Lecture: Ralph Sessions, "The Shipcarver's Art," at American Folk Art Museum
New York used to be a hub of shipbuilding, and the ships themselves often featured ornate flourishes well worth examining. Join Ralph Sessions, director of special projects at DC Moore Gallery, as he takes you on a tour of some of the more interesting elements of the job. —Dan Duray
The American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Center, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street, New York, 6 p.m.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23

Screening: "Other Arrangements: An Evening of Screenings Selected by Frédéric Moffet," at the New Museum
A selection of short films gives perspective on queer identity and struggles with traditional concepts of marriage and family. —Michael H. Miller
New Museum, 235 Bowery, New York, 7:30 p.m., $8

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24

Opening: Liz Magic Laser, "Studio on the Street," Open Studio Weekend, at Forever & Today, Inc.
Kicking off the open studio weekend, Liz Magic Laser, 2012 Studio on the Street artist-in-residence, transforms Forever & Today, Inc.ʼs LES/Chinatown storefront into a Situation Room-style set with television monitors and computer screens that appear to show news feeds from around the world as well as footage from her news-based performances and the de rigueur wall-clocks showing time from Tel Aviv to Moscow. —Rozalia Jovanovic
Forever & Today, 141 Division Street, New York, 6-8 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25

Party: Brian Edgerton, Jason Orrell, "Abstract Party," at Local Project
Ain't no party like an absract party because an abstract party don't stop. Mr. Edgerton's videos and Mr. Orrell's paintings should combine into something special. "Set against the saturated market of throwaway images, theirs are made not to be consumed, but engaged: stripped down and retooled for dancing." —D.D.
45-10 Davis Street, in front of MoMA PS1, Queens, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Screening: October at Anthology Film Archives
Eisenstein's classic 1928 film about the Russian Revolution provided the name for the art history journal that Rosalind Krauss and Annette Michelson founded in 1976 after leaving Artforum. The editors of that publication called the film "a work that is itself a celebration of the manner in which aesthetic innovation may be a vector in the process of social change." Anthology writes, "'Intellectual cinema' starts here." Decide for yourself. —Andrew Russeth
Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, New York, 5 p.m., $9

Panel: "Creative Place-Making," at Storm King Art Center
Artists Eve Biddle, John P. Stern, Lily Yeh and Mark di Suvero will discuss how the arts transform communities with NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. —M.H.M.
Storm King Art Center, Old Pleasant Hill Road, Mountainville, N.Y., 3-4 p.m., free with admission

Screening: Valie Export, Invisible Adversaries, at the New Museum
The New Museum continues its exploration of how moving-image technologies have shaped the visual arts with Valie Export’s 1976 film Invisible Adversaries in which Anna, an artist, becomes obsessed with the idea that invisible aliens are invading and taking over the world through mind control. The film is notable for its conflation of private and public spaces through violently edited montages, jarring sound and its blend of still photos and video. —R.J.
New Museum, 235 Bowery, New York, 3 p.m.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26

Screening: "For Chris Marker," at Light Industry
Light Industry remembers the late experimental filmmaker Chris Marker, who died last month, with a full day of his films, from his collaborations with Alain Resnais in the 1950s (beginning at 10 a.m.) to 2004's The Case of the Grinning Cat (which starts at midnight). Artists Paul Chan and Martha Rosler and historians Molly Nesbit and Tom McDonough will be among those offering introductory remarks. —A.R.
Light Industry, 155 Freeman Street, Brooklyn, 10 a.m.–midnight, doors at 9 a.m.