It’s 2017 – and if one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to be more organized about your family’s cultural consumption, we’ve got your back. Here is a list of what we think looks interesting this month, from movies and plays, to museum shows and books.
Movies for the Family:
Here’s our story about The Eagle Huntress, which features a heroine we can all follow into 2017, a glimpse of how people live in another corner of the world, and gorgeous cinematography.
And, we love Hidden Figures — the story of three African American women whose math skills helped NASA put John Glen into space.
Theater and Music:
Amelie, A New Musical plays just until January 15 so grab your tickets now. And, while you’re on the site, grab seats for next month’s Fun Home – it’s been a hit on Broadway and is based on a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel.
Toyota Symphonies for Youth: The Planets still has tickets on sale for two shows, January 14 and 21. These are Saturday morning shows, and are designed to help kids understand how the orchestra works and how music is made. This month’s program takes a journey through the solar system in Gustav Holst’s imaginative musical portraits of the planets.
Must Read (or Listen to):
Thomas Friedman’s new tome is called Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide for Thriving in the Age of Acceleration, and is a vital read if you want to understand why our lives feel sped up… rest assured, it’s because they are. More than at any previous point in history, our lives are being transformed and Friedman pinpoints most of the change to 2007, a few years after his seminal The World is Flat. We’re listening to this on Audible, and loving it. Food for conversation, and full of tips for how to slow down in the face of this revolution.
Katie Martin / The Atlantic
Also, the Atlantic published a series of articles about Women and Ambition, which are must reads for everyone contemplating the Work Life Balance. Here they are, written by journalists Hana Schank and Elizabeth Wallace, who went to school together at Northwestern in the 1990s, and had the clever idea to go back and interview their classmates about work, family, and happiness.
Museums:
Sunday, January 29 is the 12th Annual Museums Free-for-All — here is a listing of what is open and here are our picks:
“Picasso and Rivera: Conversations Across Time”
Installation view, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Artworks © 2016 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, DF
Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, © 2016 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Picasso and Rivera: Conversations Across Time (on view at LACMA through May 7) offers a rare chance to compare the trajectory of two genius careers. With rare sculpture displayed alongside the paintings themselves, it’s a chance to sink into the artistic process – and see this painting which rarely travels! Leave your iPhone in your pocket — most of the artwork is not able to be photographed – and sink into this remarkable show. Here’s our story about how to help kids understand the exhibit.
As the inauguration approaches, we think it’s important to talk with your children about diversity – something easily spurred on by a visit to The Annenberg Space for Photography’s show, IDENTITY: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders The List Portraits. Here’s our story about the show.
Get Outside:
January is a great time for hiking, so fill a backpack with some snacks and water and head out. We like Modern Hiker for trail ideas and exploring something new.
