Issue No. 18 · Week of Aug 17, 2026

← All Issues

Brooklyn Metal Works turns 15 this month, and its anniversary show traces 35 alumni careers back to one Prospect Heights studio. I'd see it before it ends. This week also brings two pottery wheels, a wool needle, and Jim Staley picking up his trombone at Roulette, the room he co-founded in 1978.

  1. 1. Brooklyn Metal Works' 15th Anniversary Exhibition

    "Here, There and Everywhere" gathers work by more than 35 alumni of the metalsmithing studio, including Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Eve Singer, and Cameron Natkin, all made during or after their time there. It's also part of Handwork, a nationwide craft initiative marking the country's 250th anniversary this year. I'd see it before it ends.

    Through Aug 30
  2. 2. gnA Studios at 255 McKibbin

    A small-group handbuilding pottery session in the East Williamsburg studio building, all supplies and instruction included. No experience is required.

    Fri Aug 21
  3. 3. Quicksand Ceramics at 96 Bogart Street

    A 90-minute beginner-friendly wheel-throwing class in Bushwick, with a short meditation built into the start of the session. On my list too.

    Sun Aug 23
  4. 4. An Ableton Production Lab at Nowadays

    JP Solis and New York Record Club run an 8-week series on arranging your own edits and mashups in Ableton Live, with two hours of lab time to test tracks on the club's own sound system.

    Thu Aug 20, 7–11p
  5. 5. Jim Staley, Ikue Mori & Zeena Parkins at Roulette

    Staley co-founded Roulette in 1978 and returns to trombone alongside two longtime collaborators, Mori on electronics and Parkins on harp and electronics, for a night of improvisation.

    Thu Aug 20, 8p
  6. 6. Nate Wooley's After Nan Shepherd at Yarn/Wire Studio

    A chamber piece for vocalist Joan La Barbara and the quartet Yarn/Wire, built from Nan Shepherd's The Living Mountain and unspooling from written composition into guided improvisation. In Ridgewood.

    Fri Aug 21, 7p
  7. 7. Eli Escobar at Gabriela

    A free DJ night with Escobar joined by Queen Adine and Strolls Royce.

    Fri Aug 21, 9p–late
  8. 8. The Battle of Brooklyn 250 at Green-Wood Cemetery

    A free commemoration marking 250 years since the actual battle, with live 18th-century music and a parade to Battle Hill for those who died there.

    Sun Aug 23, 10a–1p
  9. 9. Matthew Welch's String Quartets, featuring FLUX Quartet, at The Stone

    New York premieres of two new pieces, Lament for the Dead and Terra Incognita. Welch is a bagpiper with three World Pipe Band Championship titles who also composes for chamber ensembles and has released music on John Zorn's Tzadik label.

    Wed Aug 26, 8:30p
Small Uses and OFF-TIMES Issue No. 2 at National Academy of Design

Two shows in one evening. Small Uses holds fourteen artworks inside a single wooden box, all made from the assignment "make art that was not art." OFF-TIMES Issue No. 2 turns a newspaper into an exhibition, one page at a time. There's a performance from Beckett Brueggemann too. Free with reservation.

Wed Aug 19, 6p

See you out there,
Sam

Liked this? Get next week's free. Williamsburg art, design, music, makers — delivered Wednesdays.