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Park Slope Weekend Events Spotlight: January 14-19

Park Slope Weekend Events Spotlight: January 14-19
Fred Bendheim
“Stormy” by Fred Bendheim. The artist’s retrospective opens tonight at 440 Gallery. (Image courtesy of Fred Bendheim)

Welcome to the weekend, which features many events honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition, we have a series of gallery events, and a way to mourn the loss of the incredible David Bowie. Don’t miss some of our favorite events from around the area:

Fred Bendheim: A Retrospective On The Theme Of Water
When: Thursday, January 14 — Sunday, February 14, Thursdays and Fridays, 4:00-7:00pm; Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00am-7:00pm
Where: 440 Gallery, 440 6th Avenue, between 9th and 10th Streets
What: This will be Bendheim’s second solo show at 440 Gallery and his first retrospective exhibition. The show will include work from 1978 to the present, and will include paintings on canvas as well as the artist’s trademark work, shapings, shaped paintings on wood and pvc board and painted relief sculptures. The works on view will highlight the artist’s career and stylistic journey from early figurative paintings to his more recent abstractions. Water, in it’s many forms, is the unifying theme of the works. There will be an opening reception for the exhibition on Friday, January 15 from 5pm – 8pm.
How much: Free.

Eyes on the Prize: Mississippi: Is This America? (1963-1964) and Bridge to Freedom (1965)
When: Thursday, January 14, 7:30pm
Where: Brooklyn Public Library — Central Branch, Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza
What: In honor of the approaching celebration of Martin Luther King Day, BPL will screen the complete first season of award-winning documentary series, Eyes on the Prize. The final episodes the college students who travel south to help register black voters and three activists are murdered, and a decade of lessons is applied in the climactic and bloody march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. (1986; 120 min)
How much: Free.

/rive: Anamorphosis
When: Through Saturday, January 30, Open Thursdays-Saturdays, 2pm-6pm
Where: Open Source Gallery, 306 17th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenue
What: Come view /rive: Anamorphosis, “site-specific and mobile media projects that encourage residents to reflect upon their neighborhood and share their stories,” at Open Source on Saturday. The instillation features the work of Annie Berman, Samara Smith, and A.E. Souzis.
How much: Free.

Sympathetic Vibrations – Closing Reception
When: Friday, January 15, 8:00pm
Where: Supercollider, 609 4th Avenue (between 17th and 18th Streets)
What: Brooklyn artists Jamess Cogbill and August King close their show with a reception with music by DJ Biz-N-Teen.
How much: Free.

Emergency Bowie Farewell: Feeling Gloomy Says Goodbye To David Bowie
When: Friday, January 15, 10pm
Where: Littlefield, 622 Degraw Street (between 3rd and 4th Avenues)
What: If you’ve ever been to a Feeling Gloomy party here in NYC, you’d know that we approach the depressing bits of life with as much glibness as we possibly can. We try to take the sad things and make them fun, to join together in celebrating how rotten life can be, but at least we’re all in it together, right? Well, we’ve come to something that is actually deeply sad, the passing of one of our idols, and we couldn’t just let that slide. With the announcement of David Bowie’s passing this morning, we decided to postpone our theme for this month til February and turn this week into a tribute to one of our favorite musicians of all time. We haven’t done much in the way of preparation for this, but we have done a couple of raucous Bowie-themed parties, and we pretended he was coming to one of them and inadvertantly tricked some internet robots at Bandsintown (and inadvertently the general populace). Suffice it to say: THERE WILL BE LOVE, THERE WILL BE SADNESS, THERE WILL BE CATHARSIS and there will be two Brothers Gloom playing every acceptable Bowie dance song and more than a few unacceptable ones. We might even play that song from Cool World. Oh, and we’ll throw in some Iggy with the Ziggy and some Lou and a host of the songs you expect to hear at a Feeling Gloomy, sprinkled in among the David Bowie songs. Dress to depress.
How much: $6 at the door.

Creative Art Workshops: I Have a Dream
When: Saturday, January 16, 11:00am-12:00pm
Where: Brooklyn Public Library — Central Branch, Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza
What: Create a colorful “I Have a Dream” work of art and celebrate Dr. King’s dream and yours with artist Angeli Rasbury. Event for kids.
How much: Free.

Concerts on the Slope Presents: Esmail, Shostakovich, and Mendelssohn
When: Saturday, January 16, 7:30pm
Where: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 139 St. John’s Place at 7th Avenue
What: With Mayuki Fukuhara, Sheng-Ching Hsu, Katie Hyun and Jungwon Yoon, violin, Andrew Gonzalez and Rick Quantz, viola, Sunny Cho and Benjamin Larsen, cello.
How much: Free will donation.

Discussion Panel: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Social Justice
When: Sunday, January 17, 12:30-2pm
Where: Brooklyn Public Library — Central Branch, Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza
What: Panelists reflect on Reverend King’s social and Christian philosophies in light of today’s social and activist movements.  Can Dr. King’s and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) black civil rights successes be replicated today? Moderated by Michael Partis, Research and Policy Director of Young Movement, Inc. and Ph.D. Candidate, CUNY Graduate Center.
How much: Free.

House of Wax: Anatomical, Pathological, and Ethnographic Waxworks from Castan’s Panopticum, Berlin, 1869-1922
When: Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17, 12-6pm
Where: Morbid Anatomy Museum, 424 3rd Avenue at 7th Street
What: House of Wax will exhibit a selection of waxworks once shown as part of Castan’s Berlin-based Panopticum (1869-1922). The full collection, never before exhibited in the US, will later be installed at the forthcoming Alamo Drafthouse in Downtown Brooklyn.
How much: Regular admission fees: Admission to the exhibition & library is $5. Seniors and students are $3, and children 12 and under are free.

Smorgasburg and The Brooklyn Flea at Industry City
When: Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17, 10am-6pm
Where: Industry City, 241 37th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)
What: Smorgasburg has moved down to the booming Industry City, which may be new territory for you. While the move was announced some time ago, Industry City is housing both Smorgasburg and The Brooklyn Flea every Saturday and Sunday until March 27, 2016. Keep in mind that Industry City is big — the entrance address is 241 37th Street. This is just two blocks from the 36th Street D/N/R subway station—only two stops from Manhattan on the D train!—and a short walk from the B35, B38 and B70 bus stops. The 39th Street exit off the Gowanus Expressway/BQE also takes you pretty much to their doorstep (and to the second-busiest Costco in America next door).

Sunday Colloquy: The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King with Rita Wilson
When: Sunday, January 17, 11am-12:30pm
Where: Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West at 2nd Street
What: The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King stimulates in discussion and opinion. We will examine two quotes by him: “The time is right to do what is right and human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable,” and “Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
How much: Free.

Families Celebrate Africa
When: Monday, January 18, 2:00-4:00pm
Where: Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West at 2nd Street
What: Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture offers a fun filled family event to celebrate African music and dance, with African face painting, crafts and costumes. Simba Yangala and the dancers from JungleDom will guide children of all ages through a relaxed  African dance lesson, followed by a performance that welcomes the participation from both, children and adults. Proceeds from this class will help provide scholarships for BSEC’s Ethics for Children Classes.
How much: $15. Tickets available here.

MLK Day Interfaith Prayer Service “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
When: Monday, January 18, 7:30pm
Where: Old First Reformed Church, 729 Carroll Street (at 7th Avenue)
What: In observance of MLK Day, Old First will host Interfaith Music and Prayers together with The Brooklyn Bangladeshi Muslim Community, City Councilmember Brad Lander, Resurrection Presbyterian Church, All Saints Episcopal Church, and Congregation Beth Elohim. Light refreshments to follow.
How much: Free.

Sponsored Event: Gymnastics Classes & Camp Open House
When: Monday, January 18, 1-6pm
Where: Prospect Gymnastics, 1023 Church Avenue (at Stratford Road)
What: Come meet our staff and learn about our programs. In person registration for spring classes and winter/summer camps will be available. If you want to enroll in classes and haven’t had a chance to do a trial class yet, we will be conducting mini 30-minute trial classes. Pre-register for a trial class by emailing zoe@prospectgymnastics.com. Space is limited. First-come, first-served., 3:30pm– Parent & Tot trial class, 4:30pm — & 4 years old trial class, 5:30pm — 5 – 10 years old trial class.