View of The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building, designed by Yoshio...

The Museum of Modern Art will remain open until 8:45 p.m. every Thursday in July and August, providing visitors with a relaxed atmosphere in which to view MoMA's collection and special exhibitions, and enjoy live music and refreshments in The Abby AldrichRockefeller Sculpture Garden. All of the Museum's galleries and exhibitions will be open, including Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917 (opening July 18), The Original Copy: Photography of Sculpture, 1839 to Today (opening August 1), Picasso: Themes and Variations, and Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography.
Live music will be presented in the Sculpture Garden, weather permitting, with two series, Hear Brazil (July) and Hear France (August). Both series offer an opportunity for New York audiences to get a taste of today's Brazilian and French music scenes. Performances will be in two sets, at 5:30 and 7:00 p.m.
This year's series showcases the fresh and vibrant music of a new crop of Brazilian artists. Hear Brazil travels from the rootsy, maracatú-based music of Nation Beat to the sonic experiments of Wax Poetic Brasil, featuring Thalma de Freitas; it visits the modern Brazilian jazz of Adriano Santos and the melodies of Pierre Aderne and Alexia Bomtempo, and concludes with Kay Lyra's fresh perspective on the now-classic genre of bossa nova.
In August, Hear France will include four performances of inventive popular French songwriters in the spirit of the exhibition Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917 (July 18-October 11). These performances make up the third series presented in collaboration with Olivier Conan, programmer and co-owner of the Barbès performance space in Brooklyn. Artists in this series have struck a conscious balance between tradition and innovation-while drawing on various aspects of the chanson heritage and placing a strong emphasis on literate lyrics, all have found ways to construct work that is also modern and personal. Weather permitting, there will be a cash bar with specialty cocktails, draft beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages, and seasonal tapas for purchase in the Sculpture Garden. The Garden Cart will sell artisanal ice creams, sorbets, and homemade sundaes, as well as wine, beer, and specialty coffees. Terrace 5, located inside the Museum on the fifth floor, will feature a menu of light fare and a special summer ceviche tasting menu presented by Chef Lynn Bound. In the event of rain, the Sculpture Garden will close and two sets of music will be presented in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1 or 2; cocktails and wine will be available for sale in The Agnes Gund Garden Lobby.
Schedule of Performances:

Sets will be performed at 5:30 and 7:00 p.m.
July: Hear Brazil
July 1: Nation Beat
July 8: Wax Poetic Brasil featuring Thalma De Freitas
July 15: Alexia Bomtempo & Pierre Aderne
July 22: Adriano Santos Brazilian Jazz Quartet
August: Hear France
August 5: Holden
August 12: Pascal Parisot & Fredda
August 19: Arnaud Fleurent-Didier
August 26: Marianne Dissard

For more info go to www.moma.org

Published 29.06.2010