High Culture, Low Cost

Even on these hot, humid days when trash is rotting in the streets and people have brought out their lawn chairs onto the corners, there is something to be said for New York... FREE cultural activities! In the midst of this heat wave I have tried my darndest to enjoy the fun stuff offered in this city.

Museum Mile Festival June 3, 2008
You all know how I love museums, so I couldn't not go to the biggest event of the year on Museum Mile. On this night 8 of the museums on the Mile were open free to visitors; El Museo Del Barrio, the Museum of the City of New York, The Jewish Museum, the Cooper Hewitt, the National Academy, the Guggenheim, the Neue Gallerie, and the Met (the Goethe Institute was advertised as participating, but for reasons "beyond their control" were not). On top of that, there was tons of free music and entertainment going on up and down the street. One of the most exciting parts was the chalking, somehow chalk was everywhere and everyone was drawing their own art. There was one graffiti artist, De La Vega, who was chalking up a storm and had quite a following, you can see his work from the festival if you click his name.

I went to the MCNY on my own to check out their new exhibits, and I was especially impressed by Timescapes which tells the history of New York (I am inspired to learn more about it myself now), and learned that NY is the first commuter city. Outside the MCNY there was an older couple from the Cotton Club swinging away, the woman was in a flapper dress and everything. I then went over to The Jewish Museum, but it was already overcrowded so I didn't really enjoy the exhibits, but the klezmer outside was nice. Ciara joined me and we were able to squeeze into the Cooper Hewitt, which was sadly as pretentious as ever and seemingly untouched by the spirit of the evening. The guards (who were posted every few feet) actually discouraged looking at the art. I had really wanted to see the Neue Gallerie and National Academy, but the lines were around the block so we decided to just enjoy the evening by walking around.

Shakespeare in the Park June 6, 2008
On Friday I visited T-baum and had lunch with Heather and Laura. It was so nice to see the new interns, and catchup with everyone. It's hard not spending my whole day with those lovely ladies. Over lunch, Laura told me she had plans to see Shakespeare in the Park that evening, and I told her how I have always wanted to go. I was really happily surprised when she called later to tell me she had a ticket for me! I joined her and two friends for an authentic Cuban dinner, and then we went to the theater. The staging was really wonderful, and there wasn't a bad seat there. Once there I was thrilled to see the cast of Hamlet included Sam Waterston (Law & Order), Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), and Andre Braugher (Glory). Hamlet is not my favorite play, at all, but it was fun and really enjoyable (though Laura's friends didn't think so). Waterston forgot his lines once, and Ambrose had a very 80s-inspired mental breakdown, but I think that really only added to it. On the way back home I ended up walking right behind Waterston, mmmhmmm.

Atlantic Avenue Artwalk June 8, 2008
The day before the Artwalk it was really steaming, so I was a bit nervous about spending the day in Brooklyn walking around. However, the chance to hang out with Sarah was too tempting, and so I braved not only the weather but the weekend subway breakdowns as well. Most of the walk was made up of boutique stores with incredible textiles or Asian antiques. We did happen across a few very cool studios and galleries. One of our favorites was Artlog, which has a site of art events and a network for artists. It was just a lot of fun, and really nice to catch up with Sarah, who I hadn't really been able to talk with since my graduation (post-to-come). Oh, and we had a celebrity sighting; Paul Giamatti from Sideways.