ARCHITECTURE

BOB THE BUILDER “Robert Moses and the Modern City: Remaking the Metropolis” is an exhibit that examines the contributions of the celebrated and often controversial urban planner and developer. The show is presented by the Museum of the City of New York. The extensive exhibit focuses on the physical transformation of the city under Moses between 1934 and 1968. Moses ushered in a network of roads and bridges, initiated attractions such as Lincoln Center, and revitalized city parks. Still, his sprawling projects drew the ire of those who believed his grand ideas disrupted neighborhoods and increased the city’s dependence on the automobile. Through Monday, May 28, Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd Street, 212-534-1672, $9 general, $5 students and seniors.

ART

WEEKEND PARTY Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturday features a performance by the jazz ensemble Lapis Luna; a screening of Mira Nair’s “Mississippi Masala” (1991), featuring Denzel Washington; a talk by curator Devorah Sperber as she explores the link between art, technology, and perception in “The Eye of the Artist: The Work of Devorah Sperber”; and a celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year with a Young Voices Gallery Talk about the Asian art collections at the Museum. Saturday, 5 p.m., Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway at Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-501-6331, free.

MAN AT WORK The New York Foundation for the Arts and the Artists & Audience Exchange program host a studio visit with Carter Kustera. A longtime resident of the Lower East Side who continues to exhibit nationally and internationally, Mr. Kustera discusses his paintings and product design work for such companies as Barneys department stores. Guests are treated to a peek at the artist’s working method. Among his tongue-incheek works is “Bang, Bang” (2006), a gouache and watercolor on paper, which depicts a young man shooting — figuratively — at a bathing suit clad beauty in the foreground, while behind them a smattering of signature Coach brand ‘Cs’ doubles as wallpaper. Sunday, 3 p.m., meet at 197 E. Broadway, between Jefferson and Clinton streets, 212-780-2300, free with RSVP.

SEASONAL SCENES “Any Where Out of the World,” the title of Vera Iliatova’s first New York exhibit, refers to the Baudelaire poem of the same name, which details the inability to find satisfaction in any one location. Ms. Iliatova cast herself as different characters in her paintings to show their reactions to various landscapes, which include Russia, California, and New York. Through Saturday, February 17, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Monya Rowe Gallery, 526 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, #605, 212-255-5065, free.

DANCE

MODERN MOVES Susan Marshall & Company performs “Cloudless” at Dance Theater Workshop. The program features 18 unrelated “short story” contemporary dances. Through Saturday, 7:30 p.m., DTW, 219 W. 19th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-924-0077, $25 general, $15 members.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS The New Chamber Ballet dances a program of works by Deborah Lohse and Miro Magloire, the choreographer and artistic director of the ballet. Featured dancers include Emily SoRelle, Elizabeth Brown, and Lauren Toole. Ms. Lohse’s “Night Is Falling” blends contemporary ballet (en pointe) with freer movement language to tell a disquieting tale of an encounter of three women. Writing in The New York Sun on September 25, Joel Lobenthal said of the company, “the New Chamber Ballet has already carved out its own niche.” Friday and Saturday, 8:30 p.m., City Center Studio 4, 130 W. 56th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, fourth floor, 212-868-4444, $20 general, $10 students and seniors.

PRIDE OF GUINEA Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College presents Les Ballets Africains, which dances a carnival of vibrant, uninhibited movement indigenous to the Republic of Guinea, a West African nation known for its rich musical tradition. The performance combines dance, music and storytelling and the 35-member Les Ballets Africains is accompanied by a band of skilled percussionists who play ancient tribal instruments. Sekou II Conde is choreographer and technical director of the 52-year-old troupe. Saturday, 8 p.m., Walt Whitman Theater, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, 2900 Campus Rd. at Hillel Place, Brooklyn, 718-951-4500, $15-$35.

FAMILY

TIP-TOE Rob Kapilow’s “Paddywak” is a tap dance concerto presented as part of his Family Musik series. Ayodele Casel and Thierry De Mey perform interactive tap dance and ballet. The compositions are sponsored by Lincoln Center, the Celebrity Series of Boston, and Vancouver’s Music in the Morning. Saturday, 2 and 4 p.m., Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, Broadway and 65th Street, 212-721-6500, $25.

MUSIC

MELODIC TRIBUTE The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music celebrates Black History month with a double-bill of free concerts. Friday’s “Tri-Carnival” performance celebrates the traditions of the African Diaspora, featuring performances of samba, soca, and the New Orleans music style “second-line.” Performers include trombonist Earl McIntyre and vocalist Renée Manning. On Saturday, “Reflections of Amram and Monk” honors two American composers, Thelonious Monk and David Amram. Mr. Amram makes an appearance, as well as the Brooklyn Conservatory Jazz and Gospel Choir, and vocalists Christine Alcalay, Marissa Bianco, and Ellen Kerr. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., BCM, 58 Seventh Ave. at Lincoln Place, Brooklyn, 718-622-3300, free.

SIDE OF HORSERADISH Yale Strom and his klezmer band Hot Pstromi perform selections from their album “The Absolute Complete Introduction to Klezmer,” including old world Chasidic and Rom melodies, and contemporary songs. Saturday, 8 p.m., Barbès, 376 9th St. at Sixth Avenue, 718-965-9177, free.

MOSTLY BALLADS The Ayana Lowe Jazz Combo performs a selection of standards, originals, and blues during two sets at 55, a charming, Prohibition-era dive bar in Greenwich Village. Ms. Lowe, a vocalist and harmonica player and a newcomer to the jazz scene, leads the band. Combo members include pianist Patrizia Scascitelli and drummer Noah Axe. Saturday, 6 and 7:45 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-929-9883, no cover with two-drink minimum.

AND IN QUEENS … Sunday Concerts at Central is a monthly concert series in Jamaica, Queens, sponsored by the Billy Rose Foundation. The a cappella group Durban Black Drifters, from South Africa, perform Zulu vocals and traditional South African hymns and songs. Sunday, 3 p.m., Central Library Auditorium, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., between 89th and 90th avenues, Queens, 718-990-0700, free.

LIVE ONSTAGE The American Musicals Project celebrates great composers in musical theater with live performances of their works. The composers Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya are honored in the program “Kurt and Lenya in Their Own Words.” Weill wrote plays including “Knickerbocker Holiday,” “Lady in the Dark,” “One Touch of Venus,” “Love Life,” and “Lost in the Stars.” The performance is directed by Scott Alan Evans, and performers include Isabella Rossellini and Simon Jones. Monday, 7 p.m., New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West at 77th Street, 212-873-3400 ext. 305, $30–$45.

PAINTINGS

NORDIC COLORS Icelandic painter Nina Tryggvadottir arrived in New York at the age of 30 and in two years mounted her first solo exhibit. She had already made a splash in Europe, having shown in Reykjavik, Copenhagen, and Paris. Born in 1913, Tryggvadottir was forced to leave America in 1949 during the McCarthy era. A posthumous retrospective of her work is on view at David Finlay Jr. Fine Art. Selections include “Abstraction (27)” (1964), top, and “Abstraction (199A)” (1953), above. Saturday through Saturday, February 24, Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., the Fuller Building, David Finlay Jr. Fine Art, 41 E. 57th St. at Madison Avenue, 212-486-7660, free.

READINGS

BROOKYLN’S FINEST The Pierogi 2000 art gallery hosts a reading series presented by the Brooklyn Rail arts and culture broadsheet in support of its latest venture — a fiction anthology of the same name. Featured readers include contributors Leslie Scalapino, Johannah Rodgers, and R.M. Berry. A fiction editor of the monthly tabloid, Donald Breckenridge, is host of the event. Published in September 2006 by Hanging Loose Press, the anthology features a generous selection of prose that first appeared in the pages of the Rail. Sunday, 7 p.m., Pierogi 2000, 177 N. 9th St., between Bedford and Driggs avenues, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-599-2144, free.

SOIRÉES

LOVE MONTH The nonprofit organizations V-Day and the Center Against Domestic Violence present the first of six events in February to raise funds for the center, which provides shelter and services to abused women and children. Rapper Hank Schocklee of Public Enemy and the dance company Smokifantastic perform. The Gotham Girls Roller Derby also makes an appearance. Friday, 7 p.m., Hell Gate Social, 12-21 Astoria Blvd. at 14th Street, Astoria, Queens, 212-686-4551, $10 donation suggested.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.