Don't fail to listen to Anna Deavere Smith and Sarah Lewis!

New York Public Library podcast:

Sarah Lewis & Anna Deavere Smith on Inspiring Failures

A discussion of Sarah Lewis's The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search of Mastery

Mid-Manhattan Library welcomes renowned storyteller Laura Simms

Laura Simms
(photo by Steve Savage)

Our Secret Territory: The Essence of Storytelling

a talk by Laura Simms, internationally acclaimed performing artist, writer, educator and humanitarian, examining the spiritual and social aspects of storytelling, and its process of engagement

Monday, March 17 (6:30-8:30pm)
Free Admission

Mid-Manhattan Library
New York Public Library
455 Fifth Avenue (at 40th Street), Manhattan
(map/directions)

Celeste Bartos, 99

Celeste Bartos, New York Philanthropist, Dies at 99
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, January 10, 2013

Martha Swope dance, theater photos on show

Martha Swope Exhibition at the New York Public Library
by Erik Piepenburg, The New York Times, September 20, 2012

Sensewalking with Miguel Gutierrez

I'm wishing Miguel Gutierrez great weather at The High Line tomorrow evening for Sensewalk #4: GIVE ME SOMEBODY TO SHOW!

Presented by Elastic City, dancer-choreographer Gutierrez has been leading small groups (16 people, max.) in intriguing and fun explorations of external and internal space, heightening awareness of our expanded palette of senses. Last Saturday, I took his Elastic City walk at the New York Public Library's 5th Avenue flagship building--a place I knew fairly well and loved in my young adult years--and was thrilled to see, hear and feel a whole lot more than I might have imagined. Previous locations included the Staten Island Ferry and Prospect Park.

If space is still available for tomorrow's High Line walk (6:30pm), give it a go!

Get complete information and RSVP (required) here.

Elastic City intends to make its audience active participants in an ongoing poetic exchange with the places we live in and visit.

Artists are commissioned by Elastic City to create their own walks. These walks tend to focus less on providing factual information and more on heightening our awareness, exploring our senses and making new group rituals in dialogue with public space. (Read more here.)

NYPL Dance seeks Assistant Curator

Click for complete information:

Assistant Curator, Dance Division - New York Public Library

Keep the memory of our artists alive

Black sisters: Are you tired of hearing young people say "I never heard of her" when you mention of one our great women artists? I am.

Commit to educating our youth about our heritage. Each one teach one.

Here's a striking photo of legendary singer/actress and fervently outspoken civil rights activist Eartha Kitt (1927-2008) by photographer Kenn Duncan (1928-1986).

















Find more images in the NYPL Digital Library.

Meshell Ndegeocello. Nina Simone. 'nuff said.

Women's Jazz Festival presents 

Meshell Ndegeocello: 

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, The Works of Nina Simone

Monday, March 5, 7pm

Celebrate Women's History Month!

Meshell Ndegeocello makes her debut at the Schomburg Center's Women's Jazz Festival. A bass player above all else, Meshell brings her signature warm, fat, and melodic groove to everything she does. Canonized, marginalized or just scrutinized, she has given up trying to explain herself. After 20+ years in an industry that has called her everything from avant garde to a dying breed, what unquestionably remains is the fearsome bassist, prolific songwriter and the creativity and curiosity of an authentic musical force. With that, she has earned critical acclaim, the unfailing respect of fellow players, songwriters and composers, and the dedication of her diverse, unclassifiable fans.

Click here for information and ticketing.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
(Langston Hughes Auditorium)
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, Manhattan (map/directions)

NYPL announces short-term research fellowships

Short-Term Research Fellowships at The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is delighted to announce the availability of short-term fellowships to support visiting scholars conducting research in the Library’s unique research and special collections.  Fellowships stipends up to $4,000 are available to scholars from outside the New York metropolitan area engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral, or independent research.  Scholars researching in the humanities including but not limited to art history, cultural studies, history, literature, performing arts and photography are welcome to apply.  Applicants must be United States citizens or permanent residents with the legal right to work in the U.S.

Click here for additional details and to download an application (deadline: March 18, 2012).

What you don't see

Presented by The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, Dana Salisbury and the No-See-Ums perform BARK, an “Unseen Dance” for blindfolded audiences. Dancers reveal themselves and the space through sound, scent, touch, temperature and air currents. The audience is placed within the action and periodically moved, causing shifts in their relationship to the environment, the performers, and one another. Based on non-visual perception, this is the first dance form fully accessible to the visually impaired.

For sighted and visually impaired audiences. This program is not suitable for children.

All New York Public Library programs are free of charge. Register by phone or in person.

March 5 at 2pm
The Richmondtown Library
200 Clarke Avenue (at Amber Street), Staten Island, NY

718-668-0413

March 12 at 2pm
Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
40 West 20th Street, Manhattan New York, NY
212-206-5400

March 19 at 2pm
Webster Library
1465 York Avenue (near East 78th Street), Manhattan
212-288-5049

March 26 at 2pm
115th St Library
203 West 115th Street, Manhattan
212-666-9393

Dana Salisbury is an independent artist/choreographer who creates events and performances for blindfolded audiences highlighting non-visual perception. Her work has two related branches—the dance company, Dana Salisbury and the No-See-Ums, which creates "Unseen Dances" and Dark Dining Projects which offers sensory feasts for blindfolded audiences. Her work has been performed in a wide variety of settings- theaters, cultural venues, restaurants, festivals, and conferences examining the intersection of arts and science. Learn more here. 

For additional information, email Dana Salisbury,  or call 917-686-7474.

Diasporan visions of Harlem's new photographers

Harlem Views/Diasporan Visions: The New Harlem Renaissance Photographers

An Interview with Curator Mary Yearwood

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

New York Public Library
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, Harlem
(map and directions)


Exhibition Hours: Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Sunday.

For exhibition information, call (212) 491-2200.

No admission fee; contributions and memberships are welcome.

NPG curators discuss censorship

Curators Criticize Controversial Art’s Removal
by Kate Taylor, The New York Times, December 15, 2010

Schomburg Center names new director

New Director for Schomburg Center Named

by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, November 17, 2010

Schomburg Center acquires Maya Angelou papers

Maya Angelou Archive Goes to Schomburg Center in Harlem

by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, October 26, 2010

Howard Dodson reassures Harlem

Howard Dodson Says Schomburg Center’s Home Is Harlem

by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, July 30, 2010

Help NYC's essential libraries

Click this book now to send a letter to the New York City Council and Mayor Bloomberg to protest severe budget cuts threatening our city's libraries' accessibility, staffing and resources!

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Library could use a manga hero

Library Cuts Could Hurt Manga Mania in Queens

by Anne Barnard, The New York Times, May 16, 2010

Libraries face biggest budget threat ever

Libraries Say Proposed Cuts Threaten Key Programs

by Anne Barnard, The New York Times, May 14, 2010

In Passing: Evelyn Hofer, Helen Levitt, Lilo Raymond | The New York Public Library

In Passing: Evelyn Hofer, Helen Levitt, Lilo Raymond

This New York Public Library exhibition--presented in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the National Women's History Project--honors three distinguished photographers who died in 2009.

Location: 

Stokes Gallery

Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

New York Public Library

5th Avenue & 42nd Street

Manhattan

For days/hours and other details, click here.

October isn't LGBT Pride Month, but...

Great stuff coming up in October from lbgt@nypl and Manhattan's LGBT Community Center!

PANIC!@theLibrary -- Saturday, October 17 (2:30pm)


PANIC!, hosted by Charlie Vasquez, is New York City’s only ongoing LGBT reading series, held every last Wednesday of the month at Nowhere in the East Village. The New York Public Library's Jefferson Market Branch--425 Avenue of the Americas at 10th Street, Manhattan--hosts a special presentation of PANIC! on Saturday, October 17, featuring Vasquez, Brandon Lacy Campos, Rosalind Christine Lloyd and Karen Jaime.

Free admission. For information, call 212-243-4334.

In Good Conscience -- Monday, October 19 (6pm)

In Good Conscience (film) with a talk by filmmaker Barbara Rick

Screening of the award-winning documentary about Sr. Jeannine Gramick, the Catholic nun who is defying a Vatican edict that shut down her 30-year ministry to the gay and lesbian community. Jefferson Market branch, 425 Avenue of the Americas at 10th Street, Manhattan.

Free admission. For information, call 212-243-4334.


The Healing Power of Humor -- Friday, October 23 (6pm)

The Healing Power of Humor, Anti-Violence Workshop by lesbian comic Karen Williams at the LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues), Manhattan. Free admission. Register here.


The Center presents Comedian Karen Williams -- Saturday, October 24 (7:30pm & 9:30pm)


"Known for her quick repartee, insightful commentary and audience rapport, Williams is a comic craft master, a gifted actor, a multitalented writer, and an inspirational lecturer."

Admission: $35 online; $45 at the door