Friday is a big day for the arts community — and for New York City.
That’s when The Shed, a new 200,000-square-foot arts center with a telescopic, movable outer shell, officially opens at West 30th Street, between 10th and 11th avenues.
It’ll be a mammoth resource for the city’s artists, with 25,000-square-feet of museum space, a 500-seat black box theater and a flexible hall that can seat 1,250 people or 3,000 standing.
It’ll also have rehearsal space and a creative lab freely accessible to up-and-coming local artists while offering chances to see established musicians and artists like Björk and Agnes Denes.
It’s opening will change the city’s arts landscape, with so much more to see come spring.
With that in mind, we created a roundup of all there is to see and do at The Shed during its opening season’s first half, including some events leading up to its opening.
Music
April 5-14
“Soundtrack of America:” The brainchild of Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen, this five-night concert series celebrates the impact African-Americans have had on contemporary culture by tracing the history of spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, R&B, rock and roll, house, hip-hop and trap music.
May 6 – June 1
“Björk’s Cornucopia:” Icelandic songbird Björk will headline an eight-concert series directed by Tony Award-winner John Tiffany that will feature live music, digital technology and “stunning” visuals. Tickets are sold out.
Art
April 6 – May 30
Trisha Donnelly: This San Fransisco-based artist is known for pieces that attract attention. Her first work, an untitled video in 1998, featured her bouncing on an unseen trampoline, leaping into known poses of rock stars. At her first solo show in New York City, she rode into the Casey Kaplan Gallery on horseback declaring defeat. This time, Donnelly’s New York City work is a commission for The Shed. More information to come.
April 6 – June 2
Reich Richter Pärt: In two immersive, live performances, the shared language of visual art and music is explored in painter Gerhard Richter’s artwork and composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt’s songwriting.
May 18-19
“POWERPLAY:” Multimedia artist LATASHÁ and guest artists will use hip-hop, dance, spoken word and moving images to show the act of restoring power through collective action.
June 19 – Aug. 25
Tony Cokes and Oscar Murillo exhibition: Two artists with bold styles will commission new works for The Shed to be placed in one space. Cokes’ work will explore the relationship between artist, studio and urban development while Murillo’s references Diego Rivera’s destroyed murals at Rockefeller Center.
Fall 2019
Agnes Denes: An artist known for her environmental/ecological art will display major new work in what will be her largest show in the city to date. Since the 1960s, she has participated in more than 600 exhibitions throughout the world. More information to come.
Theater
April 6 – May 19
“Norma Jeane Baker of Troy:” Part spoken word, part song, this performance by poet and essayist Anne Carson explores the lives of Marilyn Monroe and Helen of Troy. Actor Ben Whishaw (“Skyfall,” “Mary Poppins Returns”) and soprano Renee Fleming star in the piece.
July 23 – Aug. 17
“MAZE:” Human coexistence is at the focus of this new production by street dancer Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray and co-director Kaneza Schall. A small audience will stand face-to-face with flexn dancers (“flexn” is a street dance with origins in Jamaican “bruk up” and other styles). The piece uses light and projection as its set.
June 22 – July 27
“Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise:” This action-packed show about a secret sect with magical powers and the struggle of a twin brother and sister to control it will have high-flying characters (literally), like in the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Set in Flushing, the show is by the same people behind “Kung Fu Panda” and “Peony Pavilion” at Lincoln Center Festival. Tim Yip, the costumer of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” is head of production design and costumes, aerial choreography is by Akram Kahn (“XENOS” and English National Ballet’s “Giselle”) and the show will feature songs by Sia (who is on its creative team) remixed by The Haxan Cloak.
Film
June 19 – Aug. 25
“Beatriz González: Cinta Amarilla:” Directed by Yanina Valdivieso and Vanessa Bergonzoli, “Cinta Amarilla” or “Yellow Tape” is a documentary about González’s art installation of 8,957 tombstones in Bogotá’s central cemetery that use the silhouettes of those killed because of Colombia’s civil war. The installation may be demolished by the city.
Talks
May 10
Boots Riley on poetry: The director of “Sorry to Bother You” will speak on protest and resistance through poetry as part of The Shed’s DIS OBEY program for high school students.
