1. A Sand Castle Competition with Our Favorite Artists
Rockaway Beach at 86th Street, August 17
Watch our favorite artists like Tom Sachs, Ryan McNamara, Snarkitecture, and Dustin Yellin compete to build the best sand castle at an event sponsored by Creative Time, Artlog, and Grey Area. Watch the action, meet the artists, enjoy Rockaway Beach, and afterwards, come find us at the after party at Rippers.
2. Downtown Dancing from Modern to Malay
Battery Park, through August 18
Battery Dance Company presents its annual week-long Downtown Dance Festival in Battery Park, featuring basically every dance style that has ever existed (or something close to that), from modern ballet to Malay ethnic dance.
3. Mozart Among the Nightingales
Lincoln Center, through August 25
The annual Mostly Mozart festival celebrates the musical genius of Mozart and other musicians. This year’s avian theme looks at the influence of birds on music, including a 98-speaker sound installation called The Murder of Crows.
4. Ab-Ex Sculpture on an Island
Governors Island, August 18 & 19
Mark di Suvero’s vivacious expressionist sculptures made from steel girders are instantly recognizable landmarks. If you haven’t had a chance to see them on Governor’s Island, four artists who have exhibited at di Suvero’s Socrates Sculpture Park will lead tours of the outdoor exhibition.
5. Young and Established Poets Converge on Fort Greene Park
Fort Greene Park, August 18
The culmination of a series of outdoor creative writing workshops for youth, this festival is a platform for young people to share their achievements alongside six established poets.
6. Adam Green on Sesame Street
The Hole, August 16
Artist and musician Adam Green deconstructs three cherished cartoon characters—Big Bird, Elmo, and Garfield—transforming them into Mondrian-esque abstractions and urban landscapes.
7. Spike Lee, Pee-Wee, and the Dude in Central Park
Central Park at 69th Street, August 21-25
Join Pee-Wee Herman, the “Dude” Lebowski, and other cult classic movie characters for screenings in Central Park.
8. Sex in Chelsea
Freight + Volume, August 16
Things get awesomely indecent at Freight + Volume’s exhibition of explicit artwork about sex.
9. A Living Newspaper Performance
Swiss Institute, August 16
Do you passionately hate the news? Do you find yourself aggressively flipping channels when you see Fox News and CNN? Then definitely go see artist Liz Magic Laser create a “living newspaper” for one night only.
10. Holy Crap in the Hamptons
Fireplace Project in East Hampton, August 18
Burgeoning art world superstars Nate Lowman, Dan Colen, and Piotr Uklańskil join Rob Pruitt for an exhibition that features Pruitt’s famous Flea Market!
