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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!
104 free talks, lectures, discussions in New York City (NYC) Sun, 05/03/2026 - 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!
Book Discussion | USA Today Bestselling Author Shares Her New Novel, Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block
Jesse Q. Sutanto (Dial A for Aunties, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers) discusses her new book, Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block, with Radha Vatsal. Book Synopsis: A nearly divorced trophy wife enrolls in culinary school to win back her husband, only to find a fresh start in the unlikeliest of places.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Sun, May 3
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Political Scientist & Historian Discuss Contemporary Russian Jazz Scene & Xenophobia
Experience a lecture by Yoshiko Herrera and Sharon Clark on race and jazz in today's Russia. Elise Giuliano will moderate the talk, and Maxim Matusevich will serve as discussant. Since the 1990s, Russia has been marked by widespread xenophobic attitudes, yet African American jazz musicians became a significant part of the Russian jazz scene into the 2000s, often reporting very positive interpersonal experiences. Based on interviews with African American musicians, Russian musicians, and club owners, Yoshiko Herrera argues that their reception can be explained by three factors.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 4
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Talk | Exploration of Generative AI & Creativity in Design
Enjoy an evening gathering marking the culmination of a semester-long collaboration exploring how generative AI is reshaping creative practice, authorship, and responsibility. Bringing together students, faculty, and industry professionals, the showcase presents a curated selection of work developed through the Adobe x Parsons Creative AI Lab and Symposium. The evening offers a window into how emerging designers are engaging generative tools within their own processes, and how questions of intention, authorship, and responsibility are being actively negotiated in practice. Generative AI (GenAI) is a type of artificial intelligence that creates new content--including text, images, video, audio, and code--by identifying patterns in existing data. Unlike traditional AI that analyzes or classifies data, GenAI uses large-scale, trained models to generate novel outputs based on user prompts.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 4
5:30 pm
Free
5:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Pulitzer Prize Winner & Historian Shares His New Book, American Struggle
Author Jon Meacham discusses his new book, American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union. In a polarized era, history can become a subject of political contention. Many see America as perfect; many others argue that the national experiment is fundamentally flawed. The truth, Meacham shows, likely lies between these extremes. America has had shining hours, and also dark ones.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 4
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Award-Winning Sociologist Shares Her New Book, Half-Jew, Full-Life
Experience an engaging evening with Dr. Georgette Bennett in conversation with Sir Simon Schama as they discuss Bennett’s new biography on Gary “Pips” Phillips, Half-Jew, Full Life: The Unlikely Journey of a Voluntary Jew from Nazi Persecution to the American Dream. This special book talk explores themes of identity, memory, resilience, and belonging, brought to life through Bennett’s deeply personal story and Schama’s incisive historical perspective. Together, Bennett and Schama will explore the intersections of personal history and collective memory, offering a thought-provoking conversation on heritage, identity, and the enduring impact of the past. A Q&A with the audience will follow.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 4
7:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, tickets required
7:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, tickets required
Book Discussion | Former Goldman Sachs CEO Shares His New Book, Streetwise: Getting to and Through Goldman Sachs (In Person AND Online!)
Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein reflects on leadership, risk, and his rise from public housing to the heights of global finance. In his new book, Streetwise, Lloyd Blankfein traces his 36-year career at Goldman Sachs, from his upbringing in East New York to helming one of the world's most powerful financial institutions. Blankfein offers a candid account of his tenure--including navigating the 2008 financial crisis--and examines the pressures of decision-making in moments of uncertainty and the culture that defined the firm. Blending personal history with lessons on leadership, competition, and resilience, Streetwise is a portrait of ambition shaped by trials and experience. Blankfein speaks with executive leadership coach and author Hortense le Gentil about developing his leadership skills and how his humble beginnings shaped his worldview and ambition.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 4
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | NYT-Bestselling Author of School for Good and Evil Shares His New Young Adult Novel, Young World
Soman Chainani in conversation with Mary HK Choi about his new book, Young World. With globe-spanning action, stunning twists, and an electric new brand of storytelling, Young World is a heartstopping thriller that asks: what happens when the future really does belong to the young?
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 4
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Talk | Light, Emotion, and Identity: Shaping Architecture Through Light
Attend an illuminating evening with Enrique Peiniger, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Office for Visual Interaction (OVI), an international lighting design studio whose work has transformed the way we perceive architecture through light. From the taxi-yellow luminaires illuminating Renzo Piano's New York Times Building, to the textured, garden-like forms of Zaha Hadid's Unicorn Island in China-- the discussion will explore how light becomes a narrative medium, holistically shaping identity, mood, and emotion.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 4
7:30 pm
Free
7:30 pm
Free
Discussion | Collective Power: Art & Climate in Conversation
Join artists for an intimate salon exploring vision, resilience, and community action through creative practice. Engage in discussions on current climate-focused works, participate in an audience Q&A, and reflect on the connections among art, environmental justice, and the future we can shape together.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
12:00 pm
Free
12:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | From the Skyscraper to the Wildflower: Photography and New York’s Changing Landscape (Online!)
Historian Nick Yablon presents a virtual talk on the rediscovered work of amateur photographer C. G. Hine, who documented Broadway in 1905 during a period of rapid urban transformation. Through a remarkable archive of photographs, clippings, and writings, Hine captured disappearing buildings and the lives of those on the margins of the city. Drawing from his book From the Skyscraper to the Wildflower, Yablon explores how these images reveal tensions between modernization and memory, offering a vivid portrait of New York at a turning point in its history.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | New Yorker Writer Shares His New Book on Jewish Creative Figures
Distinguished longtime staff writer and critic at The New Yorker, David Denby, presents his new book, Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, Mailer. He will be in conversation with Jewish Studies Center Director and author Leah Garrett. Celebratory yet candid, Eminent Jews presents these four creative giants—Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, and Norman Mailer—with vivid complexity: as brash, yet soulful; egotistical, yet generous; vulnerable, yet larger-than-life and ferociously proud. Capturing the scale of their ambition, Denby shows how they upended the restrained culture of their forebears and changed American life.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Book Launch: Journalist Shares Her Debut Novel
Jeanette Settembre launches her debut novel, Little Red Flags. Book Synopsis: Mia De Luce is a successful, twenty-five-year-old food writer with zest and appetite. She’s built her dream life in Manhattan while working at her family’s red sauce restaurant. But she’s missing one thing—love. Then, one thrilling weekend away in the Hamptons, she is seduced by a charismatic and attractive stranger named Ben Cohen. Caught up in the whirlwind romance, Mia ignores the little red flags she and others see—like Ben’s adrenaline-seeking tendencies and reckless attitude. She turns a blind eye because, for the first time, she feels truly seen by someone. But a single event shatters their all-consuming chemistry and forces Mia to live a double life. One as a food writer, savoring caviar bumps and champagne at the world’s best restaurants…and one in secret, filled with shame and deception.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Journalist Stephanie Fairyington Shares Her New Book, Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter (+ Signing)
Enjoy a conversation with Stephanie Fairyington to celebrate her newest book, Ugly, a moving account of queer motherhood and an insightful interrogation of what it means to wrestle with "self-described ugliness." She will be in conversation with Svetlana Kitto, followed by a signing.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Learn about Brazilian President Lula through Journalist's New Book
Journalist and author Richard Lapper will speak about his latest book with Brian Winter ahead of Brazil's presidential vote. In Lula: The Man, The Myth and a Dream of Latin America, Lapper offers a deeply reported account of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who's vying for his fourth term in this year's election in a race against his former rival's son, among other candidates. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground reporting and rare access, Lapper traces how a single figure came to embody so much of Brazil's modern history. With the October presidential first round vote approaching, this is a timely moment to better understand the historical, cultural, and economic forces that have shaped Latin America's biggest nation. This discussion will offer essential context for what promises to be a consequential year.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Talk | New Research on Michel Foucault, Gender Dynamics, & the Idea of "Erotomania"
Benoit Loiseau (New York University / Universite Paris 8) presents new research reconstructing an encounter between Michel Foucault and a female physician and aspiring writer who, after unsuccessfully seeking his feedback on a manuscript in the late 1960s, began stalking him, leading to her institutionalization. Drawing on archival materials, this talk highlights the gendered dynamics underpinning her diagnosis of "erotomania" and the disciplinary apparatus that recast her as a deviant subject. It also situates her writings on schizophrenia and her critique of psychiatric authority within the intellectual context of postwar France, considering her as a spectral presence in Foucault's subsequent lectures on psychiatric power. Moderated by Jamieson Webster. Respondent: Elias Dakwar. Loiseau's forthcoming book, The Death of the Clinic: Radical Experiments in the Art of Medicine, will be previewed in the talk.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Daughters of Shandong Author Eve J. Chung Shares Her New Novel
Eve J. Chung launches her new novel, The Young Will Remember, in conversation with Lisa Ko. About the book: A sweeping novel about a correspondent trapped behind enemy lines during the Korean War, and the women who help her find her way home, from the national bestselling author of Daughters of Shandong.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Acclaimed Author Siri Hustvedt Shares Her New Memoir on Life with Paul Auster, Ghost Stories (In Person AND Online!)
Acclaimed novelist Siri Hustvedt reflects on the loss of her husband, Paul Auster, and her searing memoir of love and grief. In Ghost Stories, Siri Hustvedt reflects on the 43 years she shared with her husband, writer Paul Auster, tracing their life together from their early days in 1980s New York to his death in 2024. The memoir gathers memories of their daily rituals alongside Auster’s final writings, including letters and an unfinished work addressed to his grandson. Moving between personal recollection and philosophical inquiry, Ghost Stories is a meditation on memory, love, and the lives we continue to carry. The Library is proud to hold the papers of Paul Auster, which date from 1963 to 2022 and contain all aspects of his professional work, including typescript and holograph drafts, notebooks, correspondence, audio and moving image recordings, clippings, and ephemera. Hustvedt speaks with physician and literary scholar Rita Charon about how grief reshapes time and the self, and how a loved one’s presence lingers even after they’re gone.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Historian Shares Often-Overlooked Story, Credit to the Nation: Jewish Immigrant Bankers and American Finance
Attend a compelling book talk celebrating Credit to the Nation: Jewish Immigrant Bankers and American Finance, 1870–1930. Historian Rebecca Kobrin uncovers a powerful and often overlooked story: how Jewish immigrants, shut out of traditional financial institutions, built their own systems of credit to survive and thrive in the United States. At once a story of innovation and caution, Credit to the Nation connects the past to the present, asking what happens when access to credit is denied and how marginalized communities respond. Kobrin will be joined in conversation with Michael R. Cohen, Executive Director of the Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience and Stuart and Suzanne Grant Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
7:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, tickets required
7:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, tickets required
Book Discussion | Pushcart Prize-Nominated Author Shares His New Book, Abundance
Attend a celebration of Hafeez Lakhani's Abundance, featuring Victor Suthammanont. About the book: In suburban Miami, sixty-year-old Sakeena--co-owner of a Dunkin' franchise along with her husband, Ramzan--has nine months to live unless she consents to an organ transplant. Thirty years ago, at Ramzan's behest, she left her beloved Rawalpindi, India, for the United States. In the years that followed, she compromised her belief in naseeb, the Muslim notion of destiny, and acquiesced to fertility treatments. This time, she is adamant that she should live as intended--without medical intervention. As her health deteriorates, Ramzan desperately seeks to reunite their grown children with the hope of convincing Sakeena to extend her life.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 5
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Conference | Discover new Research & Approches to Wildlife Conservation
An interdisciplinary symposium bringing together scholars and conservationists to discuss new research and collaborative approaches to wildlife conservation. This symposium will bring together researchers, conservationists, and students from across disciplines—including history, anthropology, conservation biology, and psychology—to explore new interdisciplinary approaches to promoting coexistence between humans and the endangered Asian elephant.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
8:00 am
Free
8:00 am
Free
Discussion | Jewish Immigrant Art and Identity in America (Online!)
Join professor emeritus Matthew Baigell for a talk on early Jewish immigrant artists and cartoonists. Tracing a movement that began in the late 19th century, Baigell explores how these artists shaped a distinct artistic tradition rooted in community, politics, and cultural heritage, one that continues to influence American art today.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
12:00 pm
Free
12:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Photographers Discuss How To Pursue Your Passion while Parenting
Maria Perez (portrait and wedding photographer) and Lotta Milde (wedding and family photographer) for an honest, uplifting conversation about what it really looks like to pursue your passion for photography while raising a little one. Whether you’re a hobbyist or working pro, this community meetup is a space to laugh, connect, and walk away reminded that your art still matters — even in the beautiful, chaotic season of new motherhood. Come as you are. Tired eyes welcome. No childcare? Bring them.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
12:00 pm
Free
12:00 pm
Free
Book Club | Talk about The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien
Enjoy a discussion of The Country Girls by Irish author Edna O'Brien, the first novel in a trilogy. Book Synopsis: Meet Kate and Baba, two young Irish country girls who have spent their childhood together. As they leave the safety of their convent school in search of life and love in the big city, they struggle to maintain their somewhat tumultuous relationship. Kate, dreamy and romantic, yearns for true love, while Baba just wants to experience the life of a single girl. Although they set out to conquer the world together, as their lives take unexpected turns, Kate and Baba must ultimately learn to find their own way.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
1:00 pm
Free
1:00 pm
Free
Gallery Talk | Learn How a Historic Mansion Turned into a Museum
Join a museum educator for a brief gallery talk tracing how a Gilded Age mansion was transformed into a world-class art museum.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
3:00 pm
Free
3:00 pm
Free
Lecture | Austrian UNESCO Commissioner Discusses Cultural Policy, Global Cooperation, & Heritage Preservation
Experience a lecture by Dr. Sabine Haag, President of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, who will reflect on Austria’s role in advancing UNESCO’s global mission to promote peace through cultural cooperation. Focusing on initiatives such as the World Heritage Program, the evening offers insight into how cultural heritage can serve as a vital force in fostering dialogue, strengthening identity, and shaping sustainable futures. Preserving cultural heritage extends far beyond safeguarding the past: It plays a crucial role in building resilient, interconnected societies. Through the lens of Austria’s engagement with UNESCO, this lecture will explore how heritage initiatives contribute to cross-cultural understanding, support sustainable tourism, and drive economic development. At the same time, World Heritage sites face mounting pressures, from climate change and rapid urbanization to the impact of mass tourism. Drawing on Austria’s experience, Dr. Haag will highlight how national commitment, combined with international collaboration, can effectively address these challenges and ensure the long-term protection of cultural treasures. The evening will provide a comprehensive perspective on the intersection of cultural policy, global cooperation, and heritage preservation, underscoring Austria’s continued contribution to UNESCO’s mission.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
5:30 pm
Free
5:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Bestselling Writers Discuss Wolfgang Koeppen's Trilogy of Failure
Enjoy a conversation with poet and translator Michael Hofmann and novelist Joshua Cohen to celebrate the Trilogy of Failure, three of Wolfgang Koeppen's great lost classics: The Hothouse, Death in Rome, and Pigeons on the Grass.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Journalist Shares Her Research on UFOs
A presentation by journalist Leslie Kean, who has been investigating and reporting on the subject of UFOs/UAP for over 25 years Leslie Kean is an investigative journalist and author of the 2010 New York Times bestseller UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record. She has been covering UFOs/UAP for the mainstream since 2000. Kean and reporter Ralph Blumenthal have contributed articles to The New York Times on UFOs/UAPs for eight years, beginning with a game-changing front page story about a secret Pentagon UFO program in 2017, written with Helene Cooper. Kean’s over two decades of reporting on UFOs was profiled in The New Yorker in 2021. Kean and Blumenthal broke the story of whistleblower David Grusch in The Debrief in 2023, which led to an open Congressional hearing. Kean also helped produce two seasons of the NatGeo documentary series UFOs: Investigating the Unknown (2025) streaming on Hulu.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
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!
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Talk | Experts Discuss Global Power Exchange between the U.S. & China (In Person AND Online!)
Experts discuss (research professor at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, CUNY Graduate Center) Branko Milanovic's timely new book, The Great Global Transformation, on the changing roles of the U.S. and China as global powers. After unprecedented economic growth during the 20th century, is the U.S. losing its place as a world power? How have China’s economic rise and its growing class of uber-wealthy elites shaken up its society? How are the seismic changes to both countries reshuffling the global economic order? Are Trump, Xi Jinping, and Putin — all products of neoliberal globalization — leading its reversal?
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Journalists/Podcasters Share Their Book on the Transportation Crisis, Life After Cars (In Person AND Online!)
Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, hosts of The War on Cars podcast, discuss their book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, with moderator Gersh Kuntzman. About the book: Through historical records, revealing interviews, and unflinching statistics, Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, with former podcast host Aaron Naparstek, unpack the scale of damage that cars cause, the forces that have created our current crisis and are invested in perpetuating it, and the way that the fight for better transportation is deeply linked to the fight for a more equitable and just society. Life After Cars expands on the podcast with new interviews and original content--offering something for everyone, from longtime listeners familiar with the harms of car culture to those just beginning to imagine a world with fewer metal boxes zooming around.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Hugo Award Finalist Launches Her New Novel, The Last Contract of Isako
Fonda Lee launches her new book, The Last Contract of Isako, in conversation with Victor Manibo. About the Book: A battle-worn corporate samurai undertakes one last mission on a merciless planet where death is always a mere breath away, in this standalone dystopian epic from the author of the modern fantasy classic Jade City.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Talk | Volcanoes Beneath the Surface: Earth’s Fiery History and Future
Join geologist Ally Peccia for an exploration of the volcanic forces that quietly shape our planet from beneath miles of rock and ocean. Discover how scientists reconstruct Earth’s fiery history by studying clues preserved in lava flows, ash layers, and the seafloor, revealing connections between ancient eruptions, climate change, and modern natural hazards. Learn how these deep Earth processes continue to influence the world we live in today and what they can tell us about the planet’s future. The evening opens with a brief volcano-themed comedy set by NYC-based science comedian Ben Miller. For ages 21+ only.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 6
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Wed, May 6
7:30 pm
Regular: $30
Member: $0
7:30 pm
Regular: $30
Member: $0
Join the Club!
Wed, May 6
8:00 pm
Regular: $25
Member: $0
8:00 pm
Regular: $25
Member: $0
Join the Club!
Talk | Broadway Performers Discuss Tony-Winning Hadestown
Hear from the people who make Broadway magic happen. Don't miss Joshua Colley (Orpheus) and Jordan Tyson (Eurydice) discussing the Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Hadestown, with host Ilana Levine, actress and podcaster of Little Known Facts with Illana Levine. Joshua Colley is a multi- hyphenate performer with a career spanning Broadway, film, television and music. He starred as Captain Hook in Disney’s Descendants: The Rise of Red and performed to sold-out arenas across America on Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour. Among many other noteworthy performances, Joshua is currently developing new original music, with major releases ahead. Jordan Tyson has starred on Broadway in Gypsy, The Notebook, on television in The Chair (Netflix), on film in Pressed, Don’t Ever Wonder (Netflix), and Vampires vs. the Bronx (Netflix). His debut EP sinking/flying as recording artist lovejordan launched March 2026.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 7
12:30 pm
Free
12:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Advocacy and the Fight for 9/11 Responders
This panel examines the role of civic advocacy in securing support for 9/11 responders affected by long-term health impacts.
Following the attacks, rescue and recovery worker John Feal emerged as a leading advocate for those suffering from toxic exposure at and around Ground Zero. Drawing on his forthcoming book, I Will Follow You Anywhere, the discussion highlights the efforts of responders who lobbied and testified before Congress, as well as broader conversations about policy, public health, and the ongoing fight for recognition and care.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 7
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Thu, May 7
6:30 pm
Regular: $30
Member: $0
6:30 pm
Regular: $30
Member: $0
Join the Club!
Discussion | Sculpturist Woody De Othello Discusses His Work & the Traditions of Nkisi
Enjoy a conversation between artist Woody De Othello and Public Art Fund Assistant Curator Jenée Daria Strand as they discuss Guardian Spirit, Othello’s first public art exhibition in New York City, on view at Brooklyn Bridge Park through March 2027. Othello’s sculptures reflect his deep research and long engagement with nkisi. In Western and Central African contexts, nkisi is known as any object or material that is designated with spiritual energy and, thus, provides spiritual protection to the place it inhabits or the person who owns it. Othello’s works reference everyday objects—phones, combs, instruments, and more—and subtly nod to traditions of nkisi, specifically the ways objects become an extension of our feelings, emotions, and thus, spirits.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 7
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Investigate the Disparities Fuelling American Political Culture
Attend a book launch celebrating Dr. Kenneth Barish's book, Bridging Our Political Divide: How Liberals and Conservatives Can Understand Each Other and Find Common Ground. In this talk, Dr. Barish will offer a brief explanation of our political differences - why we continue to disagree about fundamental issues of American life. He will then describe eight principles of constructive dialogue and reasoned debate - alternatives and antidotes to the angry, repetitive, and unproductive arguments that now dominate American political culture. Dr. Barish will describe a way of listening, thinking, and talking about political differences that allows us, more often, to understand each other's concerns and then, when we continue to disagree, even when we firmly believe that our opponents are wrong, to discuss our disagreements with greater civility and respect.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 7
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian Shares Her New Book, This Land Is Your Land (In Person AND Online!)
Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Beverly Gage discusses her cross-country journey through the places where Americans remember—and debate—their history. In her new book, This Land Is Your Land, Beverly Gage trades the archives for the open road, visiting museums, historic sites, and cultural landmarks that shape how the country tells its story. From Philadelphia, where the nation’s founding texts were signed, to Disneyland and the California dream, Gage examines the gap between America’s founding ideals and its lived realities. Published on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the book blends travelogue with cultural history to take a thoughtful look at how we confront the past and what it means to carry that history forward.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 7
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Celebrate American Theater Giant August Wilson with Broadway Stars (Taraji P. Henson, Cedric the Entertainer, & More) (Online)
A star-studded lineup from the Broadway production of Joe Turner's Come and Gone reflects on "theater's poet of Black America" August Wilson. Organizers welcome Taraji P. Henson, Cedric the Entertainer, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Joshua Boone, and Abigail Onwunali to help us celebrate an extraordinary artist and his deep contributions to the American theater.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 8
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Talk | Death in NYC: A Conversation on Sustainable Burial in Urban Spaces (+ Q&A) (In Person AND Online!)
Columbia University DeathLAB facilitates an open forum on contemporary questions of death in New York City. Through a short presentation and guided conversation, the program will explore diverse ways that funerary practices shape the urban landscape--for example, in the adaptation of municipal cemeteries into prominent public spaces like Bryant Park. This program aspires to expand conversation and collective thought about our shared mortal responsibilities. It includes a 20-minute presentation by two of DeathLAB's research fellows situating the lab's philosophy, research, and urban proposals, followed by a Q&A and open forum led by DeathLAB's founding director, Karla Rothstein.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 8
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Writers and Music: Poetry Reading and Piano Performance
Pianist Eleni Traganas hosts an evening of poetry and music with guest poets David Dephy and Patricia Carragon. The program celebrates the launch of the global anthology Lucent Voicings, featuring readings, live piano, and a book signing.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 8
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Lecture | Ancient Art Curator Explores Celtic Art through the Ages
This lecture introduces Celtic Art through the ages, the first major American exhibition on this topic, on view at the Harvard Art Museums. Susanne Ebbinghaus, the George M.A. Hanfmann Curator of Ancient Art and Head of the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at Harvard, discusses examples of exquisitely decorated weaponry, jewelry, as well as horse and chariot trappings. She further explains how imagery was transformed under Roman rule, highlighting notable instances of reception, reinterpretation, and the revival of Celtic art in the modern era.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 8
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Sat, May 9
3:30 pm
Free
3:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Discover the Life & Art of Photographer André Kertész at This Book Launch
Enjoy a special evening celebrating an influential artist, André Kertész, and his remarkable new biography. Widely regarded as a visionary of modern photography, Hungarian-born Kertész left an indelible mark on the visual language of the 20th century. Acclaimed American biographer Patricia Albers brings Kertész’s life and artistic journey into focus in her new book, Everything Is Photograph: A Life of André Kertész. This important publication offers fresh insight into the photographer’s inner world, creative vision, and enduring influence. The program will feature an approx. 45-minute conversation and presentation with author Patricia Albers and György Németh, Visiting Scholar at Quinnipiac University. Together, they will explore the fascinating circumstances behind the creation of the biography, as well as the life, work, and artistic legacy of Kertész. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, offering the audience a unique opportunity to engage directly with the speakers. The evening will conclude with a book signing by the author.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 11
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Talk | Photographer Coreen Simpson Shares Her Artistic Journey
Hear from Coreen Simpson, a photographer who has never waited for permission to create the images she believed the world needed to see. In 1978, while working at the Studio Museum in Harlem, she famously convinced Toni Morrison to sit for an “official portrait,” capturing the author with a steady gaze and a cigarette poised in her hand—an image that embodies Morrison’s power and Simpson’s instinct for revealing the soul of her subjects. Join us for an evening with the pioneering photographer as she reflects on a life shaped by curiosity, resilience, and fearless creativity—from photographing icons like James Baldwin, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Muhammad Ali to building her celebrated Black Cameo jewelry line. Through images and stories, Simpson will share how following what she calls “the blood beats” led to a singular artistic journey.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 11
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Collective Power: Art & Climate in Conversation
Join artists for an intimate salon exploring vision, resilience, and community action through creative practice. Engage in discussions on current climate-focused works, participate in an audience Q&A, and reflect on the connections among art, environmental justice, and the future we can shape together.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 12
12:00 pm
Free
12:00 pm
Free
Talk | Tony-Nominated Performer Discusses Death Becomes Her
Hear from the people who make Broadway magic happen. Don't miss Betsy Wolfe (Madeline Ashton) discussing the Tony Award nominee for Best Musical, Death Becomes Her, with Ilana Levine, actress and podcaster of Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine. Betsy Wolfe has starred in a multitude of Broadway shows, including Death Becomes Her (Madeline Ashton), & Juliet (Anne, Tony nomination), and Waitress (Jenna). She has performed as a soloist with over 65 symphony orchestras, including the BBC Orchestra, National Symphony, Chicago Symphony, and the New York Pops. Wolfe also co-founded BroadwayEvolved, an industry-respected theatre training program for students.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 12
12:30 pm
Free
12:30 pm
Free
Symposium | Latino Art Rising: Market Influence Collecting and Cultural Impact
Join a panel of museum leaders, curators, collectors, artists, and cultural advocates for a conversation about the growing influence of U.S.-based Latino artists in today’s global art market. Building on the Latin American art market’s success, the discussion explores opportunities to increase visibility, secure institutional recognition, and attract investment.
Through case-driven insights, the program examines how emerging and established voices are shaping a new wave of cultural impact, positioning Latino artists within a broader global conversation about representation, demand, and creative influence.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 12
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Discussion | The Complexitiy of Housing Affordability and Urban Policy (Online!)
Planner and housing researcher Alan Mallach joins a conversation about the complexities of the housing affordability crisis, examining how development costs, incomes, and housing prices interact across the U.S.
In conversation with Andrew Berman and Juan Rivero, the program challenges the notion that increased zoning alone can solve affordability issues, offering a deeper look at who is most affected and why the crisis varies by region.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 12
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Lecture | Anthropologist & Dancer Discusses Dance as a Facet of Social Life
The recent groundbreaking exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York "Urban Stomp: Dreams and Defiance on the Dance Floor" was curated by Dr. Derrick Leon Washington, an anthropologist and dancer, who will speak at this event. Building on this and his earlier exhibition "Rhythm and Power: Salsa in New York," he will examine social dance as a vital force in social life. Through examples ranging from lindy hop and salsa to hip hop and hustle, Dr. Washington shows how dance floors have functioned as spaces of creativity, community, and social meaning. Combining research, archival images, music, and movement analysis, the presentation reveals how social dancing reflects history, possibility, and collective defiance. This presentation invites the audience to look beyond performance and consider social dance as a cultural language that continues to shape how people gather, communicate, and imagine defiant joy.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 12
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Talk | Time, Life, & National Geographic Photojournalist Discusses His Craft & Career
Hear a talk from Rick Smolan, a New York Times bestselling author with over five million books in print. Adam Driver portrayed him in the award-winning movie Tracks, based on Smolan's National Geographic cover story about Robyn Davidson's 1700-mile, nine-month solo camel trek across the treacherous Australian outback. A Time, Life, and National Geographic photojournalist, he created the "Day in the Life" book series, which featured the world's leading photographers and combined storytelling with state-of-the-art technology.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 12
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Tue, May 12
7:00 pm
Regular: $27
Member: $0
7:00 pm
Regular: $27
Member: $0
Join the Club!
Gallery Talk | Learn How a Historic Mansion Turned into a Museum
Join a museum educator for a brief gallery talk tracing how a Gilded Age mansion was transformed into a world-class art museum.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, May 13
3:00 pm
Free
3:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Analyze & Discuss National Book Award Finalist Poetry Book, Stay Dead
Read and analyze Natalie Shapero's 2025 poetry collection, Stay Dead. Please bring your copy to the discussion! The group will be doing close reading and analysis of the poems. Synopsis: Shapero's unflinching poems explore theories of acting, discourses of survival, privacy and publicity, power and punchlines, and the language of despair. This work explores how "your death place / is the birthplace you choose." With appearances by Claude Monet, Mark Rothko, Chris Burden, Studs Terkel, Anthony Bourdain, Gene Kelly, and others, Shapero investigates themes of method acting, abstract expressionism, and the production and commodification of intense expression and raw interiority.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 13
4:30 pm
Free
4:30 pm
Free
Gallery Talk | Drawing, History, and Abstract Slavery
Join artist Tony Lewis and curator Ellen Tani for a focused conversation on Lewis’s first New York solo exhibition. They will discuss key series and how they examine the Atlantic slave trade through experimental drawing methods. The talk will also touch on Lewis’s immersive pieces, created through the physical process of rubbing graphite across large surfaces.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 13
5:00 pm
Free
5:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Frida Kahlo's Family Discusses the New Book, Casa Kahlo: Frida Kahlo's Home and Sanctuary (+ Signing)
Mara Romeo P. Kahlo, grandniece of Frida Kahlo, is joined in conversation by her daughters, Mara de Anda Romeo and Frida Hentschel Romeo, to celebrate their new book, Casa Kahlo: Frida Kahlo's Home and Sanctuary. This new book is an unprecedented and deeply personal look into Frida Kahlo's family home and artistic refuge. The conversation will be moderated by Isabel Venero, followed by a signing.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 13
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
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!
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 13
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Lecture | Inside The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (Online!)
Professor Sid Ray, an experienced dramaturg, offers a deep dive into Julius Caesar ahead of the summer production. Expect a scholarly yet accessible exploration of the play’s political tensions, moral dilemmas, and timeless questions about public life. Ideal for newcomers and seasoned Shakespeare fans alike.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 13
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Learn about the Impact of AI on Truth & Society
Hear from Steven Rosenbaum, the executive director of the Sustainable Media Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring the impact of AI and social media on truth and society. Steve and his panel will discuss and explore; how truth is being blurred and how the ways we love, work, learn, remember, and create are changing. In their hunger for clarity, robots are erasing Truth's messy, beautiful middle, replacing it with something designed to serve soulless AI, not the humans who built it. Rosenbaum's book, The Future of Truth: How AI Reshapes Reality, will be available for sale after the presentation.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
12:00 pm
Free
12:00 pm
Free
Gallery Talk | Dreams, Decay, and Reinvention: Revisiting Paul Thek
A conversation inspired by Dream of Vanishing brings together voices from writing, curating, and contemporary art to reflect on Paul Thek’s enigmatic and influential practice.
Addressing themes of impermanence, transformation, and artistic legacy, the discussion explores how Thek’s work continues to challenge assumptions about what art can be and how it endures.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
4:30 pm
Free
4:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Book Launch--Kit Kemp: Design Stories (+ Signing)
Enjoy a conversation with author and global interior design icon, Kit Kemp, to celebrate the launch of her newest book, Kit Kemp: Design Stories, a stunning collection of interiors that reflect personality, revolutionize contemporary design, and break free from the ordinary. She will be in conversation with Jacqueline Terrebonne, editor-in-chief of Galerie magazine, followed by a signing.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Lecture | Discover Realistic Portraits by Modern Artist Alice Neel
Classics expert Eleanor Sypher explores the life and work of Alice Neel (1900-1984). Neel was one of the most skillful portraitists in 20th Century American Art, active from the 1920s to the 1980s. She presented realistic figures (mostly clothed) when other artists were in the abstract and pop art modes. With a practiced eye for character, she showed candor and irreverence as she painted family, friends, her neighbors in Spanish Harlem, artists, and activists. The FBI interviewed her in 1955, suspecting she was a Communist (she was not a member, but on the fringe). The two officers summarized her as “a romantic Bohemian-type Communist” to which afterwards, she wanted to paint the two. They declined.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
6:00 pm
$5, RSVP required
6:00 pm
$5, RSVP required
Discussion | Food, Recovery, and Community After Crisis
A conversation with chef Bobby Flay examines the role of food and community in moments of crisis and recovery. Drawing on his experiences supporting rescue and recovery workers after 9/11, Flay explores how nourishment can serve as a form of care, connection, and resilience. In dialogue with a cultural leader, the program considers how shared meals and collective effort can help shape healing in the wake of trauma.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Mapping Cultural Histories: Chinatown and Yiddish New York (Online!)
Join journalist Aaron Reiss and scholar Dr. Agi Legutko for a conversation about using maps as tools for storytelling and cultural preservation. Through projects such as documenting Chinatown’s disappearing Chinese street signs and the digital archive Mapping Yiddish New York, the speakers explore how maps can reveal hidden histories and trace community identity at the hyperlocal level.
Discover how these projects document the spaces, people, and cultural movements that have shaped New York City, offering new ways to visualize memory, migration, and urban change.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
6:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, registration required
6:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, registration required
Book Discussion | Bonnie Friedman Shares Her First Novel, Don't Stop (In Person AND Online!)
Bonnie Friedman explores ambition, desire, and the dangerous pursuit of self-knowledge in her first novel, Don't Stop, which she'll discuss at this event with award-winning writer Dawn Raffel. Set in Brooklyn and Manhattan at the turn of the millennium, Don’t Stop is a bold, immersive debut that explores what happens when a woman dares to want more—of the world, of her body, of herself. Bonnie Friedman delivers a novel of transgression, transformation, and unapologetic longing.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Queer Desire, Archive, and the Sublimation of Gay Histories
This monograph on Paul P. brings together portrait paintings, installation views, and recurring motifs throughout his practice, including sculptural furniture forms and atmospheric abstractions.
Centering on his jewel-toned paintings of men drawn from 1970s gay erotica, the book frames P.’s work as an archive-based exploration of queer desire, visibility, and historical memory. The figures convey both elegance and unease, shaped by the lingering shadow of the AIDS crisis and the histories embedded in their source material. Essays by Kenneth E. Silver and others situate the work within a broader discourse on representation, transience, and sublimation. Designed by Katy Nelson.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Gallery Talk | American Myths on Screen: Six Decades with Chip Lord
A special evening with Chip Lord explores a career shaped by experimentation across video, sculpture, and architecture. Through a curated screening and live conversation, the program traces his enduring fascination with the American landscape and its cultural myths. Spanning works set in cities across the U.S., the event reflects on tourism, media, and the built environment, offering a sharp, cinematic lens on how place and identity intertwine.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 14
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Rewriting Pop Icons: Art, Subculture, and the Legacy of Martin Wong
A dynamic conversation featuring artists and curators examining the enduring influence of Martin Wong’s Popeye series. Bridging comic imagery, tattoo culture, and art-historical references, the discussion unpacks how Wong blurred the lines between “low” and “high” culture.
Set against the creative energy of downtown New York in the late 20th century, the panel reflects on how Wong’s work continues to resonate across contemporary artistic and curatorial practices.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 15
4:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free
Fri, May 15
6:30 pm
Regular: $25
Member: $0
6:30 pm
Regular: $25
Member: $0
Join the Club!
Book Discussion | Fashion Historians & Curators Discuss Their New Book, Chanel in Vogue
Susanna Brown and Rebecca C. Tuite, authors of Chanel in Vogue, lead an in-depth look at the era of Gabrielle Chanel, her successors, Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard, and the world-famous fashion illustrators and photographers, from Edward Steichen, and Helmut Newton, to Ellen von Unwerth, and many more. Susanna Brown is a writer and curator specializing in photography, fashion and portraiture. She has held curatorial positions at London's V&A and National Portrait Gallery, and is the author and editor of numerous acclaimed books. Rebecca C. Tuite is a fashion historian and writer. She is the author of 1950s in Vogue: The Jessica Daves Years 1952-1962. Books will be available for purchase. Chanel Style is highly encouraged!
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 15
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Club | Discuss Your Favorite Romance Books in a Group
Calling all romance book lovers! If you love romance or want to get into it, come to this romance book club! The group will be discussing everyone's favorite romance books, current reads, and more! May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month and this month's suggested theme is to read a romance novel by authors of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage and cultures.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, May 16
10:15 am
Free
10:15 am
Free
Book Discussion | Naturalist Shares Her New Book, River: A Hudson Memoir
New York City naturalist and author Leslie Day discusses her book River: A Hudson Memoir. Learn about her almost 40 years of living in a houseboat on the Hudson River at the 79th Street Boat Basin and the natural history of the river itself—from its geological birth as an estuary with thriving wildlife to polluted years and subsequent clean-up. Leslie highlights the resilience of the houseboat community, who survived hurricanes, Nor’easters, giant icefields, fires, and sinkings. Despite it all, the community thrived together through uplifting celebrations and a shared joy of living on the river.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Sat, May 16
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Rethinking Value: Art, Access, and the Rise of Affordable Collecting
As the art market undergoes rapid change, this timely conversation explores how artists, galleries, and collectors are redefining value and access. Centered on the growing momentum of affordable collecting, the discussion examines new pathways for building meaningful collections in an evolving landscape. Bringing together voices across the art world, the panel reflects on print editions, shifting market realities, and how ownership and support of art can take new, more inclusive forms.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Sat, May 16
4:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Artist Explores the Ancient Tradition of Alchemy in Her New Book, The Alchemical Imagination
Enjoy this special talk, celebrating the release of Eliza Swann's The Alchemical Imagination, a book that outlines the stages of creating the Philosopher's Stone, as we explore this enduring mystery. Synopsis: The Alchemical Imagination reintroduces the ancient tradition of alchemy through the lens of contemporary creativity. Both practical guide and historical exploration, the book makes this often-misunderstood subject approachable and relevant for today's readers. Swann brings together stories of influential alchemists -- including often-overlooked women and queer figures -- and traces alchemy's impact on early science, healing practices, psychology, visual art, and literature. With thoughtful exercises and reflections, the book encourages readers to deepen their relationship to their own creative process and discover what medieval practitioners once called "The Great Art."
New York City, NY; NYC
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Sun, May 17
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | National Bestselling Author Shares Her New Book, Coyoteland
Vanessa Hua launches her new book, Coyoteland, in conversation with Kristin Chen. About the book: From the bestselling author of A River of Stars comes a funny, heartfelt novel set in an affluent Bay Area suburb where a Chinese American family moves in and sets off a series of scandals, for fans of Celeste Ng and Emma Straub.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, May 18
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Discover & Discuss Poetry on Food
Poetry enthusiasts unpack the layered meanings of poetry through an informal group discussion. At this session, invigorate your senses with poems that reflect on the emotional and cultural significance of food. Readings are selected from Poetry Magazine, Academy of American Poets, and Poetry Foundation. Please note that contemporary poetry deals frankly with contemporary issues and all works discussed are artistic expressions selected for an adult audience.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 19
2:30 pm
Free
2:30 pm
Free
Book Club | Discuss Normal People by Sally Rooney
Enjoy a discussion on Sally Rooney's Normal People, a story of mutual fascination, friendship, and love. It takes the audience from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can’t.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 19
4:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Book Launch: Double Happiness by Heather Eng
Heather Eng launches her new novel, Double Happiness, in conversation with Lauren Kung Jessen. About the book: Caught between a relentless tech job, her adoring fiancé, and an unexpected new flame, Mei must learn what it means to choose herself.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 19
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Photographer Shares His New Book, Birds of Mexico City (+ Signing)
Enjoy a conversation with photographer Pieter Henket to celebrate his new book, Birds of Mexico City, a collection of beautiful portraits of young people in Mexico City, interweaving themes of gender, sexuality, heritage, and self-expression. He will be in conversation with Justin Gaspar, followed by a signing.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 19
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Artists Explore How They Created the Acclaimed Semmelweis Opera & Album
Hear the inside story of the opera and new album on the story of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis. Composer Raymond J. Lustig, album co-producer Maximilien Hein, and stage director Martin Boross will present selections from the album. The internationally acclaimed choral opera Semmelweis, based on the story of one of medicine's greatest visionaries, was first unveiled in a 2017 concert performance at the NAC, launching a major production and tour in Europe. This April, the ethereal music of Semmelweis returns in a boldly re-conceived studio album on the Sono Luminus label, to be released on CD, vinyl, all streaming platforms, and in immersive atmos surround format. Composer Raymond J. Lustig, album co-producer Maximilien Hein, stage director Martin Boross, and other project artists will present selections from the album, and discuss its path to development, from original idea to the grand stage to the final masters, with Q&A to follow.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 19
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Gallery Talk | Learn How a Historic Mansion Turned into a Museum
Join a museum educator for a brief gallery talk tracing how a Gilded Age mansion was transformed into a world-class art museum.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, May 20
3:30 pm
Free
3:30 pm
Free
Book Club | Read & Analyze Thomas Mann's Bold & Disturbing Final Novella, The Black Swan
Attend a novella discussion, where the group will be talking about The Black Swan, written in 1952. About the book: The feminine counterpart of Mann's masterpiece, Death in Venice, this book is Thomas Mann's bold and disturbing final novella. Written from the point of view of a woman in what we might now call mid-life crisis, The Black Swan evinces Mann's mastery of psychological analysis and his compelling interest in the intersection of the physical and the spiritual in human behavior.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 20
4:30 pm
Free
4:30 pm
Free
Discussion | Natural History Museum in Vienna-Featured Photographer Discusses His Craft & Career
Attend a panel discussion with Austrian photographer Gregor Sailer, who has long been fascinated by landscapes shaped by human intervention, unusual structures, remote places, and restricted areas. Using an analogue large-format view camera, Sailer creates striking images that allow viewers to enter these spaces that are usually concealed from the public: The self-contained, biodiverse ecosystem of enchanted food forests in the High Atlas; barren food deserts in the icy north; test facilities for the colonization of Mars and the Moon; high-tech production sites for algae, insects, and lab-grown meat; and sealed laboratories for virus and cell cultivation. With precision and clarity, his work reveals how human ingenuity, ecological limits, and global power structures intersect. Sailer will discuss his experiences and findings on this complex subject, as well as the process behind his stunning photographs, compiled in his latest book, Cockaigne, and currently featured in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum in Vienna.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 20
5:30 pm
Free
5:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Architecture Experts Discuss Generative AI & Architectural Design (+ Book Signing)
Attend a panel conversation to celebrate the new book from MAP (Metropolitan Architectural Practice), Architecture x Architecture: A Dialectic, a critical dialectic on generative AI and architectural design within an interdisciplinary practice. The conversation will feature Katherine Lambert, Christiane Robbins, and Annabel Keenan, followed by a signing.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 20
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Lecture | Little Africa in Manhattan: Black History and Hidden Neighborhoods (Online!)
Join educator Amanda Adams-Louis for a virtual talk on “Little Africa,” a thriving 19th-century Black community once centered around Minetta Street and Minetta Lane. Home to businesses, churches, and cultural institutions, it was a vital hub of Black life in Manhattan during the late 1800s and early 20th century. This program uncovers the history of this largely forgotten neighborhood, offering insight into its cultural significance and lasting impact on New York City.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 20
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
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!
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, May 20
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Indigenous Fire Gathering: Land, Water, and Storytelling
Join a gathering centered on Indigenous knowledge and protocol, bringing together guest artists and curators for an evening of storytelling and performance. Rooted in care for land, water, and air, the event honors the cultural and environmental significance of Lenapehoking.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 21
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Prize-Winning Author Celebrates 3 of His Books (+ Signing)
Enjoy a conversation with Amit Chaudhuri to celebrate three of his titles, published with NYRB. He will be in conversation with Mark Krotov, followed by a signing, of The Immortals, A New World, and Incompleteness.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 21
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Sustainability & AI Explored by Leading Voices in Architecture, Culture, & Science
At this panel discussion, experts explore the evolving relationship between culture and sustainability in the Intelligent Age. Bringing together leading voices from architecture, climate, culture, and artificial intelligence, the event revisits sustainability not merely as a technical challenge, but as a deeply cultural and place-based practice. This panel proposes a renewed inquiry into sustainability as a cultural project. Drawing on Bernard Rudofsky’s seminal Architecture Without Architects (1964) and contemporary research such as HABITAT: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Climate, the discussion reconsiders how vernacular knowledge and environmental intelligence can inform present and future design practices. A central focus of the conversation is the role of Artificial Intelligence in shaping physical environments. The panel will critically examine whether AI can operate across scales, while fostering more integrated, ecological, and culturally grounded approaches. Can AI reconnect fragmented systems? Can it amplify, rather than erase, cultural specificity?
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 21
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Book Discussion | The Journey of the New York Pickle (Online!)
Join an online lecture featuring the authors of The Pickled City: The Story of New York Pickles. In this talk, the authors trace the humble pickle’s journey from ancient food preservation traditions to the bustling pickle stands and family businesses that once defined the Lower East Side. Drawing on rich archival images and stories from immigrant communities, The Pickled City reveals how pickles became a symbol of migration, entrepreneurship, and everyday life in New York.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sun, May 24
2:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, registration required
2:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, registration required
Book Club | Mystery Novel Discussion in an Art Gallery: The Left-Handed Twin
You are invited to discuss The Left-Handed Twin by Thomas Perry. To miss this would be a crime. About the book: Jane Whitefield helps people disappear. Fearing for their lives, fleeing dangerous situations, her clients come to her when they need to vanish completely—to assume a new identity and establish a new life somewhere they won’t be found. And when people are desperate enough to need her services, they come to the old house in rural western New York where Jane was raised to begin their escape. It’s there that, one spring night, Jane finds a young woman fresh from LA with a whole lot of trouble behind her. After she cheated on her boyfriend, he dragged her to the home of the offending man and made her watch as he killed him. She testified against the boyfriend, but a bribed jury acquitted him, and now he’s free and trying to find and kill her.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, May 26
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | Trey Sager Shares His New Book on Sex, Identity, & Meaning
Trey Sager launches his new book, Pretend I’m Not Here. Book Synopsis: Pretend I’m Not Here features characters struggling with sex, identity, and meaning in a world collapsing around them. Everyone is longing for something—the beloved, a newborn child, even annihilation. Cities burn, protests rage, isolation intensifies. A motif of masks and costumes runs throughout as characters experiment with who they are and struggle for connection in an absurd world. Though bleak, many of the stories end with a moment of dark optimism.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 26
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Talk | Museum of Natural History Photographer Discusses His Craft & Career
Hear a talk with Alvaro Keding, a Colombian-born documentary photographer. His curiosity about the natural world has led him to explore how we experience and connect to nature within man-made environments. Keding is the head of photography at the American Museum of Natural History, where he works among fellow insects, dinosaurs, and shooting stars.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 26
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Gallery Talk | Learn How a Historic Mansion Turned into a Museum
Join a museum educator for a brief gallery talk tracing how a Gilded Age mansion was transformed into a world-class art museum.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 27
3:00 pm
Free
3:00 pm
Free
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!
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 27
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussion | TV Chef Launches Her New Book, Spanglish: Recipes & Stories
Enjoy a conversation with TV chef Monti Carlo to celebrate the launch of Spanglish: Recipes & Stories, a tasty tribute to Puerto Rican culture and cuisine. The discussion will be followed by a signing.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 27
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Experts Discuss the Diversity Principle in Modern Intellectual Life (In Person AND Online!)
Learn how “All of us living today have benefited from the diversity principle, whether or not we’re willing to recognize its impact.” The diversity principle asserts that people with different backgrounds, experiences, identities, and viewpoints produce better work through engagement with one another. For more than two centuries, it has shaped countless ideas and institutions that define modern intellectual life, from John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty to 20th-century efforts toward equality. In his new book, The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea, UC Berkeley law professor David B. Oppenheimer, a former diversity skeptic, chronicles how this once-revolutionary idea became a foundational value in higher education over the past two centuries and the backlash it now faces. Oppenheimer talks with CNN political correspondent Van Jones about the role of diversity as a vital component of a thriving intellectual and political culture.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 27
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Mental Health and Community Resilience After Crisis
This conversation explores how the mental health impacts of 9/11 have shaped approaches to supporting first responders and communities in crisis. Bringing together experts and responders, the panel reflects on lessons learned and on evolving strategies to build resilience in the face of tragedy.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 28
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Award-Winning Directors Explore the World of Generative AI & Film
In this conversation, award-winning directors Michaela Ternasky-Holland and Aaron Santiago share how they use generative AI, motion capture, 360° cinematography, projection mapping, and volumetric capture to tell stories that cross lines of culture, ability, and lived experience. From Emmy-winning VR documentaries screened at Tribeca and Cannes to experimental AI films created with OpenAI's SORA, Ternasky-Holland and Santiago work where technology stops being a tool and starts becoming a language. They'll discuss their solo projects, their collaborations, and the question at the heart of their practice: Does technology inspire art, or does art give technology meaning? Whether you're a creator, technologist, or simply curious about where storytelling is headed, this is a rare chance to hear from two artists shaping the future of how we connect.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 28
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Discussion | Fashion Designer Bibhu Mohapatra Explores His Craft & Career
Attend a conversation between fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra and Marc Karimzadeh (Editorial and Communications Director at the Council of Fashion Designers of America), in which they explore his illustrious career. Originally from Odisha, India, Bibhu Mohapatra gained the attention of top luxury brands and, while finishing school, was hired by Halston as an assistant designer. The designer has received numerous awards and is globally recognized for his elegant womenswear and jewelry. He has dressed former First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as celebrities such as Glenn Close, Hilary Swank, Jennifer Lopez, and Lupita Nyong’o.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 29
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Gallery Talk | Art in Focus: Slow Observance and Conversation
Take a moment to slow down and connect with a single work of art through guided observation and group discussion. No background in art is needed--just curiosity and openness. This relaxed, welcoming program invites all adult learners to engage deeply with one piece at a time. Note: Space is limited; first-come, first-served. Stickers are distributed 15 minutes before the program starts.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, Jun 5
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Gallery Talk | Inside the Declaration of Independence and the Transatlantic Circulation of News
Join museum experts, including curators, conservators, scientists, and scholars, for an in-depth look at selected exhibition objects in the galleries. Gain new insights and hear untold stories from insiders, and examine the artworks more closely. A Q&A will follow the talk.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, Jun 25
3:00 pm
Free
3:00 pm
Free
Join the Club!
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