Brooklyn Museum's Celebrates the Caribbean
The Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturdays event attracts thousands of visitors to free programs of art and entertainment each month. The August 1Target First Saturday celebrates the spirit of the Caribbean. The West Indian-American Day Carnival Associationkicks things off with steel-pan music, stilt walkers, carnival costumes, and more on the Museum's plaza from 3 to 7 p.m. Highlights of the evening include:
5-6:30 p.m. Spoken Word
Aracelis Girmay hosts a poetry open mic with featured artists Cheryl Boyce Taylor and Alexis Marie of Urban Word NYC.
5:30-6:30 p.m. Performance
Brooklyn-based troupe Conjunto Nuevo Milenio presents a special performance of music and dance that showcases the Afro Latino roots of Panamanian Carnival. Free tickets are available at the Visitor Center at 5 p.m.
6:30-8:30 p.m. Hands-On Art
Create a carnival costume headdress inspired by objects in the permanent collection.Free timed tickets are available at the Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m.
7 p.m. Film
Calypso Dreams (Geoffrey Dunn and Michael Horne, 2004, 90 min., NR) Award- winning documentary on the history of Trinidadian calypso featuring performances by such legends as the Mighty Sparrow, Calypso Rose, and Lord Superior. Free tickets are available at the Visitor Center at 6 p.m.
7-9 p.m. Music
Meta and the Cornerstones play reggae from Jamaica, Senegal, and Brooklyn.
8 p.m. Gallery Talk
Professor Veronica Gregg gives a Sign Language-interpreted talk on the special exhibitionYinka Shonibare MBE highlighting the parallels of identity politics in Shonibare's work and in Caribbean literature. Free tickets are available at the Visitor Center at 6 p.m.
9 p.m. Book Club
Professor Ferentz Lafargue leads a conversation about Edwidge Danticat's latest novel,Brother, I'm Dying.
9-11 p.m. Dance Party
Sokalypso's house DJs host a soca-versus-zouk party.
Throughout the evening, a cash bar will offer beer and wine, and the Museum Café will serve a wide variety of sandwiches, salads, and beverages. The Museum Shop will remain open until 11 p.m.
Some Target First Saturday programs have limited space and must be ticketed; lines for free tickets often form 30 minutes in advance. Members may pick up tickets from the Membership Desk beginning at 2 p.m. while supplies last. Programs are subject to change without notice. Museum galleries are open until 11 p.m. Parking is a flat rate of $4 from 5 to 11 p.m.
For more information, please visit www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/first-saturdays.php.
Sponsored by Target
Made possible by the Wallace Foundation Community Programs Fund, established by the Wallace Foundation with additional support from DLA Piper US LLP, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Ellis A. Gimbel Trust, National Grid, and other donors.
New York Times Community Affairs Department,
media sponsor.
WNYC Radio, broadcast media sponsor.
Press Contact:
sally.williams@brooklynmuseum.org
(718) 501-6330
adam.husted@brooklynmuseum.org
(718) 501-6331
marcus.romero@brooklynmuseum.org
