Looking for a fun new cultural activity but not sure what to check out next? We’ve rounded up some of the highlights that you can experience for free this month with Culture Pass, from new exhibition openings to limited-run live performances. Check back each month for a new set of recommendations!
You can learn more about individual exhibitions and events by clicking the links in the blurbs below, but if you want to book a Culture Pass, click here to return to the homepage and log in with your library card to make a reservation.
December 2024
All offers listed below are subject to availability.
EXHIBITION: Experience Something Timeless at The Jewish Museum
Dates: Opening 12/5
The Tel Dan Stele, a 9th century BCE stone monument fragment, containing the earliest mention of the royal House of David outside of the Hebrew Bible, will be on view at The Jewish Museum for a limited time starting this month. This priceless artifact will be exhibited alongside five late 8th century BCE handles stamped with royal seals, once part of large clay storage jars, from the museum’s archaeology collection.
PERFORMANCE: Lean Into the Power of the Imagination at BMHC
Date: 12/5-9
Continuing with the archaeological theme, the Bronx Music Heritage Center will host performances of Excavating the Rising Star, a 90-minute original documentary play about a group of female archaeologists that excavated previously-unknown hominid fossils in South Africa in 2013 + 2018. Drawing from interviews with the women and oral histories from six of the “Astronauts,” the show investigates how our perception of history determines our future.
PERFORMANCE: Ring in the Holidays with Bria Skonberg at KCA
Date: 12/7
Award-winning artist Bria Skonberg’s smoky vocals and fiery trumpet will mesmerise audiences this month at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College. With brilliant brass and one-of-a-kind sass, Skonberg’s Jingle Bell Swing elevates seasonal favorites like “Let It Snow” and “Carol of The Bells,” while reaching deeper emotional depths with “What Child Is This” and Duke Ellington’s “Dance of the Sugar Rum Cherry.”
PERFORMANCE: Expect the Unexpected when CreArtBox Takes the Stage
Date: 12/11
The concept of “X is the new Y” has long been used in culture, fashion, and art to suggest a shift in perception or a redefinition of tradition. In their latest musical event, CreArtBox embraces this theme by juxtaposing different interpretations and formats of well-known repertoire, such as presenting Dvořák’s American Quartet—a quintessential string quartet—as a piece transcribed for flute and strings, Mozart’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 493, Frank Martin’s Ballade and the world premier of Hannah Selin's The Soft Moon.
EXHIBITION: Discover the Paintings of Marlon Mullen at MoMA
Dates: Opening 12/14
There is no mistaking the work of Marlon Mullen. For nearly 40 years, Mullen has been based at the NIAD Art Center, a progressive art studio for artists with developmental disabilities. Projects: Marlon Mullen, opening this month as part of the Museum of Modern Art's Elaine Dannheisser Projects Series, will demonstrate how the artist views magazines and art books not only as a prompt to create, but also as an invitation to engage with today’s art world on his own painterly terms.
SEASONAL CLOSURE: Last Chance to visit the Jacques Marchais Museum!
Dates: Closing 12/19
Situated on a hilltop with commanding views of the Raritan Bay, the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is an uncommon find. The buildings, designed by the founder to replicate Tibetan Buddhist mountain monasteries, are home to a collection of several thousand pieces of art primarily from Tibet, Mongolia and northern China dating from the fifteenth century. The museum is set to close later this month for a winter hiatus, meaning there are just a few weeks left to visit before you'll have to wait until next spring!