ART

TYPING IN “Key Promises” by Jean Shin is a gallery-wide installation made entirely from hundreds of deconstructed computer key caps that wrap around the gallery walls, as shown above and left. The exhibit also features “Duet,” a video installation of two keyboards typing simultaneously. Through Saturday, April 7, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Frederieke Taylor Gallery, 535 W. 22nd St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, sixth floor, 646-230-0992, free.

BY THE LAMPLIGHT Guest curator Martin Eidelberg gives a tour of “ANew Light on Tiffany,” an exhibit of works by the studios of Louis Tiffany at the New-York Historical Society. Mr. Eidelberg discusses the designs of Clara Driscoll, who is now credited with many of Tiffany’s original designs. Mr. Eidelberg is professor emeritus of art history at Rutgers University. Wednesday, 11 a.m., N-YHS, 170 Central Part West at 77th Street, 212-868-4444, $15 general, $10 students, seniors, and educators, $8 members, reservations required.

FOR UP AND COMING ARTISTS The Educational Alliance offers a workshop for aspiring artists who want to submit their work to galleries and the press and similar operations in digital forms. The workshop covers transferring images from slides to digital formats, taking digital images, and how to present them professionally. Thursday, 6:30 p.m., Educational Alliance, 197 East Broadway, between Jefferson and Clinton streets, 212-780-2300 ext. 378, $20, reservations required.

HISTORICAL THREADS Fiber artist Chana Cromer created 12 textiles, including shirts and curtains, for the exhibit “The Story of Joseph: Unveiling the Text,” which reinterprets Joseph’s story from the Old Testament. Ms. Cromer currently lives in Jerusalem. Through Sunday, Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Yeshiva University Museum, 15 W. 16th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-294-8330, $8 general, $6 students and seniors.

BARCELONA AT THE FOREFRONT The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art presents “Barcelona and Modernity: Gaudí to Dalí,” an exhibit that recounts through art pieces, the transformation of the second-largest Spanish city from a provincial port into a cultural and intellectual capital. Among the 300 works from the period between 1888 and 1939 are paintings, sculpture, prints, posters, decorative objects, furniture, and architecture that trace Barcelona’s progress and follow its art movements. Paintings by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró are among the highlights. Through Sunday, June 3, Tuesday–Thursday, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Friday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m., Sunday, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street, 212-535-7710, $20 suggested donation, $10 seniors and students, free for members and children under 12. For complete information, go to metmuseum.org.

STORY TIME The group exhibit “Art As Anecdote” at the Brooklyn Arts Council Gallery attempts to create a discussion about the meaning of art between the creator and the viewer. The show is curated by Sarah Schmerler, and featured artists in the show include Alexis Ditkowsky, Benjamin Evans, and Marney Fuller. Through Friday, April 10, Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., BAC Gallery, 111 Front St., between Washington and Adams streets, DUMBO, Brooklyn, suite 218, 718-625-0080, free.

DANCE

SIGHT, NOT SOUND Vietnamese choreographer Le Vu Long presents the premiere of his piece “Stories of Us,” by his company of deaf performers. Mr. Long fuses Western dance forms, live music, and unusual visual design to reflect on gender stereotypes and lifethreatening illness. Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Dance Theater Workshop, 219 W. 19th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-924-0077, $20 general, $12 adults.

FILM

TIMELY TALKS “Changing Politics in Iran” is a screening and a discussion designed to consider the Middle East’s volatile political landscape and discuss issues being overlooked in the press. The event begins with a screening of Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s “Offside” (2007), about several young Iranian women who attempt to sneak into a major international soccer game from which they are barred by religious authorities. Before the screening, a professor of Iranian studies and comparative literature at Columbia University, Hamid Dabashi, discusses his latest book, “Iran: A People Interrupted” (the New Press), which traces the full sweep of Iranian history in the past two centuries. Tonight, 7 p.m., Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St. at Amsterdam Avenue, 212-875-5600, $10 general, $7 students, $6 for members of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

MUSIC

IGNORING COMPARISONS The rapper Plan B — real name Ben Drew — has been called “The British Eminem” by the press there. He chooses to deflect that title by insisting that his material merely “tells a story” about everyday life. Last year, Plan B placed fourth in the BBC’s “Sounds of 2006” competition. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., between 4th Street and Astor Place, 212-967-7555, $15.

TOURING THE CITY Yamaha Artist Services presents a recital by a 27-year-old Russian pianist, Alexander Kobrin. He began this season with a debut with the New York Philharmonic last July. The program includes Mozart’s Sonata in D major, K. 311, Haydn’s Variations in F minor, and Brahms’s “Klavierstuecke.” Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Yamaha Artist Services, 689 Fifth Ave. at 54th Street, Piano Salon, third floor, 914-798-7131, $25 general, $15 seniors.

ANTICIPATING SATURDAY The influences behind the music of Irish singer-songwriter Susan McKeown include the ancient Irish legend of the Táin, the words of Chief Seattle, the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and urban life in Manhattan. She performs a program of contemporary and traditional Irish songs in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day. Friday, 12:30 p.m., World Financial Center, Winter Garden, 220 Vesey St. at West Street, 212-945-0505, free.

READINGS

GONE, SWEET HOME Melissa Holbrook Pierson’s “The Place You Love Is Gone: Progress Took It Away” (Norton) is a memoir and an essay about the rising pace of development in small cities such as Ms. Pierson’s hometown of Akron, Ohio. She also writes about dwellers in upstate New York who have been displaced by the development of city reservoirs. Ms. Pierson discusses her book with author Luc Sante. Tonight, 7 p.m., Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby St., be tween Houston and Prince streets, 212-334-3324, donations of used books encouraged.

TALKS

BRAIN SCAN Café Science is a series of informal talks by the science development department of Columbia University, featuring chats with professors about the most upto-date ideas in science and technology. This month’s discussion, “Magnetic Moments in the 21st Century: the Future of MRI,” features biophysicist Truman Brown. Tonight, 5:30 p.m., Picnic Café, 2665 Broadway, between 101st and 102nd streets, 212-870-3163, $10.

ART AROUND THE SQUARE The Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America presents an illustrated lecture, “Left Bank New York: Artists Off Washington Square, 1890s to 1920” by a research assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Virginia Budny. She discusses how painters and sculptors transformed the West Village at the beginning of the 20th century. The talk is co-sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Tomorrow, 6 p.m., Donnell Library Auditorium, 20 W. 53rd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-886-3742, free.

KEEPING MALLS AT BAY”Is Gotham Going Suburban?” is a panel discussion presented by the Gotham Center for New York City History, featuring seven contributors to the book “The Suburbanization of New York: Is the World’s Greatest City Becoming Just Another Town?” (Princeton Architectural Press). The panelists discussion the “malling” of the city by shopping chains and big-name real estate companies. Participants include a contributing writer for The New York Sun, Francis Morrone, and authors Neil Smith and Suzanne Wasserman. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., City University of New York Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., between 34th and 35th streets, 212-817-8460, free.

OLD NEW YORK “Greetings From New Amsterdam: How Manhattan Became the Island at the Center of the World” is a lecture by author Russell Shorto, presented as part of the Downtown Third Thursdays lecture series by the Alliance for Downtown New York. Mr. Shorto discusses the lecture in conjunction with his book, “Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America” (Knopf ). Thursday, 7 p.m., National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green at State Street, 212-835-2770, free.

THEATER

PAVING PARADISE The Out Loud reading series presents Carly Mensch’s “All Hail Hurricane Gordo,” a play about two paralyzed brothers living in a strip mall parking lot who take in an undercover runaway. The reading is directed by Hal Brooks. Tonight, 7 p.m., Ars Nova, 511 W. 54th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-977-1700, free, reservations required.

LOVE HURTS Brian Harris’s “Tall Grass,” opening tonight, is a dark comedy about three couples with three unusual problems: A lazy young executive is obsessed with a career-obsessed woman; a middleaged couple’s fantasies lurch out of control, and two octogenarians fight for their lives. The play is directed by Nick Corley, and featured actors include Mark Dold, Edward O’Blenis, and Marla Schaffel. Tonight through Sunday, April 15, Tuesday–Saturday, 8 p.m., Theatre Row, the Beckett Theatre, 410 W 42nd St., between Ninth and Dyer avenues, 212-279-4200, $51.25.

EVIL UNDEAD The Midtown International Theatre Festival’s Next Step Developmental Series presents Stanton Wood’s “Land of the Undead,” a story based on the silent film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.” The play follows the characters Jonathan Harker and his wife as they travel to seek the undead, and try to stop a deadly disease from consuming a city. “Land of the Undead” is directed by Edward Elefterion, and featured actors include Danny Ashkenasi and Katie Curri. Tonight through Wednesday, March 21, Monday–Wednesday, 8 p.m., Where Eagles Dare Theatre, 347 W. 36th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 212-868-4444, $18 general, $15 students and seniors.

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.