BPL PRESENTS is Central Library's series of arts and culture events, including talks, conversations, and readings with authors, artists and scholars; live music, dance and theater performances; film screening; and art exhibitions. Events are free or ticketed and are taking place at Central Library's S. Stevan Dweck Cultural Center, unless noted otherwise.
All BPL Presents programs at the Dweck Cultural Center and Central Library are free of charge (unless otherwise noted) and reservations are required for most adult programs. Patrons with reservations will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Unclaimed reservations will be released five minutes before the start of an event; we recommend arriving early. Patrons without reservations will be seated as capacity allows.
Reservations can be made 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week on our website by visiting the program’s calendar entry at bklynlibrary.org/bplpresents or by phone at 718.230.2200 (please see our phone reservation policy for hours and additional details). Reservations can be made up to approximately one hour before the scheduled program start time. The maximum number of seats that can be reserved per event is 3.
The Dweck Center is an accessible venue. To request additional information regarding accessibility or accommodations at the event, please contact Vanessa Rosenbaum: VRosenbaum@bklynlibrary.org.
Reservations for adult programs can be made with a BPL representative Monday-Friday from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. For weekend events, reservations must be made by 4 pm on the Friday before the event takes place. Any reservations received after 4pm will not be processed. If leaving a message, please slowly and clearly state your first and last name, your phone number, the name and date of the program you would like to attend, and the number of seats you are requesting (maximum of 3).
Upcoming
Brooklyn Folk Arts & Artists Series presents: Michela Musolino
Presented by Brooklyn Arts Council and Brooklyn Public Library.
Traditional and contemporary Sicilian folk and roots music by American-born-and-raised Michela Musolino. This program will...
Ndaba Mandela on Going to the Mountain
The first-ever book to tell Nelson Mandela's life through the eyes of a child who was raised by him, chronicling Ndaba Mandela's life living with, and learning from, one of the greatest leaders...
Brooklyn Folk Arts & Artists Series presents: Crimean Tatar dance and the traditional music of the Bukharian Jewish diaspora
Join us for this special program with Crimean Tatar dancer Dinara Faizova and the traditional music of the Bukharian Jewish diaspora with Rustam Sammarqandi.
This program will be presented...
Children's Book Event with Nelson Mandela’s Family
Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Nelson Mandela’s grandson and Director of The Mandela Legacy Zondwa Mandela and his children, the co-authors of this book, Zazi (age 8) and...
Brooklyn Folk Arts & Artists Series presents: Suvdaa Khereid
Presented by Brooklyn Arts Council and Brooklyn Public Library.
Suvdaa Khereid performs the traditional Mongolian song known as Urtiin duu, accompanied by Bayarjargal Chogsom on morin...
Brooklyn Folk Arts & Artists Series presents: Zafer Tawil and Fouad Salloum
Presented by Brooklyn Arts Council and Brooklyn Public Library.
Join accomplished Palestinian musician Zafer Tawil, a virtuoso on oud, violin, and qanoun Kunan (Turkish stringed instrument...
Brooklyn Folk Arts & Artists Series presents: Music of the Caribbean
Presented by Brooklyn Arts Council and Brooklyn Public Library.
Acclaimed pianist Frankie MacIntosh, steel pan virtuoso Garvin Blake, and the Steve Massive Rhythm Band, led by Steve Bhola...
Hercules in Red Hook
NOTE: This program has been postponed.
This event will be held at The Flagpole, 450 Columbia Street.
Hercules in Redhook is a free, interactive performance featuring...
Plaza Swing Series: Swingtime Big Band
The Big Band sound is a uniquely American combination of reeds, brass, and rhythm that defined America's popular music for more than three decades. Swingtime Big Band vividly brings this classic...
Plaza Swing Series: StringsNskins
The traditional sound of the djembe along with the classical sound of the violin. The rhythms of Haiti combined with the exotic Afro sounds of Colombia with an urban twist from Brooklyn....
Plaza Swing Series: Orlando Marin, The Last Mambo King
A contemporary of Tito Puente, Machito, Tito Rodriguez, and other mambo-era icons, Orlando Marin, The Last Mambo King, is the only orchestra leader from New York’s golden era of mambo who still...
Plaza Swing Series: Matt Munisteri
Matt Munisteri is a virtuosic and in-demand guitarist with a wide-ranging roster of notable artists across the jazz and American-roots spectrum including Cassandra Wilson, Madeline Peyroux, Loudon...
Plaza Swing Series: Nation Beat
Nation Beat is a NYC-Brazilian collision that parades with an infectious, audacious energy, seamlessly bridging folkloric Brazilian rhythms with classic American roots music in an altogether...
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Contact Us
BPL Presents
Brooklyn Public Library
10 Grand Army Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11238
bplpresents@bklynlibrary.org
718.230.2247
Exhibitions
Currently on view at Central Library:
Past Events
Theater of War: Hercules in Brooklyn, November 2016
Oliver Stone and Ben Wizner, September 2016
Edwidge Danticat and Jacqueline Woodson, April 2016
Alash, January 2016
Slavoj Žižek and Hari Kunzru, November 2016
The Night of the Cookers, February 2016
Viet Thanh Nguyen and Vu Tran, April 2016
Night of Philosophy. January 2017
Salman Rushdie with Joel Whitney, October 2015
John Irving, November 2015
SYBARITE5, February 2016
Yaa Gyasi, June 2016
Brooklyn Public Library gratefully acknowledges the many donors who have provided generous support for BPL Presents programs, including: Los Blancos, Fund for the Humanities, Cheryl and George Haywood Endowment for Cultural Diversity, The Kahn Endowment for Humanities Programs, Dr. J, The Miriam Katowitz and Arthur Radin Fund, Mapleton Endowment, New York State Council on the Arts, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, James O’Toole, Mike and Denise Reiss, the Estate of Pearl S. Reuillard in memory of her parents Yetta and Louis Schwartz, Sandra and Peter Schubert Endowment Fund, The Weissman Family Foundation, Inc., Janet Anderson and numerous individuals.
WNYC is a media partner of the 2017–2018 BPL Presents Season.
