UWS Weekend: Great Things to Do in (and Around) the Neighborhood

By Tracy Zwick

April 10th through 12th 

See a movie at New Plaza Cinema: 35 West 67th Street; tickets here 

The UWS’s not-for-profit independent movie theater has a big lineup this weekend. “Letters from Baghdad,” Tilda Swinton’s 2016 documentary about Gertrude Bell, a British explorer, spy and political powerhouse who shaped the Middle East after World War I, screens Saturday at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday the movie house will present the NYC premiere of “Crybaby Bridge,” a psychological thriller based on the urban legend of the film’s title. The stars, director and producer will be on hand for a Q&A. Returning to New Plaza on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. is the wonderful “Rebel with a Clause” about local grammar icon Ellen Jovin, who’ll be there to speak about the film alongside her husband, filmmaker Brandt Johnson. Also returning, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, is “SHTTL,” a film about the Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, shown through the life of the inhabitants of a Yiddish village.

American Folk Art Museum: 2 Lincoln Square (Columbus Avenue at West 66th Street); free

You don’t have to go to the Met, the Whitney or the MoMA to see influential works by world-renowned “self-taught” artists like Bill Traylor, Horace Pippin, Henry Darger and John Kane. Local jewel The American Folk Art Museum is opening two wonderful, intimate exhibitions today, across the street from the Lincoln Center campus, that bring these artists and many more front-and-center on the UWS. With collage, painting, sculpture, photography, video, textiles and more, these shows can fill an hour or an afternoon, with something for everyone from connoisseurs to kids.

“Folk Nation: Crafting Patriotism in the U.S.,” the smaller of the two shows, occupies the small entry gallery. It leads visitors into “Self-Made,” which takes up three spacious galleries. Both foreground artists who’ve created formal and informal works of art outside formal systems of art-making. Compared with the pomp we’ll soon see out of official DC as celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday begin, these shows offer an alternative view of American history and sense of collective identity. One especially charming series of two 10-minute videos called “Questions?” and “Answers” (2018) shows neurodivergent California artist Susan Janow asking herself questions in voiceover, and answering them by prettily writing out responses on pages she holds up before the camera while wearing a t-shirt featuring Tigger. Museum entry is always free.

Lincoln Center’s Big Umbrella Festival: April 10-26 at Lincoln Center (events and locations here)

Celebrate neurodiversity at Lincoln Center over the next two weeks with inclusive arts experiences for all ages. There’ll be dance, theater, art, comedy, music and more, including free ASL experiences for babies, children and adults. The interactive outdoor installation “Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0” – inspired by the mercados, or street markets, of Latin America – opens on Saturday on Josie Robertson Plaza. It includes small houses (casas) “that serve as blank canvases for community engagement.” When a casa is empty, a “welcoming white glow bids you to enter.” Also this weekend: Barrowland Ballet’s “The Unexpected Gift” – a 40-minute, “choose what you pay” experience for ages 7 and up.

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