Out & About NYC Magazine was founded to offer the arts and lifestyle enthusiast a fresh new look at New York City. We will showcase the established and the emerging, the traditional and the trendy. And we will do it with élan, and panache with a dash of fun.
The life of a bank clerk at the Government Savings Bank in Kingston, Jamaica was not going be Clive Thompson’s fate; he had been a performer for most of his life. Clive and his sister Norma had been childhood favorites in the local talent shows and were part of the “opening act” in Children’s Corner Club at the Saturday matinees. After seeing the Katherine Dunham Dance Company perform and a chance encounter with modern dance teacher Ivy Baxter he began formal dance classes.Continue reading
Nancy Wilson is an American entertainment living legend. With more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards she has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a consummate actress; and the complete entertainer. The title she prefers, however, is song stylist.
Wilson recorded the 1934 pop standard The Very Thought of You, with music and lyrics by Ray Noble in 1963. One year earlier during a successful collaboration with Cannonball Adderley, he suggested that she should steer away from her original pop style and gear her music toward jazz and ballads.
The Very Thought Of You 1964
Wilson released her debut single, Guess Who I Saw Today in 1960. It was so successful that between April 1960 and July 1962 Capitol Records released five Nancy Wilson albums.
Guess Who I Saw Today 1994
In 1999, Wilson hosted a show in honor of Ella Fitzgerald entitled Forever Ella on the A & E Network
Michele March (Harlem Fine Arts Show) and Jazzmobile President Robin Bell Stevens discuss the coloration between the Art Show and Jazzmobile. The Harlem Fine Arts Show returns to Riverside Church on Thursday, February 12th with an Opening Night Reception from 6:00 pm -10:00 pm at 91 Claremont Avenue. The evening kicks off 4 days of art, and arts education. This year a portion of the opening night proceeds will assist Jazzmobile during its fifth year of public service. Continue reading
Paul Gladney better known by the stage name Paul Mooney, is a comedian, writer, social critic, television and film actor. He is best known for his appearances on Chappelle’s Show and as a writer for the comedian Richard Pryor.Continue reading
In celebration of the FW15 menswear collection, rag & bone debuts a short film as a study of movement featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lil Buck.Continue reading
Caldera is a beautiful Award-Winning CGI animated short film by talented Animation filmmaker and composer, Evan Viera. Through the eyes of a young girl suffering from mental illness, CALDERA glimpses into a world of psychosis and explores a world of ambiguous reality and the nature of life and death. It has received the Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction, Award of Innovation – Seattle International Film Festival, Best Animated Film – Rome Independent Film Festival and Rockport Film Festival and Best Short – View Social Awards.Continue reading
In Photo: Sidra Smith and Adewale Adekanbi Walter Rutledge photographer
On Thursday January 29th the Harlem Fine Arts Show held a press event and reception at the New York Times headquarters in Times Square. The event was the official preview of the upcoming art show take will run Thursday, February 12 through Sunday February 15 at Riverside Church.
In Photo: Robin Bell Steven and photographer Chuck Stewart Adewale Adekanbi photographer
The event announced Jazzmobile as the recipient of the Harlem Fine Arts Show 2015 fundraising initiative. Jazzmobile President Robin Bell Stevens was joined by art and music lovers to share in the good news that comes during the 50th year celebration of Jazzmobile. Founded in 1964 by National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, composer, pianist, educator, jazz legend Dr. Billy Taylor and arts administrator Ms. Daphne Arnstein, Jazzmobile’s mission is to present, preserve, promote and propagate America’s classical music Jazz. Jazzmobile is the oldest not-for-profit organization founded with this as it sole mission.
The Harlem Fine Arts Show (HFAS) is the largest traveling African Diasporic art show in the United States. Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance; HFAS is a platform for artists and galleries to exhibit their work. The arts show provides unparalleled access to thousands of artists, craftsmen, tastemakers, art aficionados and high-level executives bringing art back to Harlem- the Mecca of Black culture.
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Talley Beatty choreographed and performed Mourner’s Bench in 1947. It represents the anguish and loss for former slaves, now free men, killed during the Reconstruction Era at the beginning of the rise of the Klu Klux Klan. Beatty explained to me, “People were murdered by the Klan and at daybreak their relatives would find their bodies in the fields still covered in the morning dew.”
Martha Graham had a fondness for Greek literature and mythology, and utilized these larger than life characters and themes as a source for inspiration. If we were to describe the present Martha Graham Dance Company using a figure from antiquity it would definitely be the Phoenix. The death of Graham, a nasty legal battle for control of work and the changing public attitude toward “how modern was modern dance” seemed to predict the final curtain call for the venerable dance company.
So many institutions struggled to survive after the death of the company’s name sake and major artistic voice, unfortunately many were not able to redefine their mission and are now just a memory. The Graham Company has found a way to not only redefine, and like the Phoenix, to rise with a renewed vigor. Through innovative programming, thoughtful reconstructions and exciting new commissions the Martha Graham Dance Company is once again making a bold artistic statement.
After what can only be described as a triumphant return to New York City Center last year, the company will begin their 2015 New York Season Tuesday, February 10 at the Joyce Theater. The company pays tribute to Graham’s defining influence as an American Modernist with Shape&Design, a program highlighting the sculptural and architectural aspects of choreography by Graham and others. The expanded season, which runs through February 22, will offer 14 performances over twelve days.
A Conversation With Janet Eilber- Artistic Director Martha Graham Dance Company
Panorama and Chronicle, Graham classics that set the standard for geometric force, are featured, along with Embattled Garden and Errand into the Maze, masterworks with evocative sets by Isamu Noguchi. Shape&Design includes recent works by renowned choreographers Nacho Duato, Andonis Foniadakis, and Annie-B Parson. The company celebrates the 85th anniversary of Graham’s iconic solo Lamentation with the world premiere of four new Lamentation Variations, choreographed by Kyle Abraham, Michelle Dorrance, Liz Gerring, and Sonya Tayeh.
The performance schedule:
Program A: Feb 11, 15 at 7:30pm; Feb 12, 20-21 at 8pm; Feb 22 at 2pm – Satyric Festival Song, Embattled Garden, Lamentation Variations (including pieces by Kyle Abraham and Sonya Tayeh), Rust, Chronicle
Program B: Feb 17, 22 at 7:30pm; Feb 13-14, 19 at 8pm – Lamentation Variations (including pieces by Michelle Dorrance and Liz Gerring), Errand Into the Maze, The Snow Falls in the Winter, Echo. Each B Program will open with Essential Shape&Design: Feb 13 – Deep Song and Panorama Feb 14, 17 – Frontier and “Steps in the Street” Feb 19, 22 – Deep Song and Primitive Mysteries (Excerpt)
Program C: Feb 15, 21 at 2pm; Feb 18 at 7:30pm – Lamentation, Embattled Garden, At Summer’s Full, Errand Into the Maze, Diversion of Angels
The Gala performance honoring Frank Gehry and Peter Arnell will take place on Tuesday February 10. The program will include Steps in the Street with stage design by Frank Gehry, Shape&Design- a film by Peter Arnell, Misty Copeland in At Summer’s Full and the World Premiere of all four Lamentation Variations by Kyle Abraham, Michelle Dorrance, Liz Gerring, and Sonya Tayeh. A Gala dinner will follow at IAC HQ, featuring Diane von Furstenberg’s Dress The Kick. For Gala tickets contact the Martha Graham Dance Company for tickets to the Gala Performance on Tuesday, February 10. For more information, email info@marthagraham.org or call 212-229-9200.
In Photo: 1) PeiJu Chien-Pott in Lamentation 2) Xiaochuan Xie in Annie-B Parson’s The Snow Falls in the Winter 3) PeiJu Chien-Pott in Martha Graham’s Errand into the Maze
Photo Credit: 1&3) Hibbard Nash 2)Brigid Pierce
To view Graham’s masterwork Appalachian Spring click below:
The Met’s Arts of AfricaThe Met’s Arts of AfricaTime: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Time: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
718.638.5000
Upcoming Events
April 21, 2026
The Met’s Arts of AfricaThe Met’s Arts of AfricaTime: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Time: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
718.638.5000
April 22, 2026
The Met’s Arts of AfricaThe Met’s Arts of AfricaTime: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Time: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
718.638.5000
April 23, 2026
The Met’s Arts of AfricaThe Met’s Arts of AfricaTime: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Time: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
718.638.5000
April 24, 2026
The Met’s Arts of AfricaThe Met’s Arts of AfricaTime: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Time: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
718.638.5000
Dance of the Village Elders - R.A.I.N. NeriedDance of the Village Elders - R.A.I.N. NeriedTime: 10:30 am - 11:30 am A dance and wellness classes design for Older Adults taught by Walter Rutledge720 Nereid Ave, Bronx, NY 10466
April 25, 2026
The Met’s Arts of AfricaThe Met’s Arts of AfricaTime: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Time: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
718.638.5000
April 26, 2026
The Met’s Arts of AfricaThe Met’s Arts of AfricaTime: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Time: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
718.638.5000
April 27, 2026
The Met’s Arts of AfricaThe Met’s Arts of AfricaTime: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens Time: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
718.638.5000
In Photo: Robin Bell Steven and photographer Chuck Stewart Adewale Adekanbi photographer
