: This week we’re introducing “The A List,” our personal picks of the most interesting, noteworthy arts events happening downtown (and sometimes Brooklyn). The listings section has been shortened as a result, but we hope that our streamlined Downtown Guide will make it easier for you to decide what to see and do on the ever-changing menu of cultural offerings each week. We are open to suggestions; please send them two weeks prior to the Listings Editor via fax, 212-229-2790, or email casey@thevillager.com.
Art The 9th annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival spans 30 blocks in downtown Brooklyn and features the work of roughly 1,500 artists, making this weekend’s event the nation’s largest free-art street festival. This year, organizers have added an exhibit called “Project Glow,” which features five illuminating works by artists like MiYoung Song, whose interactive outdoor lighting and video installation will be on display in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park along the East River. The shadows cast by viewers walking through her “Bubble Tunnel” are as much a part of Song’s piece as the video projections on its walls and the color changing “bubbles” floating outside it. The festival runs from October 14-16. However, another art show organized by downtown photo agency Art + Commerce has rented the park on Friday night, which means the public will have to wait until Saturday and Sunday to see the Project Glow exhibits. To get there, take the A, C, or F train; the New York Water Taxi at Fulton Ferry Landing; or hoof it across the Manhattan or Brooklyn Bridge. Visit www.dumboartscenter.org/festival/2005 for more information.
Film Rodrigo García turned to filmmaking because he didn’t want to be the mediocre writer son of a Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez. But even in this medium, he couldn’t be more unlike his father. Instead of epic magical realism, García favors the true-to-life vignette, as evidenced by his latest film, “Nine Lives,” which won the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival. Each story was shot in one continuous, 10- to 14-minute long take, which gave the actresses in the film cause for trepidation. (More than one asked if the film could be shortened to “Eight Lives” if their take didn’t work out.) Luckily, García didn’t leave out a single member of this star-studded cast, which includes Holly Hunter, Robin Wright Penn, Sissy Spacek, and Glenn Close. Opens Friday, October 14, Angelika Film Center (angelikafilmcenter.com).
Music My Morning Jacket, a Kentucky outfit that is often compared to Neil Young and Radiohead in the same breath, plays live at Webster Hall Tuesday, October 18. Their fourth studio album, “Z,” which was released earlier this month, has received widespread praise as the band’s most diverse (See “Another side of My Morning Jacket,” page 29) but it’s their oddball live shows that are a big draw for fans. Special guests like puppets and stuffed buffalo heads often punctuate their long jams and covers, reinforcing their reputation for being out there. Tuesday, October 18 at 8 PM, Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St. Tickets $25. (212-388-0300; webster-hall.com).
Dance After 16 years of performing with the Parsons Dance Company, the very talented Liz Koeppen is leaving the popular contemporary dance troupe. Catch her last season at the Joyce Theater beginning Tuesday October 18 through the 28. Known for both their entertaining athleticism and accessible shows, the company will premiere a few diverse programs including crowd-pleasing musical selections from Dave Matthews Band and Earth, Wind, & Fire. Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. Tickets $40. (212-242-0800; joyce.org).
