Brooklyn Public Library - Art and Culture Events at BPL

Saturday Family Programs: The Lion's Whiskers

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/4/2012 1:00:00 PM

A delightful musical adaptation of a traditional Ethiopian folktale, this show features a charming cast of human characters as well as our favorite African animals! When lonely Minya marries a widowed man with a son, she goes to a Wise Man for advice. He tells her that in order to win the heart of the little boy she must first pluck three whiskers from a Wild Lion! In doing so she not only finds the courage to tame the lion, but also the secret to gaining the love of her new family. The show features a multitude of masks and puppets ranging from three quarter life-sized to gigantic and is highlighted with shadow puppetry and original songs.

Gotham: Writers in the City: Colson Whitehead

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/4/2012 4:00:00 PM

Whitehead discusses his new novel, Zone One, with WNYC's Leonard Lopate. In the near future, a global plague turns most of humanity into zombies. The military drives out the majority of the undead from an area south of Canal Street--the safe area known as Zone One.
This Gotham Series is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

Activism in America: Black Women & Social Justice

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/5/2012 1:30:00 PM

Leaders discuss their efforts to bring black women into full and equal social, economic and political participation in American society. Guests include Farah Tanis, director of Black Women’s Blueprint, and historian Robyn Spencer.

Classical Interludes: Sebastian Bäverstam and Pei-Shan Lee

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/5/2012 4:00:00 PM

Bäverstam, cello, and Lee, piano, perform works by Franck and Beethoven. Bäverstam is a winner of the 2009 Concert Artists Guild International Competition. Lee teaches and performs as a collaborative pianist at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted.
The Classical Interludes Series is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

Brooklyn Open

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/6/2012 5:00:00 PM

Co-hosted by Urban Word, Brooklyn Open is a monthly open mic series for teen poets, spoken word artists, emcees, scholars and activists to share their powerful and important voices. These events are run by teens for teens, with youth DJs, youth hosts and a monthly featured poet.

Books into Film: Blade Runner

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/7/2012 6:30:00 PM

Based on Philip K. Dick’s 1968 science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who “retires” replicants, as he hunts down a criminal gang of the androids in 2019 Los Angeles.

Testament to History Film Series: The Murder of Emmett Till

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/9/2012 6:30:00 PM

In August of 1955, a 14 year-old black boy from Chicago, unschooled in the racial customs of the south, traveled to Mississippi to visit relatives. With adolescent bravado, he whistled at a white woman. Three nights later, Emmett Till was killed. His death was a powerful catalyst for the civil rights movement: three months after Till's body was found, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. This powerful documentary inspired authorities to the reopen the investigation of the murder. 55 min, directed by Stanley Nelson.

Saturday Family Programs: Jazz 4 Kids

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/11/2012 1:00:00 PM

Together, with world renowned jazz musicians and vocalist/educator Lauren Hooker, the ensemble leads the audience through the origins of jazz, beginning the journey with a participatory African “Call and Response” song, Slave songs and Spirituals, and translating it into singing a “Swing” tune, and moving to a calypso song demonstrating that jazz continues to influence music around the world. Children are exposed to jazz legends such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Sonny Rollins while participating in “Jazz Etiquette” and “Trading Fours”. The audience becomes the instruments in a “Jazz Trio” and experiences the freedom of improvisational scat singing. It’s fun! It’s educational! It’s exciting!

Russian Literary Series: Pavel Lembersky

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/11/2012 4:00:00 PM

Lembersky is the author of two collections of prose, River #7 and The City Of Vanishing Spaces. He presents his first novel Aboard the 500th Jolly Echelon, which was published last year to warm critical acclaim. This event is in Russian. Please RSVP for tickets by calling 718.230.2222. Limit two per person.

Activism in America: Investigating Occupy Wall Street

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/12/2012 1:30:00 PM

Todd Gitlin (The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel, and the Ordeals of Divine Election) discusses the Occupy Wall Street protests. Stacey Patton reflects on African-American participation in OWS and Occupy the Hood.

Classical Interludes: Sofya Melikyan

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/12/2012 4:00:00 PM

This talented young pianist performs music by two great romantics, Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt, as well as two French composers, Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy. Melikyan recently completed her Master of Music degree in piano performance at Manhattan School of Music, where she was a scholarship student of Solomon Mikowsky. Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted.
The Classical Interludes Series is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

Books into Film: The Big Sleep

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/14/2012 6:30:00 PM

The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946), is a film noir classic starring Humphrey Bogart as detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as Mrs. Vivian Rutledge, a woman with a secret. The film is based on Raymond Chandler’s 1939 hard-boiled novel of the same name.

dweck-lec'-tic: Dos y Mas

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/15/2012 7:00:00 PM

The two Cuban masters, percussionist/composer Arturo Stable and pianist/composer Elio Villafranca, pay tribute to the legacies of different percussive traditions, from the Spanish flamenco tradition to the Iranian saghezi, blended with contemporary jazz idioms. Villafranca performs internationally as leader of his quartet, and has collaborated with leading jazz artists including Wynton Marsalis Sonny Fortune and Johnny Pacheco. Stable performs with such illustrious leaders as Dave Samuels and Paquito D’ Rivera.
This Series is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

Testament to History Film Series: Freedom Riders

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/16/2012 6:30:00 PM

In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. That is, until an integrated band of students decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face to face with the challenge of correcting civil-rights inequities that plagued the nation. This film documents their personal conviction and their courage to organize against all odds. 120 min, directed by Stanley Nelson.

Saturday Family Programs: Urban Stages presents Musical Tales with Atiba

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/18/2012 1:00:00 PM

Master storyteller and musician, Atiba Wilson, shares a collection of his favorite African folktales. These tales are woven together with beautiful music sure to be a treat for all ages.

Author Talk: Martha Southgate

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/18/2012 4:00:00 PM

In her new novel, The Taste of Salt, award-winning novelist Martha Southgate tells the story of a family tested to the limits by an unending cycle of addiction over the course of two generations, weaving together the four voices of Henderson family. Southgate is the author of two acclaimed novels, The Fall of Rome and Third Girl from the Left.

Books into Film: Trainspotting

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/21/2012 6:30:00 PM

Based on Scottish writer Irvine Welsh’s first novel, Danny Boyle’s 1996 film adaptation launched the career of Ewan McGregor, who plays the main character, a heroin addict named Renton. Boyle would go on to make Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours.

Paul D. Miller's The Book of Ice

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/22/2012 7:00:00 PM

Miller, aka DJ Spooky, presents an exploration of Antarctica by performing pieces based on his travels there and discussing climate change and contemporary composition.

Russian Film Series: My Father Evgeny

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/23/2012 7:00:00 PM

Filmmaker Andrei Zagdansky and his father Evgeny both lived a life in cinema, working for the Kiev Popular Science Film Studio. In 1992, when Andrei left the Ukraine for America, they communicated by letters, sharing impressions between two continents. Drawing upon that correspondence and beguiling footage from Soviet archives, Andrei creates an intimate portrait of a family living through dramatic changes. This film is in Russian with English subtitles.

Saturday Family Programs: Feraba African Rhythm Tap Duet

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/25/2012 1:00:00 PM

Let's dance together, let's drum together, let's sing together. Join Ibrahima Kolipe Camara, a native from Guinea, West Africa and Irene Koloseus, dancer and choreographer as they celebrate Black History month. The two perform dances, rhythms and songs from Guinea as well as honoring tap dance - an art form - created in America. Learn how American tap dance has its roots in African music and dance. Join the fun during this highly interactive performance! African shakers and small drums will be provided for toddlers, youngsters, and their families.

Pixelating: Indie Films in Black: Medicine for Melancholy and Habesha Life

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/25/2012 4:00:00 PM

Medicine for Melancholy is a love story told through two African-American twenty-somethings who deal with issues of class, identity, and the evolving conundrum of being a minority in rapidly gentrifying San Francisco. Directed by Barry Jenkins, starring The Daily Show’s Wyatt Cenac. Habesha Life, directed by Ambessa Jir Berhe, is an episodic online short film series about a group of young habesha/abesha (Ethiopian or Eritrean person) in and around Washington DC. Followed by a discussion with the directors. Presented in partnership with MoCADA, Black Public Media and the Center for Place, Culture and Politics at CUNY Graduate Center.

Activism in America: Filmmaker Stanley Nelson in Conversation

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/26/2012 1:30:00 PM

Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson is an Emmy-winning MacArthur “genius” Fellow. His films chronicle chapters of American history that stand as an astonishing testament to the accomplishments of Black Americans. He will discuss his film, Freedom Riders, and the key people, locations and events of this watershed movement for civil rights

Classical Interludes: Brooklyn Rider String Quartet

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/26/2012 4:00:00 PM

Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violins Nicholas Cords, viola Eric Jacobsen, cello, play in venues as varied as Joe’s Pub and Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Todai-ji Temple in Japan, Library of Congress, San Francisco Jazz and the South By Southwest Festival. Their wildly eclectic repertoire draws critical acclaim from classical, world and rock critics. Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted.
The Classical Interludes Series is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

Books into Film: Coraline

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/28/2012 6:30:00 PM

Coraline, the title character of Neil Gaiman’s 2002 novella for young adult readers, is a fearless little girl who, despite the warnings of her neighbors, goes through a hidden doorway and enters a nearly identical world, where her Other Mother and Other Father replicas of her real parents with button eyes, inhabit a house just like her own. Henry Selik directed the 2009 film version, which features stop-motion animation.

Second Chances: Reentering a Professional and Personal Life after Incarceration

Central Library, Dweck Center
2/29/2012 7:00:00 PM

This panel discussion offers advice, resources and positive stories about the reentry process for formerly incarcerated individuals. Speakers include Mindy S. Tarlow, the Executive Director of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) to discuss services that CEO offers to people with recent criminal convictions Nick Higgins, Correctional Services librarian at New York Public Library and a recent participant in the CEO program. This event is held in conjunction with the exhibition “Released with Conviction”.

Saturday Family Programs: Just Girls

Central Library, Dweck Center
3/3/2012 1:00:00 PM

Presented by the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, this family concert features an all-female band celebrating Women's History Month with a multi-genre musical bash! The performance features women playing instruments that are usually associated men such as tuba, bass, and drums. Our female musical masterminds will show that girls can make music in every which way - singing, playing, and working together!

Staged Reading: Ask Joseph

Central Library, Dweck Center
3/3/2012 4:00:00 PM

STEPS Theatre Company gives a staged reading of a play by Slava Stepnov and Roman Freud. This theatrical fantasy is influenced by the works of Anton Chekhov and Joseph Brodsky. Photographer Anya Roz will show her portrait project, Ancestor Blueprint, as part of the performance. In Russian. RSVP by calling 718-230-2222. Limit two per person.