Claudia Gould, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director of the Jewish Museum, announced today that the Museum’s highly anticipated annual gala will be a festive masked ball at Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan on Wednesday evening, February 25, 2015. The evening of celebration and dancing will honor artist/photographer/filmmaker Laurie Simmons for her outstanding artistic achievements and in anticipation of her upcoming exhibition at the Museum, and Eugene and Emily Grant will be receiving the Mayer Sulzberger Award for their lifelong commitment to art, culture and education in the context of the Jewish experience.

The Paper Bag Players, celebrating their 56th year of bringing original, contemporary musical theater to kids, return to the Jewish Museum on Sunday, March 15 with Hot Feet, a theater performance at 2pm, and Become a Paper Bag Player, a special behind-the-scenes workshop at 10:30am.

The kids’ indie rock duo The Pop Ups will perform a concert for families at the Jewish Museum on Sunday, March 8 at 11:30am. Not content to stand still onstage playing their guitars, The Pop Ups perform using cardboard props, hand-painted sets, and a colorful cast of original puppets, crafting a world of magic that engages, educates and delights all ages. The concert will feature songs from Appetite for Construction, nominated for the 2015 Grammy for Best Children’s Album.

The Jewish Museum's expanded slate of lectures, discussions, and events continues in February 2015 with a conversation about beauty, image, and power in contemporary media featuring Deborah Willis of New York University and Adrienne Childs of Harvard University; a lecture on looted art by scholar Olaf Peters; and the next event in the popular after-hours series, The Wind Up.

Vered and the Babes will star in a hip concert for families at the Jewish Museum on Sunday, February 22 at 11:30am. The band, featuring Vered Ronen with Rob Jost and Matt Hilgenberg, will perform funny, poignant, and upbeat melodies, reminiscent of doo-wop, from their hit album Good Morning My Love, praised by the Parents’ Choice Foundation as having “warmth enough to melt the polar ice cap.”  Vered plays a variety of instruments, ranging from French horn and trumpet to pots and pans, and will have kids and parents alike jumping and singing along. The concert program includes songs geared to helping new parents bond with their babies as well as tunes for children up to age 7

The Jewish Museum presents the next event in its popular series of after-hours events, The Wind Up. Featuring art, live music, activities, and an open bar, The Wind Up will take place on Wednesday, February 18, from 8pm to 11pm and celebrate Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power, the first exhibition to explore the ideas, innovations, and influence of the legendary cosmetics entrepreneur Helena Rubinstein.  The evening features a performance by Brooklyn-based garage pop band Beverly, who released their debut album Careers in 2014 to wide acclaim.

David Weinstone and The Music for Aardvarks Band will perform two concerts for kids at The Jewish Museum on Sunday, February 8 at 11:30 am and 2:00 pm. Families will hear favorite songs celebrating being a kid in New York City such as City Kid, Taxi, Jack Hammer Joe and Modern Art. David Weinstone, founder of Music for Aardvarks, explains, "our shows are rockin', and we try to have as much audience participation as possible. We've even had kids come up on stage with us to sing or dance."

The Jewish Museum's expanded slate of lectures, discussions, and events continues in January 2015 with a concert by renowned cellist Maya Beiser; a gallery walkthrough of the exhibition From the Margins: Lee Krasner | Norman Lewis, 1945-1952 led by artists Louise Fishman and Dona Nelson; a special studio art workshop for adults taught by Yevgeniya Baras; and a panel on contemporary video art featuring artists Joan Jonas, Ken Okiishi, and Lucy Raven.http://TheJewishMuseum.org/calendar

Bang on a Can: Beauty Is Power, a concert featuring “cello goddess” (The New Yorker) Maya Beiser, will take place at the Jewish Museum on Thursday, January 29 at 7:30pm. Tied to the Museum’s exhibition, Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power, the first exhibition about the legendary cosmetics entrepreneur and trendsetting art collector Helena Rubinstein, the performance will highlight powerful women composers. This program is the third concert of the Jewish Museum and Bang on a Can’s partnership to produce a series of dynamic musical performances at the Museum from June 2014 to May 2015, inspired by the Jewish Museum’s diverse slate of exhibitions.

The Jewish Museum will present Oran Etkin’s Timbalooloo in two special concerts for families on Thursday, December 25 at 11:30 am and 2 pm.  Oran Etkin’s whimsical concert for families blends global melodies and rhythms, from the music of Africa to klezmer and jazz.  Etkin’s interactive performance effortlessly conveys sophisticated concepts in a fun musical language that kids of all ages can understand.