offManhattan

What: Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris exhibition

Where: The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA

When: Wednesday, February 26 through Sunday, April 25

Why: Picasso. Paris. Artsy expats: all combine to create a sweeping museum show. The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibition begins in 1904 with a restless young Pablo Picasso, who at age 23 decided to move to Paris, during its bohemian and cultural heyday. There, he met up with fellow artists like Georges Braque and Juan Gris, and together they formed a lively, avant-garde society known as the School of Paris. They bantered about in smoke-filled cafes with other creative sorts, drinking absinthe and debating life, art, politics, and everything in between.

Jazz feels like New York. There’s no city with greater historical ties to this truly American genre. Chicago, New Orleans, and Kansas City are worthy competitors, but as in most things, you can’t beat New York. Top names in jazz have called New York home, like John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Thelonious Monk, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong. And the list goes on.

This past June was the first time in 37 years that New York City did not host a jazz festival. Thanks to the good people at CareFusion, a global health care company, the Jazz Festival will be brought back to New York from June 17 – 26, 2010.

What: BAMcinématek’s African Diaspora Film Festival

Where: Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)

When: February 19-24th, 2010

Why: For the past seven years, BAMcinématek has partnered with the African Diaspora Film Festival (ADFF) to bring the best moving images to its viewing auditoriums in downtown Brooklyn. (Although BAM launched its own indoor film festival last year—BAMcinemaFest—ADFF hasn’t felt like it got the shaft.) Instead, this marks the eighth year that the annual festival will take a six-day residency at the neighborhood institution devoted to the Diaspora of ideas and identities.

If your goal is to celebrate N’Awlins with all of the jambalaya (and great music, of course) but none of the obnoxious crowds, here’s an off the beaten path option for you to consider.

DIY music venues are now just as significant in the New York indie scene as the more traditional bar venues. Brooklyn’s Fort Useless opened its doors in mid-August. The man behind this operation is Jeremiah McVay, who’s been putting together shows all over the city as part of his StereoActiveNYC.com project for years. Through this website, he covers shows and news on local bands. It’s like BrooklynVegan but more personal, more local, and more underground.

Hailing from the Bayou State, McVay is particularly amped for the Mardi Gras event he’s put together this coming Saturday, February 13. The night will include a stellar line-up of performances by Holy Moly!, Dinosaur Feathers, Ava Luna, and Flying Pace.

Bring your lovah to Dia: Beacon over V-Day weekend for a passionate post-modern performance by the Trisha Brown Dance Company. [Dia]

Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics returns this Saturday with a delicious public dinner in Brooklyn. [FEAST]

Washington-Dulles Airport adds 29 new electric train cars. [Jaunted]

Brooklyn Public Library celebrates Black History Month with concerts this Saturday at the Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture, offering Trinidadian music and jazz with “hints of Django Reinhardt.” Other weekend events include classic films from Africa like The Gods Must be Crazy. [BPL]

If you’re looking for a new indoor activity at home, or you want to jump-start spring, head to the Vox Pop Café in Bushwick on Sunday for a Garden in a Bag Workshop. [VoxPop]

Photo: Courtesy of Jan Slot

Merrill Garbus—the one woman powerhouse behind tUnEyArDs–spent the last month preparing for her sold out Sounds Like Brooklyn show this weekend, a European tour this month, and an upcoming spring tour with experimental band, Xiu Xiu. She’s a human tuner whose vocal fretwork of soulful howls has the spontaneous tenets of imaginative artists like Kaki King, Jamie Lidell, and Animal Collective. The Oakland-based performer discusses how she feels about being the industry’s current D.I.Y star, what she intends to do with her music muscle, and why her voice is the instrument she plays best.

What: Sounds Like Brooklyn Music Festival

Where: BAM, BAMcafé, and 13 other Brooklyn venues

When: Jan 29, 30; Feb 4-6

Cost: Varies, Free for some locations.

Why: Over the next two weekends, the musically devoted can sample from a wish list of 60+ bands who are waiting for you to be part of their cult following.

While some of New York’s best graffiti spots may be hidden or inaccessible, aficionados can still find a variety of artwork, including throw-ups, murals, stencils and wheatpastes, just a short subway ride from Union Square.

Queens is king tonight at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center as 43 arts organizations and 17 indie artists are honored with nearly a quarter of a million dollars by the Queens Community Arts Fund (QCAF). The QCAF is an award presented by Queens Council on the Arts from a handful of benefactors—New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ Greater New York Arts Development Fund, the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, and the JP Morgan Chase Arts Foundation Regrants Program—whose generosity ensures that this borough’s creative voice is heard.