Through Various Lenses, Dancers and Musicians From Across the Globe

Jack Vartoogian, Linda Vartoogian, and Ira Landgarten have spent years documenting performances presented by the World Music Institute; their photos, along with concert videos and a display of traditional instruments from several continents, fill the library's L-shaped Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery. Among the artists photographed are the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey; the exhibit includes archival footage of Hawaii's Halau O Kekuhi, Manipur's Ranganiketan, and the Ghanaian troupe Odadaa. Music from more than 40 artists and groups is accessible at interactive listening kiosks. As it becomes painfully difficult for international artists to obtain visas for performances here, the dazzling assortment of real and mediated objects serves to remind us what used to be visible on New York City stages.