet from American Document, and the process of reimagining lost dances. As a 2023-2024 Dance Research Fellow, Virginie Mécène presented her research project, Making New Dances Inspired by Lost Solos of Martha Graham: Revolt (1927) and Immigrant (1928) at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division’s Annual Symposium on January 26, 2024.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Oct 28
1:00 pm
free, registration required
1:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Halloween Screening of Interview with the Vampire (1994)+ Discussion with Anne Rice's Editor
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Anne Rice's legendary novel Interview with the Vampire, a book that forever transformed the modern vampire story. Victoria Wilson, Anne Rice's longtime editor and publisher who discovered and championed her extraordinary career, will share personal stories and insights into the author and the enduring legacy of her groundbreaking novel. The evening will continue with a screening of the iconic film adaptation, followed by an opportunity to purchase copies of the newly published 50th anniversary edition, featuring a new afterword by Anne Rice's son, author Christopher Rice. Film synopsis: A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Oct 28
6:00 pm
free, registration required
6:00 pm
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Launch Party and Book Signing for New WInter Holiday Memoir
Event introducing Oh Ho OH NO!: Twelve True Tales of Tinsel, Bedlam, and Unconditional Love. Author and Christmas maximalist Danny Lettieri in celebrating the official launch of his humorous memoir, Ho Ho, OH NO!: Twelve True Stories of Tinsel, Bedlam & Unconditional Love. Danny will read passages from the book in his inimitable style, and there’ll be wine and Christmas cookies for attendees. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Wed, Oct 28
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Book Discussion | Spooky Halloween Book Talk: Author Shares Her New Crime Thriller
Author Kasey Lansdale to commemorate the release of her debut novel, First Chance. She'll be in discussion with award-winning author Alex Segura. Festivities will include readings, author Q&A, raffle giveaways, and more!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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Sat, Oct 31
12:00 pm
free, registration required
12:00 pm
free, registration required
Join the Club!
Complimentary Tickets
to shows, concerts ... (CFT Deals!)
Classical Music | "Virtuoso" Pianist Performs Works by Liszt & More
Regular Price: $50CFT Member Price: $0.00
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