DNAinfo New York has planned your week. While you're busy putting these suggestions into your calendar, here are some songs to listen to on a curated Spotify playlist.
Monday, August 12
Our streets are alive with the sound of art. The streets and buildings are the canvas, and in this city, the canvas is always evolving. Today, we're celebrating a long gone street art pioneer and pointing you towards a significant NYC graffiti site in Long Island City that is hanging on for dear life.
Keith Haring lived in New York City from 1978 until his death in 1990. Much of his original street art is gone, but some fragments remain. Check out this video and explore three sites where his fun and inspired creations live on.
Crack Is Wack Mural, FDR and 128th Street, Harlem.
Woodhull Hospital Mural, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn.
Carmine Street Swimming Pool Mural, 1 Clarkson Street, West Village.
5 Pointz Aerosol Art Center, recognized as one of the most important graffiti locations in the world, is soon to undergo a permanent transformation. First established as the Phun Phactory in 1993 under a program to discourage vandalism by encouraging artists to display their work in a formal showcase, the site has been curated by veteran graffiti artist Jonathan Cohen since 2002.
Although Cohen is hoping to have the site designated as a permanent graffiti museum and school, the site is scheduled for imminent demolition. See it while you can at 45-46 Davis Street, Long Island City, Queens.
Tuesday, August 13
While graffiti artists are keeping aerosol painting skills alive, traditional hand-lettered, brush and paint sign painting have been in decline since the 1980s. Recently however, after being sidelined by cheaper and faster computer printed and die-cut sign processes, it looks as though many retailers and manufacturers are seeking out traditional sign painters once again.
Hear what Faythe Levine and Sam Macon have to say about the experience documenting the story of the sign painters, and take a look at the book they wrote about their discoveries at the Strand Bookstore, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, then head over to Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg and see the accompanying documentary "Sign Painters", which has its New York premier this week.
Wednesday, August 14
Here's some inspired options for keeping kids entertained.
- Little Club Heads has revolutionized the idea of “family time” by providing a dance party experience for children aged 12 months to 10 years old and their parents. Wednesday at Faber Park, Staten Island from 10.30 a.m.
- iLuminate broke through on "America's Got Talent", with a Tron-inspired dance routine. In their most recent show "iLuminate: Artist of Light" the company continues to dazzle, with high tech illuminated performers created by choreographer Miral Kotb. New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., between Eighth and Ninth Aves.
- "Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience" takes on the ultimate challenge of condensing all seven Harry Potter books (and a real life game of Quidditch) into 70 minutes. Little Shubert Theatre, 422 W. 42nd St., between Ninth and Tenth Aves. Through Sunday September 1.
- Kids can build robots that move during Summer Open Play sessions at Brooklyn Robot Foundry.
- FringeJR 2013 presents three productions recommended for families and groups with children ages five to 12. Sarazad and the Monster-King, Peter Pan and Stardust Dances and The Young Olympians and The Most Amazingly Awesome Adventure Ever. All showing now at 14th Street Theater 344 E. 14th St.
Thursday, August 15
Closing this weekend at Brooklyn Museum is "Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui". The show is Ghanian sculptor Anatsui’s first solo exhibition in a New York museum and features more than 30 works made of metal or wood found objects.
The artist uses screw-top liquor bottle caps, as a reference to the former transatlantic trade between Africa, Europe, and the Americas in which enslaved Africans and alcohol were exchanged.
Friday, August 16
Finding your home a bit of a squeeze? Need some inspiring design solutions to make the most of your space? Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC) and the Museum of the City of New York developed the “Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers” exhibition at city's museum to showcase innovative design solutions to better accommodate New York's changing demographics. The exhibit includes a full-sized, flexibly furnished micro-studio apartment of just 325 square feet — a size prohibited in most areas of the city. The show runs until September 15.
With "Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes" MoMA presents its first major exhibition on the work of one of the pioneers of what is now called modern architecture.
In his work as an architect, interior designer, artist, city planner, writer, and photographer, Le Corbusier was dedicated to providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities. The exhibition reveals the ways in which Le Corbusier observed and imagined landscapes throughout his career, using all the artistic techniques at his disposal, from his early watercolors of Italy, Greece, and Turkey, to his sketches of India, and from the photographs of his formative journeys to the models of his large-scale projects. The show runs until September 23.
Saturday, August 17
As part of Summer Streets, Park Avenue Tunnel is open to pedestrians for the first time in history. Inside the tunnel is a seven-block-long (East 33rd Street to East 40th Street) art installation titled Voice Tunnel. Open to pedestrians at the 33rd Street entrance between the hours of 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Sunday, August 18
The Jazz Age Lawn Party is New York City’s original prohibition era inspired gathering, running both Saturday and Sunday at Governors Island. Dance to the authentic period sounds of Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra, in one of New York City's favorite summer events.
While 1920s attire is not mandatory, fancy duds are encouraged. Pick an outfit here. If you want to kick on afterwards, try one of these speakeasy-style bars in New York.
Apotheke, 9 Doyers St., Chinatown.
Bathtub Gin, 132 9th Ave., Chelsea.
Manderley Bar at the McKittrick Hotel, 530 W. 27th St., Chelsea.
