This week in New York City, Lunar New Year festivities continue, new historical exhibitions and tours are launching, and there are some fascinating design events to check out. Stay tuned also for our monthly art installation guide, publishing Monday!
Museum of Chinese in America is celebrating the Lunar New Year at its museum, despite reeling from the damage of the fire in the building its archives were stored in. The latest update is that much of the collection can be salvaged, so there is much to celebrate. Enjoy zodiac arts & crafts, lively dance performances, festive snacks, and timeless tales inspired by Chinese and Chinese American New Year’s traditions.
Check out the new exhibition from the Merchants House Museum, Sylvia: A 19th Century Life Unveiled. In 2002, a small, timeworn leather trunk discarded on a sidewalk in Lower Manhattan was found replete with the cherished keepsakes of a 19th century woman. Thus began visual artist Stacy Renee Morrison’s self-proclaimed love affair with Sylvia DeWolf Ostrander, whose early life parallels that of Gertrude Tredwell, who lived at 29 East 4th Street.
Fraunces Tavern Museum will have a special Black History Month docent-led public tour, Fighting for Freedom. From battles to espionage, and harrowing tales of escape, this tour emphasizes the fact that African Americans, both enslaved and free, were of critical importance in the American Revolution.
In Village Preservation’s event at 6:30 PM, The Past, Present and Future of New York, author, public policy professor, political advisor, and real estate expert Jason Haber will explore the perils and possibilities facing New York, and will inspire us to fulfill Jane Jacobs’ visions of a dynamic, supportive city. We have 9 free tickets left for Untapped New York Insiders, book here.
At 6:30 PM Museum of the City of New York will host Cultivating Culture in NYC. In this conversation, cultural leaders Whitney Donhauser of the Museum of the City of New York, Rob Fields of Weeksville Heritage Center, Thelma Golden of The Studio Museum in Harlem, and Daniel Weiss of the Metropolitan Museum of Art sit down with John Calvelli, Cultural Institutions Group Chair from 2017-2019, to discuss the challenges facing the city’s arts and cultural organizations today.
Wednesday, February 5
Reviews are in for our new Coffee Tour & Tastingand even native New Yorkers are raving! “What more could one hope for?” said a recent attendee, who sent “a quick note to tell [us] how much fun the Coffee Tour of Greenwich Village was!” The next tour is at 2 PM on February 5th!
There are two spots left for our studio tour of ST Architecture, a woman-owned, full-service architecture firm based in Manhattan, Meet the firm’s founder Esther Sperber to learn what goes on behind-the-design. Studio ST Architects employs a design approach that is “simultaneously personal and collaborative, providing innovative and responsible design solutions on projects ranging from synagogues and community centers to high-end apartments and low budget real-estate developments. The event is free for Untapped New York Insiders.
Thursday, February 6
At Poster House’s event Sexmob Goes to the Movies, legendary NYC band Sexmob performs music from their albums devoted to classic soundtracks. Gear up for tunes from Cinema, Circus & Spaghetti: Sexmob Plays Fellini, the band’s revered record focusing on the work of Federico Fellini collaborator Nino Rota, and Sexmob Does Bond, consisting of John Barry’s immortal music for the 007 franchise. Many of these delicious pieces have had the pleasure of marinating in the band’s repertoire for almost two decades.
At the Williamsburg design space A/D/O, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s event, Gathering, will take place at 6:30pm. The event will include a panel discussion about transformational retail experiences moderated by Curbed critic Alexandra Lange with Marshall Ryan, Store Development, Everlane, Aaron Nice, Senior Real Estate Manager, Blue Bottle Coffee, Greg Mottola, Principal, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, and Donald Albrecht, curator, Selling Style: Retail Invention and Reinvention, Museum of the City of New York (Opening Fall 2020).
