Tut, tut, Pooh Bear's friend always said, looks like rain. No need to be an Eeyore about the bad weather this weekend. Embrace your inner Tigger and leave the house to do something cultured and fun. Do that, and we promise to stop referring to your social life in Disney characters.
Thursday, May 7
Paul Nicklen: Polar Obsession To be a conservationist these days is to be a person with plenty of work on your plate; as the environment changes, habitats disappear, and species begin to vanish, there are so many things to make people aware of, so many things to bring attention to, so many things to commemorate before they are gone. National Geographic's Paul Nicklen is a photographer who works to do all of these things, particularly in the world's arctic climes. He has captured stunning images of reclusive and rare animals in polar regions--his photos portray polar bears, penguins, and seals as both the resourceful creatures we know them to be, and the fragile species we understand may cease to exist in the near future. Hear Nicklen's tales of adventure and his perspective on the challenges wildlife faces in "Paul Nicklen: Polar Obsession" at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Perot Musuem of Nature and Science, 2201 North Field. Tickets are $30 at perotmuseum.org; the event will be followed by a book signing by Nicklen. - Jennifer Davis-Lamm
Conspiracy Few things are tougher viewing than films about the Holocaust. Those types of movies are silent, somber cinema, leaving trembling hands and downcast eyes when the lights come up...rendering us unable to reconcile what we just saw with what we think we know about people. As hard as it is to sit through, the films have value because we need to honor the victims, to question humanity, to question the way we think about equality and prejudice, and to understand that this happened. The Dallas Holocaust Museum has made all of these things part of its mission, and in furthering that, occasionally presents films about that most awful of subjects. Conspiracy is one such film, dramatizing the events of the Wannsee Conference, where German officials not only became aware that the Nazis were planning the mass extermination of Jews--but went along with their plans, either because they wanted to, or because they were afraid to speak out against it. It's a perfect illustration of the old saying that "evil prospers when good men do nothing"--and it's a chilling reminder that we each have a duty to ensure that such a thing is never allowed to happen again. The screening is at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7 in the Dallas Holocaust Museum, 211 North Record; admission is free. See dallasholocaustmuseum.org. -JDL
S.RitterNYC Jewelry Trunk Show at Ro2 Art If you've always wanted to wear art on your fingers, Thursday night Ro2 Art is hosting a pop-up jewelry trunk show. Swing through and see these monstrously gorgeous rocks from 6-9 p.m. Thursday. -LS
Frontiers: A New Works Showcase The organizers of Fort Worth Opera Festival know that there are some misconceptions out there about opera. The first is that it's all so old and stuffy; given that so many of the great works are in fact pretty old, it's an easy assumption to make. The second is that opera is an all-in situation: you have to sink serious cash into tickets, dress the part, and pay the valet if you want to experience the beauty of the art form. Great strides have been taken over the past decade in both areas: new blood is infusing even the most staid of opera institutions, and many opera houses have shifted to making their art more accessible by booking events in movie theaters and beaming live events in public places for free. This year, the festival's Frontiers: A New Works Showcase aims at making opera, particularly brand new pieces, even more accessible as eight 20-minute segments of operatic previews are presented over a span of two days. At 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, at the Kimbell Art Musuem, 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, audience members will have a chance to see unpublished and self-published pieces presented by composer/ librettist teams who have put together astonishing glimpses into what opera will look like in the very near future. The program is open to the public at the very democratic admission fee of $10 per night; tickets can be purchased at fwopera.com. -JDL
The Liar Of all the comedy tropes out there, the lie remains one of the most reliable. It's been this way forever--since stories have been told. In more modern times, we've seen entire Lucille Ball episodes based on her lies to her husbands, often with riotous results. Three's Company was based on a fib about a male roommate's sexual proclivities; the French play La Cage aux Folles (later remade into a movie and then adapted for Americans in The Birdcage) was also based on an elaborate ruse concerning sexuality and gender. Falsehoods are comedy treasure-troves, which is something even playwrights from the 1600s picked up on--Pierre Cornielle's farcical The Liar is chock full of half-truths, outright inventions, and misunderstandings. As adapted by playwright David Ives, the play takes on a rhyming, whimsical examination of love amongst fabrication--it's being staged by Theatre Three, 2800 Routh Street, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; and 7:30 p.m. Sunday evenings through May 31. Tickets are $10 to $50; visit theatre3dallas.com for more. - JDL
Marjorie Schwarz & Alex Prager Goss Michael Foundation continues its focus on Dallas-based artists with one of the city's more interesting painters and collaborative artists, Marjorie Schwarz. For this exhibition she uses portraiture techniques to create a series of work that resembles a domestic photo album. The work will be displayed alongside that of Alex Prager, who continues her longtime interest in the "psychological experiences of crowds," as part of the Soluna festival. Opening reception is 6-8 p.m. Thursday. More at g-mf.com. -LS
Friday, May 8 Wordspace presents: Anne Waldman When it comes to movements in poetry, no generation is more idealized than the Beat Poets. We're talking about post-War World II beatniks like Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder, and others. And just a few years behind them was a poet named Anne Waldman. Growing up in the heart of Greenwich Village, she became a veritable artistic force in the vein of hte poets who came before her. Her performative poetry tackles off-center issues, and comes from a lifelong interest in "making sense of this dystopia." She's a founding member of the Saint marks Poetry Project in NYC, and a founding member with Ginsberg of The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute. At 8 p.m. Friday, she'll be at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (3120 McKinney Ave.) to perform her poetry, along with music by Ambrose Bye of Fast Speaking Music. This is a Wordspace event, which I once described as a "pretty fucking cool." Living up to the reputation, it seems. Tickets are $25. More at wordspace.us. - LS
ReMix: Hollywood Exile Themed around European composers who found homes in Hollywood, there's a lot to look forward to in this event, especially given that the program's opening compositions rival the headlining performances. Karina Canellakis conducts the world premiere of acclaimed visual artist Pipilotti Rist's video projection accompaniment to Miklos Rozsa's Adante for String Orchestra (a DSO commission). And DSO Artist-in-Residence Conrad Tao takes on Rozsa's Spellbound Concerto. But two other works -- one by Schoenberg, the other Stravinsky -- deserve attention. First, Stravinsky's Scherzo à la russe, resulting from an unused score for an abandoned film project, is a warm, jazzy example of the composer's American commercial music. The second, Schoenberg's Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene, is a symphonic poem to an unrealized film script, expectedly fractured and fevered, but unexpected on account of the composer's stern resistance to commercial endeavors, even if such an approach here is only hinted at. Performances happen 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday (May 8-9) at The Dallas City Performance Hall. Tickets are $19. - Jonathan Patrick
Saturday, May 8 Josephine Durkin: Maps, Flora and Highlighters Sculptures come in all shapes, sizes, colors and beautiful packages. Especially in the art of Josephine Durkin, a Greenville, Texas-based artist whose colorfully abstract sculptural pieces will be on display in a solo exhibition at Erin Cluley Gallery (414 Fabrication St) that opens at 6 p.m. Saturday. Durkin uses studio debris and leftover material from one piece to create the blueprint for the next work in the series, which allows not only for a never-ending process, but also uses this interest in recycling to inextricably connect the art. There's a strong interest in materiality and fusing abstract painting and sculpture. For this exhibition, she will also create a large site-specific piece. See Josephine Durkin: Maps, Flora and Highlighters through June 6. More information at erincluley.com. -LS
Dallas Pet Expo I believe it was the great Ben Kingsley that said, "Never, ever, ever trust anyone who doesn't like dogs. You meet someone who doesn't like dogs - you alert the authorities immediately and sure as shit don't marry them." This is the life motto that everyone should live by. Any good person's Instagram feed and spare time should be filled with puppies and kittens, even throw in a kid goat for all I care. THOSE are the people that I, and you should want to spend time with. Good news for anyone in Dallas, Dallas Market Hall (2200 Stemmons Fwy.) will be hosting this year's Dallas Pet Expo Saturday. Bring your leashed pets with proof of immunizations to witness live demoes of obedience training, pet sports, prizes and giveaways for costume contests and talent shows. There will even be booths set up for adoptions, immunizations and nail trims. I'll take looking at Nelson the Golden Doodle or Walter the Wolfhound over keeping up with Kim's Instagram feed any day of the week. Admission is free. Check out dallaspetexpo.com for more info about this wonderful event. -Lucas Buckels
Erika Jaeggli : FOMO In 21st century America, it's really easy to catch FOMO. This often funny, sometimes perilous acronym which stands for "Fear of Missing Out" explains why you spend so much time stalking your friends on Facebook, or obsessively check your Instagram to see where your friends are hanging out without you. In her upcoming solo exhibition at WAAS Gallery (2722 Logan St.) artist Erika Jaeggli explores the darker side of FOMO. In her charcoal on paper works, she attemps to navigate " the anxiety and sense of dread that threatens the self, convincing you that you do not really exist if you are not socially engaged," as well as what she describes as the impossibility of solitude. See the work in opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Saturday. More at waasgallery.com. -LS
Chance Dunlap: Oklahoma Breakdown With background in both rural Texas and Oklahoma, artist Chance Dunlap admits to pulling directly from his surroundings for inspiration in his sculpture. He focuses on vivifying the materials, pulling in his experiences, observed surroundings, and the generally impulsive nature of making art. See his work in opening reception from 7-10 p.m. Saturday at RO2 Art. Or through June 7. More at ro2art.com. -LS
Sunday, May 10 Bagel Run Bagels and carbs, carbs and bagels. They go together. Bagels are good, cream cheese is great, and running is OK. But we understand that in order to eat bagels smothered in cream cheese, you're going to have to run to still fit in between your office chair and desk. So run, we say. It's the 29th annual Bagel Run, hosted by the Jewish Community Center of Dallas and it's on Mother's Day. Nothing says, "I love you, mom" like a nice 10K run followed by the scarfing down of bagels. There are several options, however. You can run the 5K, 10K, and there's even a Kid's K, where we're assuming you have to be a child, but maybe if you cry and suck on your thumb, they'll allow you that option instead. The run is at 8 a.m. Sunday at the Aaron Family Jewish Community Center. For more information, call 214-239-7178. -Paige Skinner
Mai Day There's nothing mom loves more than sappy poems, especially if you write them about her. If you're looking for somewhere to keep that mimosa buzz going, consider stopping by Ephoca for Trina Mai's release, book signing, and evening of live music and spoken word. Donations of canned goods will be accepted for the Feed Texas Now program. -LS
African Amedia It's probably time we put the notion of colorblindness to rest. The last few months should be used as tools, as lessons, as evidence that we need a cultural shift. A big one. Perhaps a step will be acknowledgment of the problems, not a blindness, but truly seeing them. African Amedia is a project taking part in that conversation. Described as a satirical art exhibition and performance piece, African Amedia is a fictional television created by Dallas-based artist Adu meant to highlight "some of the negative portrayals, generalizations, and stereotypes the media casts against African Americans." It's a multi-genre exhibit, with mature content, that hopes to engage in the conversation taking place throughout the country right now. Adu is calling it an open letter to the viewer with the hope that it will inspire relationships "based on content of character, not color of skin." See the exhibit and performance during the opening reception at the African American Museum of Dallas (3536 Grand Ave.) 7 p.m. Sunday. More at africanamedia.org. -LS
