Andrew Bird at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
Andrew Bird at Prospect Park in 2017 (more by Stephanie Augello)

Greene Space launching 10th anniversary series w/ Andrew Bird, John Cameron Mitchell, more

WNYC and WQXR’s Greene Space turns 10 this year, and to celebrate the anniversary, the space is launching “a series of special concerts, performances, discussions, podcast tapings, and exhibits this spring that represent the breadth of programs the space is known for,” including a taping of the All of It with Alison Stewart podcast with special guest Andrew Bird, a taping of the Adulting podcast with special guest John Cameron Mitchell, and more. Here’s more via press release:

VISUAL ARTS

Date: Monday, April 1, 2019 7:00 PM
Event: FOCUS ON YOUR BREATH

Program: Artist and curator June Canedo — whose photography of Roma star Yalitza Aparicio appeared in Vogue’s recent November issue — leads a conversation about authentic collaboration in art-making: artists, curators, and subjects engaging as equal partners, with collective input on direction, process, and intention. The discussion will offer perspectives on participatory art and other collaborative frameworks as panelists address the power dynamics in their practice.

Canedo’s portrait project Focus on Your Breath was commissioned by The Greene Space and ten photographs will be on view from April 1 – June 30. The series presents an opportunity to confront the role of women as muses in photography and exhibit images of women that reflect their agency. Rather than emphasizing the artist’s perspective or the audience’s viewpoint, the portraits will prioritize the subject’s interpretations of themselves, as they collaborate with the artist to create an image that reflects both their varied identities and how they would like to be presented to viewers.

PODCAST TAPINGS

Date: Monday, April 8, 2019 7:00 PM
Event: HERE’S THE THING LIVE, WITH GUEST JULIE K. BROWN

Program: This event features Alec Baldwin in conversation with Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald. Brown broke one of the most politically explosive stories of the past several years, embroiling a Trump cabinet official as well as one of America’s richest men. Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire hedgefunder and a friend of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, masterminded a cult-like child sex ring that could have landed him in prison for the rest of his life. Instead, he got 13 months in a county jail, with work-leave. The man who cut him that sweetheart plea-deal was U.S. Attorney – now Secretary of Labor — Alexander Acosta. The story took Brown a year to report, and in response to her work, victims filed lawsuits and the Justice Department opened up an investigation into the legality of the plea agreement. How was Brown tipped off? How did she “source up?” Did anyone try to get in her way? And where are the victims now? The event will present the story behind this fascinating and terrible story.

BLACK ICONS

WNYC’s Rebecca Carroll sits down with some of the podcasting world’s most influential Black hosts and producers. They’ll share an unfiltered reflection on their incredible (and unexpected) journeys into the ear buds of millions of listeners around the globe.

Date: Monday, April 29, 2019 7:00 PM
Event: BLACK ICONS OF PODCASTING – CRISSLE WEST OF “THE READ”

Date: Monday, May 20, 2019 7:00 PM
Event: BLACK ICONS OF PODCASTING – TRACY CLAYTON OF “STRONG BLACK LEAD”

24 HOUR PROGRAMMING

Date: Friday, April 12, 2019 7:00 AM through Saturday, April 13, 2019 7:00 AM
Event: 24 @ 44: A MARATHON CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS IN THE GREENE SPACE

Program: A nonstop 24-hour marathon of live journalism, music, art, performances, and parties, free and open to all, on April 12-13. Highlights include live radio broadcasts of The Brian Lehrer Show and All of It with Alison Stewart featuring guests DeRay Mckesson and Andrew Bird, a taping of WNYC Studios’ soon-to-be-launched comedy podcast Adulting with Michelle Buteau and Jordan Carlos talking with special guests including John Cameron Mitchell, a happy hour with the Gothamist editorial team, an exclusive performance of Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Caroline Shaw’s not-yet-released album Orange performed by Attacca Quartet and an all-night sleepover party with music, games, and movies hosted by comedian Josh Gondelman (Desus & Mero, Late Night with John Oliver). In partnership with The New York Opera Festival, a team of local artists will be challenged to create an original ten-minute opera in just 24 hours to premiere at the marathon’s close.

WQXR

Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2019 1:00 PM
Event: WQXR PRESENTS MIDDAY MASTERPIECES
Program:
Take a respite from your busy work day with a free concert presented by WQXR. Hear rising stars from The Juilliard School perform selections from classical music’s best-loved composers. This month’s performance is by the school’s Trombone Choir.

Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2019 8:00 PM
Event: WQXR UP CLOSE: LANG LANG
Program:
One of the world’s biggest classical stars returns to The Greene Space to perform selections from his brand new solo album ‘Piano Book,’ a collection of the pieces that first inspired him to play the piano. WQXR’s Clemency Burton-Hill will lead the conversation with Lang Lang.

Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2019 1:00 PM
Event: WQXR PRESENTS MIDDAY MASTERPIECES
Program:
Leave the emails, phone calls, and stress behind and settle in for an hour of musical serenity with a live performance by The Juilliard School’s Honors Chamber Ensemble.

ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE

Date: Wednesday April 24, 2019 7:00 PM
Event: RADICAL ACTS & MUSICAL DEVIANCY: A WORLD PREMIERE FROM ARTURO O’FARRILL
Program:
The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra joins us for a special celebration as six-time Grammy-Award winner Arturo O’Farrill wraps up his artist-in-residence series with a world premiere of a new composition commissioned in honor of The Greene Space’s 10th anniversary. The brand-new genre-bending composition is inspired by Arturo’s political activism and meant to smash the concept of high and low culture in music, challenging the idea that classical and jazz music are elite or that folkloric or commercially driven music is of lower artistic merit.

Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 7:00 PM
Event: THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: HILTON ALS AND AMERICA’S POETS
Program:
The Greene Space’s third artist-in-residence for 2019 is writer and critic Hilton Als (The New Yorker). His four-part conversation series The Way We Live Now looks at the ways poets and poetry reflect contemporary life as it concerns America, its goals, aspirations, defeats, and realities. On April 30, Als will be joined by special guests: poets Michael Dickman (Brother) and Brenda Shaughnessy (Octopus Museum).

Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 7:00 PM
Event: THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: HILTON ALS AND AMERICA’S POETS

Date: Wednesday, May 29, 2019 7:00 PM
Event: THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: HILTON ALS AND AMERICA’S POETS

More info at The Greene Space’s website.

Andrew Bird also has a new album out this week and upcoming tour.