BPL Presents

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BPL Presents is BPL’s curated cultural program, with arts and culture offerings including author talks, live performances, music, film and visual art exhibitions that explore the critical issues of our time in Brooklyn and beyond. 

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Center for Brooklyn History

Brooklyn's culture past and present from the Center for Brooklyn History

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Upcoming

"How to See Like a Machine: Images After AI" with Trevor Paglen

Fri, Jun 5 7:00pm
Library for Arts & Culture

artist talks BPL Presents humanities and art

We once looked at pictures...

Then, with the advent of computer vision and machine learning, pictures started looking at us. Join us at the Library for Arts & Culture for an evening conversation with Gideon Jacobs and Trevor Paglen on his new book, How to See Like a Machine: Images After AI,…

Public Address: A Reading

Mon, Jun 8 6:00pm
Columbus Park

author talks BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

This event is offsite at Columbus Park (across from Brooklyn Borough Hall and near 2/3/4/5 Borough Hall Subway) on Johnson Street 

Join artist Alex Strada, Public Artist in Residence with the New York City Department of Homeless Services and the Department of…

CBH Talk | Confronting Climate Change Part 3: Solutions

Mon, Jun 8 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History climate and the environment

Confronting Climate Change is a three-part series that explores one of the most urgent issues of our times. Join leading thinkers, scientists, journalists, and advocates for these vitally important conversations.

Part Three: Solutions—From Innovation to Action

Part Three of…

CBH Talk | The Battle of Brooklyn Revisited: A Screening & Conversation

Wed, Jun 10 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

America 250 Battle of Brooklyn Exhibition BPL Presents

The Battle of Brooklyn, the largest battle of the American Revolution, unfolded across landscapes many of us pass every day without realizing the history beneath our feet. This screening of The Brave Man, directed by filmmaker Joseph M. McCarthy brings that pivotal moment vividly to life…

CBH Talk | Puerto Rico at a Crossroads

Thu, Jun 11 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

adult learning BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

As Puerto Rico confronts mounting economic pressures, climate vulnerability, migration, and renewed debates over sovereignty and self-determination, questions about the island’s political future have taken on new urgency. In the wake of the most recent election cycle, what paths lie ahead for…

The Public Theater: Shakespeare in the Park Ticket Voucher Give Away

Fri, Jun 12 12:00pm
Macon Library

BPL Presents performance

Free Shakespeare in the Park and Borough Distribution 

Every summer, The Public partners with organizations throughout the five boroughs to host voucher distributions for Free Shakespeare in the Park performances at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park. We are excited to continue the…

Classical Interludes: American Mavericks Project Vl. 1: Quest

Sun, Jun 14 4:00pm
Central Library, Dweck Center

America 250 BPL Presents classical interludes

American Mavericks Project Vl. 1: Quest is pianist Chelsea Randall’s interdisciplinary commissioning project celebrating trailblazing the potent and timely work of Black Arts Movement poets and the legacy of her great uncle, the poet and editor Dudley Randall, through the lens of new…

Architecture League Annual Meeting

Tue, Jun 16 5:30pm
Central Library, Plaza

BPL Presents

The program will begin with a brief report on the past year’s activities at the League by President Nat Oppenheimer and Executive Director Jacob R. Moore. Representatives from the League’s Next Generation programs will highlight the many ways in which the League works to support built…

Drawing Together with musical guest Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet

Tue, Jun 16 6:30pm
Central Library, Plaza

BPL Presents live music

Following the Architecture League annual Meeting, Drawing Together brings people from different walks of life together amid forces driving us apart. Filled with music by the Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet, opportunities for drawing, “Ask-an-Architect” Q&A sessions, and information sharing by…

CBH Talk | Queer Modernism and “The Little Review” - How Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap Reshaped Literature and Each Other

Tue, Jun 16 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

America 250 author talks book discussion

This Pride Month, the Center for Brooklyn History turns to the story of Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap, the visionary editors behind "The Little Review," whose partnership, both personal and professional, helped shape the course of modern literature. 

At a time when both queerness…

CBH Talk | Country of Lords: Kim Phillips-Fein in Conversation with Steven Hahn

Tue, Jun 16 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

America 250 author talks Battle of Brooklyn Exhibition

As the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, debates about equality, democracy, and power remain as urgent as ever. Join Pulitzer Prize finalist and Columbia University historian Kim Phillips-Fein for a discussion of her new book, Country of Lords:…

The Dial's "How We See It: The World Looks at America in the Age of Trump"

Thu, Jun 18 6:00pm
Brooklyn Heights Library, Multipurpose Room

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

Join us for an evening with Ben Smith and Madeleine Schwartz from The Dial, as they discuss How We See It: The World Looks at America in the Age of Trump 

From the celebrated magazine of international writing, twelve sharp global perspectives on a changing United States, with an introduction…

CBH Talk | Black Brooklyn’s Fight for Community Control: From Ocean Hill-Brownsville to "Livonia Chow Mein"

Thu, Jun 18 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

As Black residents of Brooklyn neighborhoods like Brownsville and East New York continue to confront displacement, inequality, and questions of who has the power to shape community life, what can earlier movements for self-determination teach us about the present moment? And how can literature…

The Public Theater: Shakespeare in the Park Ticket Voucher Give Away

Sat, Jun 20 12:00pm
Clinton Hill Library

BPL Presents performance

Free Shakespeare in the Park and Borough Distribution 

Every summer, The Public partners with organizations throughout the five boroughs to host voucher distributions for Free Shakespeare in the Park performances at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park. We are excited to continue the…

DJ Max Glazer

Fri, Jun 26 6:00pm
Central Library, Plaza

BPL Presents live music plaza performances

Max Glazer has represented New York City touring the world DJing parties for superstars like Naomi Campbell, Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Branford Marsalis, and Jay-Z, to name just a few. Separate from the glamorous celebrity parties he was known for, Max was always cultivating his interest…

The Public Theater: Shakespeare in the Park Ticket Voucher Give Away

Sat, Jun 27 12:00pm
Windsor Terrace Library

BPL Presents performance

Free Shakespeare in the Park and Borough Distribution 

Every summer, The Public partners with organizations throughout the five boroughs to host voucher distributions for Free Shakespeare in the Park performances at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park. We are excited to continue the…

CBH Talk | An Unfinished Revolution: Dialogues on Freedom and Democracy with Khalil Gibran Muhammad

Tue, Jun 30 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

adult learning America 250 Battle of Brooklyn Exhibition

Marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, join us to reflect, reckon, and reimagine the ideals at the heart of the American experiment. 

Across three evenings, CBH invites distinguished historians to select short readings as starting points for guided public…

CBH Talk | Building Access: The History and Future of Disability Rights

Thu, Jul 9 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

adult learning BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

The disability rights movement has transformed American life and expanded access, opportunity, and civil rights for millions of people. These hard-won gains are the result of decades of organizing, advocacy, and political struggle. And the fight for equality continues.

As we celebrate July…

Brasil Summerfest with Os Clavelitos

Wed, Jul 15 7:00pm
Central Library, Plaza

BPL Presents live music plaza performances

Os Clavelitos is an "American Samba" band based in New York City, who creates original music combining traditional Brazilian rhythms (samba, baiao, bossa nova, and frevo) with English lyrics. With band members from Brazil, Japan, and the U.S., the six piece ensemble celebrates Brazil's rich…

DJ Max Glazer

Fri, Jul 17 6:00pm
Central Library, Plaza

BPL Presents live music plaza performances

Max Glazer has represented New York City touring the world DJing parties for superstars like Naomi Campbell, Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Branford Marsalis, and Jay-Z, to name just a few. Separate from the glamorous celebrity parties he was known for, Max was always cultivating his interest…

CBH Talk | An Unfinished Revolution: Dialogues on Freedom and Democracy with Elizabeth Hinton

Wed, Jul 22 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

adult learning America 250 Battle of Brooklyn Exhibition

Marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, join us to reflect, reckon, and reimagine the ideals at the heart of the American experiment. 

Across three evenings, CBH invites distinguished historians to select short readings as starting points for guided public…

Swingtime Big Band

Wed, Aug 5 7:00pm
Central Library, Plaza

BPL Presents live music plaza performances

In case of rain, this concert will relocate to the Dweck Center, located on the lower level of Central Library.

Dedicated to the performance of America's greatest popular standards, SWINGTIME BIG BAND is a 20-piece authentic swing band comprised of master interpreters of music from the…

CBH Talk | An Unfinished Revolution: Dialogues on Freedom and Democracy with Kellie Carter Jackson

Wed, Aug 12 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

adult learning America 250 Battle of Brooklyn Exhibition

Marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, join us to reflect, reckon, and reimagine the ideals at the heart of the American experiment. 

Across three evenings, CBH invites distinguished historians to select short readings as starting points for guided public…

Art Spiegelman Discusses In the Shadow of No Towers

Tue, Sep 22 7:00pm
Central Library, Dweck Center

author talks BPL Presents

25 years after 9/11, BPL Presents welcomes the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of Maus, with a series of comix broadsides that captures the events of 9/11 and the calculated hijacking of that event by the Bush government.

With Maus, Spiegelman resurrected the graphic novel for a new…

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