Brooklyn Museum First Saturdays February 2025

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Celebrate Black artists with roots from Bed-Stuy to Bayou Country who have shaped art, music, film, and other cultural expressions that define what it means to be American. This First Saturday also celebrates Toward Joy: New Frameworks for American Art, a transformative reinstallation of the American Art galleries. Black feminist and BIPOC perspectives act as through lines in this vast presentation that asks how American art might be experienced at this moment.

This program is free; registration is required and includes Museum general admission. Tickets will be released on a rolling basis starting January 17 for Members and January 21 for the public. Sign up for the Brooklyn Museum newsletter to be notified of the next release.

Theme: Toward Joy

Schedule

Music: Avangelia
Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Lobby, 1st Floor
5–6 pm
Soul singer, songwriter, and producer Avangelia plays a selection of songs from her 2024 album, Angel in the Wind.

Curator Tour: Toward Joy
American Art Galleries, 5th Floor
5–6 pm
Join curator Stephanie Sparling Williams on a tour through the frameworks of Toward Joy, a kaleidoscopic display offering paradigm-shifting interactions with millennia of art.

Hands-On Art: Quilt Making
Education Studios, 1st Floor
5–7 pm
Inspired by the quilts of Gee’s Bend and those in Toward Joy, contribute to a collage quilt, and design and take home your own square.

Brooklyn Pop-Up Market
Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor
5–9:30 pm
Shop one-of-a-kind, handmade items highlighting Black artists and vendors from across Brooklyn, featuring artwork, jewelry, fashion, and home and apothecary goods.

Pop-Up Member Lounge
1st Floor
5–7 pm
Swing by our Pop-Up Member Lounge, exclusively for Brooklyn Museum Members. Whether you want to kick up your feet, take a beat, escape the crowds, or connect with someone new, this space is the perfect pit stop. Don’t miss out—become a Member today!

Conversation: Kith Black History Month Creative Series Roundtable
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
6:15–7 pm
Hear from the members of this year’s Kith Black History Month Creative Series as they share their creative journeys and inspirations, and the meaningful stories behind the five-year anniversary of this program.

Music: Joy Guidry
American Art Galleries, 5th Floor
6:30–7:30 pm
Bassoonist, composer, and performance artist Joy Guidry performs a solo set experimenting with forms of Black American music as an homage to her Southern upbringing.

Music: Resistance Revival Chorus
Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Lobby, 1st Floor
7–8 pm
The Resistance Revival Chorus carries us through the night with choral protest songs.

Music: DJ Mamoudou N’Diaye
Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor
7–10 pm
Mamoudou N’Diaye unites the sounds of multiple diasporas through an inclusive and exclusive selection of mash-ups and tunes.

Teen Talks
Decorative Arts and Design Galleries, 4th Floor
7–8 pm
Join teen Museum Apprentices as they host 10-minute pop-up talks in the Decorative Arts and Design Galleries.

Film: Exhibiting Forgiveness
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
7:30–9:30 pm
Experience American artist Titus Kaphar’s directorial debut, Exhibiting Forgiveness. The semi-autobiographical film stars André Holland as an admired painter who is asked to forgive and reconcile with his estranged father. Stay after the screening for a talkback with the director and Holland. This film is rated R. Viewer discretion is advised.

Book Club: BLK MKT Vintage
American Art Galleries, 5th Floor
8–9 pm
Join Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart, editors of the book BLK MKT Vintage, in conversation with Aya Brown and Shefon Taylor as they talk about their mission to curate vintage objects that celebrate Black stories.

Music: CLASSICNEWWAVE
Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Lobby, 1st Floor
8:30–10 pm
CLASSICNEWWAVE closes out the night with a genre-spanning set fusing old-school grooves with Southern bounce.