ART

A ‘BELOVED’ SILHOUETTE “Kara Walker on the Occasion of Margaret Garner” is an exhibit of 42 prints. The show is presented by the New York City Opera and is the first of its kind for the house. It was mounted to complement the opening season of Richard Danielpour’s and Toni Morrison’s “Margaret Garner” on Tuesday. The libretto is based on the true story of an enslaved black woman who escaped with her family in January 1856. Faced with capture, the 22-year-old resolved to kill her children to prevent their return to slavery. New York City Opera ticketholders are invited to view the show beginning one hour before performances. Tour passes are also available for purchase. Tuesday through Sunday, November 18, dates and times vary, Lincoln Center, New York State Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Pl., Amsterdam Avenue at 65th Street,, 212-721-6500, $16–$130 for tickets. For complete information, go to nycopera.com.

PARTY ANIMALS “American Summer,” a solo exhibit of work by photographer Jessica Craig-Martin, is on view at the Greenberg Van Doren Gallery. The show features 16 glossy color photographs taken at private parties, galas, and benefits. Ms. Craig-Martin has long enjoyed access to the goings-on of well-heeled society. In her new works, she focuses on the Hamptons, where she documented events such as the Parrish Art Museum annualgala. Through cropping and oblique angles, the artist presents a subversive take on the society pages and the public fascination with them. Through Saturday, October 6, Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, 730 Fifth Ave. at 57th Street, 212-445-0444, free.

TWILIGHT ZONE German artist Friedrich Kunath’s “Twilight,” a collection of sculpture, painting, and photography, is presented at Andrea Rosen Gallery. Transforming the exhibition space into a hallway furnished with a grand piano, coffin, and bathtub, Mr. Kunath explores the limits of what is possible with renderings of a deep-fried snowmanandajackethangingona piece of paper. Friday through Saturday, October 13, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Andrea Rosen Gallery, 525 W. 24th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-627-6000, free.

LATIN AMERICAN ABSTRACTIONS

“The Geometry of Hope: Latin American Abstract Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection,” takes an in-depth look at Latin American abstraction from the 1930s to the ’70s. The exhibit features 115 works by 30 artists, and focuses on key cities in the development of abstraction, from Montevideo in the 1930s, to Caracas in the ’60s and ’70s. Artists include Joaquín Torres-García, Tomás Maldonado, Lygia Clark and Jesús Rafael Soto. Wednesday through Saturday, December 7, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Wednesday, 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., New York University, Grey Art Gallery, 100 Washington Square. East at Washington Place, 212-998-6780, $3 general, free for NYU students, faculty, and staff.

LET THERE BE LIGHT “Provoking Magic: Lighting of Ingo Maurer” is presented at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Mr. Maurer is one of the first to experiment withhalogen. TheGermanlighting designer has illuminated fashion runways, monuments, and private homesduringhis41-yearcareer. In this exhibit, career highlights are presented alongside newer works, such as “Tableaux Chinois,” which uses live goldfish and mirrors to project light and dark shadows ontoa wall. FridaythroughSunday, January 27, 2008, Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday, noon–6 p.m., Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, 2 E. 91st St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-849-8400, $15 general, $10 seniors and students under age 12.

A PATCHWORK LIFE “Ita B’Ita: Ita Aber in Her Time,” a retrospective of the work of the artist, is presented at the Yeshiva University Museum. The exhibit represents Ms. Aber’s creative output in the last 60 years, during which time she has worked in fiber, painting, sculpture, and embroidery, among other media. Ancient Jewish art and a contemporary feminist perspective inspire many of the works. Through Sunday, October 14, 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, free.

BRIGHT MOMENTS, BIG CITY The Tabla Rasa gallery presents “Bright Moments,” an exhibit of abstractexpressionist oil works by painter Danny Simmons. Mr. Simmons is also a collector and philanthropist who converted a section of his Clinton Hill loft to form his Corridor Gallery, where the work of young artists is nurtured. Through Saturday, October 6, Thursday–Saturday, noon–5 p.m., Tabla Rasa Gallery, 224 48th St., between Second and Third avenues, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 718-833-9100, free.

DESIGN

WITHIN REACH “Design for the Other 90%” is currently on view at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. The exhibit focuses the work of designers who have created affordable and socially responsible objects for the vast majority of the world’s population — a group typically underserved by professional designers. Cynthia Smith is curator of the exhibit. Ms. Smith collaborated with an eightmember advisory council in creating the show, which is divided into sections including water, shelter, and sanitation. Through Sunday, September 23, Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday, noon–6 p.m., Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden, 2 E. 91st St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-849-8400, $12 general, $9 seniors and students, free for Cooper-Hewitt and Smithsonian Institution members, and children under 12.

DRAWINGS

GARMENT DISTRICT “Draped Painting: Drawings and Other Works” is a newlyopenedexhibitfeaturingnewabstractworkbyartistMarion Lane. Highlights from the show include “Draped Painting 1” (2007), above. “Drapery is liberated from the necessity of the garment and takes on a life of aesthetic possibilities of form and line,” Ms. Lane writes in her show notes. The exhibit demonstrates how the artist allowed fabric to take on sensual forms. Through Saturday, September 22, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Pleiades Gallery, fourth floor, 530 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 2646-230-0056, free.

FILM

MOVIE MEMORIAL In response to an open call for submissions from the Brooklyn Arts Council, local filmmakers reflect on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and their aftermath. Highlights include Tyler Cartner’s “Demons,” a child’s interpretation of the attacks; Nina Davenport’s interviews with ordinary Americans during a November 2001 cross-country road trip, and “American Dreams no. 3,” for which Moira Tierney pieces together footage of World Trade Center survivors making their way home across East River bridges. Filmmakers are on hand each evening for questions and discussion. Tonight, 6 p.m.–10 p.m., Brooklyn Arts Council, 55 Washington St., between Front and Water streets, suite 218, DUMBO, Brooklyn, 718-625-0080, free.

MUSIC

A FEEL GOOD SHOW Backed by an eight-piece funk band, some of Broadway’s brightest lights take the stage at the legendary jazz club Birdland to honor the Godfather of Soul. “I Feel Good: Broadway Celebrates the Music of James Brown,” benefits the Broadway Inspirational Voices choir, and is a featured part of the “Broadway at Birdland” series. Performers include Darius de Haas (“Marie Christine,” “Rent”), Chester Gregory (“Hairspray”), Lili Cooper (“Spring Awakening”), and others. Tonight, 7 p.m., Birdland, 315 W. 44th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 212-581-3080, $25 cover, $10 food and drink minimum.

PHOTOGRAPHY

CITY IN BLACK AND WHITE Photographer Andreas Feininger is best knownforhisstunning, black-andwhite New York cityscapes. With “Andreas Feininger: Stockholm 1933–1939,” Scandinavia House showcases the Life magazine photographer’s early work. Trained at the Bauhaus school in Germany, Feininger relocated to Stockholm when the Nazi regime came to power. There, he focused on urban street scenes and harbor panoramas, often using a camera of his own design, and honed the technical skill that would later capture the attention of American audiences. Saturday through Wednesday, November 7, Tuesday through Saturday, noon-6 p.m., Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, 58 Park Ave., between 37th and 38th streets, 212-879-9779, $3 general, $2 students and seniors.

TALKS

CARIBBEAN HEAT “Water, Sea and Sand,” a panel discussion with two Cuban artists and two New York gallerists, is held at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. The panelists discuss how the emphatic mix of culture and history in the Caribbean continues to affect artists in Havana, Santa Domingo, and Miami. Featured panelists include Quisqueya Henríquez, who is also featured in the museum’s show “The World Outside, A Survey Exhibition 1991-2007,” opening on Sunday. Other panelists include a photographer and sculptor, Liset Castillo; a guest curator for the Bronx Museum, Amy Rosenblum Martin, and an independent curator and the director of visual arts at the Americas Society, Gabriela Rangel. The discussion is moderated by the executive director of the Bronx Museum, Holly Block. Tonight, 7 p.m., the Americas Society, 680 Park Ave. at 68th Street, 718-681-6000, $5 general, free for Museum and Society members.

WORDS ABOUT WORDS The future of book reviewing is a pervasive topic in many of the nation’s literary circles. This past year’s Book-Expo was host to three different panels concerning the issue. Housing Works Bookstore Café and the National Book Critics Circle present three more panel discussions with the fate of the book review as their focus. “Literary Magazines Go Electronic,” on Thursday night, asks whether libraries will continue to stock print criticism journals, or if they will eventually choose to move to an all-electronic archive. Participants include a writer for the New Yorker magazine, D.T. Max, and the editor of A Public Space, Brigid Hughes. On Friday afternoon, “Grub Street 2.0” takes on the future of newspaper book coverage. Panelistsincludeasenior editor for Harper’s magazine, Jennifer Szalai. “What We Talk About When We Talk About Books: Can Criticism and Promotion Coexist Today?” follows on Friday evening. The talk features publisher Nan A. Talese, and the editor in chief of Bookforum, Eric Banks. Thursday, 7 p.m., Friday, 4:30 and 5:45 p.m., HousingWorksUsedBookCafé,126 Crosby St., between Houston and Prince streets, 212-334-3324, free, donations of books are welcome.

THEATER

BECOMING A RHODES SCHOLAR David Rhodes’s one-man show “RitesofPrivacy”allowsaudiences to follow him as he takes on a series of different characters — including himself. Those figures include a fading Southern pageant queen, a fish-out-of-water Jewish resident in New Hampshire, and a suspicious European socialite. The director of the play is Charles Loffredo. Through Sunday, September 23, Tuesday–Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 7 p.m., Urban Stages, 259 W. 30th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-868-4444, $35.

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.