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JAN * FEB * MAR * APR * MAY * JUN

JUL * AUG * SEP * OCT * NOV * DEC

The World Music Institute (WMI) presents
Soweto Gospel Choir
8:00 p.m.
Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway @ 95th St., New York, NY
Tickets: $45, $40 for WMI Friends, $30 for children
For tickets, call (212)545-7536
Direct from South Africa, the dazzling Grammy and Emmy award-winning 24-member Soweto Gospel Choir returns to New York with a new show, African Grace. Through vibrant rhythm, movement and renowned vocal harmonies, the Choir performs a program of traditional and contemporary songs infused with irrepressible spirit. Since its founding in 2002, the Choir has performed to sell-out crowds at the world’s leading concert halls and alongside superstars including Bono, Peter Gabriel, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.

Folk Music Society of New York/New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club presents an
Old-Time Music Jam
7:30-9:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain, 513 Henry St. (at Sackett St.) in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Info: alanfriend_music@mindspring.com. Donation, $5 (child, $2), pay at the door
Wanna JAM? Alan Friend is leading an old-time jam from every other Tuesday. Bring your fiddle, banjo, guitar, etc. and we’ll play old-time music at this warm, friendly venue. Acoustic instruments only—no electric ones. Buy some delicious desserts and socialize while you’re here, as well.

The Folk Music Society of N.Y., Inc/ N.Y. Pinewoods Folk Music Club presents
Folk Open Sing
7-10 p.m.
Info: Frank, 212-533-2139, or Laura, 718-788-7563
Ethical Culture Society, 53 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn (near 2nd St.)
Join us on the first Wednesday of each month for an open sing. Bring your voice, instruments, friends, neighbors, and children. Drop by for a couple of songs or the whole evening.

The World Music Institute (WMI) presents
Songs of the Persian Mystics: Ostad Mohammad-Reza Lotfi & the Shayda Women’s Ensemble
8:00 p.m.
Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, New York, NY
Tickets: $35, $45, $60; $30, $40, $55 for WMI Friends
For tickets, call 212.545.7536
One of the greatest masters of the tar and setar lutes, Ostad Mohammad-Reza Lotfi has been a major figure in revolutionizing Persian traditional music over the past 40 years. His innovative approach of combining the classical with folk elements in his compositions and performances has revitalized an ancient tradition. In this rare New York appearance, Lotfi is joined by the Shayda Women’s Ensemble, providing a unique opportunity to hear female performers of classical Persian music.

Story Sundays at the Glen Sanders Mansion
Fiddling Around Irish Stories
Marni Gillard with Lawson: Hilary Schrauf (fiddle) and Eric Everson (Irish bouzouki)
5-8 p.m.
Glen Sanders Mansion, 1 Glen Avenue, Scotia, NY
Make Reservations NOW: (518) 384-1700 or sc@katedudding.com
Cost: $31 (includes entertainment, 3 course dinner, tax and tip) per person
Bring someone new and you save $3 (only one discount/person).
Marni will delight with Irish tales old and new. Hilary Schrauf and Erick Everson, the duo Lawson, will get us tapping our toes as we travel in time via tune and tale.

The Great Lakes Seaway Trail 2012 Quilt Show
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Seaway Trail Discovery Center, Sackets Harbor, NY
This year’s show presents A War of 1812 Bicentennial activity featuring reproduction “cot to coffin” size quilts in honor of the soldiers who fought in the War of 1812. The annual show fills the three floors and nine rooms of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center that was built with native limestone in 1817 as the Union Hotel. The show features national and international quilting artists’ creations, vendors, demonstrators, and an exhibit by the Orleans County Country Barn Quilt Trail, a 22-mile loop tour off the Great Lakes Seaway Trail byway to see more than 40 barns painted with quilt block patterns. The quilting tradition is a popular cultural and arts heritage travel theme for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail which has clusters of Mennonite and Amish quilters, particularly in the Chautauqua and St. Lawrence County regions of the byway.

The World Music Institute (WMI) presents
Women’s Drum & Dance Company of Guinea: Nimbaya!
Friday, March 23, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 at 11:00 a.m. (Family Show) and 8:00 p.m.
Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway @ 95th Street, New York, NY
Tickets: Evening Shows: $30, $40; $25, $35 for WMI Friends
For tickets, call 212.545.7536
A daring response to the taboo of women playing djembe in West Africa, NIMBAYA! is the first all women’s percussion and dance troupe from Guinea. The group, formerly known as Amazones Women Master Drummers of Guinea, was created in 1998 by Mamoudou Condé of Les Ballets Africains fame. Presenting spectacular performances, NIMBAYA! “play(s) with a fury, pounding out heart-racing rhythms and dancing into near frenzies” Boston Globe.

The World Music Institute (WMI) presents
Modern Ancient Marseilles: Lo Còr de la Plana
10 p.m.
Zankel Hall @ Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and 7th Avenue, New York, NY
Tickets: $34, $40; $30.50, $36 for WMI Friends
For tickets, call CarnegieCharge 212/247-7800
Lo Còr de la Plana is an all-male polyphonic vocal ensemble that accompanies itself on amplified bendirs (frame drums), drawing on influences that range from Bartók to Gregorian chant, reggae, and Arab music.

The World Music Institute (WMI) presents
Lost Harp of the Silk Road: Tomoko Sugawara
7:30 p.m.
Leonard Nimoy Thalia @ Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway @ 95th Street, New York, NY
Tickets: $30; $25 for WMI Friends
Tickets available online or call 212/545.7536
This fascinating program offers a rare opportunity to hear the kugo angular harp that disappeared from the world stage some 300 years ago. Harpist Tomoko Sugawara performs on a modern rendition that honors the essence of this ancient instrument that was popular along the Silk Road and revered for centuries in Near and Far Eastern religions. Sugawara’s music is deeply emotional and expressive, interweaving compositions from the Tang Dynasty China and 13th century Iran and Spain with modern commissioned works. She is joined by Ralph Samuelson (shakuhachi – flute), Carlo Valte (oud – lute), and Ozan Aksoy (bendir and darabukka – drums) in this program of acoustic music and informal talk.

Tantshoyz Featuring featuring Michael Alpert (Yiddish Dance Party/Workshop)
presented by The Center for Traditional Music and Dance’s An-sky Institute for Jewish Culture
8 p.m
At the Sixth Street Synagogue, 325 East Sixth Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues, Manhattan’s East Village
Admission: $15
Learn the traditional Jewish dances of Eastern Europe. Beginners are welcome!

The World Music Institute (WMI) presents
Misa Flamenca: Paco Peña
8:00 p.m.
Carnegie HallStern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, 57th Street and 7th Avenue, New York, NY
Tickets: $55, $65, $75; $50, $60, $70 for WMI Friends
Call CarnegieCharge 212/247-7800 for tickets
Guitar maestro/composer Paco Peña brings the true spirit of flamenco to audiences throughout the world, expanding flamenco’s horizons, yet never losing touch with its visceral emotion. With a guest choir, the magnificent dancer Ángel Muñoz, and his company of singers, guitarists and percussionists, he presents Misa Flamenca, the powerful and exhilarating folk mass that combines Catholic liturgy with Gypsy flamenco and classical music.

Los Pleneros de la 21 announces The Bomba & Plena Community Workshops October 15, 2011 — June 2, 2012 11:00 a.m. — 1:45 p.m., ongoing Saturdays Julia de Burgos Center, 1680 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10029 Los Pleneros de la 21, renowned Bomba and Plena Musical ensemble and staple East Harlem Nonprofit, is proud to announce the 23rd anniversary of the Bomba and Plena Community Workshops, New York’s only Community school dedicated to teaching Afro-Puerto Rican music, song, dance and cultural expressions. Classes, offered every Saturday are given in different age appropriate classes, for all skill levels and backgrounds. Classes run year round and welcome students from 2.5 years old to over 65.Prices vary, discounts are available. Spaces are limited, so contact LP21 today! Call 212-427-5221, or email pleneros21@gmail.com

MASS MoCA presents the exhibition:
The Workers: Precarity/Invisibility/Mobility
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, 1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
Museum Hours: Every day from 10 a.m-6 p.m.
Call 518.463.4478 for more details
Admission: Adults, $15; Students, $10; Children, 6-16: $10; Children under 6: Free. Members are always Free
For information, call 413/662-2111
The timing, and the place, could not be more fitting: Once the site of a bustling factory itself — whose closure in the face of intense international competition left nearly a third of its community out of work — MASS MoCA is perhaps uniquely positioned to present this timely show. The history of North Adams’ workers mirrors that of many in the United States and abroad today who have lost a way of life to the perennial hunt for cheaper labor, even while the low-wage workers who replaced them have just begun to organize for more rights and better working conditions. The exhibition will include nearly 40 works by 25 emerging and established international artists including Claire Beckett, Osman Bozkurt, Camel Collective, Mircea Cantor, Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, Susan Collis, Vicky Funari and Sergio De La Torre, Jason Dodge, Sam Durant, Harun Farocki, Yevgeniy Fiks, Anthony Hernandez, Oded Hirsch, Hugo Hopping, Emily Jacir, Laboratorio 060 with York Chang, Mary Lum, Yoshua Okon, Adrian Paci, Jaume Pitarch, Oliver Ressler, Stephanie Rothenberg, Tyler Rowland, Allan Sekula, and Santiago Sierra.

May 29, 2011 —April 14, 2012

Albany Institute of History & Art presents the exhibition:
Kids Stuff: Great Toys from Our Childhood
Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210
Museum Hours: Wednesday–Saturday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sunday: Noon–5:00 p.m.
Call 518.463.4478 for more details
Admission: Adults: $10; Seniors: $8; Students w/ID: $8; Children 6-12: $6; Children under 6: Free. Members are always Free
Slinkys, Wooly Willys, Whee-los, Magic Eight Balls, Magic Yo-Yos, Etch-A-Sketch®, Spirographs, Colorforms, Matchbox® Cars, PEZ Dispensers, LEGO®s, Erector sets, Lionel Trains, Tonkas, Hot Wheels, Frisbee®s, G.I. Joes, Barbie dolls, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, and Mr. Potato Head brought hours of fun and entertainment to kids throughout the 1950s and 60s. Many of these toys from the past still appear on store shelves today, holding their own against the onslaught of computerized games and robotic pets. Kid Stuff, an interactive exhibition based on the book by David Hoffman, takes us back to the age of tailfins and vinyl records with more than 40 vintage toys, which reveal a fascinating look at invention and innovation, social history and industrial growth, play and entertainment. Visitors of all ages will be able to see vintage toys with original packaging and promotional material and have the opportunity to play and interact with contemporary versions. Additional materials such as photos of toy factory interiors, images of children at play, video presentations, and interpretive texts explore the toys’ invention and evolution, how they work, and their significance in American culture. The exhibition was designed by Amy Reichert of Architecture+Design with graphic design and art direction by Winstanley Associates. Kid Stuff will occupy nearly 5,000 square feet in the second floor galleries at the Albany Institute.

October 1, 2011 —March 4, 2012

Albany Institute of History & Art presents the exhibition:
Temple of Fancy: Pease’s Great Variety Store
Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210
Museum Hours: Wednesday–Saturday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sunday: Noon–5:00 p.m.
Call 518.463.4478 for more details
Admission: Adults: $10; Seniors: $8; Students w/ID: $8; Children 6-12: $6; Children under 6: Free. Members are always Free
Before F. W. Woolworths’, or Whitney’s, or even Macy’s department store in Albany, there was Pease Great Variety Store located in the Temple of Fancy at 518 Broadway. From the 1840s to the 1860s Pease’s store was something of an upscale “Five and Dime,” where Albany families could purchase fancy goods, toys, household items, children’s books, and games. The building still stands at the corner of Broadway and Pine Street. Richard H. Pease, and later Harry E. Pease, were proprietors of the store and also noted printers. They printed the first Christmas card in America in 1851 (only one of which exists at the Manchester Metropolitan Museum in England) and they also produced the hand-colored lithographs of fruit for Ebenezer Emmons’ Agriculture of New York published between 1846 and 1854. The exhibit will draw from the collections of the Albany Institute and include photographs, prints, children’s books, card games, and puzzles.

November 19, 2011 —March 25, 2012

El Museo del Barrio presents
VOCES Y VISIONES: Gran Caribe
Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Curator
Las Galerias, El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street, New York, NY 10029
This exhibition features works that explore the vast diversity and complexity of the Caribbean basin, as an accompaniment to El Museo’s upcoming exhibition, Caribbean: Crossroads of the World, presented in collaboration with Studio Museum in Harlem and Queens Museum of Art. The Caribbean has been both a subject and a source for visual expression prior to its relationship with Europe. This history, marked by a constant flow of people, objects, ideas, and images into and out of the region, has affected artistic development and practices in the Caribbean basin as well as in its counterparts in the Diaspora. This installation of Permanent Collection objects takes a narrative approach to some of the themes developed in the larger exhibition, exploring the connections between personal experiences and visual expressions. The works seen here explore the human need to move from one place to another, the urge to make epic narratives from personal stories, and the desire to share one’s love for a homeland with others. As the title implies, the islands, the coastlines and the waters that unite them are all part of this study. The exhibition explores four related themes that focus on the connections between spirituality and daily life, the shifting of people into and out of urban spaces, the persistence of abstraction as a visual language, and the constant presence of the water. Among the featured works is a large-scale painting on hand-made paper by Puerto Rican artist Rossana Martinez. This work considers islands: small, golden, irregularly shaped forms that cover the rich cobalt blue of an endless sea. Other featured objects include a selection of Haitian paintings, featuring a work by Prefet Duffaut; Puerto Rican and Guatemalan masks; sculptures by Charles Juhasz -Alvarado and Federico Ruiz; photographs by Ana Mendieta and a trio of En Foco artists, Charles Biasiny Rivera, Roger Cabán and Felipe Dante; and a costume worn by Coco Fusco in a performance as Queen Isabella, created by Pepón Osorio.

December 20, 2011 —December 9, 2012

The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library presents
Odetta — The Queen of Folk
Monday-Wednesday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday-Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m to 5 p.m.
Folklife Gallery, Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801
Free to the public.
For more information, call 518-792-6508
This exhibition of original paintings, prints, and drawings by Stephen Alcorn celebrates the life and times of Odetta Holmes (1930–2008), and is occasioned by the publication of the critically acclaimed picture book titled Odetta—The Queen of Folk, conceived and illustrated by Stephen Alcorn; poem by Samantha Thornhill; and published by Scholastic Press. Produced by the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library, this exhibition is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts Folk Arts Program, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

January 15, 2012 —June 15, 2012

The Strong National Museum of Play presents a
New Whimsical Art Trail
Saturday, February 18, 1-4 p.m. Meet the artists, learn about their craft, and purchase art
The Strong National Museum of Play, One Manhattan Square, Rochester, NY 14607, 585-263-2700
Museum Hours: Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
Admission Fees: General Admission: Adults $13, Seniors $12, Children (2–15) $11, Children younger than two free, Museum members free.
Pick up a trail guide and discover amazing glass flowers, imaginative playscapes, vividly colored African animals, and teeny tiny puppets and soft sculptures when you take the Whimsical Art Trail at the National Museum of Play. The continuing series of displays offers fresh and original works by contemporary artists on view at various locations throughout the museum galleries. Among the participating artists along the trail: Nancy Gong , a notable Rochester glass works artist, who says her creations are inspired by the temperament of her Asian background. As she describes it, her curving, graceful steel and glass flowers fuse “line, color, texture, balance, and the silent beauty of glass and metal.” Ingrid Hess , an illustrator and designer, uses flattened, simplified shapes to create bright and happy monkeys, hippos, zebras, and other African animals. She says that the simplicity of her work comes from her Amish/Mennonite roots and the bright colors and patterns are inspired by art from Costa Rico, her childhood home. David Carlson, a Southern California native, has watched the famous orange grove landscapes killed off and replaced with suburban neighborhoods. These themes fuel the creativity of his ongoing body of work called “Play-Scapes,” imaginative scenes created from old toys, small motors and gears, wood, wire, clay, and objects headed for the trash. Amy Brand, the artist behind Sweet Pea Felts, creates one-of-a-kind art toys using earth-friendly wool. Brand brings her puppets and soft sculptures to life through needle and wet felting and says she strives to create playful toys that provide a connection to the natural world. Whimsical Art Trail displays are included with general museum admission fees.

February 18, 2012 —May 20, 2012

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