62 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Thursday, December 7, 2017
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
In considering the politics and policies of commemorating the past, this conference probes how public ...
more >> discourses about memory change over time. Papers that explore how the past is known, interpreted, conceptualized, or articulated, and how such representations evolve with the passage of time, are welcome. How has the passage of time changed the way memories of historical violence, atrocity and genocide are represented in the public sphere? In what ways do political, social and cultural forces influence, appropriate, or stifle these memories in different ways as the original event recedes into the more distant past? Related topics include the globalization of memory, and with it the increasing popularity of commemorative memorial practices. The proliferation of museums and memorials, the increase in confessional or memorial literature, and the surge of memory laws against Holocaust and genocide denial are some examples of the historical, cultural and legal phenomena that speak to questions of how individuals and communities remember.
"A real failure does not need an excuse. It is an end in itself." - Gertrude Stein We are all familiar ...
more >> with the many bromides teaching us the value of failure on the path to success. It builds character, shows perseverance and dedication, demonstrates willingness to take a risk, and so forth. All perhaps true, but all constrained by a view of failure as a means to an end, an unfortunately necessary obstacle to be overcome. One may learn from failures, but what is mostly meant is that one learns not to do that particular thing again. Failing is fine, especially on someone else's dime, if you gain some experience to avoid future failures. There is an alternative view of failure. What about failure as a good? What about the intrinsic value of failure? How about failure that contains valuable data, not just an error message? Failure that is a critical part of the process, not a means to an end? Failure that stands shoulder to shoulder with success? Can there be such a thing as positive failure? Can failure make progress? Can we use failure to improve creativity, education, or behavior? How do we research failure? How do we discover important failures? How do we recognize important failures? This symposium will investigate these and other perspectives on failure across disciplines, searching for commonalities and differences. scienceandsociety@columbia.edu
This is a 3-hour tour that begins with a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, an icon of New York City for ...
more >> over 125 years, with spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The tour then moves on to a stroll of Brooklyn Heights, America’s and New York City’s first suburb. The tour then explores the neighborhood DUMBO before ending at the Fulton Ferry landing.
The 3-hour walking and subway tour covers the Financial District including Wall Street and the World ...
more >> Trade Center, SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown. These are neighborhoods that simply can’t be fully appreciated from a bus. There will be one or two opportunities to sample tasty treats.
Although world famous, Harlem may be New York's best kept secret with some of the city's best architecture, ...
more >> food, music and people. Harlem's history is also one of the city's most dramatic, having gone through many ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic changes over the past roughly 400 years, which have resulted in a diverse array of places of worship, theaters, homes and eating establishments.
You've seen the iconic skyscrapers, attended a Broadway show, visited Lady Liberty and relaxed in Central ...
more >> Park. Looking for a little more of the Big Apple? Maybe it's time to visit some of Manhattan's oldest and most enchanting historic districts. Take a relaxing stroll through SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown.
Explore the southwest of Central Park with Central Park Conservancy tour guides, and see it like never ...
more >> before. From a planned military parade ground to the site commemorating a famous activist for peace, one of the most-visited areas of the Park has some secrets to share with even the most seasoned Park-goer. Highlights of this tour include: Maine Monument, the Children’s District, Sheep Meadow, Tavern on the Green, and Strawberry Fields.
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
The keyboard works of Bach offered in 30-minute meditations. Bach at Noon concerts takes place Tuesdays ...
more >> through Fridays, from September 12, 2017 to May 23, 2018.
12:20 pm
free, no reservation required
Renowned Brazilian pianist Grace Smith-Alves discusses Brazilian music and her new album, Keys to Rio.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Learn about central banking functions that Federal Reserve System performs and see Bank's vault of international ...
more >> monetary gold on bedrock of Manhattan Island, five stories below street level. Learn why Federal Reserve has "Federal" in its name, while it's a private bank, not Federal at all. Tour times: 1:00pm, 2:00pm. This tour takes place Mondays through Fridays, except bank holidays.
Stars: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden. A director hires an alcoholic has-been and strikes up ...
more >> a stormy relationship with the actor's wife, who he believes is the cause of all the man's problems. 104 min.
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Share your passion for gaming the old-fashioned way. If words excite or inspire you, and crossword puzzles ...
more >> keep you going, then Scrabble is your game! Are you a chess or checkers champion? Whether you're a master or just starting out, show off your best moves. If you like wheeling and dealing, Monopoly's the game for you. Join them for some lively board time. All levels of play welcome. Please feel free to bring your own game set, and friends.
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Are you a vocabulary champion? Show off your top-scoring words against other Scrabble fans. Whether you're ...
more >> a Scrabble wizard or just want to learn the game, come join us and meet new friends. All levels of play are welcome. Please feel free to bring your own game set, and be sure to bring friends to play with.
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
This concert will offer the chance to hear some of the best-known pieces by some of the most illustrious ...
more >> Italian, German and French composers of the 17th century, including Castello, Frescobaldi, Biber, Lully, and Schmelzer. Baroque violinist Natalie Kress and harpsichordist Elena Zamolodchikova recently began their collaboration and immediately enjoyed working together on 17th century repertoire, performing to critical acclaim at Zamolodchikova's Final Doctoral recital at Stony Brook University. They are continuing their collaboration and expanding their repertoire and performance appearances.
1:15 pm
free, no reservation required
New York City is a mecca for graffiti and street art, making it a very attractive playground for artists ...
more >> from around the world. Bushwick, in a working class district on the north side of Brooklyn adjacent to Williamsburg, has been attracting artists for some time now. The neighborhood has a fair collection of art studios and galleries, but it’s Bushwick’s industrial landscape that’s attracting the street artist. If you came looking for 1960′s Greenwich Village, you’ll find something brewing in Bushwick.
This class invites attendees to explore genealogy research through family snapshots and other historic ...
more >> photographs. Attendees will gain insights on how to solve family mysteries and find genealogy clues through close inspection of photographic imagery - from newspaper images to heirloom portraits.
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A documentary that examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping ...
more >> a white woman in Central Park. After having spent between 6 and 13 years each in prison, a serial rapist confessed to the crime. 119 min.
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Stars: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara. In a murder trial, the defendant says he suffered temporary ...
more >> insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case? 140 min.
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
You've seen the iconic skyscrapers, attended a Broadway show, visited Lady Liberty and relaxed in Central ...
more >> Park. Looking for a little more of the Big Apple? Maybe it's time to visit some of Manhattan's oldest and most enchanting historic districts. Take a relaxing stroll through SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown.
Roundtable: 3 - 6pm "Rethinking Monteverdi: Castellucci, Bergman, Feuer," to consider revisitations ...
more >> of Monteverdi by Romeo Castellucci, Ingmar Bergman, and Donya Feuer, speakers include: Mark Franko (Temple U.), Piersandra Di Matteo (Fine Arts Academy, Bologna) Concert: 8 - 9:30pm "From Monteverdi to Bergman," TENET ensemble will perform works by Monteverdi, followed by a short dance film collaboration by Ingmar Bergman and Donya Feuer, "De Fordomda Kvinnornas Dans"
3:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Gather around the Holiday Tree for free seasonal activities including festive performances from The Sweetback ...
more >> Sisters, the New York Life Singers, and Audra Rox, a seed packet activity with Gardener Steph, and much more. Tasty holiday treats to be provided by wagamama and Eataly , and hot soup will be provided by Almond. Illumination of the Tree of Light will take place at 4:55 p.m.
3:30 pm
free, no reservation required
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM Jazz Arts Combo Festival 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM Soyoung Choe, classical piano 8:30 ...
more >> PM - 10:00 PM Toby Winarto, viola
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A wildly imaginative, rebellious, and tender tale of independence from the critically acclaimed author ...
more >> of the “deliciously wicked” (Slate) Bad Marie.
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
A cozy evening with caroling, warm beverages, cookies, and the Battery Park City community.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:45 pm
free, no reservation required
One of America’s most important composers, Julia Wolfe has often mined the past as inspiration for ...
more >> her contemporary music. Oral tradition, memory and oral history are central to two of her best-known works: Steel Hammer (2009), which has as its source more than 200 variations of the quintessential American folk ballad, the legendary “John Henry.” And the text for Anthracite Fields (2014), her choral oratorio about life and death in Pennsylvania coal country, was, in Wolfe’s words, “culled from oral histories and interviews, local rhymes, a coal advertisement, geological descriptions, a mining accident index, contemporary daily everyday activities that make use of coal power, and an impassioned political speech by John L. Lewis, the head of the United Mine Workers Union.” Julia Wolfe discusses her multiple roles as composer, researcher and interviewer, and how her compositions, rooted in the past and focusing on workers, labor, and industrialization, have gained new relevance and audiences, in coal country, throughout the U.S. and beyond.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
The artists in this show are linked by their interest in the ephemera and residue created by the movement ...
more >> of human life and history, and the need to use art as a tool and a process and to understand our present world.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
10 simultaneous exhibitions each week for 4 weeks. Receptions: Thur, Nov. 30, 6-8pm Thur, Dec. 7, ...
more >> 6-8pm Thur, Dec. 14, 6-8pm Thur, Dec. 21, 6-8pm
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Presences by Guggenheim-Award-winning Brazilian photographer Valdir Cruz marks his seventh solo exhibition ...
more >> at the gallery. Its special 20th anniversary exhibition of photographs is comprised of a selection of Cruz’s distinctive vintage, gelatin silver prints from his previous collections.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Culminating an intense semester of research and creative experimentation, New School University students, ...
more >> led by acclaimed saxophonist and composer Jane Ira Bloom, present new music and theater works inspired by and incorporating the Library’s archives.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
The events causing the end of the Hittite empire at the end of the Late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean ...
more >> are still unknown, but while its causes have been widely discussed, little to no attention has been devoted to the lack of memory of it, as well as the lack of a clear attempt by later polities to claim the legacy of the Great Kings of Hatti. Lorenzo d'Alfonso's talk will focus on the perceptions of the fall of the empire, and the non-uniform trajectories of its aftermath.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
The second installment of The Strange Career of the Jim Crow - Midwest reveals the many faces of white ...
more >> racism. The face of employment discrimination was unmasked by the March on Washington movement in Detroit’s auto plants in the 1940s. The face of killer cops was revealed by Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers as well as by Cha Cha Jimenez and the Young Lords in Chicago. The face of religious discrimination was exposed by Reverend Albert Cleage and Black Christian Nationalism in Detroit. The face of cultural imperialism was exposed by the Black Arts Renaissance from Detroit to Chicago. And the faces of housing and employment discrimination were protested by the NAACP in Milwaukee. Join this conversation on Jim Crow in the Midwest with panelists Nishani Frazier, Keona Ervin, and Patrick Jones.
The third Adventure in Italian Opera with Fred Plotkin of this season features British conductor Harry ...
more >> Bicket, who will be leading Le Nozze di Figaro at the Met. He is a specialist in the Italian baroque and Handel. He is chief conductor of the Santa Fe Opera and music director of The English Concert, which does splendid performances of Handel operas with all-star casts.
Eileen Quinlan’s experimental work with photography ranges from the formal to the formless and straddles ...
more >> multiple formats. Encompassing digital and analog, color and black and white, her subjects range from mortality to motherhood. Lately she's confronting environmental collapse, a woman’s right to bodily self-determination, the Sisyphean double-bind of domestic labor, the erotics of middle age, the omnipresence of screenic devices, and living with the specter of terrorism.
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
When the doctor informs Luperon that he only has one year left to live. Luperon decided to transition ...
more >> to a trans woman and become Catherine Denueve against all odds. 35 min. Following the film will be a discussion with the director, Eduardo Velázquez, and Roksana Filipowska.
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Hermes Mallea, esteemed architect, presents his latest book. While many Cuban images depict vintage cars ...
more >> and dilapidated buildings, Mallea brings an insider’s view and challenges these preconceived notions, showing us the vibrant, creative, and eclectic domestic interiors that are re-shaping Cuban living.
What is it to be Black in France? Black and French? Mariannes noires follows seven French women of African ...
more >> and Caribbean descent. They are filmmakers, dancers, entrepreneurs and intellectuals whose Frenchness is rooted in a cultural space stretching from metropolitan France to Africa and its many diasporas. The documentary is a mosaic of seven narratives that raise the veil on multicultural France. 83 min.
Paul Chaat Smith delivers the eleventh annual AICA/USA Distinguished Critic Lecture in partnership with ...
more >> the Vera List Center for Art and Politics. Entitled "Thirteen Months in America," Smith's talk probes the dilemmas of his curatorial process as he prepared the exhibition Americans, opening at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in early 2018. The exhibition highlights the ways in which American Indians have been part of the nation's identity since before the country began. In his lecture, Smith discusses how events since the election of November 2016 have challenged and reshaped many of his long held views about, as he say, "well, everything."
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
The Seagull is one of the great plays about writing. It superbly captures the struggle for new forms, ...
more >> the frustrations and fulfillment of putting words on a page and on a stage. It is a play about love, theater and disappointment. Chekhov, in his first major play, stages a vital argument about the theatre that still resonates today.
The Mobile Unit celebrates the 60th anniversary of its inaugural tour in 1957 which began with a production ...
more >> of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Joseph Papp.
Editor's Pick
Critically acclaimed author of The Alienist, The Angel of Darkness, Killing Time, The Legend of Broken ...
more >> and 2016's Surrender, New York Caleb Carr joins us for an unmissable master class. Carr will give a presentation on his life and work, and discuss crime fiction writing.
Nandi Comer (pictured) has received fellowships from Virginia Center for the Arts, Cave Canem, and Callaloo; ...
more >> her poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Indiana Review, Crab Orchard Review, and several anthologies. Co-founder of Cave Canem, Cornelius Eady is the author of Hardheaded Weather (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2008), Brutal Imagination (2001), and the autobiography of a jukebox (1997), among many others. Natalie J. Graham is the author of Begin with a Failed Body (University of Georgia Press, 2017), winner of the 2016 Cave Canem Poetry Prize.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
When people think about holiday decorations in New York City, they usually think of the Rockefeller Center ...
more >> Christmas Tree and the lavish store window displays. But some of the best sights to be seen are actually in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. Starting in the 1980’s, Christmas started getting bigger and brighter out in Brooklyn with each passing year. Expect to see massive, professionally- done light displays (some costing upwards of $20,000!). There is an unspoken competition among the home owners in the neighborhood, so some have added huge lawn ornaments and motorized displays, making for a lavish holiday spectacle. Dyker Heights has truly become a “must-see” for many people during the holidays.
Internationally acclaimed Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak discusses ‘Harnessing the Humanities’ ...
more >> with Rosalind C. Morris.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
It's time to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year as Midtown Manhattan lights up like no other ...
more >> place in the world. Mechanical window displays, synchronized light and sound shows, not to mention Santa Claus and toy soldiers surely await you in this winter wonderland. Check them all our on our New York Holiday Lights Tour. Experience the holidays in the city as only New York can offer. Take advantage of the subway to beat the street traffic, keep warm and catch some underground holiday music. Learn about the artists and backgrounds to these wonderful displays.
7:00 pm
$2 donation to...
Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy board member Paul Kaplan presents an engaging and enlightening lecture ...
more >> inspired by his latest book. Beyond the stereotype of elderly Jews visiting sunny beaches and stopping in at New York-style delis lies a rich history and Jewish cultural tradition. You'll see rare vintage photos, explore some of the best Jewish eateries, hear the stories behind the region's cultural landmarks and learn the little-known history of how South Florida became one of the largest Jewish communities in the country. After the book presentation, there will be a brief tour of the sanctuary.
MPS Digital Photography presents Alison Wright, a New York-based documentary photographer who has spent ...
more >> a career capturing the universal human spirit through her photographs and writing. For many of her editorial and humanitarian projects, Wright travels to all regions of the globe photographing indigenous cultures and people while covering issues concerning the human condition. Since traveling to 150 countries Alison shares her greatest takeaway: how connected we actually are. Her latest photography book, Human Tribe, is a monograph of global portraits celebrating the visual tapestry of humanity in all its diversity and splendor.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A celebratory reading event featuring two dynamic and socially engaged New York poets who come from the ...
more >> ranks of school teaching. Taylor Mali, a four-time National Poetry Slam champion, won the Rattle Chapbook Prize for , a stunning and candid sequence of poems on the mental illness and death of his first wife. Diana Goetsch, author of eight poetry collections and the “Life in Transition” blog at The American Scholar, was the Rattle Chapbook prize runner-up for In America, which lays bare the complexities of trans experience with humor, wrath and everything in between.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
7:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Program W.A. Mozart, Sonata in G major, K. 379 W.A. Mozart, Six Variations in G minor, K. 360, on “Hélas! ...
more >> J’ai perdu mon amant” Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Variations in G major, Op. 14, on “Une Folie” Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata in A major, Op. 47, “Kreutzer” Artists Theresa Salomon, violin Yi-heng Yang, fortepiano
7:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Vocalist Jazzmeia Horn is winner of the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition ...
more >> and the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. The Dallas native burst onto the New York scene, performing with such jazz luminaries as Frank Wess, Junior Mance, and Ellis Marsalis Jr. She has also appeared at some of the city’s preeminent jazz clubs with her ensemble The Artistry of Jazz Horn, showcasing her vocals with saxophone, piano, bass, drums, and a poet and dancer. Performers: Jazzmeia Horn ·· Victor Gould, Piano ·· Barry Stephenson, Bass ·· Henry Conerway III, Drums ·· Josh Evans, Trumpet ·· Marcus Miller, Tenor Saxophone ·· Corey A. Wallace, Trombone
Program: Ravel Valses nobles et sentimentales Chopin Waltzes, Op. 42 and Op. 64, No.2 Chopin Scherzo ...
more >> No. 4 in E major, Op. 54 Corigliano Fantasia on an Ostinato Schubert Sonata in A Major, D. 664 Liszt Transcendental Etude No.10 Student recital: Audrey Abela, piano
7:30 pm
free, no reservation required
7:30 pm
free, no reservation required
After a young girl is lost in a cave in rural North Carolina, there is an investigation into her disappearance ...
more >> and the fate of those who survive her. This eerie trio of interwoven ghost stories morphs into a multi-layered musing on grief, loss, guilt, and karma, and the elusive truth behind the missing girl's life and death – revealed one piece at a time. Written by Naomi Iizuka.
Bodega Cat is a weekly comedy show brought to you by Kevin Seefried (202 Comedy Festival), Andy Ostroff ...
more >> (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), and Dane Hanson (Producer of Laughs on FOX). Live Stand-Up Comedy in New York City.
Professors Julia Ott, Chiara Bottici, and Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou will each present an original paper, ...
more >> exploring the historical and social dimensions of finance capitalism and speculation in the past and present, as well as the possibilities for the future. These presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and a question and answer session.
9:00 pm
free, no reservation required