Soul of the City: Live @ MCNY

Image of Soul of the City Series: skyscraper and instruments held in the air.
From left to right: Cris Tagupa via Unsplash, Caleb George via Unsplash

Intimate, live musical performances by a wide range of New York City artists, both upcoming and veteran, performing acoustic sets and sharing the personal stories behind their music.

Supporters

Soul of the City is made possible with support from John and Patricia Heller.

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1220 Fifth Ave at 103rd St., HOURS: Mon-Fri 10-5 | Sat-Sun 10-6
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Starlight Circle

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Puppets of New York Performance Series

Images of puppets and performers by NYC Kids Project, Chinese Theatre Works, and Teatro SEA.
From left to right: Image provided by NYC Kids Project; Photograph by Kuang-Yu Fong, Co-artistic Director of Chinese Theatre Works; Image provided by Teatro SEA.

Join us at the Museum this fall for a special series of live, outdoor performances featuring local puppeteers, educators, and performance groups.  

All of the performances and workshops will be held in person on the Museum’s beautiful, outdoor terrace. Families can enjoy the performances and then visit the Puppets of New York exhibition to explore the extraordinary creative and diverse stories of puppets in NYC.  

Questions? Email familyprograms@mcny.org 

Supporters

The Puppets of New York performance series is part of the Arts Al Fresco Series made possible by Con Edison.   

Arts al Fresco logo


Family and Community Engagement Programs are made possible in part by the Margaret S. Ogden and Stephen A. Ogden Memorial Fund, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, and Tianaderrah Foundation. Additional support provided by Council Members Diana Ayala - District 8, Bill Perkins - District 9, and Keith Powers - District 4. 

The Frederick A.O. Schwarz Education Center is endowed by grants from The Thompson Family Foundation Fund, the F.A.O. Schwarz Family Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Endowment, and other generous donors.  

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Revisiting the Harlem Renaissance

Augusta Savage with one of her pieces, Paul Robeson head shot, Author Langston Hughes [far left] with [left to right:] Charles S. Johnson; E. Franklin Frazier; Rudolph Fisher and Hubert T. Delaney
From left to right: sculptor Augusta Savage, actor Paul Robeson, author Langston Hughes (far left) and friends.*

The Robert A. and Elizabeth R. Jeffe Distinguished Lectures in Urban History

Entire Series (4 Sessions)
$90 general admission 
$75 seniors, students, educators 
$55 Members 

Individual Sessions:
$25 general admission
$20 seniors, students, educators
$15 Members

Supporters

This program is made possible by Robert A. and Elizabeth R. Jeffe.

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Your Hometown - Podcast

Your Hometown graphic
Illustrator: Nick Gregg

Your Hometown is an innovative new live event and podcast series conceived and hosted by historian Kevin Burke. The first season of this audio offering, a co-presentation between Kevin Burke Productions and MCNY, focuses on New York City as a hometown and features prominent New Yorkers—representing a range of backgrounds, neighborhoods, and industries—sharing never-before-heard details of their formative years growing up in and around the five boroughs. 

Darryl McDaniels head shot

Ep. 1: Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Part 1 – Hollis, Queens

In the first of a two-part interview of Your Hometown, Kevin Burke speaks with Darryl McDaniels, the legendary hip-hop artist from Hollis, Queens, where he and his two friends formed one of the truly pioneering groups in American music: Run-DMC.
Your Hometown host Kevin Burke with Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC

Ep. 2: Darryl “DMC” McDaniels 2 – Hollis, Queens

This is part 2 of a “double-album” interview with Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, who grew up in Hollis, Queens in the 1960s, ’70s, and early ’80s, where he became one of three founding members of the Hall of Fame hip-hop group, Run-DMC.
Richard Price and Kevin Burke

Ep. 3 Richard Price – Parkside Houses, The Bronx

Richard Price is a writer’s writer, with novels that include The Wanderers, Clockers, Freedomland, and Lush Life. He’s also collaborated on such landmark television series as HBO’s The Wire, The Night Of, The Deuce, and The Outsider.
Sigourney Weaver

Ep. 4 Sigourney Weaver – Manhattan

Sigourney Weaver is one of the greatest movie stars of all time, and many of us think of her as the tough, no-nonsense screen heroines she has played in films from Alien to Avatar.
A childhood photo of Lynn Nottage

Ep. 5 Lynn Nottage – Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Lynn Nottage is the first woman ever to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama, and she’s one of the most important voices writing for the stage and screen today, with works that include Infinite Apparel, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Ruined, Sweat, and MJ: The Musical, an upcoming show on the life of Michael Jackson.
Danielle Guizio head shot

Ep. 6 Danielle Guizio – New Jersey/Manhattan

In an industry where most startups go up, down, and disappear, Danielle Guizio is a New York-based fashion designer on Forbes’s 30 under 30 list. If you think of the biggest celebrities on the style pages today, you’re likely to find a photo of them wearing her designs.
a black and white childhood photograph of Maria Bartiromo

Ep. 8 Maria Bartiromo – Dyker Heights/Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Maria Bartiromo anchors three different shows on the Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel and was the first TV reporter to broadcast live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. She doesn’t come from the world of CEOs, however.
Rev. Al Sharpton and the host of Your Hometown Kevin Burke

Ep. 9 Al Sharpton – Brownsville, Brooklyn / Hollis, Queens

Our guest is the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose activism has made him a fixture in the press for decades in his hometown of New York City. Rev. Sharpton explains to Kevin Burke in this rare interview that there’s a traumatic incident that happened to him a long time ago.
Sherrilyn Ifill at age 12

Ep. 10 Sherrilyn Ifill – Jamaica, Queens

Sherrilyn Ifill walks into court with history behind her as president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal and Educational Defense Fund. It’s the legal arm of the civil rights movement, and Sherrilyn is in its vanguard.
Suzanne Vega (photo by George Holz)

Ep. 11 Suzanne Vega – East Harlem and the Upper West Side, Manhattan

Suzanne Vega is that rare singer-songwriter whose work becomes part of the soundtrack of their hometown -- in her case, New York City. In this episode, Suzanne illuminates her childhood in East Harlem and the Upper West Side in the 1970s and how her experiences of the city, inside and out, flow through her work, even as she embraces the freedom to write from different perspectives.
An illustration of Sonia Manzano

Ep. 12. Sonia Manzano Pt. 1 – the South Bronx

Emmy-winning writer and actress Sonia Manzano, who played “Maria” on Sesame Street for more than 40 years, talks to host Kevin Burke about growing up in the South Bronx and how she draws on the “love and chaos” of her childhood to teach children—something she’s still doing through her new animated series for PBS Kids, Alma’s Way.
Priyanka Naik

Ep. 14. Chef Priyanka Naik – Staten Island

Chef Priyanka Naik is a self-taught vegan cook, Food Network champion, social media influencer, and author of the cookbook, The Modern Tiffin. In this episode, host Kevin Burke talks to Priyanka about her New York story.
Your Hometown David Johansen episodes cover art

Ep. 15. David Johansen Pt. 1 – Staten Island

In part one of this epic two-part interview, David Johansen talks with host Kevin Burke about coming of age on Staten Island in the 1950s and ’60s, a kid riding bikes, buying and listening to records, going to Catholic School, joining a band, and graduating from high school at the height of the Vietnam War.
Your Hometown David Johansen episodes cover art

Ep. 16. David Johansen Pt. 2 – Staten Island

Part two of David Johansen’s Your Hometown episode is the portrait of an artist in the process of becoming. If Staten Island was the setting of David’s coming of age, Manhattan would him into his next act.
Tiffany Cabán is smiling and leaning in front of a park bridge. She is wearing a bluish gray blazer and a black blouse. Her hair is tied back in a ponytail.

Ep. 17. Tiffany Cabán – Queens

In this interview, host Kevin Burke talks with Tiffany Cabán about her coming-of-age story and what she experienced back there that made her someone who gets up and chooses to march on the front lines, has the skills to organize – and then has the fire in her soul to throw her whole being into fighting for what she believes in.
A headshot of Sewell Chan

Ep. 18. Sewell Chan – Queens

This is the story of an “inquiring mind” who happens to be a journalist. Sewell Chan is the new editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune. But before his move to Austin, and before his previous roles at the L.A. Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, he was a kid growing up in an immigrant family in the outer boroughs of New York City, where his father drove a taxicab.
Portrait of Glenn Ligon by Paul Mpagi Sepuya

Ep. 19. Glenn Ligon – Bronx

Glenn Ligon is a renowned artist who gives us new ways of seeing American history, literature, and society. How can we see him better through the lens of childhood? In this episode of Your Hometown, Glenn speaks with Kevin Burke about his experiences growing up in the South Bronx in the 1960s and 70s, including his hour-and-a-half commute each way to Walden, the private school he attended on the Upper West Side from the first grade on.

SUPPORT

Your Hometown is made possible in part with support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Additional support provided by Joan K. Davidson (The J.M. Kaplan Fund), Rudolph Rauch/Lanegate Foundation, Lori and John Berisford, Claudette Mayer, Paul Sperry, Victoria F. Morris, Peter M. Wolf, Kenneth J. Halpern, the Newburgh Institute, David Phelps Hamar, and an anonymous donor.

 

FUTURE GUESTS

 

  • David Johansen
  • Tiffany Caban
  • Sewell Chan
  • Glenn Ligon
  • Pamela Talese

And others

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Envisioning Alternatives to Policing

Envisioning Alternatives to Policing title treatment, Ashley Southall head shot

The anti-racist mobilizations of 2020 have put increased focus and pressure on the role of policing in cities across America, including New York. This series of conversations will connect current calls for defunding police to alternative initiatives New Yorkers have undertaken to foster safety in their families, communities, and public spaces.

Supporters

Activist New York and its associated programs are made possible by The Puffin Foundation, Ltd. 

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Workshops on the Civil Rights Movement in NYC for Educators, Students, and Families

Photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Benjamin Spock and Monsignor Rice of Pittsburgh at the Solidarity Day Parade in New York City on April 15, 1967.
Benedict J. Fernandez. [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Benjamin Spock and Monsignor Rice.] April 15, 1967. Museum of the City of New York. 99.150.9

As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2021, join the Museum of the City of New York for FREE Virtual Workshops for  Educators, Students in grades 4–12, and  Families.  

Questions? Email schoolprograms@mcny.org 

Supporters

Education programs in conjunction with Activist New York are made possible by The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.  

Professional Learning programs are made possible in part by …a chance… fund, inc. 

The Frederick A.O. Schwarz Education Center is endowed by grants from The Thompson Family Foundation Fund, the F.A.O. Schwarz Family Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Endowment, and other generous donors. 

For more information about the Frederick A.O. Schwarz Education Center, and additional funder credits, please click here. 

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