Here’s What’s Happening (in order of appearance):

Pick of the Week / Live Jazz at Henry & The Lions  / The Furies at Hudson Guild / Music, Art, & More at Verdi Cannabis  /  Art Exhibits at Hudson Guild/  The April 19 Return of Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea

PICK OF THE WEEK

Vanderbilt in the City: Conversations on America | Thursday, April 10 & Thursday, May 1 at Vanderbilt University (440 W. 21st St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves.) |

BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Good news for those greeted with bad news when they tried to register for the at-full-capacity April 10 event from Nashville, Tennessee-based Vanderbilt University: The free event just relocated to a much more spacious venue (The Refectory)–and is once again accepting reservations. (Click here to do so.) More on what’s in store come April 10 in a moment–but first, a bit of context:

After last year’s multi-month kerfluffle involving the search for a source capable of saving the seriously strapped General Theoloical Seminary (GTS), a solution was found that saw formerly cross Chelsea residents all smiles (by and large), and with previously puckered mouths moving to shape the word, “Welcome.” And so it came to pass that Vanderbilt has  a long-term lease that sees them establish an academic presence in West Chelsea (on the GTS property known as “The Close”–W. 20th to 21st Sts., 9th to 10th Aves.).

Vanderbilt has pledged—publicly and repeatedly–to engage with their Chelsea neighbors, and is making good on that pledge with its first piece of public programming. The three-part Vanderbilt in the City: Conversations on America is curated in a manner befitting an academic’s restless curiosity, Conversations on America, they tell us, “will convene faculty and thought leaders for discussions that explore big questions” by highlighting “the dynamic perspectives of what it means to be an American today as our role in the world is shifting.”

On March 6, the theme was America and the World.

On April 10, American Humor has award-winning authors and Vanderbilt faculty members Lorrie Moore (Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English) and Major Jackson (Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English) exploring the power of humor and storytelling to bridge divides. Moore reads from I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home, and Jackson reads from Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems. Afterward, they’ll discuss humor’s role in society and writing’s cultural power and political impact. The evening begins with a reception from 6pm to 7pm, with the panel discussion/reading from 7pm to 8:30pm. On Thursday, May 1, 7pm-8:30pm, the series closes with Health in America: Challenges and Opportunities. Experts from NYU, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, and the American Journal of Public Health will touch upon topics such as health equity, science-based policymaking, and the rise of “healthism” and self-directed health—examining their implications for the future of U.S. health policy. Jonathan Metzl, Director of Vanderbilt University’s Department of Medicine, Health, and Society, moderates the panel.

The April 10 and May 1 events are open to the public, and registration is required. Click here to do so.

Live Jazz at Henry & The Lions (405 West 23rd St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves.), Fridays, 6:30pm-8:30pm | Henry & The Lions, whose culinary relaunch we covered in this February 2025 “Support Small Businesses” profile, continues to expand its offerings with a free live performance from the Al Cohen Trio every Friday, 6:30p-8:30pm beginning on April 4.  For more info, click here to visit their website. You can also call 212-888-7779 or send an email to info@henryandthelions.com. (Special thanks to the West 400 Block Association’s March 28 newsletter, where we first heard of this.)

The Furies (a contempory adaptation of The Oresteia): April 4-13 at the Murray Haber Theatre at Hudson Guild (441 W. 26th St. btw. 9th  & 10th Aves.) | See the below flyer for more info, and click here to order tickets ($12 general admission).

Events at Verdi Cannabis (158 W. 23rd St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) | Having recently celebrated its first full year since setting up shop on West 23rd Street, legal cannabis distributor Verdi Cannabis offers free arts programming via gallery-style displays of artwork on their walls, and a Thursday night music series. Now through April 12, the featured artist is Dina Freeman, whose work appears, gallery-style, on Verdi’s walls (and is available for purchase). To keep up with what else is up with Verdi, click here to visit their website. To visit the EVENTS page of their website, click here.

Water’s Voice and Our Fragile Moment: Climate Crisis-Themed Exhibits at Hudson Guild | Free to the public, these exhibits are the latest in Hudson Guild’s Art in Response series in which “artists  examine issues of social and political importance to our community.” Water’s Voice considers the powerful presence of water in nature—and ourselves. (“We are mostly water,” the exhibit’s promo material notes.) The work of artists Patricia Espinosa, Eleanor Goldstein, Ellie  Irons, Susan Knight, Michelle Lougee, and Camille Seaman celebrate and champion water, working in a variety of formats and mediums. Free to view at Guild Gallery II (119 Ninth Ave.) through April 22; Tues. through Fri., 10am to 5pm, and by appointment (call 212-760-9837 to schedule a visit).

Having opened on February 13 at Hudson Guild Gallery (441 W. 26th St.) with a free reception from 5:30pm to 7pm, the exhibit Our Fragile Moment highlights environmental issues, including sea level rise. “The  combined voices of these artists allow beauty to blend with sadness, fear to be overlaid with hope and optimism, and  apathy to be turned to action,” notes artist/educator Fran Beallor, who curated this exhibit as well as Water’s Voice. As for the talent featured in Our Fragile Moment, Beallor’s hand-picked roster includes Rachel Aisenson, M. Annenberg, Nicole Betancourt,  Lois Bender, Pam Brown, Pamela Casper, Jesica Clark, Simona Clausnitzer, Nora Chavooshian, January Yoon Cho, Nicole Cooper, Cailyn  Dawson, Noreen Dean Dresser, Anke Frohlich, Nancy Gesimondo, Pearl Rosen Golden, Deborah Kruger, Sally Linder,  Christina Massey, Mars Miller, Eleni Mylonas, Beryl Perron-Feller, Grace Graupe Pillard, Jeffrey Allen Price, Kristin  Reed, Yvonne Lamar Rogers, Ann R. Shapiro, Amrita Singh, Molly Tenzer, Tammy West, Jane Whitten, and Lucy Wilner.

“Our Fragile Moment” is free to view through April 22; Tues. through Fri., 10am to 6pm, Sat., 12pm to 3pm, and by appointment (call 212-760-9837to schedule a visit). Monday, March 24, 76pm to 8:30pm, artists from both exhibits come together for a virtual event: “Artists on the Climate Crisis An Artists Talk on Art.”  This online discussion is held via Zoom. Click here for the link and when prompted, use 737066 as the password.

UPCOMING: Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea is almot back! It will take place every Saturday starting April 19, 9am to 2pm, West 23rd St. off 9th Ave.  For more info, click here.

—Listings compiled by Scott Stiffler

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