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 screenings; and art exhibitions. Events are free or ticketed and are taking place at Central Library's Dr. S. Stevan Dweck Cultural Center, unless noted otherwise.
All BPL Presents programs at the Dr. S. Stevan Dweck Cultural Center at 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 fifteen 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 Margie Cook: MCook@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
Green Series: Emily Raboteau on "Lessons in Survival"
For the January Green Series, author Emily Raboteau discusses her recent piece in The New York Review of Books on surviving climate change catastrophes. Discussing two recent books on sea...
A Night of Philosophy and Ideas: To Live/Être Vivant
AN ALL-NIGHT MARATHON of philosophical debate, performances, screenings, readings, and music.
Join us and be a part of this FREE 12-HOUR EXCHANGE OF IDEAS, featuring top philosophers and...
Classical Interludes: Ayane Kozasa, Melissa Reardon, Raman Ramakrishnan, and Paul Wiancko
Ayane Kozasa and Melissa Reardon, violas and Raman Ramakrishnan and Paul Wiancko, cellos, perform works by Wiancko, Judd Greenstein, and others.
Hailed for her “magnetic, wide-ranging tone...
The Review Panel
Leading art critics join moderator David Cohen in lively debate about current exhibitions around the five boroughs.
Presented in association with Artcritical.
Classical Interludes: Echoes of Rhythm: A Tribute to Randy Weston
Min Xiao-Fen - pipa, ruan, sanxian, voice
Maalam Hassan Benjaafar - guembri, qarqaba, voice
Alex Blake - bass, voice
The late NEA Jazz Master, pianist and composer Randy Weston...
Green Series: Artist Talk with Mary Mattingly
Green Series: Artist Talk with Mary Mattingly
Ecology: The Original Commons
Ecology is the original commons, the basis and ultimate standard of relational and thoroughly...
Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Anand Giridharadas in conversation with Elmira Bayrasli
In a live recording of Project Syndicate’s Opinion Has It podcast, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, NYT best-selling author Anand Giridharadas, and host and Foreign Policy Interrupted co-founder...
Classical Interludes: Carnegie Hall Citywide: David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg, Breath + Hammer
Influences of world music, jazz, classical, experimental techniques, and electronics blend together in this unique collaboration. Krakauer’s use of extended techniques, improvisation, and circular...
The Review Panel
Leading art critics join moderator David Cohen in lively debate about current exhibitions around the five boroughs.
Presented in association with Artcritical.
Green Series: Make Seed Sculptures with Mary Mattingly
Join artist Mary Mattingly for this Green Series for kids 8 years +. Participants will make their own seed sculptures with seeds from plants that aid in water purification while learning about...
Classical Interludes: Cassatt String Quartet with guest Peter Weitzner, double bass
The Cassatt String Quartet was the first quartet chosen for Juilliard’s Young Artists Quartet Program. Since then, they have performed at New York’s Alice Tully Hall, and Weill Recital Hall at...
Classical Interludes: Sybarite 5
Equal parts passion, grit, and musical ecstasy, Sybarite5 is an intoxicating cocktail of post-genre musical goodness expressed through the virtuosity of Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins;...
The Review Panel
Leading art critics join moderator David Cohen in lively debate about current exhibitions around the five boroughs.
Presented in association with Artcritical.
Orchestra of St. Luke’s presents Music in Color
Orchestra of St. Luke’s performs as part of its annual five-borough community concert tour, with free concerts designed to be as entertaining as they are educational. Since 2016, the tour has...
Green Series: Aronoff, Battistoni, Cohen, and Riofrancos on A Planet To Win
This event is co-presented with Verso Books.
In the twenty-first century, all politics are climate politics. The age of climate gradualism is over, as unprecedented disasters are...
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Events for Youth and Families
Looking for BPL’s signature events for families, including author signings, theatrical performances and workshops? Explore our top picks for family events.
Contact Us
BPL Presents
Brooklyn Public Library
10 Grand Army Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11238
bplpresents@bklynlibrary.org
718.230.2200
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: Cheryl and George Haywood Endowment for Cultural Diversity, The Kahn Endowment for Humanities Programs, Dr. Beverly S. Jacobs, Janet Anderson, Todd Ferguson, The Miriam Katowitz and Arthur Radin Fund, Los Blancos, Mapleton Endowment, New York State Council on the Arts, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Sandra and Peter Schubert Endowment Fund, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, The Weissman Family Foundation, Inc., Cultural Services of the French Embassy, City Point, The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Estate of Pearl S. Reuillard in memory of her parents Yetta and Louis Schwartz and many other generous supporters.
Programs are also supported by Brooklyn Public Library’s Fund for the Humanities which was established through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Hearst Foundation, Inc., Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Starr Foundation, the Leon and Muriel Gilbert Charitable Trust, Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Inc. and a gift in memory of Samuel and Pauline Wine.
WNYC is a media partner of the 2020 BPL Presents Season.
