THE ALLIANCE FRIENDS OF THE ARTS PARTY IS NOV 15

The party is from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Christie's in Rockefeller Center to benefit the Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Fellowship. For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

NEW CENTER FOR EDUCATION AT METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

On Oct 23, the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education at the Metropolitan Museum of Art reopened after a three-year renovation and redesign. The more than 25,000-square-foot center now offers studio facilities, five classrooms including one for teaching alongside original works of art, a lecture hall, welcome areas and expansions to its library that include an area for families.

ONLINE OPENING OF SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is scheduled to open on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in 2015, has established an inaugural exhibition online. Called Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits, the exhibition traces more than 150 years of American history through photographs of prominent African Americans, including scholars, politicians, athletes and artists. Thirty-three portraits, along with short bios, are displayed on the Web site along with a "memory book" to which readers can submit firsthand accounts and images from their family histories. The full exhibition of 100 portraits was on view at the International Center of Photography from May to September this year and it is now at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

POETS HOUSE MOVES TO BATTERY PARK CITY

Poets House, the poetry library and literary center at 72 Spring Street, will close its doors to the public on Dec 1 in preparation for the organization's move to Battery Park City. In late 2008, Poets House's 50,000-volume collection will form the centerpiece of its 11,000-square-foot facility at Two River Terrace (on the waterfront, two blocks south of Chambers Street), where the group has signed a rent-free lease through 2069.

NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE

NYFA has launched a new Web site that has drawn 28,247 artists, arts professionals and donors to create profiles on it in the last two months. The redesign appeared in early Sept, and the site now asks visitors to make profiles showing who they are, their age range, gender and professional background in order to take advantage of its standard offerings of jobs listings in the arts, information on artist grants, residencies and other awards, and information about its Business of Art workshops for artists.

PEOPLE

Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell has been confirmed by the New York State Senate as the new chair of the New York State Council on the Arts. She will remain dean of Tisch School of Arts at New York University. The State Senate has also confirmed five new Council members: Laura Aswad, Henry Breed, Jeffrey Lynford, Natalie Merchant and Marta Moreno Vega.

Jesse Rosen will become the new president and chief executive officer of the League of American Orchestras (formerly the American Symphony Orchestra League) on July 1, 2008. He is currently the League's executive vice president and managing director.

NEWS AT THE ALLIANCE

NEW ROBERT F. WAGNER, JR. FELLOW

Elena H. Matsui is the new Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Fellow for Public Policy and the Arts beginning on Nov 2. She graduated from Harvard College in 2006. Her honors thesis was on phenomenological patterns in New York City architecture and city life. She has studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies at University of London College and spent the past year working for an architecture firm in New York City.

CALENDAR

CARNEGIE HALL REACHES EVERY BOROUGH IN NEW BERLIN PROGRAM
In a collaboration involving the visiting Berlin Philharmonic and 11 cultural partners in New York, Carnegie Hall will present Berlin in Lights for 17 days beginning Nov 2. Covering contemporary art and architecture, film and literature as well as music in Berlin, the festival will include neighborhood concerts in venues such as the Brooklyn College Performing Arts Center, the Harlem Children's Zone, Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Wave Hill. The Neue Galerie and the Museum of Modern Art are among the venues for programs inspired by Berlin's vibrant cultural scene. The Berlin Philharmonic's performances at Carnegie Hall begin Nov 13. For more information, visit http://www.carnegiehall.org/berlininlights/.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CITYWIDE CELEBRATION

This fall, El Museo de Barrio and Mano a Mano: Cultura Mexicana Sin Fronteras/Mexican Culture Without Borders are collaborating with cultural and community-based organizations in all five boroughs to present a month-long Día de los Muertos Citywide Celebration. The schedule of Oct-Nov programs culminates in a family day and award ceremony for the citywide altar-making contest at noon on Sat, Nov 3 at El Museo del Barrio.