For more than two decades, Brooklyn Museum has hosted a veritable live art party every first Saturday of the month, free to museum-goers. Every year, the party grows smarter, cooler, more entertaining and culturally inclusive.
Today, First Saturdays arrives as pretty much the only major gathering in Brooklyn where all ages, interests and stripes, from 5:00pm - 11:00pm are guaranteed a guilt-free, good time.
This month (December) First Saturday is highlighting the "Best of the Borough," with book talks, gallery tours, music and musicians representing Brooklyn's uber-diverse landscape.
Please note, entry does not include ticketed exhibitions Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion or yasiin bey: Negus. Also note, unless you are parked in the museum's rear lot, please enter through the front of the Museum.
MUSIC: LOS HACHEROS
As "modern-day torchbearers of the golden age of Latin music," Los Hacheros infuse the folkloric styles of son montuno, guaracha, and salsa with bomba rhythms. Presented in partnership with Carnegie Hall Citywide series.
CURATOR TOUR: ARTS OF JAPAN
Joan Cummins, Lisa and Bernard Selz Senior Curator, Asian Art, leads a tour of our newly installed Arts of Japan galleries with a focus on the art of the Ainu people of northern Japan.
BOOK TALK: ELIA ALBA'S THE SUPPER CLUB
Celebrate the release of Brooklyn-born artist Elia Alba's new book, The Supper Club, with LJ Roberts (whose work is featured in Nobody Promised You Tomorrow), Sur Rodney (Sur), and Jack Waters. The artists, writers, and activists reopen a conversation from the book, asking "What Would an HIV Doula Do?" Seating is limited and first come, first served.
HANDS-ON ART
Create your own textile-based work, inspired by the work of LJ Roberts and Tuesday Smillie in Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall. 330 free tickets in Hands-On Art line at Admissions at 5 pm.
FILM: VISUAL AIDS PRESENTS DAY WITH(OUT) ART
Visual AIDS commemorates their annual Day With(out) Art with a screening of short films, followed by a conversation between filmmakers Iman Shervington and Derrick Woods-Morrow moderated by writer Mathew Rodriguez. Presented in partnership with The Studio Museum in Harlem. 330 free tickets in Auditorium line at Admissions at 5 pm.
NIGHT MARKET
Stop by our night market to shop one-of-a-kind, handmade items from more than thirty artisans and vendors from across Brooklyn offering artwork, jewelry, fashion, home and apothecary goods, and more.
MUSIC: GEMMA
Beloved for their happy/sad soul-funk sound, Gemma combines vocalist Felicia Douglass's deeply felt lyrics with producer Erick Gundel's lush beats.
TEEN POP-UP GALLERY TALKS
Teen Apprentices host ten-minute talks about works by Brooklyn-based artists on view in Nobody Promised You Tomorrow.
MUSIC: DJ LAYLO
DJ Laylo (of Brooklyn's popular monthly event A Party Called Rosie Perez) pays tribute to the Latinx sounds of NYC, from hip-hop to salsa and merengue.
PERFORMANCE: SWITCH N' PLAY
Prospect Heights—based drag collective Switch n' Play hosts a drag and burlesque showcase featuring Divina GranSparkle, K.James, Miss Malice, Nyx Nocturne, Pearl Harbor, and Vigor Mortis with special guest Heart Crimson. 330 free tickets in Auditorium line at Admissions at 7:30 pm.
POETRY READING: TINA CHANG
Poet laureate of Brooklyn, Tina Chang, reads from her latest book Hybrida, which confronts the complexities of raising a mixed-race child during an era of political upheaval in the United States. Followed by a book signing in the Shop. Seating is limited and first come, first served.
MUSIC: ADRIAN DANIEL
Alternative soul singer and Brownsville native Adrian Daniel closes out the night with his unique R&B sound.
