A short list of what’s good and what’s new the week of Feb. 2, 2020
“Varda by Agnes”
Before she died at age 90 last year, the legendary artist and filmmaker Agnes Varda made her last feature film, an essay film summing-up of her life and work. The filmic autobiography also touches on Varda’s other artwork, a dazzling array of mixed and multimedia installations.
Feb. 3-8, AFS Cinema, austinfilm.org/screening/varda-by-agnes-2/
“The Man Between the Lines: The Life & Art of Gabriel García Márquez”
Álvaro Santana-Acuña, curator of the expansive exhibition on Gabriel García Márquez at the Ransom, offers his perspective and understanding of the life and creative process of famed author.
7 p.m. Feb. 4, Harry Ransom Center, 300 W. 21st St., Event info
Reading: Jenn Shapland, “My Autobiography of Carson McCullers”
Jenn Shapland was an intern working in the archives at the Ransom Center when she encountered the love letters of Carson McCullers (“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”) and a woman named Annemarie — letters are that are tender, intimate, and unabashed in their feelings. Shapland dove further into the material and retraced McCullers life experiences to craft a new form of nonfiction that remakes the boundaries between criticism, biography, and autobiography in search of two identities.
7 p.m. Feb. 4, Book People, bookpeople.com/event/
“Arden of Faversham”
A hilarious, ribald true-crime dark comedy, “Arden of Faversham” was published anonymously and registered in 1592. But many scholars now believe that a young William Shakespeare had at least a collaborative hand in writing the play.
Feb. 7-March 1, Hidden Room Theatre, 311 W. Seventh St. hiddenroomtheatre.com
Gary Floyd: 20/20 America
In 1980 Gary Floyd, an openly gay punk musician and artist and a queer icon and music pioneer, founded the band The Dicks.
6 p.m. Feb. 8, Prizer Arts & Letters, 2023 E. Cesar Chavez St. Event info
17th Annual Black Composers Concert: The Living Composer
Award-winning pianist Artina McCain returns this season to curate a program of living composers, with a special feature on composer Marcus Wilcher.
4 p.m. Feb. 9, Carver Museum, 1165 Angelina St. Free. Event info
More listings at artaustin.org and nowplayingaustin.com