North America agenda: YSL exhibit, Kid's Choice Awards
Spring breaks bring events from Easter to Earth Day, the start of the summer music fests with Coachella, film fests from Hot Doc in Toronto to Tribeca in New York, and award shows from The Razzies on April Fools Day to the Comedy Awards.
The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier
March 24-August 19
De Young Museum
San Francisco, California
For the 35th anniversary of Jean Paul Gaultier, the first retrospective devoted to the fashion designer spans 120 selections from his 1976 ready-to-wear to his 2007 haute couture collections. The exhibition, “From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk,” celebrates his avant-garde style and collaborations with Madonna, Lady Gaga, filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, dance and theater with films clips of concerts, ballets, and fashion shows. Photography includes images by Andy Warhol, Jean-Baptiste Mondino and Robert Doisneau. The Montreal-based theater company Ubu Compagnie de Création designed 30 animated mannequins who talk and sing in playful vignettes for the show.
http://deyoung.famsf.org/
Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective
March 25-July 8
Denver Art Museum
A 40-year survey of the fashion designer work arrives from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Paris, with 200 examples of his haute couture garments, as well as photographs, drawings, and films that illustrate the development of his style and career from early days at Dior in 1958 to Saint Laurent's recent elegant evening gowns. The DAM will be the only US venue for the exhibition.
http://www.denverartmuseum.org
25th Kid's Choice Awards
March 31
Los Angeles, CA
Actor Will Smith will emcee the Kids' Choice Awards, presented by Nickelodeon, the kids' television network. Young fans who watch the channel will choose favorite artists in film, television and music. Winners take the famous orange blimp trophy and get "slimed" with green goop live at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
http://www.nick.com/kids-choice-awards
32nd Razzie Awards
April 1
Hollywood, California
Rescheduled to coincide with April Fools Day, The Razzies spoof on the Oscars moved its awards ceremony for the worst films to April 1 in 2012. The nominees for the Golden Raspberry Award, announced the night before the Oscars, were dominated by Adam Sandler this year with a record 11 Razzies nods for three films including Jack and Jill. Besides the acting, directing, writing and film categories, The Razzies dishonor the Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel. Previous repeat ‘winners' included Sylvester Stallone and Madonna.
http://www.razzies.com
112th New York International Auto Show
April 6-15
New York, New York
New York rounds out the North American Auto Show season and normally boasts a couple of high-profile debuts of upcoming production vehicles and concept cars for visitors, who number over one million. The show traditionally hosts the prestigious World Car of the Year competition, selecting the winner from new models introduced by automakers around the world. Follow the event on Twitter @NYAutoShow
http://www.autoshowny.com
13th Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
April 13-15 and April 20-22
Indio, California, USA
More than 100,000 music fans head to the Southern California desert for the annual Coachella Festival. In the decade since launching, the multi-stage event has grown in size and acclaim and is considered the opener of the summer festival season, adding another weekend in 2012. Artists in the line-up cover pop, rock, electronica and hip-hop genres and this year's headliners include Radiohead, The Black Keys, Bon Iver and Snoop Dog. Bonnaro and Lollapolooza are the two other big US pop musical events.
http://www.coachella.com
27th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
April 14
Cleveland, Ohio
Presentations to legendary pop, rock and R&B musicians and industry greats at this ceremony located at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. This year's inductees include Guns N'Roses, Donovan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Faces, Beastie Boys, Lauri Nyro, and The Miracles. A week of activities for fans precede the event with a grand finale jam session of the latest Hall of Famers.
http://www.rockhall.com
11th Tribeca Film Festival
April 18-29-May 1
New York City, New York
Co-founded by Robert DeNiro, this event screens 135 narrative, documentaries and short films from American and international filmmakers in venues around town, as well as streaming and video-on-demand, reaching beyond the 400,000 attendees. With galas and awards, this spring event has eclipsed Lincoln Center's New York Film Festival in fall.
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
Star Wars: Identities
April 19-September 16
Montreal Science Center
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
In association with Lucasfilms, scientific experts and the team that mounted the Indiana Jones exhibition, the identity of characters from the Star Wars films, 1977 to 2005, is the theme explored in this show. Displays of 200 objects from Lucasfilms' archives of props, models and artwork, include Darth Vader's caped costume and a full-sized Podracer. The interactive experience explores Jedi heroes, Luke and Skywalker, R2-D2, Chewbacca, Yoda, and more, allowing visitors to create their own character.
http://www.starwarsidentities.com and http://www.montrealsciencecentre.com
55th San Francisco International Film Festival
April 19-May 3
San Francisco, California
America's longest-running film fest, SFIFF screens 200 films and presents live events with 200 filmmakers in conversations, workshops and salons, attracting more than 75,000 attendees. The Film Society also presents several awards including the Persistence of Vision and Golden Gate award to renowned filmmakers. A festival favorite is a special screening accompanied by a live musical performance. Other big spring film festivals in the US include Tribeca in New York, Seattle and SXSW in Austin.
http://festival.sffs.org/
5th Record Store Day
April 21
Worldwide
Record Store Day is an annual day-long celebration on the third Saturday of April in support of independent records shops worldwide. The event has broken vinyl record sales and each store hosts in-store performances, signings, meet & greets, DJ spinning and special product releases. This year's "ambassador" is Iggy Pop, who says, "Small indie shops have always been a mix of theater and laboratory."
http://www.recordstoreday.com
42nd Earth Day
April 22
Worldwide
This April 22 the 2012 theme is ‘Mobilize the Earth' with one billion people participating in endless events and acts of green to garner political action for climate change, from pollution and deforestation to energy efficiency. Speeches and musical acts perform on the National Mall to raise a voice to government. It is followed by June 5, World Environment Day, designated by the UN since 1973 with the same agenda. http://www.earthday.org
20th Hot Docs Festival
April 26-May 6
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Canadian International Documentary Film Festival is North America's largest documentary festival and conference, presenting more than 150 cutting-edge films from around the globe. The event features workshops and a distribution market, attracting 2,000 attendees and filmmakers to screenings, special events, a curated competition, world showcases, pop culture, and retrospective of a master filmmaker. A prevalent theme will inform the selections and the topics discussed.
http://www.hotdocs.ca/
43rd New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
April 27-May 6
New Orleans, Louisiana
A 10-day cultural feast filled with thousands of musicians and an audience of 400,000 enjoying music on 12 stages, spanning genres from blues to R&B and African to Latin. Artists have included Senegal's Youssou N'Dour to Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick Jr. and B.B. King. Arts, crafts and cuisine are also features of this hybrid fair combining the Mardi Gras spirit and summer jazz fests around the world.
http://www.nojazzfest.com
2nd Comedy Awards
April 28
New York City, NY
The satellite/cable channel Comedy Central hosts the second Comedy Awards to pay tribute to funniest folks in film, television, stand-up comics and animation, with a special award going to an iconic talent. An illustrious jury selects the nominees, and industry heavyweights vote but fans get to cast choices for the ‘Breakout Performer of the Year' on the website. The event is taped in New York and airs on the network May 6.
http://www.thecomedyawards.com
RC
