(Now-7/1) Swale's Moveable Food Forest docks for the summer at Brooklyn Army Terminal. swaleny.org

EXHIBITION OF THE WEEK

PLUS

(6/16) An Evening with David Copperfield at the New-York Historical Society, 7pm, $38. Magic has the power to inspire, amaze, and make the impossible a reality. How did sleight of hand and grand illusion evolve into one of the most fascinating and intricate performance arts in history? In an illuminating conversation with Mark Pocan, world-renowned magician David Copperfield uncovers the history of magic from its origins, including well-known figures such as Georges Méliès and Harry Houdini. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Summer of Magic: Treasures from the David Copperfield Collection, opening 6/15.

(Now-9/9) Celebrating Bill Cunningham marks the New-York Historical Society's recent acquisition of objects, personal correspondence, ephemera, and photographs that reflect the life and work of Bill Cunningham. One of the late 20th century's most influential trend-spotters and style authorities, the legendary New York Times journalist and photographer was frequently spied on the city's streets, at fashion shows, and elegant soirées capturing images of New York's fashion innovators and cultural glitterati. Among the highlights of Celebrating Bill Cunningham are a bicycle that he rode around the city; his first camera, an Olympus Pen-D, 35mm; signature blue jacket; personal photographs of Cunningham at home and with friends; correspondence, including a few of the hand-made Valentines he frequently sent to friends; and a New York City street sign, "Bill Cunningham Corner," that was temporarily installed at 5th Avenue and 57th Street in his honor, following his death. Soon after he arrived in New York, Cunningham worked as a milliner, and items on view from his millinery line, William J., include an innovative beach hat, along with other hats and fascinators; and a press release written for the William J. spring 1960 millinery show. Also on display are selections from Cunningham's Facades, his eight-year photographic project documenting New York City's architectural and fashion history, which was shown at the museum in 2014.

(6/8-9/12) An Incredible Giacometti Retrospective Comes to the Guggenheim Museum. Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), a Modernist sculptor, was a master of perspective. His elongated human figures, spindly miniatures, and ghostly paintings and drawings invite the viewer to lean in close and evaluate the work on its own terms rather than those of the viewer herself. The exhibit features more than 175 works by the artist. 

(Now-10/28) In 1939, the pioneering American Modernist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) went to Hawaii on commission for a Hawaiian Pineapple Company promotional campaign. What she created provides the inspiration for the landmark new exhibition Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai‘i at The New York Botanical Garden. A stunning display in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Art Gallery includes 17 of O’Keeffe’s Hawaii paintings, not seen together in New York since their debut in 1940. The historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory explores the remarkable beauty and variety of Hawaiian flora, as well as its complex botanical and cultural history. The garden (just a 20-minute Metro-North ride from Grand Central Terminal) also features a living collection of more than one million plants.

(Now-10/8) “A shoe tells a story,” says footwear designer Stuart Weitzman—and it’s done so through history, as people “used shoes to say something about who they were.” Weitzman should know: for three decades, along with running his eponymous company, he and his wife Jane have been collecting vintage footwear. Now, 100 items from their cache are on display in Walk This Way: Footwear from Stuart Weitzman Collection of Historic Shoes at the New-York Historical Society, supplemented by the museum’s own collection and some contemporary creations. “You could wear that today” rings true, surveying the range of Mary Janes (invented 1904), T-straps (popularized in the ‘20s because they stayed on dancing feet so well), and stiletto pumps (made possible by post-World War II technology). You’ll be entranced by the beauty of the shoes themselves, gleaming like jewels in their transparent cases, joined by rows of glittering detached heels. 

(Now-7/15) On stage, he was Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and The Thin White Duke. David Bowie, the beloved English singer/New York transplant who sang about “Changes” and is revered for perpetually changing his sound and look over a five decades-plus career, is being celebrated in David Bowie is, a major exhibition that makes its final stop at the Brooklyn Museum. This first-ever Bowie retrospective explores a creative process of reinvention, collaborations, and bold characterizations that shaped listeners’ own identities. The show includes 300+ significant objects from Bowie’s teens to his death in 2016, including handwritten lyrics, diary entries, photography, set designs, album artwork, and rare performance material, with many items exclusive to the Brooklyn Museum presentation. More than 60 stage costumes are on display. Advanced sound technology, alongside theatrical scene–setting, animation, and video, provides an immersive journey through Bowie’s formative artistic experiences. 

(Now-9/9) Surface/Depth: The Decorative After Miriam Schapiro at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD). In June of 2015, Miriam Schapiro, the pioneering feminist artist and founding member of the Pattern and Decoration movement, passed away at the age of ninety-one. Surprisingly, given her status as the elder stateswoman of the feminist art movement, the tremendous impact of her oeuvre on contemporary art has yet to be fully acknowledged or critically assessed. This exhibition seeks to redress this gap in the history of American art through an exploration of Schapiro's signature femmages, the term she coined to describe her distinctive hybrid of painting and collage inspired by women's domestic arts and crafts and the feminist critique of the hierarchy of art and craft. You can read more about it here.

(Now-6/24) Memory Unearthed: Henryk Ross Photographs at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Recovered like buried treasure after the Second World War, the photographs of Henryk Ross survive to tell the hidden story of the Lodz Ghetto. Two hundred of these photographs are on view now. Here is a $3 off admission coupon.

(Now-10/8) Heavenly Bodies at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters. Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination reflects the influence of religious art, ceremony, and imagery on clothing design. It’s a sprawling show, literally—encompassing 65,000 square feet and 25 galleries, including The Cloisters (the museum’s uptown branch dedicated to medieval art, housed in reconstituted European chapels and cloisters) and parts of the Lehman Wing, the Costume Center, and the medieval and Byzantine art galleries at The Met itself.

COMEDY

(6/15-6/16) NBC's Last Comic Standing's winner Chris Porter at Gotham Comedy Club. With Daniel Tirado and Cory Kahaney!

PLUS

(6/14-6/16) SNL's Melissa Villasenor at Carolines.

(Ongoing) Catch the latest and funniest on the comic strip at the LOL Times Square Comedy Club. Use promo code CITYGUIDE for 50% off tickets!