D uring a week that begins with the city coated in a brilliant layer of ice, you can view art, celebrate art, hear about art and get an insider’s view of art, with wine and beer to help keep you warm.
Monday, January 21 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Day two of the annual celebration of MLK’s “efforts to ensure environmental and social justice among all people” at the Peabody Museum (170 Whitney Ave, New Haven; 203-432-8987) runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum’s Great Hall of Dinosaurs hosts live music and dance and, at 3 p.m., a closing drumming circle; its David Friend Hall hosts slam poetry between a community open mic at 11 a.m. and a pro show at 12:30; and, nearby, the New Haven Museum (114 Whitney Ave, New Haven; 203-562-4183) hosts performances by local storytellers Joy Donaldson at 11 a.m. and Waltrina Kirkland Mullins at 12:30. Free.
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Meanwhile, from noon to 4 p.m in the lower reading room of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (121 Wall St, New Haven; 203-432-2977), “select highlights of the Beinecke Library’s collections related to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to the African American freedom movement will be on view.” Free.
And at 2 p.m. inside First and Summerfield United Methodist Church (425 College St, New Haven), Music Haven and the St. Luke’s Steel Band “present [their] annual musical celebration honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” Free.
Tuesday, January 22
From 6 to 7:30 p.m., Miller Memorial Library (2901 Dixwell Ave, Hamden; 203-287-2680) hosts a reception for Wander Wonder, a show of photography by Luciana Quagliato McClure, whose work ranges from scenic to intimate and black to white.
Wednesday, January 23
New “vintage and antique store and local art gallery” Elm City Emporium is hosting one of its monthly wine socials/artist spotlights from 4 to 7 p.m. “This month we will celebrate Steve Tarquino, a local artist who specializes in mixed media and wire sculpture. Come enjoy an evening of homemade snacks, good conversation, wine and shopping in honor of his work and the New Haven arts community.” Free.
Thursday, January 24
Semi-annual wine crawl Flights of Fancy—“an evening of shopping , wine and food tastings, in-store discounts, zero ticket fees, free parking, exciting raffle prizes and special gifts for attendees”—returns from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Registrants should start at The Study at Yale Hotel (1157 Chapel St, New Haven), where they can “grab their souvenir tasting glasses and stuffed swag bags, enter the raffle and receive their Flights stop map before enjoying an evening of sipping, shopping and sampling.” $20.
At 5:30 p.m. at the New Haven Museum (114 Whitney Ave, New Haven; 203-562-4183), “leading pioneers of 20th-century modernism” and Connecticut arts royalty Josef and Ani Albers are the subject of a free talk by local artist Bob Gregson, himself a master of color and shape. “Gregson will examine the couple’s monumental influence in the art world, their presence in New Haven and his impressions on meeting the couple for the first time.”
Friday, January 25
With a panel including the film’s director to follow, the Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St, New Haven) screens The Price of Everything (2018) at 7 p.m. “With unprecedented access to pivotal artists and the white-hot market surrounding them, [the film] dives deep into the contemporary art world, holding a mirror up to our values and our times—where everything can be bought and sold.”
Saturday, January 26
A free show at Three Sheets (372 Elm St, New Haven; 475-202-6909) starts at 9 p.m. and features Dangerous Animals (“dance-punk and swaggering rock ’n’ roll”), King Bongo (“psychedelic beach rock” and “doowop love”) and The Right Offs (“rock ’n’ roll” with “joy, grit and energy”).
If you can manage the walk from your parking spot or dorm room to the theater, the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at Southern Connecticut State University (501 Crescent St, New Haven; 203-392-6154) is offering a chance to enjoy the great wintry outdoors from the great climate-controlled indoors. The medium is the film Far Out, which “follows the perspective of an athlete as he embarks on a journey to one of the most remote and unexplored mountain ranges on the planet, the Albanian Alps.” Tickets cost $8 (or $0 for SCSU students), and “there will be local prizes and giveaways and Waffle Cabin waffles on site, plus everyone will get a free lift ticket!”
Sunday, January 27
Counter Weight Brewing (23 Raccio Park Rd, Hamden) promises “a knee-slapping good time” during the “Appalachian-style jam session” it holds at 2 p.m. every last Sunday of the month in its upstairs tap room. Free to attend.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
