Bronx Calling: The First AIM Biennial
Currently on view at the Bronx Museum is “Bronx Calling: The First AIM Biennial.” The title is a nod to the famous anthem, “London Calling,” by The Clash. It alludes to a distinct sense of place and rebellious attitude toward the status quo. But “Bronx Calling” is not a political show so much as it is an invitation to catch a glimpse of the future through the works of 72 up and coming artists. All the artists participated in “AIM,” the museum’s Artist in the Marketplace program, which marks its 30th year with a new “biennial” format. The program anticipates new artistic directions and celebrates the vitality and promise of new voices. “Bronx Calling: The First AIM Biennial” is on view through September 5th.

Mostly Mozart
This year the Mostly Mozart Festival takes a closer look at an unexpected admirer of its namesake composer, the 20th Century giant Igor Stravinsky. The Mark Morris Dance Group celebrates its nearly 10-year partnership with the festival by contributing the New York premiere of “Renard,” set to Stravinsky’s chamber opera-ballet score. The program also includes two other recent works, the critically claimed “Socrates” set to music by Satie, and the new “Festival Dance” set to Hummel’s Piano Trio in E Major. The Mark Morris Dance Group appears as part of the Mostly Mozart Festival from August 18th to the 20th.

Death Takes a Holiday
In theater, a famous tale comes to Off-Broadway, in a new musical version. “Death Takes a Holiday” is set in an Italian villa just after World War I. The musical follows the title character, Death, who disguises himself as a handsome young prince in order to see what life in the living world is really like. The not-so-grim reaper finds himself out of his depth as he experiences the joys and heartbreaks of life and falls in love with a newly-engaged young woman. “Death Takes a Holiday” is set to run in a limited engagement through September 4th.

Met Opera “Live in HD”
Metropolitan Opera fans don’t have to wait ‘til fall for more of their favorite Met stars and operas, but they may have to battle the crowds to get a seat. The met’s popular summer HD festival returns to the big screen on Lincoln Center Plaza for a third year. The program features 10 consecutive nights of free encores from the “Live in HD” series. It includes performances from Susan Graham and Placido Domingo, Deborah Voight, and Natalie Dessay. Enjoy the epic sweep, passion and grand emotion from August 27 to September 5.

Vienna Music Film Festival… in Brooklyn
For an alternative night of opera and classical music under the stars, you might try a trip to Vienna, via Brooklyn. For the first time, Vienna’s famed Music Film Festival travels to Brooklyn Bridge Park on August 29th. You can see excerpts from films, operas and concerts featuring the best of Austria and its music, and perhaps win a free trip to the music capital of the world.

Soviet Photography in the 1980s
An exhibit in New Brunswick, New Jersey gives a snapshot view of Soviet life in the 1980s, showing a world that existed somewhere between propaganda and perestroika. Now at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, “Cast Me Not Away: Soviet Photography in the 1980s from the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection” presents over 50 works by 18 artists. The photos capture life as it was during the era just before Soviet society opened up to the rest of the world. At a time when political and economic life was stable but stagnant, the new photography focused on the private, the personal and the intimate.

Double Solitaire: The Surreal Worlds of Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy
In life, surrealist painters Yves Tanguy and Kay Sage were inseparable, but in art, the married couple preferred to remain apart, refusing to exhibit together for most of their lives. Now, a unique exhibition of their paintings brings both life and art together. “Double Solitaire: The Surreal Worlds of Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy” at the Katonah Museum of Art in Westchester features approximately 25 paintings by each artist dating from 1937 to 1958. The exhibition demonstrates how the art of Tanguy, one of the original French surrealists, and that of Sage, one of the first American surrealists, developed and changed during their 15 years together. It integrates for the first time and in one space works by both artists, showing how each artist was influenced and inspired by the other’s vision. The exhibition remains on view until September 18th.