Slope Weekend Events Spotlight: May 6-8

Welcome to the weekend, which features many events: garden love, Matisse love, Kentucky Derby love,  the godmother of Japanese electronic love, and more.

Spring Has Sprung! A Little Night Music
When: Friday, May 6, 7:30pm-11pm
Where: Roots Cafe, 639 5th Avenue at 20th Street
What: Come one, come all to the world-famous Roots Cafe for a night of musical delectables provided by the following talented performers: Coco & the Greek, Gypsy George, Lunifred Benjamin, and Chris Q. Murphy
How much: Free.

Fear Not To Appear — Paintings, Drawings, and Books, 1980-1997 by Dale Williams
When: Through Sunday, May 22. By appointment only.
Where: Gowanus Loft, 61 9th Street #C8 (between 2nd Avenue and the Gowanus Canal.)
How much: Free — contact colby@vanderbiltrepublic.com for an appointment.

6/15 Green Annual Plant Sale
When: Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, 11am-3pm
Where: 6/15 Green Community Garden, Corner of 6th Avenue and 15th Street.
What: The garden will also be conducting its annual plant sale, selling flower and vegetable plants, in addition to heirloom plants in order to raise funds for the garden; donations are also most welcome. Plant sale dates have been extended this year due to expanded public interest.

Mini-Matisse B.Y.O.A Weekend
When: Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, 10am-6pm
Where: Ground Floor Gallery, 343 5th Street (near 5th Avenue) and Private Picassos (237 5th Avenue between President and Carroll Streets)
What: Ground Floor Gallery, has teamed up with the dynamic art studio for kids, Private Picassos, for this year’s Mini-Matisse Weekend! Drop by Private Picassos to have your child make their one-of-a-kind masterpiece and then B.Y.O.A. (Bring Your Own Artwork!) to Ground Floor Gallery, a few blocks away, to hang it on our gallery wall, snap a photo, and leave with a Mini-Matisse goodie bag! Original artwork by local artists in our network will also be on view. The perfect addition to your imaginative child’s bedroom!

PS 321 Flea Market
When: Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, 9am-5pm
Where: 180 7th Avenue between 1st and 2nd Streets – in front of PS 321
What: This market is considered a Park Slope institution by many, and plans to be open year round. The flea is under new management this year.

Karen Gibbons: Pachamama
When: Through May 29. 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: 440 Gallery is pleased to present new sculptures, drawings and collage by Karen Gibbons. This exhibit is a continuation of Gibbons’s idiosyncratic sensibility, where collaged elements create a dream-like near-narrative. Her new work introduces the use of plaster substrates, a material that gives each piece a substantial, weighty dimension. Gibbons’s work entwines feminine imagery and references to the earth.  In the large scale piece, “Pachamama”, Gibbons creates a mountainous structure out of plaster, painting the form in earthy greens and yellows.  Through collage elements, the face of the Virgin Mary peers from the top of the mountain; her hands surround her mountain/body in a comforting embrace.
How much: Free.

House of Wax: Anatomical, Pathological, and Ethnographic Waxworks from Castan’s Panopticum, Berlin, 1869-1922
When:  Through May 30. Thursdays-Sundays 12-6pm (open everyday except Tuesdays)
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.

Rawiya: In Her Absence I Created Her Image
When: Saturday, May 7, Opening Reception from 7pm-9pm. Exhibit through May 28. Regular hours: Thursdays-Saturdays, 2pm-6pm.
Where: Open Source Gallery, (306 17th Street at 6th Avenue)
What: Rawiya presents In Her Absence I Created Her Image, an exhibit of documentary photography. The exhibit will explore the lives of communities and individuals in the Middle East through documentary photography, focusing on social, political, and human rights issues across Arab countries. At a time when Islamophobia in the U.S. runs rampant and many view the Middle East with suspicion, efforts to create understanding are of the utmost importance. This exhibit, the title of which is inspired by a poem by Mahmoud Darwish, includes work by photographers Laura Boushnak, Tanya Habjouqa, Myriam Abdelaziz, and Tamara Abdul Hadi, members of the Rawiya photography collective. Rawiya aims to dispel stereotypes about this often misunderstood and underrepresented region by shining a light on the everyday hardships and shared experiences of its inhabitants, thereby encouraging a more compassionate and empathetic worldview. Within In Her Absence I Created Her Image, individual projects and varied themes contribute to an overarching theme of humanity, dignity, and empowerment.
How Much: Free

One Canal View: Paintings by Joel Beck
When: Through May 7, Thursday and Fridays, 3pm-7pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 11am-7pm
Where: Gowanus Souvenir Shop, 543 Union Street (the entrance is on Nevins Street, and down the alley, and on the left)
What: An exhibition of paintings by Joel Beck.
How much: Free, art available for purchase.

142nd Kentucky Derby Party
When: Saturday, May 7, 2pm
Where: Union Hall, 702 Union Street and 5th Avenue
What: Day races shown starting at 2. Run for the roses 6pm. Juleps and Specialty Whiskey Cocktails! Along with give-a-ways, corn-hole toss and bocce, AND $100 cash money to the best hat and the best suit, respectively!
How Much: Free

Brooklyn Flea at Grand Army Plaza
When: Every Sunday beginning May 8 through October 23, 11am-6pm.
Where: Grand Army Plaza
What: Care for a few summer orbs for gardening? Fancy some occult jewelry? Feel like biting into a lavender cake donut? You won’t have to travel far at all to do any of these things, as the Brooklyn Flea will debut their Grand Army Market this weekend.

Smorgasburg at Prospect Park
When: Sunday, May 8, 11am-6pm
Where: Prospect Park, Breeze Hill (Located near Lakeside and the Lincoln Road entrance)
What: Smorgasburg begins its warm weather months in our beautiful backyard. Find 100 vendors and food from all over the world every Sunday at Breeze Hill, located near Lakeside and the park’s Lincoln Road entrance.  Find the market on Google Maps here. Presented in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance. Dog friendly.

Coppé: 20rpm
When: Sunday, May 8, 7pm
Where: ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place (between 1st and Carroll Streets)
What: Saiko is proud to announce the long-overdue New York debut of Japan’s ‘godmother of electronica’ Coppé. Coppé will celebrate 20 years of her ‘phantom’ Tokyo record label Mango + Sweet Rice. Following a London St. Giles Church showcase with partners including Plaid, Coppé will present fresh interpretations of 20 years of global sound collaborations featured on the double vinyl release: 20rpm. D3pths (programming) + David Ambrosia (acoustic bass) support, with a special guest appearance by Kaoru Watanabe (taiko, transverse flute) and the J-Music Ensemble led by Grammy-nominated saxophonist Patrick Bartley.
How much: $10.