Brooklyn Public Library and Villa Albertine’s Sixth Night of Ideas Returns in Person on May 21

With Singer-Songwriter and Poet Patti Smith

and

Special Guest Public Interest and Women's Rights Attorney, Kathryn Kolbert on Roe v Wade

and

Goncourt-Winner Leïla Slimani, Best-Selling Author of The Perfect Nanny

New York, NY- Brooklyn Public Library and Villa Albertine, will present the sixth annual Night of Ideas on Saturday, May 21, bringing together artists, writers, performers, historians, and philosophers from around the world. Special guests include Patti Smith, the iconic poet and singer-song writer; award-winning writer and journalist Leïla Slimani; and attorney Kathryn Kolbert, co-founder of the Center for Reproductive Rights and author of the new book Controlling Women: What We Must Do Now to Save Reproductive Freedom. Kolbert argued Planned Parenthood v. Casey before the Supreme Court 1992, which is credited with saving Roe v. Wade.

Now in its sixth year, the Night of Ideas became a city-wide sensation shortly after launching, with more than 7,000 guests attending at Central Library each year prior to the pandemic. The event is a co-production between Brooklyn Public Library and Villa Albertine, a new kind of cultural institution dedicated to the exchange of arts and ideas, launched by the French government across 10 US cities. Registration is live at nightofideas.org/new-york. BPL doors open at 7 p.m. New this year, Night of Ideas kicks off with a 5 p.m. bus journey from Villa Albertine headquarters in Manhattan to the Brooklyn event. Sixty members of the public will be seated next to sixty mystery Night of Ideas speakers, for one-on-one discussions on the speaker's area of expertise. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The theme for this year's event is Where Are We Going? sparking conversation about war and the future of global democracy, on racial justice and reproductive rights, on pandemic recovery, economic turmoil, and more.

"Amid these complicated times, we are thrilled to present our annual Night of Ideas, inviting New Yorkers back into the safe and democratic space of the public library to discuss and debate the future of our nation and the world with some of the greatest thinkers of our time and one another," said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library.

The evening will feature 100+ speakers and artists including Leïla Slimani, the award-winning French-Moroccan writer; Koa Beck, author of the groundbreaking book White Feminism; Craig Taylor, author of New Yorkers: A City and Its People in Our Time and winner of the 2021 Brooklyn Public Literary Prize; Yann LeCun, Chief AI Scientist at Meta; Ola Rondiak, Ukrainian multimedia artist; and renowned Mexican investigative journalist Lydia Cacho who has helped to expose child sex trafficking and abuse often risking her own safety. A complete list of speakers can be found online.

Musicians include the awarding Chromic Duo who blend classical music, electronics and toy pianos into their performances; and the Brooklyn-based jazz ensemble Ajoyo, playing selections from their new release War Chant, taking aim at oppression, xenophobia and greed. Musician Evan Francis (flute and saxophone), who has toured and recorded with Stevie Wonder, Michael Buble, and Meshell Ndegeocello, will also perform. For a complete list of musical guests, visit the website.

The programming will also include Michel Risse, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and electro-acoustician, and Chayma Drira, a researcher on urban inequalities - both participants in Villa Albertine's inaugural residency program. Throughout the evening, attendees will further enjoy four films from the Dance Films Catalogue, curated by Villa Albertine. The collection celebrates the long and shared history of cinema and dance and their common interest in the motion of bodies and energies.

"Night of Ideas is an act of global solidarity, with the conviction that problems are best solved when we collaborate across institutions, disciplines, and countries. I am very proud that this is the first major event of Villa Albertine," said Gaëtan Bruel, Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy in the US and Director of Villa Albertine. "We are honored to welcome such an impactful lineup of speakers and performers in New York City and across the country, including some of Villa Albertine's first artists and thinkers-in-residence. It's a rare opportunity to gather so many creative, socially-conscious projects under one roof, in the service of philosophical exploration and cross-cultural connection."

Registration is required. All participants must present proof of vaccination. Masks are required to attend and must be worn at all times except when actively eating or drinking.

Refreshments will be available for purchase from Bogota Latin Bistro. The acclaimed Park Slope restaurant is a past winner of BPL's PowerUP! Competition for aspiring entrepreneurs. Additional refreshments can be purchased from Emma's Torch, Central Library's concession partner. The nonprofit organization provides culinary training to refugees and help them find meaningful careers in the food industry.

The 2022 Night of Ideas is produced nationally by Villa Albertine and spans across an unprecedented 19 US cities. The international event is hosted in more than 100 countries worldwide, coordinated by the Institut français. Registration for this free event is live at nightofideas.org/new-york.

The 2022 Night of Ideas is made possible with national support from the The Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Institut français. Local support is provided by Villa Albertine, Brooklyn Public Library, FACE Foundation, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, 1014, Consulate General of Estonia in New York, Czech Center, Goethe-Institut New York, FIAF - French Institute Alliance Française, Polish Cultural Institute New York, Romanian Cultural Institute and Ukrainian institute of America.

Visit nightofideas.org to see events in cities all over the country throughout the month of May.

"In 2017, with our partners at the French Embassy, we began a bold experiment. We asked New Yorkers to stay up all night with us and to listen and agree-or disagree-with some of the world's greatest philosophers. Five years later, we are proud to have brought together tens of thousands of people from around the world, young and old, in good times and bad, to talk and debate and simply be together until dawn. In just a few days, we will open our doors once again and we hope you can join us for one of Brooklyn's most extraordinary evenings all year long," said László Jakab Orsós, Vice President of Arts and Culture, Brooklyn Public Library.

About Villa Albertine
Villa Albertine is a new kind of cultural institution whose mission is to create a community that links France and the United States in a shared exploration of arts and ideas. With a team of 80 people deployed in 10 major cities-Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.-Villa Albertine presents its innovative programming nationwide. This includes 60 customized residencies for artists, thinkers, and cultural professionals; a series of cultural and humanities initiatives and events; a magazine; and resources and convenings for professionals in the cultural sphere. Villa Albertine is an institution of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, with support from the French Ministry of Culture.

About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation's largest library systems and among New York City's most democratic institutions. As a leader in developing modern 21st century libraries, we provide resources to support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.7 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We provide nearly 60,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators-from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life's greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.

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Twitter: @BKLYNLibrary / @BPL_Presents / @Villa_Albertine

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About the Institut français  
The Institut français is responsible for France's international cultural program. Supervised by both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Ministry of Culture, it promotes French culture abroad through cultural exchange initiatives. Operating in a space where the arts, intellectual exchange, cultural and social innovation, and linguistic partnerships interact and intersect, it is also responsible for promoting the French language and the sharing of works, artists, and ideas all over the world. The Institut français is one of Villa Albertine's main French partners. institutfrancais.com 

Lead Sponsor: The Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation 
The Foundation's work has included underwriting of such public spaces as Washington's Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Holocaust Museum; and in New York the new Statue of Liberty Museum. In connection to French culture and history, it has underwritten efforts at Notre Dame restoration, the Louvre Endowment, and to Holocaust studies including the 1988 Academy Award winning documentary, Hotel Terminus, the Life and Times of Klaus Barbie. 

 About Carnegie Corporation of New York  
Carnegie Corporation of New York is one of America's oldest grantmaking foundations, established in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation's work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy. carnegie.org   

About FACE Foundation 
FACE Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-American relations through innovative cultural and educational projects. In partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, FACE Foundation promotes artistic, literary, and educational exchange and collaboration between creative professionals from both countries. With additional corporate, foundation, and individual support, FACE Foundation administers grant programs in the performing and visual arts, cinema, translation, and secondary and higher education, while providing financial sponsorship to French-American festivals and other cultural initiatives. FACE Foundation focuses on new and recent work of living artists and the promotion of bilingualism and the French language.  face-foundation.org 

 About Night of Ideas  
Initiated in 2016 during an exceptional evening that brought together in Paris foremost French and international thinkers invited to discuss the major issues of our time, Night of Ideas has quickly become a fixture of the French and international agenda. Every year, on the last Thursday of January, the French Institute invites all cultural and educational institutions in France and on all five continents to celebrate the free flow of ideas and knowledge by offering, on the same evening, conferences, meetings, forums and round tables, as well as screenings, artistic performances and workshops, around a theme each one of them revisits in its own fashion.  lanuitdesidees.com 

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