Smart Art and Crafts Events for Summer in NYC

By Troy Segal

Summer is as ripe for art appreciation as it is for logging hours under a beach umbrella. Our picks for stimulating arts and crafts events in New York follow, with top talks and classes around town in the upcoming weeks. Many are alfresco, allowing you to enjoy natural and man-made beauty in happy juxtaposition.

tea workshop

For the Japanese, drinking tea isn’t just a quick refresher—it’s an entire ritual, while preparing and serving the brew is a cherished craft. Learn about the art of the tea ceremony at this series of workshops celebrating the new sincha harvest, featuring experts from Kyoto and various Nipponese nibbles. Ippodo Tea New York, Jun. 5-7.

While the performing arts blossom inside the halls of Lincoln Center, the decorative arts take to its outdoor plazas. Amid a sea of snowy white tents, workers in wood, textiles, metals and precious stones display their wares at the American Crafts Festival—nearly 400 strong this year. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Jun. 6-7 & 13-14.

Image: otodo -- Flickr

Image: otodo — Flickr

Some scientists feel that smell is the most powerful, the most evocative of all the human senses—making even a small bottle of fragrance the equivalent of emotional dynamite. The perfumer’s art is explored in two separate lectures: one describing its role in business and marketing, by the owner of The Scentarium, a bespoke fragrance shop (717 Fifth Ave., Jun. 8); the other, by an artisanal producer, exploring how a fragrance is designed and created (The General Society Library, Jun. 9).

Roots by Frida Kahlo

Art and nature complement each other at FRIDA KAHLO: Art, Garden, Life, an exhibit that includes both actual works by the Mexican artist and a recreation of her Casa Azul home and garden (complete with live counterparts of the plants depicted in her paintings). A trio of evenings offer something additional: a customized display by projection artist Jenny Holzer. The New York Botanical Garden, Jun. 10-13.

If you think an art class is a hushed, studious affair, you haven’t experienced Drink & Draw. Sip a brew and sketch a live model, to tunes spun with a thematic twist by a live DJ. BYOB (Bring Your Own Brushes) or use those provided, for a modest extra fee. 92nd Street Y, Jun 11 & Jul. 9.

Although the edgy nabes like the Williamsburg and the Lower East Side often get the most art press, the stately streets along upper Madison Avenue also host a variety of galleries—specialists in everything from academic nature studies to electronic installations. Spend an afternoon exploring their bounty in an Upper East Side gallery tour, led by a docent with a Ph.D. in arts education. New York Gallery Tours, Jun. 13.

Get an eyeful of architecture from four different centuries, all on one tiny island—Roosevelt Island. This AIANY Tours outing encompasses a restored farmhouse, the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital and the Louis Khan-designed FDR Four Freedoms Park. Jun. 14.

art events nyc

Five decades of the luminous, often gold-toned prints of photographer Emmet Gowin are being displayed with literally- or thematically-related books, manuscripts and Old Masters drawings. A curator guides you through the parallels in this talk and tour of the show Hidden Likeness: Photographer Emmet Gowin at the Morgan. Morgan Library & Museum, Jul. 10.