October At The Sheen Center To Include Theater, Film, Author's Nights And Talk Events

This October, The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street at the corner of Elizabeth Street in NYC), the arts center of the Archdiocese of New York, offers a dynamic line-up of theater, talk, author's night and gallery exhibition events. Featured artists and thought leaders include Kathryn Jean Lopez, editor-at-large of National Review; Peter Wehner, Senior Advisor to the George W. Bush administration, contributor to The New York Times Opinion section and author of The Death of Politics; Michael R. Wear, member of President Obama's faith-based initiatives outreach team and author of Reclaiming Hope; Kristen Hanson, Community Relations Advocate at the Patients Rights Action Fund; Tim Carney, editor of the Washington Examiner and author of Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse; and more. Events will explore topics ranging from faith, virtue in America, politics, the 400th anniversary of American slavery, and meditative paintings for the devotion of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Launch of a new Talk Series:

The Sheen Center and the National Review Institute present

VIRTUE IN AMERICA: HOPE

Monday, October 7 at 7PM in the Black Box Theater

Virtue? What is it and why does it still matter? Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review hosts this new talk series. She explores the Christian understanding of virtue and the critical role it plays preserving civilization and elevating culture today - more than ever. First up: the virtue of hope. Lopez will be joined by Peter Wehner, Senior Advisor to the George W. Bush administration, contributor to The New York Times Opinion section and author of The Death of Politics; Michael R. Wear, member of President Obama's faith-based initiatives outreach team and author of Reclaiming Hope; and Kristen Hanson, Community Relations Advocate at the Patients Rights Action Fund. $27

Author's Night:

The Sheen Center and the National Review Institute present

ALIENATED AMERICA BY TIM CARNEY

Friday, October 11 at 7PM in The Studio Theater

Author Tim Carney on his book: Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump proclaimed, "The American Dream is dead," a message that resonated across the country. Washington Examiner editor Timothy Carney traveled around Middle America and had a startling revelation: life seems to be getting worse because citizens are facing their problems alone. Join National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez and Carney as they discuss his book, which explains why failing social connections - as evidenced by declining numbers in marriage, voting, church attendance, and volunteer work - are responsible for the great divide in America. Carney will present a framework for leading us out of the wilderness. It will change the way you look at the challenges facing modern America. $15

Talk:

THE 2019 ALBACETE LECTURE ON FAITH AND CULTURE

Monday, October 14 at 7PM

The topic of this year's Albacete Lecture is "Obeying Our Own Creations: God and Disenchantment in Amazon's World," which will focus on idolatry and secularization and will be given by William T. Cavanaugh, Professor of Catholic Studies and Director of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University. A century ago, Max Weber declared that the modern Western world was disenchanted: gods and spirits were pushed aside by rationalizing forces, especially science and capitalism. But Weber also worried about a new type of enchantment, that people had become subjected to forces of our own making that were increasingly out of our control. This lecture explores disenchantment and enchantment in a world dominated by Amazon.com, the epitome of rationalization and the purveyor of magical commodities.

Theater:

The Sheen Center and The American Slavery Project present

UNHEARD VOICES: A THEATRICAL EVENT MARKING THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF SLAVERY IN AMERICA

October 15 & 16 at 7PM in the Black Box Theater

From the creators of last season's sold out Haunted Files, The American Slavery Project's Unheard Voices is a monologue play with traditional West African singing and drumming based on individual burials at the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan. Conceived by Judy Tate, 17 playwrights were commissioned to study 17th and 18th century New York and the burial ground with 419 graves of anonymous men, women, and children who lived in and around the city in those days. There are no extant records of the free and enslaved men, women and children buried there. With Unheard Voices, writers have imagined the lives of some of the 30,000 African-descended people and given them voice. Following performances, Judy Tate will moderate talkback discussions with audience members and the company. Supplemental educational materials are available for classroom use through American Slavery Project. Selected pieces from the Gene Alexander Peters Collection of Rare and Historical African American Artifacts will be on display in the theater lobby, including documents of sale, runaway ads, shackles, and other physical artifacts from the era. $32

(The Sheen Center will also host two performances of Unheard Voices for high schools at 11AM on October 15 and 16. If you are interested in bringing a school group to one of these performances, please email boxoffice@sheencenter.org or call 212-925-2812 between 9AM and 5PM, weekdays.)

Film:

MASTERPIECES: SCREENING OF NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT EMERGING CATHOLIC ARTISTS

Friday, October 18 at 7PM in the Studio Theater

Kicking off a two-part celebration inspired by the 20th anniversary of St. John Paul II's "Letter to Artists," The Sheen Center presents a screening and discussion of the new documentary, Masterpieces, which profiles emerging Catholic artists - including several Sheen Center alums - followed by a conversation with the filmmaker, Cristian Murphy and the featured artists. $15

Gallery Exhibition:

MARK BRENNAN: SPACE IN A BOX

October 17 - November 15 in The Gallery at the Sheen Center

Opening Reception: October 17 at 6PM

Mark Brennan is a member of the Openings Collective and describes his exhibition this way: "As I'm dedicating the show to my uncle who was a Servite Father and wrote about Mary, my premise is that images of her changed in the 14th century: until that time, she had traditionally been portrayed wearing gold with green and red, the colors associated with earthly royalty in Europe at the time. Beginning in the late 1300s, she begins wearing blue, a more celestial color, and that in our post-Darwinian world, images of the blue sea (the source of life on earth) and the blue stars (the source of earth itself) can provide an entry point for those wishing to meditate on Mary as a mother figure." Exhibitions in the Gallery at The Sheen Center (in the Elizabeth Street lobby) are free and open to the public from 9AM to 10:00PM daily.

Tickets/reservations for all events at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street, at the corner of Elizabeth Street) are available online at SheenCenter.org, by phone at 212-925-2812, in-person at The Sheen Center box office, or OvationTix.com.

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