Friday, October 5th
The Mile-Long Opera: A Biography of 7 O’clock.” Gansevoort & Washington to West 34th St., 7PM, FREE (bus leaves promptly at 5:45). ARTs East NY invites community members to ride a free chartered bus to Manhattan to enjoy a megachorus of 1,000 singers from 40 choirs perform on the High Line. They’ll be singing microstories inspired by life in the city in an immersive “opera” composed by Pulitzer Prizewinner David Lang. Audience members will walk (at their leisure) the length of the High Line, enjoying this special event. Advance registration required. RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/ycyrfowc. Arrive by 5:30, as reservations will be released then.
Jason Moran on the History of NYC Jazz Clubs @ NYU Law School, D’Agostino Hall, 108 West 3rd St., 6-8PM, FREE. Enjoy a fascinating lecture on the archives of jazz clubs and spots in New York by MacArthur Fellow and Artistic Director for Jazz at The Kennedy Center Jason Moran. A jazz pianist, composer and interdisciplinary artist, he performs and retells histories of Black music, oftentimes collaborating with iconic visual artists and musicians. RSVP at 212-998-4222.
Richard Beavers Gallery Pop-Up @ Hahne & Co., 625 Broad St., Newark, NJ, 5-9PM (Sat., 12-7PM, Sun., 12-5PM), FREE. Bedford-Stuyvesant’s local gem of a gallery crosses the river to share the wealth. The work of several gifted artists will be on display, including Faith Ringgold, Frank Morrison, Leroy Campbell, Genesis Tramaine and Phyllis Stephens. An artist’s talk with Tramaine takes place today at 5:30.
Saturday, October 6th
A Celebration of Yusef Iman @ Sistas’ Place, 456 Nostrand Ave., 9 &10:30PM, $20 cover. Malika Iman will give a brief presentation on this, the birthday of her late and beloved father’s work with Amiri Baraka. The two were very close and conceptualized a lot of the Black Arts Movement work. Both were playwrights and poets beloved in the community. Dwight West and his Liberation Quartet headline the shows. For info or to make a reservation, call 718-398-1766.
Mr. SOUL Film Screening at Miller Theatre, 2960 Broadway, Columbia University campus, 5:20-7:30PM, $15 (discounts for seniors, students & groups). Ellis Haizlip was hip, smart, innovative, political and gay. In his personal fight for social equality, on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, the revolution was televised via his weekly PBS show, “Soul!” with James Baldwin, The Last Poets, Cicely Tyson, Stevie Wonder, Toni Morrison, Bill Withers, Nikki Giovanni and many others. Haizlip’s niece, Melissa Haizlip, directs this incredible film along with doc icon Sam Pollard. Tickets at Eventbrite.
Tuesday, October 9th
- Creatively Speaking: Just Us, Resist the Divide @ The New School University Center, 63 Fifth Ave., Rm. UL105. Join the Institute for Transformative Mentoring (ITM) & Creatively Speaking for a screening of independent short films and a discussion about social justice. Featuring Every Mother’s Son by Tami Gold, telling the story of three women who lost their sons to police brutality and now advocate for change. Additional films to be announced.
Saturday, October 13th
Film: As a Radical Black Medium @ Weeksville Heritage Center, 158 Buffalo Ave., 10AM-5PM, FREE. Nova Frontier Film Festival and the Luminal Theater partner with the center on a film workshop for teens powered by cell phones. Youth discover the endless space and the (in-between), telling stories across platforms in the digital age. They’ll enjoy the As An Act of Protest by Dennis Leroy Kangalee and Emory Douglas’ The Art of The Black Panthers. One film is a journey to find the meaning of life and eradicate racism and police brutality; the other flows from documentary and melodrama to satire and horror. Arts + crafts workshops and Historic Hunterfly Road House tours round out the day. Tickets at Eventbrite.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Tuesday, October 23rd
Film: Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice @ Kimmel Center-NYU, 60 Washington Square South, Rm. 914, 6PM, FREE. Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a household name in Black America during much of her life and was considered the equal of her well-known African-American contemporaries such as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. This film, by William Greaves, retells the dramatic life and turbulent times of the pioneering African-American journalist, activist, suffragist and anti-lynching crusader of the post-Reconstruction period. RSVP at 212-998-4222.