Cute Animals, Crafty Adults, and More Recommended Events for the Week

Chinatown

Monday 18 - Wednesday 20, Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane, Lakeline, Mueller

Back in the Aughts, your Netflix queue was an ordered list of DVDs you wanted to have mailed to you. I remember going on a Jack Nicholson binge and going from Easy Rider to Five Easy Pieces to Chinatown to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – what an era! Chinatown was especially memorable due to peak Nicholson star power and a masterful script. No surprise, the L.A.-set noir turns 50 this year amid rumors of a prequel series with Best Screenplay winner Robert Towne and David Fincher (Fight Club, Gone Girl).   – Kat McNevins

Making Tender: A Book Talk by Carla Williams [CANCELED]

Monday 18, Art Galleries at Black Studies

Is nudity inherently pornographic? How does a photographer feel about her youthful self-portraits over 20 years later? Can Black women be tender? Artist Carla Williams answers these questions and more in a public lecture about Tender, a book of self-portraits she took in private as a student between 1984 and 1999. At the time, she explains, the only images of nude Black women she had to reference were Playboy bunnies Jean Bell, Jennifer Jackson, and Julie Woodson. Captured by a queer, decidedly less provocative figure, Williams’ photos challenge the male gaze, and representations of Black women, decades later. Registration is required for the free event.   – Carys Anderson

The Crafty Adult: Fingerweaving

Monday 18, John Gillum Branch Library

Thanksgiving brings with it colonialist interpretations of our nation’s history, which often recast the relationship between Native Americans and colonists as more amicable than facts bear out. While work remains to be done on a national level to actually repair the damage done, one way to celebrate our Native communities is learning about cultural crafts such as fingerweaving. Citizen of the Cherokee nation and TERO certified fingerweaver Doug Martin kindly lends his tutelage in classes designed to give you the basics on this loomless weaving art. Attendees will take home a keychain or lanyard pin of their own making, but sign up quick! Spots are limited.   – James Scott

Tara Chapman: For the Bees

Tuesday 19, First Light Books

You’ve probably heard about Two Hives – maybe gone to a honey tasting or a hive tour – or read in these pages about how founder Tara Chapman worked for the CIA before becoming all about the apiarian life. She pours all that hard-won know-how into her brand new UT Press release For the Bees: A Handbook for Happy Beekeeping. Intended for newbies and more experienced beekeepers alike, the book devotes chapters to honeybee biology and nutrition, seasonal guides, and queen bee psychology. Check her out in conversation with Brad Booker at 7pm.   – Kimberley Jones

The Birdcage

Tuesday 19, Hyperreal Film Club

This Mike Nichols-directed piece about a Florida gay club owner trying to balance his chosen family with the demands of his blood (aka a son who really, really needs to get a freakin’ grip) should be required viewing for all men. I’m not talking about “straight men” or “cis men” only; I mean All Men. We should all be studying in deep concentration the outfits worn by every gay character in this movie – Nathan Lane’s floaty blouses and rings, Robin Williams’ high-waisted slacks and open-collar tropical shirts, even Hank Azaria’s short-shorts! It’s never too late to learn to dress better, babe.   – James Scott

Bend It Like Beckham

Wednesday 20, Hyperreal Film Club

Gurinder Chadha’s 2002 sleepover classic Bend It Like Beckham was a milestone in representation for women’s soccer and the expectations placed on the children of immigrants, but we all know it really should’ve been a milestone for lesbian rom-coms ... sigh. Regardless, Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley’s teen power duo are a joy to watch as they concoct elaborate shenanigans all in pursuit of ball. And I guess if there had to be a male love interest, early-Aughts Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a solid choice.   – Lina Fisher

Art Nite

Wednesday 20, Monkeywrench Books

I’ll spare you the “now more than ever” speech; we’re all in social media hell and have seen the same 50 identical posts from influencers about how art is radical. Yeah, okay, sure, but art isn’t the same as mutual aid or organizing when it comes to “radical” acts. Really, art is a healing act rather than what you base your entire praxis around. Art is how we make sense of the world, make it understandable when all around horrors abound. Monkeywrench, whose progressive politics lead them to be the radical space that they are, invites all with artistic projects big and small to come work on ’em over in their North Loop den. Work, chill, make a zine: Then, we keep on fighting.   – James Scott

Trans Day of Remembrance

Wednesday 20, Lampkin Pavilion

God: I envy those who get to forget. Seems like the trans community is in a perpetual state of remembering – memories of those we’ve lost, those we see suffer unfairly, those who never get to be their real selves. In any case, better we remember together than in isolation, and for that you’ll be comforted to hear Local Queer ATX plans a tribute ceremony this Trans Awareness Month. “The vigil will serve as a space to honor those we’ve lost but also to bring hope for our community,” Local Queer writes on their Instagram. “CIS Allies we need you here in solidarity to show our community they are important, respected, seen, and safe. We task our allies with not just mourning us after the world has killed us, but to fight to keep us alive!”   – James Scott

Austin Night of Awareness: Beyond the Bridge

Thursday 21, AFS Cinema

If last week has you suddenly inspired to get more involved in your community, AFS has a documentary screening that’s a great starting point. From the filmmakers behind 2017’s Under the Bridge, which examined the criminalization of homelessness, Beyond the Bridge goes one step further to address actual solutions to help the unhoused. It travels to cities all over the country, exploring the historical, financial, and community context for giving shelter. AFS will have community resources and discussions before and after the film. Who knows. Maybe it will spark some hope that life can get better, one city at a time.   – Cat McCarrey

Fusebox Salon: Ahamefule J. Oluo & Joshua Banbury

Thursday 21, Elisabet Ney Museum

Every month, genre-bending festival Fusebox hosts an artist salon, and you never quite know what you’re going to get. Last month’s featured locals Andie Flores and Bobby Pudrido; this month’s offers up performances by Ahamefule J. Oluo and Joshua Banbury. Oluo is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, comedian and more, who will discuss their new spoken word performance The Things Around Us, an anthology of darkly comic stories about people coupled with a live score that utilizes looped trumpet, clarinet, and everyday objects. Banbury, an Austin-based jazz, folk, and opera vocalist, will perform a trio set in anticipation of their project with Fusebox Launchpad, a new program that supports performance projects premiering in Austin toward the goal of touring around the U.S.   – Lina Fisher

Mochi Mochi

Thursday 21, the Highball

Since its origin at the then-new North Door, this joint anime-loving drag show venture from local legends Louisianna Purchase, Tatiana Cholula, and Leia Sakura Dior has bounced around a few different stages. Home sweet home hits this week with their monthly series settling in at Drafthouse South Lamar’s bowling-themed bar. Find yourself a little time between rewatching Sailor Moon and painting a Gundam to attend their inaugural Highball show, with special guests Target and Salem Purchase adding to the cosplay chaos. Kiss, kiss, fall in love, and all that.   – James Scott

Tiny Tails Petting Zoo + Animal Storytime

Thursday 21, BookPeople

Still recovering from your Halloween bender? Try something wholesome for a change, courtesy of traveling petting zoo Tiny Tails to You. Featuring animals including Quillie Nelson the hedgehog, Ina Garden the bunny, and Cheese the bearded dragon, this show-and-tell is sure to warm even the coldest of hearts. You don’t have to be a kid to come – I was brought to tears at my first petting zoo, which I attended at the ripe age of 24 – but this BookPeople appearance does double as a storytime; what better lesson for the family than “read books and be kind to animals”?   – Carys Anderson

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Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what's happening now or in the coming week.