THU.SEP. 14
Dancenow/NYC
Presenting a full spectrum of dance styles and offering bite-size choreographic gems that are romantic, fun, and sexy—as well as physically challenging, beautiful, and poignant—DancemOpolitan is attracting new, enthusiastic audiences for dance. $15 at 212-239-6200 or telecharge.com. Dinner reservations can be made at 212-539-8778; seating and standing room are available on a first-come, first-served basis for all shows without a dinner reservation. Two drink minimum or $12 food purchase is standard. 425 Lafayette St. Tonight and tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. Hosted by Leigh Garrett.
Keep It Movin’
“Keep It Movin’” is a one-woman show about how women of color in the U.S. come to consciousness. Incorporating theater, poetry, dance and video, the play explores the lives of ten women of color. Born and raised in New York, playwright Una Aya Osato is a performer, educator and babysitter. She currently works with Impact Repertory Theatre, leading workshops on grassroots political organizing for young people. Bluestockings, 172 Allen St. btwn. Stanton and Rivington Sts. 7 p.m., $5 suggested. 212-777-6028.
The History of Swimming
Kim Powers is an Emmy and Peabody winning writer who has worked for both ABC’s Good Morning America and Primetime with Diane Sawyer. “The History of Swimming” details Powers’ frantic search for his twin brother, Tim—his best friend, his greatest enemy—who disappears from Manhattan one weekend. The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St. Free, 7 p.m. 212-620-7310.
Celebrate Mexico Now
The third annual Celebrate México Now offers audiences a rare opportunity to explore Mexico’s vibrant, contemporary cultural scene. Showcasing the vanguard of contemporary art and culture, the festival provides a platform for a new generation of creative artists, presenting some of Mexico’s most intriguing and compelling voices in visual art, music, architecture, dance, literature, film, theater and cuisine. Through Sep. 17. mexiconowfestival.org.
FRI. SEP. 15
Surface Tension
Frances Barth paints landscapes of shifting perspectives, creating a space where the viewer is an active participant. Her paintings are a window into a world at once familiar and disquieting. Senju’s “Falling Color” series uses bursts of flowing saturated color to highlight the rushing power of water. His ancient technique of grinding natural pigments and applying them to handmade rice paper is combined with a very modern sensibility—he objectifies the landscape through abstraction and makes it a totemic object in and of itself. Sundaram Tagore Gallery, 547 W. 27th St. 212-677-4520. Mon. – Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. 1-4 p.m. Through Sep. 30
Refugee Camp
An estimated 33 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes and live in temporary shelter, with nearly two-thirds of them displaced within their own countries. The exhibit is made up of materials used by Doctors Without Borders in its emergency medical work around the world, including emergency refugee housing, a food distribution tent, water pump, health clinic, vaccination tent, therapeutic feeding center, and a cholera treatment center. It addresses questions such as, Will I be safe? What will I eat? How do I find water? Can I get medical care? And where will I live? Guided by Doctors Without Borders aid workers, visitors to this outdoor educational exhibit are asked to imagine that they are among the millions of people fleeing violence and persecution in, for example, Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Sudan. At Central Park through Sep. 17 and Prospect Park Sep. 20-24. 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. doctorswithoutborders.org. Free.
Of(f) The Street
Graham Blondel makes noisy pictures. When trawling the streets of his native city, Sydney, or scouring the alleys of Beijing, Bangkok, Paris or New York, he creates a trompe l’oeil mind game from the lewd and loud image bits he collects. Witty and whimsical, yet clever and caustic, he pastes and paints pictures and words into a detritus dialogue that tempts us to look again at absurdities that surround us. But he is anything but a visual trickster—a three-way conversation between Chairman Mao, Colonel Sanders, and Frida Kahlo seems plausible; as might a military makeover in Burberry; or dogs in control of the dada and the do do; or an abrupt rebuke of East meets Best. It may be of the streets, and off the wall, but it’s always on the mind. Pearl Street Gallery, 57A Pearl St. in DUMBO. Fri.-Sun. 12-5 p.m. 646-338-9636. Through Oct. 1.
LatinBeat 2006
The past decade has witnessed a resurgence throughout Latin America. The ferment noted within the cinema is a reflection of the political and social changes taking place across the region, as Latin Americans search for new answers and ideas. The emphasis of many of the films and filmmakers in the program has moved away from discussions of society to explorations of the individual. Presenting 26 films from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela. All films in LatinBeat are New York premieres in their original language with English subtitles. Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St, btwn. Broadway and Amsterdam. $10 212-496-3809 or tickets.filmlinc.com. Through Sep. 24.
States Of Undress
Lucas Samaras’ “iMOVIES” exhibition features a two-part installation consisting of a five-and-a-half minute iMovie of the artist called “Ecdysiast,” shown synchronically with 24 films of individuals recorded as they watched and responded to Ecdysiast. Between 1979 and 1981 Samaras conducted the Sittings, his project which focused on subjects invited into his studio. Samaras, a veteran of the happenings, created a performance-like atmosphere by warning the participants that they would be required to undress in his studio and pose nude for his large format Polaroids while he sat to their right. Twenty-five years later Samaras turns the tables on himself, inviting his subjects to watch a film of him undressing. PaceWildenstein, 534 W. 25th St. Tue.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 212-929-7001. Through Oct. 7.
SAT. SEP. 16
Lest We Forget
The Eighth Annual Matthew Shepard Memorial Tennis JAM is set to take place at the newly renovated Riverside Park tennis facility in Manhattan. The event, which is the longest-running fundraising event benefiting the Matthew Shepard Foundation (MSF), will be taped and broadcast on here!TV. Among those scheduled to participate are New York State Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell; former New York Mayor David Dinkins; USTA Fed Cup Chair and former top 20 WTA tour player, Leslie Allen-Selmore; USTA Metro Director of Community Services, Gemma Alexander-Mozeak; acclaimed singer-songwriter, Randi Driscoll; and MSF Executive Director, Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother. For more information, matthewshepard.org. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Amok Among the Boroughs
Circus Amok offers gender-bending entertainment, laughter, commentary, and a surreal take on the world. The one-of-a-kind, free associating, shtick driven, star-studded circus directed by the unstoppable “bearded lady” Jennifer Miller, is a poly-sexual troupe of jugglers, stilt walkers, drag divas, and acrobats balances danger with laughter, politics with punch lines. The troupe, accompanied by the blasting, percussive sounds of the six-piece Circus Amok band, playing a variety of international musical styles from klezmer to funk to folk, returns for its 13th season of annual gender-bending urban circuses. For the full fall schedule, visit circusamok.org. Through Sep. 24.
Mapping Vegas Data
Schroeder Romero presents their second solo exhibition of new work by Janice Caswell. “Lay of the Land” depicts individual geographical spaces in mixed media drawings and a site-specific wall drawing. Constructed from paper, ink, acrylic, pins, and other materials, this work continues Caswell’s exploration of mental maps and the mind’s peculiar ways of organizing memories. Using a pared-down, coded language through which points, lines, and fields of color define spaces and recast narratives, the work arises out of a desire to capture experience and locate, arrange, and secure the past and the present. In the site-specific wall drawing, “Vegas Baby,” based on a convention of bloggers the artist attended, Caswell combines Las Vegas geography with the interconnected cyber-world of a large and active online community. Different data entities are used to create a multidimensional schematic. 637 W. 27th St., Tue.-Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Through Oct. 14.
SUN. SEP.17
Cinemarosa
Queens’ first and only queer film series begins its Fall 2006 series with “Locally Queer,” a selection of works created by New York City independent filmmakers exploring queer life in the city. The presentation includes the shorts “ Hustler WP,” directed by Craig Cobb, about a pair of unlikely buddies living their own queer underground try to score drugs and sex in Chelsea; “Ay Mijo!” by Roberto Espinosa, in which, with the help of a Mexican soap opera, a father and son learn to understand each other; “ Dare” by Adam Salky, about attaining the object of unattainable secret lust; “The Travelling Eye Of The Blue Cat ,” a photo collage animation directed by Shawn Atkins. 3 p.m. at the Queens Museum of Art, Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Directors, producers, and cast members will be on hand for a Q&A, and a cocktail reception and light refreshments will follow the presentation. 646-338-0046 or cinemarosa.org.
Visual AIDS
Every month, Visual AIDS invites guest curators, drawn from both the arts and AIDS communities, to select several works from the Frank Moore Archive Project. For September, Jeffrey Walkowiak curated the current on-line exhibition “Do You Remember the First Time?” Sexual awakening is a subtle progression that beckons the feelings of lust, desire, love, shame, fear and hope. These feelings transcend description and yet are often recalled by visual references. This collection of images from the Visual AIDS slide library gesture towards these emotions through their simplicity, playfulness, seriousness and their ability to emote. The most visited HIV/AIDS-related site on the web, The Body contains a rich collection of information on topics ranging from HIV prevention, state-of-the-art treatment issues, humor, and art. thebody.com/visualaids.
MON. SEP. 18
Looking Back From Ground Zero
The exhibition will include paintings, photographs, prints, and drawings of the Lower Manhattan area around the World Trade Center site before, as well as after, the attack. Also included will be historical maps of the southern tip of Manhattan. The Museum’s Libraries and Archives will exhibit artist’s books and exhibition catalogues. Brooklyn Museum of Art, 200 Eastern Pkwy. at Washington Ave. 718-638-5000. Through Jan. 7.
TUE. SEP.19
Downtown Locals
There’s Broadway, then there’s subway. In its New York premiere, “Downtown Locals” features six subway performers who struggle to earn a living and defend their right to perform in New York City’s underground. Pioneer Theatre, 155 E. Third St. btwn. Aves. A & B. 7 p.m., 212-591-0434.
WED. SEP.20
Pink Slips
The WYSIWYG Talent Show, New York City’s first and only all-blogger reading and performance series, explores the funny side of soul-sucking sudden-unemployment desperation with “Pink Slips: You’re Fired.” Every month The WYSIWYG Talent Show presents readings and performances from some of the blogosphere’s best and funniest writers, musicians, comedians, and performance artists. “Pink Slips” features appearances by comedian Liam McEneany (Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend,” VH1’s “Best Week Ever”), author Peter Hyman (“The Reluctant Metrosexual”), and comedian and writer Jon Friedman (“The Rejection Show”). It’s also the last WYSIWYG for graphic designer, webmaster, and blogging veteran Dan Rhatigan. Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery btwn. Bleecker and Houston Sts. Doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m. $7 at 212- 614-0505.
THU. SEP. 21
10 Curatorial Perspectives
Haven Arts announces an exhibition showcasing the selections of ten different curators, who each control a designated wall of the gallery space. They are Carey Clark, Edwin Gonzalez, Barry Kostrinsky, Anat Litwin, Aristides Logothetis, Gay City News gallery reviewer Wayne Northcross, J.C. Rice, Tim Rollins, Nathan Schreiber, and Zimad. The range of expertise brought to bear by these diverse curators and their wide acquaintance with artists and other galleries enriches this collaboration. 235 E. 141st. 718-585-5753 or havenarts.org. Mon.-Sat. 12-5 p.m. Through Sep. 29.
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