Clock in New York Shows Remaining Time for Action Against Climate Change
As part of the climate week celebrations (20-27 September), a pair of artists installed the climate clock, in order to draw attention to the short period of time that the world has to act to reverse the process of climate change. The clock was raised between 19 and 27 September in NY.
Metronome is the monument located in Union Square, in the borough of Manhattan, in New York. Commonly called “Union Square Numbers,” the project was developed by artists Andrew Ginzel and Kirstin Jones, in 1999. This project shows the time in a unique way, in which a display shows the exact time of day, starting with the hour, followed by minutes, seconds and fractions of seconds. Next to the digital clock is the pendulum clock, in tune with the digital.
For the climate week, artists Andrew Boyd and Gan Golan used the concept of the installation to demonstrate exactly how much time the planet has to act against the effects of climate change. The clock showed the lapse in real time: years, months, days, hours and seconds. The clock is synchronized with the one from the Mercator Research Institute Project on Global Commons and Climate Change, in Berlin, where the climate clock was in 2019. Paris will be the next city to receive the clock, in 2021.
In addition to the precise deadline for action against climate change, the clock still showed messages such as, “The Earth Has a Deadline” and “Let’s Make This Our Timeline.”
For more information about the climate clock, access the website: https://climateclock.world.
Metropolitan Opera Announces It Will Remain Closed Until September of 2021
The largest cultural institution in the United States, the Metropolitan Opera in New York has announced the cancellation of the 2020/21 season, with a return already scheduled for September 2021.
In a press release posted on its website on September 23, the opera house announced the decision, saying it was following instructions from health authorities in response to the new corona virus.
“We are sorry to inform you that Metropolitan Opera made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020/21 season, based on the advice of health officials who advise the Met and Lincoln Center,” reads the statement. “We want nothing more than to get back to creating the operatic magic as only the Met can, but the safety of our company and the audience we serve come first.”
The Metropolitan Opera has been closed since March and has furloughed around 1000 employees, including musicians, singers, and stagehands, since the beginning of the pandemic.
For the opening night on September 27, 2021, the house scheduled the premiere of “Fire Shut Up in My Bones”, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. It is the first time that the house features the work of a black composer. The announcement of this and five more operas for the season aims to increase streams of funding by selling and exchanging tickets.
The news of the suspension of the Metropolitan Opera season sets a new standard for venues in New York. In June, the Broadway League, which brings together a series of theaters linked to the famous Broadway shows, announced the cancellation of performances until the spring of 2021.
While the Metropolitan Opera is closed, audiences can access the institution’s website for daily broadcast of operas from the past. These transmissions started in March, when the citywide lockdown commenced, and will be available throughout the Met’s closure.
Live from NY… SNL will return on October 3rd
The famous variety sketch show Saturday Night Live will return live from Studio 8H, located at 30 Rockfeller Center in Midtown Manhattan on October 3rd.
In March, the production of the 45th season had to come to a halt due to the lockdown generated by the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, the cast members had to end the season with pre-recorded sketches via Zoom and broadcast at the time they would normally go on air. The show, which every week features a guest star and a musical guest, had few guests during the period it broadcast remotely. Among the highlights are Tom Hanks, who had recovered from COVID and Brad Pitt, playing Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Disease (NIAID).
For the return of the live show, special guest will be comedian Chris Rock, who had been a cast member in the past. The musical guest for this Saturday will be Megan Thee Stallion.
The program, which has a live audience, must follow the COVID-19 guidelines established by the health authorities with respect to media productions. This category was cleared in New York during reopeinig phase 4, starting on July 20. According to the guidelines, an audience in the studio will be limited to 25% of the capacity and should be composed primarily by employees. The cast must also wear masks until the moment they have been acting in their respective sketches. Stagehands and other employees must wear masks for as long as they remain in the building. Everyone will have their temperatures checked upon entering the premises.
SNL is broadcast live on Saturdays at 11:30 pm (NY time) on NBC.
What Happens in October in NY
58th New York Film Festival (NYFF) – Among the most anticipated attractions by moviegoers in the city, this festival will continue its program, even with considerable modifications. Usually shown at Lincoln Center, this year a large part of the films will be streamed online, available for a limited time for each film. The festival also had 3 drive-ins, one in The Bronx, one in Brooklyn and one in Queens. Among the festival’s highlights are: Spike Lee’s new film, inspired by the Broadway musical created by musician David Byrne, “American Utopia”. “All In: The Fight for Democracy”, a documentary about voter suppression in the country, presented by Stacey Abrams, who ran for governor of the state of Georgia in 2018, and “The Human Voice”, Pedro Almodóvar’s new film . The event will take place between 17th of September through 11th of October.
The New Yorker Festival – The event that brings together personalities from culture, politics, activism, food and entertainment returns this year, adapting to the new reality. Like the NYFF, the festival will feature remote broadcasts and drive-ins. New Yorker magazine subscribers will have discounts for events. This year the highlights will be the conversation with NY District 14 representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren on October 5 as well as the event “Dining In With the New Yorker Festival, which features a dinner curated by The Bronx-based chefs Pierre Thiam and JJ Johnson. The ticket for this event grants you access to the stream with chefs discussing this collaboration. This event will be available for streaming from October 5th through October 11th.
New York Comic Con – This year’s 4-day event will take place completely online. The highlights of the festival are: appearances of the new TV shows “Utopia” (Amazon), and “The Stand” (CBS), based on a book by Stephen King. The festival also features reunions from “Lost” and “Smallville”. Dates: 8 through 11 October.
What It Doesn’t Happen in October in NY
This year the Village Halloween Parade would be the 47th parade. However, the parade organizing committee announced on September 9 the cancellation of the event, as it is a high-risk activity in the face of the corona virus crisis.
This year the theme of the parade would be Big Love! Big Embrace!, which represents the inclusion of all people of NY. The commission does not have any virtual events scheduled to replace the parade.
“As we considered doing “something” online this year as place holder, we felt that idea went against all that the parade stands for: this LIVE interaction between folks,” said Jeanne Fleming, artistic and production director of the event.
Despite the cancellation, the Giant Spider, which normally leads the parade, will be present. Developed by Master Puppeteer Basil Twist, it will appear, as usual, in the Tower of the Jefferson Market library, located on 6th Avenue. The spider will be above street level in order to maintain social distance.
What's Up New York 