WXXI Arts and Culture

For great arts and culture content and discussion

both on-air and online, start here. Arts and cultural programming on WXXI TV and Radio as well as online discussion and special events hosted by WXXI are featured below.

Featured Programming

Great Performances at the Met: Verdi's Rigoletto

Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 12:00pm

on WXXI-TV

Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) makes his Met debut with a new production of Verdi's Rigoletto.

Mel Brooks: Make Some Noise, an American Masters film

Monday, May 20, 2013 - 9:00pm

on WXXI-TV

Laugh along as comedy giant Mel Brooks shares stories about his personal life and career.

Pacific Heartbeat: Under a Jarvis Moon

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - 7:00pm

on WXXI World

The story of 130 young men from Hawai'i who, from the late 1930s through the early years of World War II, were part of a clandestine mission by the U.S. federal government to occupy desert islands in the middle of the Pacific.

LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: Audra McDonald: Go Back Home

Friday, May 24, 2013 - 9:00pm

on WXXI-TV

Join series host Audra McDonald as she takes center stage to perform new songs and other favorites.

America Reframed "Nā Kamalei: The Men of Hula"

Sunday, May 26, 2013 - 2:00pm

on WXXI World

See beyond deep-rooted stereotypes of "grass-skirt girls".

The National Memorial Day Concert 2013

Sunday, May 26, 2013 - 8:00pm

on WXXI-TV

WXXI honors the service and sacrifice of those who have given their lives for our country with the annual broadcast of The National Memorial Day Concert.

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Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance at the White House

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 8:00pm

on WXXI-TV

This new music special features an all-star tribute to singer and songwriter Carole King, the 2013 recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

The Rite of Spring - The 100 Year Shock-wave

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - 8:00pm

on Classical 91.5

The Rite of Spring's percussive rhythms and violent score enraged its first listeners in 1913.

JULIA CHILD MEMORIES: BON APPÉTIT!

Saturday, June 1, 2013 - 12:00pm

on WXXI-TV

Presenting a delightful retrospective of Julia Child's classic cooking series, THE FRENCH CHEF.

Independent Lens: Love Free or Die

Wednesday, June 5, 2013 - 8:00pm

on WXXI World

The film looks at church and state, love and marriage, faith and identity —and one man’s struggle to dispel the notion that God’s love has limits.

INDEPENDENT LENS "Two Spirits"

Monday, June 10, 2013 - 10:00pm

on WXXI-TV

Two Spirits explores the life and death of a boy who was also a girl, and the essentially spiritual nature of gender.

FRONTLINE: Poor Kids On-Demand

Watch On-Demand: Follow three young girls growing up amidst their families’ struggles against financial ruin. This an intimate portrait of the economic crisis as it’s rarely seen, through the eyes of children.

Rochester Teen Film Festival

Entries are being accepted now!

Calling all Rochester youth to participate in this collaborative, juried media competition.

Constitution USA: A More Perfect Union

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 9:00pm

on WXXI-TV

Constitution USA with Peter Sagal takes viewers on a fast-paced, surprising journey across the nation to examine the 4,418 words — and 27 amendments — that made America.

Pacific Heartbeat: Waimea 'Ukulele & Slack Key Guitar

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 7:00pm

on WXXI World

This performance documentary provides an insider's peek into the unparalleled talent and camaraderie of the Waimea 'Ukulele and Slack Key Guitar Institute