(Morgan Lehman Gallery, 317 10th Ave, New York, NY 10001) Acutely aware of being different in a world of New York society, Smith struggled for years with her identity as a lesbian and an artist. As she came to terms with her sexual orientation, Smith found herself searching for positive role models within the gay community. While portraiture has been used for centuries to memorialize the family lineage, these visual depictions have focused almost entirely on the heterosexual family unit. Smith conceived of a project that would not only provide the role models she so craved, but would also contribute to the current cultural debate around homosexual unions by finding monogamous and stable exemplars. Event Website

(Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023) The 47th Annual New York Film Festival returns to the fully renovated Alice Tully Hall. The Film Society of Lincoln Center was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, to recognize and support new filmmakers, and to enhance awareness, accessibility and understanding of the art among a broad and diverse film going audience. Event Website

(Riverside Park South, 72nd St & the Hudson River) (10am - 5pm) Join the Downtown Boathouse for 20-minute instructional paddles, and explore the Hudson River firsthand. Weather permitting. Kayaking will be available Saturdays & Sundays, May 16 – October 11. No registration required. (FREE) (212.408.0219) Event Website

(Midtown Manhattan,) (All Day Every Day) LOVE MUSICALS? Don't Miss the New York Musical Theatre Festival! The New York Musical Theatre Festival is three weeks jam-packed with over 30 new musicals, dozens of concerts and special events! Mix in more than 1,000 artists who will blow you away, and your autumn will never be the same! We've got something for everyone - from traditional musical comedies to hip hop to edgy rock dramas and more! Hailed by Time Out as the "Sundance for musical theater" (Only $20 Per Ticket) [email protected] Event Website

(Leslie/Lohman Gallery, 26 Wooster St, New York, NY 10013) Talk to just about anyone in the queer community in San Francisco, and they know Rink, at least by reputation. Go to any queer demonstration, street fair, bar event, film screening or protest march, be it early in the morning or late at night, and Rink's there, his face hidden behind a camera, crouched down to get the best shot. Rink is a photo-journalist, but as with other photojournalists like Frank Capra, Dorothy Miller and the great Henri Cartier Bresson, the prosaic term “journalism” doesn't do full justice to the work. In this exhibition of but a tiny percentage of Rink's nearly half a million images, you can assess his photographic eye for yourself. Like Cartier Bresson, Rink seems to have a gift for being there at the right moment, not only to catch the action, but also to catch the image that is rich enough, dense enough, strange enough, to tell, like all great photos, a complex story without words. Event Website

(Tony Shafrazi Gallery, 544 West 26th St, New York, NY 10001) DENNIS HOPPER: SIGNS OF THE TIMES will include a vast selection of the artist's iconic 1960s photographs, twelve enormous and never-seen-before "billboard paintings," and select video excerpts from Hopper's extensive body of work as an actor and director in film and television. A legendary icon at the epicenter of many decades of exciting innovation and cultural upheaval, Hopper documented the likes of Ike and Tina Turner, Phil Spector, Neil Young, Crosby Stills and Nash, Paul Newman, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and Martin Luther King and the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery- Alabama. Event Website

(Spoon Theater, 38 West 38th Street, 5th Fl., New York, NY 10036) (See website for schedule) NICU’S SPOON is pleased to announce the world premiere production of their first musical, Mark Abrahams’ 23 COINS, directed by Stephanie Barton-Farcas and Michelle Kuchuk. Ginny Walker is not like other girls. Hiding out in the badlands of southern Louisiana, this genius girl-prodigy and her fugitive mother, Sarah, live precariously. But the law is not the only threat. Both of them dangle beneath a giant question mark—a fatal genetic legacy that may (or may not) strike. ($18) Event Website

(Various Locations) An artist-led initiative presenting art and performance that stretches the possibilities of the public realm. Event Website

(Manhattan Theatre Source, 177 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10011) (3pm) An annual celebration of female voices, is one of New York City’s largest women’s arts festivals. It has grown into a five-week event including short plays, solo shows, music, visual art, dance, teen performances and support for African girls’ education. Event Website

(The Putting Lot, 12 Wyckoff Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237) (Wed-Fri, 12 - 8pm; Sat & Sun 10 - 8pm) You're invited to play nine holes of miniature golf in a previously vacant lot in Bushwick, Brooklyn, each designed by a different team of artists or architects. Enjoy local Brooklyn-based bites at the snack-shack, participate in a variety of activities and events, or just stop by and hang out in the shade. The Putting Lot explores the possibilities of vacant lots in the city with an emphasis on community spaces. ($5/$3 children) Event Website

(542 West 27th St) Pushing the boundaries of goulish delight. ($25+) Event Website

(Bronx Academy of Arts, 841 Baretto St, 2nd Fl, Bronx, NY 10474) (See website for performance schedule) The Bronx Academy of Art & Dance presents its annual BlakTino Performance Series, a festival celebrating works by Black, Latino and Blatino artists. Event Website

(Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036) The revival of the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical premiered last summer at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Event Website

(Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave at 75th St, New York, NY 10021) Holzer’s pioneering approach to language as a carrier of content, and her use of nontraditional media and public settings as vehicles for that content, make her one of the most interesting and significant artists working today. Event Website

(Henry Miller Theatre, 124 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036, 212-239-6200) (8PM) Get ready to PUT ON A HAPPY FACE! Birdie returns in an all new production of the classic Tony Award®-winning musical smash BYE BYE BIRDIE. The exuberant rock 'n' roll smash hit gets hips swinging again for the first time in almost 50 years. Previews Sept 10th opens Oct. 15th ($91.50 +) Event Website

(Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128) (See website schedule) Kandinsky is a central figure in the history of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. His works not only represent a part of the core and essence of the collection, but also helped to inspire the creation of the building. In 1929, Solomon R. Guggenheim began collecting Kandinsky’s canvases under the advisement of artist Hilla Rebay. ($18) Event Website

(Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave at 75th St, New York, NY 10021) (See website schedule) Although Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) has long been celebrated as a central figure in twentieth-century art, the abstract works she created throughout her career have remained overlooked by critics and the public in favor of her representational subjects. The exhibition includes more than 130 paintings, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures by O'Keeffe as well as selected examples of Alfred Stieglitz’s famous photographic portrait series of O’Keeffe. ($18) Event Website

(Tyler Rollins Fine Art, 529 West 20th St, New York, NY 10011) Considered to be one of Singapore’s preeminent contemporary artists, Ong has been noted for his large scale, figurative charcoal works on paper since his first solo exhibitions in the 1980s. During the past year, he became fascinated with the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic that recounts the exploits of Rama and his dutiful wife, Sita. Ong has brought his own unique viewpoint to this classic story. Inspired by the Ramayana’s characters and its dramatic themes of love, combat, and heroic adventure, he has created new narratives that are informed by his sensitivity as a gay man to the way gender roles play out in contemporary relationships. Event Website

(Madame Tussauds, 234 West 42nd St btwn 7 & 8th Aves, Times Square, New York, NY 10036) Madame Tussauds is offering a history lesson alongside its wax figurines this month: Beginning on Martin Luther King Day, visitors can participate in a special scavenger hunt, with clues based on African-American icons (like Malcolm X and Rose Parks) whose likenesses are in the wax museum. The clues can be downloaded from the website. ($22.40 - $35) (212-512-9600) Event Website

(Museum of Arts & Design, 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019) Slash: Paper Under the Knife takes the pulse of the international art world's renewed interest in paper as a creative medium and source of artistic inspiration, examining the remarkably diverse use of paper in a range of art forms. Slash is the third exhibition in MAD's Materials and Process series, which examines the renaissance of traditional handcraft materials and techniques in contemporary art and design. The exhibition surveys unusual paper treatments, including works that are burned, torn, cut by lasers, and shredded. A section of the exhibition will focus on artists who modify books to transform them into sculpture, while another will highlight the use of cut paper for film and video animations. Selected artists will be commissioned to create site-specific or site-referential works, and others will be invited to create work onsite in MAD's three artist studios that will subsequently be installed in the exhibition. ($15/Thur 6-9pm by donation) Event Website

(LGBT Community Center, 208 West 13th St, New York, NY 10011) The world's oldest and largest not-profit agency dedicated to serving LGBT senior citizens. Activities include Daytime Discussion, Art Studio, 75+, Support Group, Scrabble & Bridge and Women's and Men's activities. Event Website

(CBST, 296 9th Ave, at 28th St, New York, NY 10001) (7pm) Event Website

(LGBT Community Center, 208 West 13th St, New York, NY 10011) (7:30 - 10pm) Educational, recreational, and social opportunities within the framework of Modern Western square dancing for the gay and lesbian community. Event Website

(Rififi, 332 E. 11th St, Between 1st and 2nd Ave., New York, NY 10003) (11pm) The Only Free, Gay AND Lesbian Friday night dance party in NYC. The night at Rififi features hot Go-Gos, the best DJs, crazy drink specials and NO cover charge. (Free)

(Natural Gourmet Institute, 48 W. 21st St, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10011) (6:30pm) Friday Night Dinner at The Natural Gourmet has become a culinary magnet for savvy New Yorkers and visitors alike. Savor a delicious and unique experience when Chef Instructors and students of our Chef’s Training Program pour their expertise and enthusiasm into a three-course vegetarian dinner that is both innovative and beautifully presented. ($40) Event Website

(Natural Gourmet Institute, 48 W. 21st St, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10011) (6:30pm) Friday Night Dinner at The Natural Gourmet has become a culinary magnet for savvy New Yorkers and visitors alike. Savor a delicious and unique experience when Chef Instructors and students of our Chef’s Training Program pour their expertise and enthusiasm into a three-course vegetarian dinner that is both innovative and beautifully presented. ($40) Event Website