Lincoln Square BID

Exhibition/ Folk Nation: Crafting Patriotism in the United States
2026-05-07 11:30 - 18:00, 2026-05-08 11:30 - 18:00, 2026-05-09 11:30 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Square, New York, NY 10023, New York, 10023, United States
Mounted during the celebration of the United States semi quincentennial, Folk Nation: Crafting Patriotism in the United States draws from the American Folk Art Museum’s rich collections to explore links between vernacular art and the construction of an American sense of self. Introducing visitors to the concept of “folk” as a category developed in conjunction with the art and antiques markets, this exhibition positions works as multilayered in their meanings, imbued with cultural significance by not only their creators, but also their collectors and subsequent owners. Americans have long preserved objects as a way of telling stories about themselves. Beginning after the Revolutionary War and gathering momentum in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, people turned to early American things to construct a national history and sense of collective identity—an impulse often driven by lingering insecurity about the young nation’s perceived cultural provinciality compared to Europe.
This concentrated exhibition illuminates how makers both historical and contemporary have employed a kaleidoscopic variety of media to express love of country while also revealing the complexities and contradictions embedded in such expressions.

Exhibition/ Self-Made: A Century of Inventing Artists
2026-05-07 11:30 - 18:00, 2026-05-08 11:30 - 18:00, 2026-05-09 11:30 - 18:00 | American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Square, New York, NY 10023, New York, 10023, United States
Self-Made: A Century of Inventing Artists takes a critical look at the historical definition of the “self-taught artist” in the United States from the early twentieth century to today. The exhibition examines how artists without academic training have depicted, conceptualized, and identified themselves on their own terms. In doing so, it aims at challenging reductive, long-standing narratives that have cast these artmakers as amateurs or isolated geniuses working out of time, without lineage, influence, or artistic networks.

Dana Barnes: Untamed Gestures
2026-05-07 12:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 10:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-09 10:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-10 10:00 - 18:00 | Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY, 10019, United States
The first major museum exhibition spotlighting the artist’s singular vision, Dana Barnes: Untamed Gestures features monumental hand-formed fiber works alongside a fully immersive recreation of Barnes’s Lower East Side studio in New York City. Barnes’s sculptural landscapes composed of fibers such as merino, yak, alpaca, and silk create a compelling tactile environment in which motion and stillness, as well as strength and fragility, coexist in dynamic tension. Inspired by the slow, persistent forces of nature, Barnes twists, knots, and fuses her materials into sprawling, living forms that sag, climb, and unfurl across the gallery space. Her works pulse with a quiet vitality, inviting viewers into a dialogue between materiality and metamorphosis.
The exhibition’s immersive studio experience meticulously replicates Barnes’s original workspace, a former 19th-century synagogue once home to Abstract Expressionist painter Pat Passlof. Within the space, visitors will encounter a laboratory of creativity: overflowing sacks of colorful fibers, experimental maquettes, geological fragments, and handmade tools bearing the patina of daily use. A self-directed drawing exercise will invite visitors to participate in the same spirit of wonder and material exploration that animates Barnes’s practice.
Photo Credit: Daniel Root Photography

OUT of the Jewelry Box
2026-05-07 12:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 10:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-09 10:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-10 10:00 - 18:00 | Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY, 10019, United States
Expanding the voices represented in MAD’s permanent collection, OUT of the Jewelry Box considers the importance of queer perspectives in the world of studio and contemporary art jewelry. The exhibition showcases an extraordinary gift from Ron Porter and Joe Price, who have collected and worn art jewelry throughout their forty-one-year relationship, nine of those legally married.
On view are 56 newly acquired works from The Porter Price Collection by queer artists and their allies, and 22 pieces by queer artists already represented in MAD’s permanent collection. The jewelry dates from the 1950s to the present, and stories from the artists and collectors about the role of jewelry in the construction of queer histories and identities accompany each work.
Photo credit: Jenna Bascom

NYCB Presents: Spring Gala
2026-05-07 19:00 | David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, 10023, United States
Audiences gathered for this feted event will be transported by a one-time-only program highlighted by the world premiere of Principal Dancer Tiler Peck’s second commission for NYCB, which she will be choreographing to French composer Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole in D Minor and will feature world-renowned guest violinist Hilary Hahn. The program will continue with George Balanchine’s Diamonds—the grand finale of Jewels set to Tschaikovsky’s regal Symphony No. 3.

Syncopated Stages: Black Disruptions to the Great White Way
2026-05-08 10:30 - 18:00, 2026-05-09 10:30 - 18:00 | The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, 10023, United States
Although the common nickname for Broadway, “the Great White Way,” refers, historically, to its dazzling lights, the phrase also suggests the ways in which many histories of New York theater center white artists. Black artists, though, have been important shapers of musical theater in the United States before the electric light was ever used on stage. In the early 20th century, Black composers and writers created many popular musicals in New York that helped define the genre, setting it apart from 19th-century traditions. New forms of syncopation, the disruption of the dominant rhythm, and narratives composed and written by Black artists challenged the prevailing sounds and depictions of Black people on stage. These innovations were more than stylistic. They pushed back against exclusion and stereotype, laying the groundwork for generations of Black artists whose contributions have reshaped Broadway. Syncopated Stages spotlights their work, acknowledges the challenges they faced, and celebrates the brilliance of what they made. We invite you to explore how Black artists transformed the New York stage and how their work still reverberates today.
This exhibition is organized by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and curated by playwright, professor, and scholar Michael Dinwiddie.
Photo credit: New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Chair Yoga
2026-05-08 11:00 - 12:00 | New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street (at Central Park West), New York, NY, 10023, United States
The New York Society for Ethical Culture is delighted to introduce a new weekly wellness program at the Society: Chair Yoga led by experienced instructor Sara Jane Wellock.
Trained in India in 2009, Sara brings a deep, compassionate approach to teaching and a gift for meeting students exactly where they are. Her classes are gentle, accessible, and tailored to the needs and requests of participants.
Sessions may include:

Balance and stability work
Stress-reduction techniques
Gentle movement to ease physical or emotional discomfort
Practices that support healthy aging
Deep relaxation

Whether you’re new to yoga or returning to your practice, you are welcome! These sessions offer a calm, welcoming space to reconnect with your body and breath.
No equipment is needed—just come as you are, and feel free to bring a friend!
PRICING
Members: $10/class
Non-members: $15/class
>>RSVP on Eventbrite
Image Credit: New York Society for Ethical Culture

NYCB Presents: Innovators & Icons
2026-05-08 19:30 | David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, 10023, United States
Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky’s inventive Voices is led by five female dancers performing intricate solos to an experimental Peter Ablinger score featuring recordings of six notable women speaking in various languages, overlaid with a live solo piano. Also, an ingenious pairing of music and choreography, Jerome Robbins’ in Memory of… casts a haunting spell that reflects the emotional nuances of a violin concerto by modernist composer Alban Berg. The program concludes with Diamonds, one of Balanchine’s supremely beautiful displays of classical dance, a tribute to late 19th- and early 20th-century ballet’s regality as exemplified by the work of the master choreographer Marius Petipa.

Oscar Peterson: A Centennial Celebration
2026-05-08 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-05-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY, 10019, United States
Don’t miss this special event celebrating the 100th birthday of Oscar Peterson (1925–2007), one of the most influential and virtuosic jazz pianists of the 20th century. Born in Montreal, Peterson rose to fame as a teen prodigy and launched his international career after a standout Jazz at the Philharmonic performance at Carnegie Hall.
Over his lifetime, he recorded more than 200 albums, earned eight Grammy Awards, and set a new standard for jazz piano through his iconic trios with Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, and Joe Pass. This centennial celebration brings together an outstanding lineup of musicians paying tribute to his extraordinary legacy.

Oscar Peterson: A Centennial Celebration
2026-05-08 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-05-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY, 10019, United States
Join us for a monumental evening as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Oscar Peterson (1925-2007), one of the most virtuosic and influential jazz pianists of the 20th century. Born in Montreal, Peterson’s exceptional musical abilities were apparent early on. He started his professional career as a teenager with the Johnny Holmes Orchestra, quickly earning recognition for his remarkable technique and deep swing. By the time he was 24, jazz impresario Norman Granz had noticed him and invited him to perform at a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall—an event that marked the beginning of Peterson’s global career.
Over the course of his remarkable career, Peterson recorded more than 200 albums, won eight Grammy Awards, and set a new standard for jazz piano through his legendary trios with Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, and Joe Pass. This centennial celebration will feature a star-studded roster of musicians for a fitting tribute to a man who not only mastered the piano but also left an indelible mark on the world of jazz and beyond.
Lineup:
Kelly Peterson – Host/MC
Dee Dee Bridgewater – vocals
Cyrus Chestnut – piano
Benny Green – piano
Carl Allen – drums
Christian McBride (Saturday only) – bass
Robert Hurst III – bass

Greenmarket at Richard Tucker Park
2026-05-09 08:00 - 16:00 | Richard Tucker Park, 130 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY, 10023, United States
The Richard Tucker Park Greenmarket offers locally grown produce just across the street from Lincoln Center. Seasonal vegetables range from fresh staples like corn and greens to delicacies like squash blossoms and fairtytale eggplant. Orchards boast sweet berries, stone fruit, and over 80 varieties of apples. Knowledgeable growers are at market to explain just how to care for their plants, flowers, and herb pots indoors and out. Impeccable farmstead cheeses, fresh seafood, grass fed beef, eggs, artisanal baked goods, and New York’s only producer of both sorghum and maple syrup round out the offerings.
Cash, SNAP/EBT, Debit/Credit, Healthfirst OTC Plus members, WIC & Senior FMNP coupons, FreshConnect coupons, and Greenmarket Bucks accepted. Spend $2 in SNAP/EBT/P-EBT, get bonus $2 Health Buck, up to $10 per day.

The Harlem in Havana Story: Film Screening & Panel Discussion
2026-05-09 13:00 - 15:00 | The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, 10023, United States
Register
Step behind the velvet curtain for the New York premiere of JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana, a documentary by filmmaker Leslie Cunningham. Dive into a sizzling, untold chapter of American entertainment—where Black brilliance, Cuban rhythm, and early burlesque lit up the big top and defied segregation. This three-part documentary takes viewers inside the legendary Harlem in Havana Revue, featuring Cunningham’s grandmother Shirley Bates, former lead exotic dancer, and her father John Cunningham, a San Diego musician raised on the show. Rare footage, never-before-digitized show photos, archival clips, and vibrant performances illuminate the rise and fall of Claxton’s troupe, while historians, burlesque artists, and musicians provide cultural context.
The Library for the Performing Arts screens JIG SHOW, which celebrates a legacy of resilience, artistry, and cultural bridges, urging audiences to reclaim this vibrant history and honor the entertainers who defied segregation with courage and creativity. In addition to the screening, the program features a special pop-up burlesque performance by The Doll of D.C. Bebe Bardeaux, and a post-screening panel discussion with filmmaker Leslie Cunningham, burlesque historians Bebe Bardeaux and Chicava HoneyChild, and facilitated by NYC burlesque artist GiGi Holliday.

Big Apple Knitters Guild
2026-05-09 13:00 - 16:00 | New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street (at Central Park West), New York, NY, 10023, United States
The Big Apple Knitters Guild meets on the second Saturday of every month, from 1 to 4 PM (unless otherwise specified). Its general meetings include:

Featured Guest Speakers—learn the latest from experts in the knitting world!
Show and Tell—present your finished projects to an appreciative audience!
Members-Only Raffle—win a skein of luxury yarn at our raffle drawing each month!
Beginners Circle—improve your knitting skills with help from fellow BAKG members!
Charity Knitting Table—knit for those in need!
KALs—join a knit-along and complete a project with the help of friends!

Come and join us! At live meetings, guests are welcome—first visit is free; a nominal guest fee of $5 is charged on subsequent visits. This fee may be applied to annual dues if paid on the meeting day.
Image Courtesy of New York Society for Ethical Culture

NYCB Presents: Eclectic NYCB III
2026-05-09 14:00, 2026-05-09 19:30 | David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, 10023, United States
Jerome Robbins’ Opus 19/The Dreamer has held a prominent place in the repertory since its debut more than four decades ago. Set to a drama-inflected Prokofiev violin concerto, this enticingly enigmatic ballet features a male soloist—the “dreamer” of the title—moving through a nightscape rich in mystery. Standard Deviation, the first dance created for the company by the Canadian choreographer Alysa Pires, reflects a close collaboration between Pires and the composer Jack Frerer. A complex, multifaceted dance for three featured dancers and an ensemble, the ballet mirrors the quicksilver shifts in the music, an eclectic blend of neoclassical symphonic sounds and contemporary jazz. The program concludes with the premiere of the second ballet commissioned by the company from longtime Principal Dancer Tiler Peck.

NYCB Presents: Contemporary Choreography III
2026-05-09 19:30 | David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, 10023, United States
Ballet thrives on forward momentum, and this program exemplifies how the company has continued to support choreographers moving dance toward new horizons. Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH remains one of the most zestful and intoxicating ballets he has created for NYCB. In the esteemed choreographer Lar Lubovitch’s Each in Their Own Time, two male dancers evoke a mood of romantic rapture in a work set to Brahms piano pieces. Distant Cries, created in 2005 by Edwaard Liang, a former member of the company and currently the artistic director of The Washington Ballet, uses the music of the baroque composer Albinoni for a captivating pas de deux of quiet intensity and emotional ambiguity. And after premiering in 2002 at San Francisco Ballet, Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum enters the repertory, part of his acclaimed trilogy of streamlined leotard ballets created to the music of György Ligeti, which also includes his Polyphonia and Morphoses.

Young Ethical Explorers
2026-05-10 10:30 - 14:30 | New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street (at Central Park West), New York, NY, 10023, United States
10:30am: Peace-play on the rooftop playground (weather permitting)
11:00am: This week’s activity
12:30pm: Community Lunch
1:30-2:30pm: Peace-play on the rooftop playground (weather permitting)
How to Join
To join, please RSVP to Youth Programs Director Audrey Kindred at ethicalfamilies@nysec.org. For more information about our youth and family programming, please visit ethical.nyc/families.
About Young Ethical Explorers
Young Ethical Explorers is the New York Society for Ethical Culture’s Humanist Sunday school for ages 3-11. Sessions raise issues of personal identity and integrity, appreciation and respect for others, and knowledge of religions, philosophies, and social concerns. Topics are explored in an age-appropriate way through discussion, storytelling, dramatization, music, art, games, and field trips.
RSVP is essential to guarantee your place and for planning purposes. If you are enrolled for the season or are members of Ethical NYC your spot is guaranteed. To RSVP as a guest, become a member, or enroll in season, please contact Audrey at ethicalfamilies@nysec.org. Newcomers and visitors are always welcome!
Photo courtesy of: New York Society for Ethical Culture
