As summer clicks in for a week of sweltering heat, it becomes essential to find cool events for chilling the evening hours. The Lower East Side Business District (LES BID) has organized a monthly art gallery night, with 34 venues staying open until 9 pm for this Thursday’s installment - the last one of the summer.

Images from From Dawn to Dusk at Jen Bekman Projects, left to right: #1975-A, 1977 by Todd Hido; 0356 by Candace Gaudiani; Praia Piquinia 25/08/10 14h50 by Christian Chaize. Copyright the artists, courtesy the gallery.

Many galleries show work by emerging and under-represented artists so you can count on a lively mix. Among them are Sloan Fine Art, 128 Rivington Street, where Plus 1 – a group show of small pieces in which each invited artist was asked to invite another artist of his or her choice – presents work by Sarah Awad, Andrew Baker, Mia Brownell, Elizabeth Carney, Roni Feldman, Eric Finzi, Ashley Folkman, Rebecca Smith Ford, Kady Grant, Martin Grasser, Greg Hopkins, Patrick Hruby, Anthony Iacono, Martin Kruck, Noah Landfield, Julia Marchand, Jiyoung Park, Marion Peck, Martha Rich, Jean-Pierre Roy, KRK Ryden, Heather Sherman, Sally Sloan, Aaron Smith, Gina Triplett & Matt Curtius, Jonathan Viner, Nagisa Wada, Jeremy Wagner, Carly Waito, Seth Weiner and Brad Woodfin.

Lesley Heller Workspace, 54 Orchard Street is showing A Desert in the Ocean: The View From Cill Rialaig, an exhibition of works resulting from a convergence of Irish and American artists and writers in retreat on the remote coast of Co Kerry. Curated by Catherine Howe, in includes work by Katrina Balling, Gemma Billington, Vincent Desiderio, Nicole Etienne, Micah Ganske, Caroline Hinkley, Catherine Howe, Sue Hubbard, Ronnie Hughes, John Jacobsmeyer, Trevor Joyce, Nancy Lorenz, Helen O'Leary, Colete Robbins, Judith Schaechter, Barry Schwabsky, Carol Szymanski.

Dacia Gallery, 53 Stanton Street, presents Wildflower, a solo exhibition of figurative abstract paintings by Jane Hugentober while next door at 53B Stanton, Forsch & Portman have a group show with work by Rafael Grassi, Jessie Henson, Eva Lake, Thomas Lowe, and Garrett Pruter.

At Stephan Stoyanov Gallery, 29 Orchard Street, the group show Places features work by Phil Argent, Lauder Bowden, Amelie Chabannes, Clair Ellen Corey, Patricia Cronin, Eva Davidova, Cliff Evans, Shingo Francis, Caoimhgin O’Frathile, Marzia Gandini, Jaye Rhee, Diana Shpungin, Anne Morgan Spalter, and Jill Weber.

Jen Bekman Projects, 6 Spring Street, presents Dawn Till Dusk, with work by Darren Almond, John Arsenault, Rachel Barrett, Robert Bechtle, John Button, Christian Chaize, Jorge Colombo, Amy Eckert, Candace Gaudiani, Derek Henderson, Todd Hido, Peter Allen Hoffmann, Jeremy Kohm, Michael Light, Michael Lundgren, Sally Mann, Klea McKenna, Sarah Mckenzie, Stas Orlovski, Youngna Park, Ed Ruscha, Bryan Schutmaat, Mike Sinclair, Alec Soth, Esther Pearl Watson, Letha Wilson.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, with the New Museum of Contemporary Art looming large at 235 Bowery, open free of charge from 7-9 pm on Thursdays. And don’t forget to stop in at the LES Visitor Center, 54 Orchard Street, where you can pick up your LES Gallery Guide Map and all kinds of information about what’s going on below Houston Street. Or download the neighborhood guides.