As Lockdown is gradually being lifted, live cultural opportunities are creeping back into the social fabric. But at a a price: Most are by appointment, which makes for an unruly calendar. As online presentations have become the new now, there continue to be exceptional offerings afoot.

This just in from Denny Dimin Gallery, NYC, which represents Dana Sherwood and Mark Dion. From the email: Join deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum for a special studio tour and conversation with acclaimed artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood for deCorcova’s annual Paul J. Cronin Memorial Lecture, tonight at 6:30 pm. Register Photo above from installation last summer at Storm King Art Center courtesy of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

Their outdoor installation Conservatory for Confectionery Curiosities is currently on view at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Recalling a nineteenth-century horticultural hot-house, the octagonal windowed structure houses a display of what appears to be jellied desserts covered in insects partaking in the sugary sweets. Conservatory for Confectionery Curiosities emphasizes how humans construct heightened, artificial versions of nature, particularly in cultivated gardens and sculpture parks.

Dion and Sherwood often collaborate on projects that explore how dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world. Their work exposes the human desire to tame nature and impose traits and categories on animals, plants and natural phenomena. For this live event, they will share insights into their collaborative process and offer a view into their studio practice from Copake, New York, where they live and work.

The deCorcdova Sculpture Park and Museum has reopened, with a new permanent installation by Andy Goldsworthy. Timed entry passes are available here. Explore streamed talks and tours, here. Register for lecture with Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood here. Dimin Gallery, NYC, which represents Dana Sherwood and Mark Dion. From the email: Join deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, 51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln, MA Info

The New York Times reports that the Metropolitan Museum of Art has officially set its reopening date for August 29—more than a month after other museums are expected to open their doors. The Met Cloisters in Washington Heights is expected to open shortly after the main museum, but no formal date has been set. The Met Breuer will not be reopening at all: There were already plans in place for the Met to hand over the space — which belongs to the Whitney Museum of American Art — to the Frick Collection in July. The Met’s final show there was “Gerhard Richter: Painting After All,” which was up for only about nine days in March. Photo below © Peggy Roalf

While many theaters, dance companies and orchestras have resigned themselves to a 2021 reopening, the report continues, museums tend to be more comfortable opening sooner because it is easier to socially distance with timed ticketing and security guards monitoring the spread of visitors — compared with tightly packed Broadway theaters and concert halls.

The Met will reopen with “Making The Met, 1870-2020,” an exhibition celebrating its 150th anniversary, and “Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle,” featuring the modernist painter’s work.

This just in from DART subscriber,  Linda Troeller, who will be represented by Laurence Miller Gallery at the first virtual Photo LA Art Fair, online June 27-28th. The announcement from Photo LA  reads, in part: We've reimagined the traditional fair space to digitally connect galleries and private dealers, collectors, photographers and enthusiasts from around the globe.

No longer confined to four walls, our virtual photo fair will play host to over forty exhibitors via interactive, 3D booths accessed via the Whova app and on the photo l.a. website. We've reimagined the traditional fair space to digitally connect galleries and private dealers, collectors, photographers and enthusiasts from around the globe. Here's how it works:

• Sign up for a $20 all-inclusive Weekend Pass on EventBrite

• On your phone download the Whova app in your device's app store, and register your account. Register

The New School for Social Research will present a virtual discussion on Black Rebellion and Abolition on Monday 6/29 from ppm tp 1:00, EDT. The email reads: What does it mean to defund the police, and what connection does this demand have to abolitionism? How can we contribute to the growth of this multiracial but Black and Brown-led rebellion? What do solidarity and collective responsibility mean in this context?

Join the discussion with Cinzia Arruzza, Associate Professor of Philosophy; Justin Charles, #DefundNYPD campaign, Parsons alumnus, and part-time faculty; and Miriam Ticktin, Associate Professor of Anthropology.

Learn more and register on the calendar below or here.

The Art Newspaper reports that Andy Goldsworthy’s towering Spire sculpture in San Francisco’s Presidio national park was severely damaged in a suspected arson yesterday morning. The 100ft-tall work, built from the trunks of 37 Monterey cypress trees and installed in 2008, is structurally sound according to Haines Gallery, which represents the artist, but forestry crews will determine if the piece can remain in place.

"The burning of Spire goes too deep for my own words,” Goldsworthy says in a statement released by Haines Gallery. “Besides, Spire has always spoken for itself and will perhaps now speak with an even greater eloquence after what has happened. If anything, its epitaph will be better written in the memories, thoughts and words of those who have lived with it over the past twelve years.”Spire was created using trees cut down as part of a major reforestation effort, and the was meant to be engulfed by the new saplings planted around it. Goldsworthy later created 3 more works for the park, making the Presidio the largest public collection of his art in North America. Photo above © Andy Goldsworthy

Among the galleries who have created virtual studio visits and tours, David Zwirner was among the first to make works by their artists universally accessible online — no appointments required. Their most recent offering is Raymond Pettibon, featuring never-before-seen documentary footage of the artist at work on his Surfing series. Pettibon has returned again and again to the subject of surfers being swallowed by colossal waves, a motif he exploits for all its sublimity and allegorical resonance….[his] eternal return to his wave works across media is a practice that helps him to reach a “flow state” in the studio, without having to leave it. Studio: Raymond Pettibon

While MoMA and its retail operations remain closed, you can still shop online; among the offerings at MoMA Design Store are skateboards by Ramond Pettigon, here