Last Friday this eerie head materialized above the Shibuya district as part of the 2021 Tokyo Tokyo Festival organized in advance of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Titled “Masayume,” which translates to “prophetic dream,” the hot air balloon piece was launched from a park in the busy financial and shopping district in the western section of the city. Above: "Masayume" by the artist collective [mé] (2019-21), Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13 (photo by TSUSHIMA Takahiro, courtesy of [mé])

As part of the festival, 500 public bathhouses scattered throughout the city are also participating in the pre-games festival. In this Sento art project, according to the organizers, people can enjoy the paintings depicting Tokyo today drawn by artists of various genres, including the manga artist Mari Yamazaki, at public bathhouses in Tokyo. The following text from the official website describes the meaning of the Sento experience.

“Sento" in Tokyo would like to welcome people from around the world to enjoy "Sento"
by connecting people with art. Manga, outsider art (Art Brut), contemporary art, popular characters, and various artists that represent these genres will create artistic bathhouses.

Take off our clothes, get together in the baths, and feel the freedom you can only feel at the "Sento" When we are naked, we are all equal, all human. Nationality, status, the color of our skin doesn't matter here. So, let’s enjoy the baths and have a cold glass of milk to wrap up this relaxing time! With the coolest art and the warmest people, we can’t help but be excited for this! 

The games are set to open this Friday despite public opposition largely centered on the possible spread of COVID-19 during the games. Above: Cloud Pavilion, photo courtesy of Sou Fujimoto

Adam Milner | Public Sculptures, continuing through August 15 in various NYC Locations

Where does art belong? According to Adam Milner, whose current exhibition Public Sculptures is premised on spontaneous encounters with art — not in a museum or gallery, but in the spaces we least expect: those we frequent as part of our daily lives, reports Valentina di Liscia in Hyperallergic. Above: "Lime Green Apple Museum Display" (2021), at Two Ways Supermarket in Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of the artist and Black Cube

Curated by Cortney Lane Stell for Black Cube, the Denver-based, self-styled “nomadic museum,” this multi-site show features 13 sculptures by Milner displayed in unconventional locations throughout New York City. The artist’s vibrantly colored, variously textured assemblages are staged in places both unusual and mundane, from a tree stump at Green-Wood Cemetery to the shelves of a Brooklyn bodega.

Public Sculptures was born out of Milner’sdesire to breathe new life into works made during the pandemic by taking them out of his home studio. “Part of it, for me,” says Milner,  “is to let the sculptures have a different setting for a while […] to let them sit next to different things than they would normally sit next to in a gallery or a museum and let them absorb that.

“The works can be really quiet and unassuming, and they intersect with all these different audiences. I liked this idea of dispersing them, and making a solo show that didn’t feel too grand.”

Public Sculptures is on view in selected sites across Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan through August 15.

Thursday, July 22, 6-7:30 pm

Need a break from the harsh sounds of the city? Consider stopping by the free classical music concert coming to the East River Esplanade tomorrow for a concert by the Kristina Gitterman Quartet. The event takes place at the Alice Aycock Pavilion: the red structure at East 60th Street. Organized by Friends of the East River Esplanade, the show is open to all comers, weather permitting. Above: Brendan Krisel/Patch

Gitterman, a violinist, said the performance was co-sponsored by the Music Performance Trust Fund and by her husband, Tom Gitterman of Gitterman Gallery. The sponsorship is meant to encourage musicians to perform free concerts for the public in exchange for payment and healthcare contributions.

The Kristina Gitterman Quartet, 6-7:30pm at the Alice Aycock Pavilion, 60^th Street at the East River Waterfront Esplenade, NY, NY Info

Thursday, July 22-Saturday, July 24, noon-6 pm | Virtual symposium

Craft Ways 2021: Tending to Craft takes the format of a research experiment with one key question: What work can we do together that we cannot do alone? Research can take many forms: writing, working in archives, dialogue, making, and examining things that have been made. 

Over three days of listening, making, and discussing in virtual sessions, participants will share research tools, works-in-progress, and think critically with one another: How can we learn from — and with — each other? 

Programs include presentations, workshops, and panels, as well as open sessions led by Tiffany Momon, Andres Payan Estrada, and Julie Hollenbach, among others. 

Craft Ways 2021: Tending to Craft is organized by The Center for Craft at Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC. To learn more, visit centerforcraft.org/craft-ways-2021. View the schedule and purchase tickets here. Specially priced tickets are available to under-waged workers. 

Thursday, July 22-Sunday, July 25

The Other Art Fair Brooklyn

Slowly but surely, art fairs are starting to reemerge. This year’s edition of the Other Art Fair, a roving annual event presented by Saatchi Art, which focuses on showcasing affordable works by emerging and independent artists, offers a chance to dip your toes back into collecting (or just browsing) in person.

Highlights include the New Futures program (a special presentation of work by emerging artists, selected by a jury to receive free exhibition space and mentorship opportunities), and an abstraction-focused pop-up from ArTech Collective, a Bronx-based community arts center. 

In addition to showcasing 130 emerging artists, The Other Art Fair Brooklyn presents a lively and inspiring program of features highlighting the richly diverse talents of the New York creative community. Info

The Other Art Fair Brooklyn, Brooklyn Expo Center (72 Noble Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY Info

Saturday and Sunday, July 24-25 starting at noon

LES Book Fair presents new publications by 10x10 PHOTOBOOKS; THE GOULD COLLECTION; GNOMIC BOOK; +KGPL NOUR EDITIONS; MONOLITH EDITIONS; ORANBEG PRESS; ROMAN NUMERALSSPOTZ. T

The fair will feature publishers (based locally and internationally) and will include book signings, a reading room, lectures and discussions over the course of the weekend. There will also be exhibition quality frames and books from Foley Gallery available. 

The schedule for Saturday includes:
2pm: Temple of the Self by Artist Lauren Noelle Oliver | Monolith Editions
3pm: Kavana by Hannah Altman | +KGP
4pm: Big Throat by Nat Ward | +KGP
5pm: Black, Like Paul by Alex Christopher Williams | Monolith Editions
6pm: Improvising Sight Lines by Giancarlo Montes Santangelo | Monolith Editions
LES Bookfair 2021, Foley Gallery, 59 Orchard Street, NY, NY Info