The Beat

Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie will examine the history and legacy of the decorative style as it relates to women past and present

Exhibition Dates: March 24–August 17, 2025
Location: The Met Fifth Avenue,  Galleries 963–65

New York, NY (December 12, 2024) — Opening March 24, 2025, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the major exhibition Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie will radically reimagine the story of European porcelain through a feminist lens. When porcelain arrived in early modern Europe from China, it led to the rise of chinoiserie, a decorative style that encompassed Europe’s pervasive fantasies of both the East and the exotic along with new ideas about women, sexuality, and race.

December 26-30

Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Children’s Museum (BCM) proudly invites families and community members to honor the spirit of Kwanzaa at New York City’s largest family Kwanzaa celebration, in partnership with Brooklyn’s own Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation. Taking place from Thursday, December 26 through Monday, December 30, 2024, this five-day festival brings the vibrant traditions, powerful principles, and joyous spirit of Kwanzaa to life for all ages.

January 4–26, 2025, 11am-4:30pm

New York, N.Y. -- 

South Street Seaport Museum announces January Family Activity Weekends on Saturdays and Sundays from January 4 through January 26, 2025, from 11am to 4:30pm. These activities are free with your Pay What You Wish General Admission tickets, no additional registration needed.

Picture Stories: Photographs by Arlene Gottfried, on View January 21 – May 25, 2025, Explores New York’s Vibrant Communities

New York, NY (December 10, 2024)—The New York Historical is excited to announce the opening of Picture Stories: Photographs by Arlene Gottfried, an exhibition that explores the vibrant, gritty, and deeply human New York City captured by photographer Arlene Gottfried (1950–2017). Opening January 21, 2025, this exhibition features more than 30 photographs from the Museum’s recent acquisition of Gottfried’s works, offering a rare glimpse into the life and spirit of New Yorkers from the late 20th century.

Featuring World Premiere with Somax2 AI Application; Baritone Will Liverman in Kaija Saariaho’s Sombre; Works by Philippe Manoury, Tyshawn Sorey, and Pierre Boulez 

New York, NY (December 10, 2024) — As part of Carnegie Hall’s Pierre Boulez centennial celebration, International Contemporary Ensemble performs a cutting-edge concert on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at Zankel Hall Center Stage. The concert includes the world premiere of an interactive work for artificial intelligence and live performers inspired by Boulez, as well as music by Boulez himself and composers inspired by him, including Philippe Manoury, Kaija Saariaho, and Tyshawn Sorey.

Redesigned wing will create world-class home for The Met’s diverse collection of 20th- and 21st-century art; address critical accessibility, infrastructure, and sustainability needs; and foster seamless connections with the rest of the Museum’s encyclopedic holdings

Architect Frida Escobedo is the first woman to design a wing in the Museum’s 154-year history

New York, N.Y. (December 10, 2024) --  The Metropolitan Museum of Art today unveiled the design by architect Frida Escobedo for the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing that will create a dynamic new home for The Met’s renowned collection of 20th- and 21st-century art.

Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music - In-Person and Online

Sunday, January 5, 2025, 2–4pm

South Street Seaport Museum’s monthly Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music program continues on the first Sunday of every month. Join in the fun on Sunday, January 5, 2025, from 2-4pm (ET), for the first chantey sing-along of the New Year. As Winter continues this event is presented in a hybrid format, both in-person at the Museum at 207 Water Street and virtually online via Zoom, allowing you to join from anywhere! This event is free, and registration is encouraged.

New York, N.Y. - Kick off the New Year with dance and be the first to see three new performances commissioned by Works & Process on Long Island’s East End at The Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center. The inaugural Dance Out East culminates week-long creative residencies, provides unique insight into the process and preparation of new choreographed works that will sequence into the Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at the Guggenheim Museum.

Highlights include a free punk show, artist talk by Simon Liu on skate videos and experimental film, Dune: Part Two in 70mm, holiday films and more

Astoria, New York (December 5, 2024) — This December, Museum of the Moving Image presents the first half of Curators’ Choice 2024, featuring film releases and TV work that were among the year’s best, some with filmmakers appearing in person; holiday favorites for the whole family, including a rare 45th anniversary showing of John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together, and film classics in See It Big: Let It Snow; and special events including a live punk rock show, a lecture by artist/filmmaker Simon Liu on experimental cinema and skate videos, the annual Eyeworks Experimental Animation program, Dune: Part Two in 70mm, and more.