September 21: Constitution Day

New York University's John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Office of Government and Community Affairs present:

Join us for a dialogue about the U.S. Constitution — the role that it plays in our lives as Americans, the ways in which it is used by Congress, and the benefits we stand to gain from expanding our understanding of it.

Moderated by former President Clinton speechwriter Michael Waldman, NYU's Constitution Day 2012 will feature a panel of expert speakers to explore voting rights and First Amendment protections in the government’s founding document — as well as the challenges facing each of these ideas today.

Friday September 21, 2012 
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm 
New York University Law School 
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge 
40 Washington Square South 

This event is free and open to the public: Please RSVP online, or by calling OGCA at 212-998-2400. For an updated list of speakers and information about the Brennan Center for Justice and Brademas Center for the Study of Congress, explore Constitution Day at the NYU Neighbors page.

September 15-16: Washington Square Park Folk Festival

Only one weekend after the close of the WSP Outdoor Art Exhibit, the Square springs to life again with the 2nd annual Washington Square Park Folk Festival. From the NYC Parks website:

The Washington Square Park Folk Festival will bring 12 musical acts back to the heart of New York City’s legendary 1960s folk music scene. Hosted by festival founder Eli Smith of Down Home Radio Show and the Brooklyn Folk Festival, the two-day event will showcase the talents of local and national bands playing a variety of Appalachian string band music, hot jazz, bluegrass, Americana, blues, and originals by singer songwriters.

Free and open to the public! We hope to see you in the Square!

September 20: Art History vs Victorian Jamaica

The Colloquium on Art in Spain and Latin America at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts has, for nearly twenty years, continued to promote and support the research of scholars from a variety of fields in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking Americas. This year, the first lecture on art and society in Victorian Jamaica by Yale art history professor Timothy Barringer represents something new as well — the expansion of CASL’s focus to include other cultural groups within the hemisphere.

Thursday, September 20, 2012
6:00 pm in the Lecture Hall
The Institute of Fine Arts, 
New York University
1 East 78th Street

CASL lectures are free and open to the public, but an online RSVP is required. Seating is on a first-come first-served basis with RSVP. Talks will be followed by a reception in the Loeb Room.

Upcoming CASL lectures are listed below, but be sure to explore the IFA's events page for a terrific calendar of upcoming events focused around a diverse number of topics.

October 25, 2012: Robert Davidson, Associate Professor of Spanish and Catalan, University of Toronto: "The Revolution's Hilton: The Havana Hilton Hotel from Burt Glinn to Ramón Serrano"

November 15, 2012: Michele Greet, Associate Professor of Art History, George Mason University: "The Artists of the Bulletin de l'Effort Moderne: Latin Americans in Paris"

September 8-9: Washington Square Outdoor Arts Festival

September marks the return of the Washington Square Outdoor Arts Exhibit to Greenwich Village. Now in its 82nd year, the semi-annual event provides a public, open-air venue for 75 artists of local, national, and international distinction to display and sell their diverse creations.

Artists’ booths will be located on on University Place between East 12th Street and West 3rd Street. The southern end of the show encompasses Schwartz Plaza, between NYU's Shimkin Hall and Bobst Library. The exhibit will be on display September 8 and 9 from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Learn more at WSOAE.org

September 21: Readings by Women Writers - The 2012 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Awards Winners

The Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Awards program was created to identify and support women writers of exceptional talent in the early stages of their writing careers. New York University’s Creative Writing Program will host the a reading by recipients of the 2012 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Awards on Friday, September 21 at 7:00 pm at the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, located at 58 W. 10th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues).

The event is free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. For more information, call visit the Creative Writing Department website, or call 212.998.8816.

The Rona Jaffe Foundation awards grants of $30,000 to women writers of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry to make writing time available and for such specific purposes as child care, research, and related travel costs. A selection committee is appointed each year to recommend awards from among candidates nominated by writers, editors, critics, and other literary professionals likely to encounter women writers of unusual talent. Since the program began in 1995, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 million to emergent women writers.

The writers featured in this event are: Julia Elliott, Christina Nichol, Lauren Goodwin Slaughter, Rachel Swearingen, Kim Tingley, and Inara Verzemnieks. Read bios of each one after the jump.

September 24: Lecture - "The Co-Evolution of Humans and Machines"

Scientists and technologists say we’re on the verge of a singularity — a transition in human evolution from life as we know it to a post-biological future … an end to the human era. The boldest advocates of the singularity principle predict that it will arrive in less than 30 years.

Paul Horn, New York University’s senior vice provost for research and a former IBM executive, will outline this line of evolutionary thought while separating fact from fiction in a lecture, “The Co-Evolution of Humans and Machines,” on Monday, September 24, 2012 at NYU’s Silver Center.

Monday, September 24, 5:00 pm
100 Washington Square East 
(Enter at 31 Washington Place)
Jurow Lecture Hall

The event is free and open to the public. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. Email ken.kidd@nyu.edu or call 212.998.8100 for more information.

Horn, who came to NYU as a distinguished scientist in residence in 2007, was previously senior vice president of the IBM Corporation and its executive director of research. Under his leadership, IBM Research produced a string of technological breakthroughs, including the chess-playing supercomputer, Deep Blue; the world’s first copper chip; the giant magneto-resistive head; strained silicon, which allows chips to run up to 35 times faster; and BlueGene, the world’s fastest supercomputer.

Reporters wishing to attend the lecture must RSVP to James Devitt, NYU’s Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.

September 12 and Ongoing: Gallery Opening and Solo Show - "Tony Conrad: Doing the City"

NYU’s 80WSE Art Gallery will debut never-before-seen works by artist Tony Conrad in its latest exhibit, “Tony Conrad: Doing the City” — the first institutional solo show in over twenty years to survey works by the American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer.

80WSE invites you to attend the exhibit’s opening on Wednesday, September 12, at 6:00 pm, and to explore “Tony Conrad: Doing the City” during its run from September 12 to November 3, 2012. Both the gallery and the opening are free and open to the public. No RSVP is necessary.

The 80WSE Gallery is located on the east side of Washington Square Park between West 4th Street and Washington Place. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

The exhibit will be loosely based around the theme of community and intervention, a theme chosen site-specifically, in relation to the NYU Steinhardt's Art Department's history as a school of education. Works from Conrad's archive, including two major films, will premiere during the eight-week exhibition. Additionally, scheduled performances of his improvisatory music will mark the first time his pieces are played for the public.

“Many of the works in this show of Conrad’s cross the line between art, community empowerment actions, play and film, video, and multi-media,” said Michael Cohen, exhibit curator. “Since NYU and NYU Steinhardt house a variety of departments that reflect these interests, I believe Tony thought these works most suitable to show in that context.”

Read more at the event page »