This Week in New Haven (May 3 – 9)

T hings begin with a pop or two, and that’s before Artwalk makes its triumphant return.

Monday, May 3
At 6 p.m., Yale’s Photo Pop Up interview series hosts the major pop and conceptual artist Ed Ruscha, who, after graduating from art school in 1960, “brought words—as form, symbol, and material—to the forefront of painting.” As per the established half-hour virtual format, Gregory Crewdson, director of the Yale School of Art’s graduate photography program, will ask Ruscha “a list of simple questions about artistic practice.” Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, May 4
The Great Give, the Community Foundation’s annual “36-hour online giving event” that raises direct and matching funds as well as cash prizes for hundreds of local nonprofits, starts at 8 a.m.

sponsored by

Artrepreneur Series at the New Haven Free Public Library

After being forced to skip 2020, Westville’s annual Artwalk festival is back and, by length, bigger than ever. With a drip-drip-drip of events leading to an all-day itinerary on Saturday, the fun begins tonight at 9 with a virtual performance from local improv troupe The Regicides. Next up is a mural painting tomorrow from 3 to 6 p.m. at Whalley and Central Avenues and the grand opening of the second annual “6-Square Gallery” (16 Fountain St, New Haven) from 5:30 to 7:30, featuring 6” square works contributed by anyone in the community. Thursday offers an 8 p.m. screening of feature film Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) and local filmmaker Travis Carbonella’s short film The Volcan Tungurahua Mural Project in Edgewood Park, where, at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, a collaborative concert stars local Afro-soul siren Thabisa and New Haven Symphony Orchestra musicians, followed by a socially distanced dance party led by DJ Dooley-O and salsa ace Alisa Bowens. Saturday’s schedule starts at 11 a.m. with something old—the Art & Artisan Market, the festival’s founding element, which is open until 5 p.m. near Fountain Street and Central—and something new: a socially distanced Pet Parade for “dogs, cats, pigs, ferrets” and, of course, humans in Edgewood Park. And that’s not all.

Wednesday, May 5
At 8 p.m., the free, weather-permitting Movies in the Plaza series, organized by the Town Green District, screens the classic inverted coming-out comedy The Birdcage (1996) in Pitkin Plaza, located along Orange Street between Chapel and Court. “Registration required upon entry”; “pet-friendly” (leashed); “bring your own lawn chairs, blankets and pillows!”

Friday, May 7
At 5 p.m. on the outdoor deck at Best Video (1842 Whitney Ave, Hamden; 203-287-9286), “alt-country, Americana rocker” and New Haven scene stalwart Seth Adam croons and strums original songs during his first local show since the pandemic winter forced live music into hibernation. “No cover charge but please bring cash for the musicians’ tip jar.”

With an assist from local youth choir the Morse Chorale, Yale Camerata “presents a virtual concert featuring works by composers from underrepresented groups” at 7:30 p.m. Selections include Mari Ésabel Valverde’s “When Thunder Comes,” Alma Bazel Androzzo’s “If I Can Help Somebody” (in an arrangement by Camerata director André Thomas) and Joel Thompson’s “The Caged Bird Sings for Freedom.”

Written by Dan Mims. Image features a moment from The Birdcage. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.

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Dan has worked for a couple of major media companies, but he likes Daily Nutmeg best. As DN’s editor, he writes, photographs, edits and otherwise shepherds ideas into fully realized feature stories.

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