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.
October 2024
All offers listed below are subject to availability.
EXHIBITIONS: Learn About Kawakakkoii and Bunraku at the Japan Society
Dates: Opening 10/4
Two brand new exhibitions will debut at the Japan Society's East Midtown gallery this month. Acky Bright: Studio Infinity showcases the rising star’s unique kawakakkoii (cute and cool) style of illustration and product design, while Bunraku Backstage offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the dramatic art integrating performances of skilled puppetry, shamisen music, and narration.
PERFORMANCE: Enjoy an Afro-Arab Jazz Concert at KCA
Date: 10/5
Head to the Kupferberg Center for the Arts to discover the electrifying fusion in Afro-Arab Jazz, a dynamic collaboration between Lebanese pianist Tarek Yamani and French-Tunisian saxophonist Yacine Boulares, blending Arabic trance rhythms and jazz harmonies. With a quartet featuring Ele Salif Howell on drums and Sam Minaie on bass, they weave together Arabic trance rhythms and jazz harmonies, from Lebanese Dabke to Tunisian Stambeli and Mezwed traditions
EVENT: Explore the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership at the Center for Fiction
Dates: 10/8
For the third event in an ongoing series on housing, land, and the policies that shape our country, the Center for Fiction will host an event with writer Brea Baker, author of Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and The Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership, and author and scholar Amy Godine to examine the fraught history of Black land ownership in the United States.
EXHIBITION: Head to El Museo for the Second-Ever Trienal
Date: Opening 10/10
Flow States – LA TRIENAL 2024 is El Museo del Barrio’s second large-scale survey of Latinx contemporary art. Organized by El Museo’s chief curator Rodrigo Moura, curator Susanna V. Temkin, and guest curator María Elena Ortiz, the exhibition will feature 33 participating artists working across the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.
EVENT: Celebrate Día de los Muertos at the Met Cloisters
Date: 10/13
Head to The Met Cloisters from 1-4pm for a vibrant day of bilingual activities to celebrate Día de los Muertos, a day of remembrance honoring loved ones who have passed away. Enjoy art making, Storytime, music, community storytelling, The Met Cloisters gardens, and more!
PERFORMANCE: Catch a Show at the Bushwick Starr's New Permanent Home
Date: 10/15, 10/16, 10/17, 10/21
The Bushwick Starr will kick off the first season in its new home this month with A Woman Among Women, a world premiere by celebrated writer Julia May Jonas. This riff off Arthur Miller’s All My Sons challenges the audience to participate in the making of a tragic hero, experience her Aristotelian fall from grace, and interrogate the meaning of collective catharsis.
EXHIBITION: Chart the Decades-Long History of an Iconic Toy at MAD
Dates: 10/19
Barbie®: A Cultural Icon, opening in mid-October at the Museum of Arts and Design, charts the 65-year history of Barbie and the doll’s global impact on fashion and popular culture through an expansive display of more than 250 vintage dolls, life-size fashion designs, advertisements, and other ephemera, along with exclusive video interviews with the doll's designers.