15 Nassau In 2005, grad students in Parsons’ architecture program transformed 15 Nassau into a programming venue for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and thank God. The 4,000-square-foot space—designed with portable furnishings to accommodate a broad variety of happenings—has since housed events ranging from eccentric rock operas and theater performances to film screenings and quirky art exhibitions. From January 22 to 27, the space presents “Dagger,” a multimedia performance in which artist-choreographer Clarinda Mac Low dramatically reinterprets Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with help from ghostly lighting and an eerie modern soundtrack. 15 Nassau St at Pine St (212-219-9401). Performances: Jan 22–26 6pm; Jan 27 at 5:30pm. $5–$15.

Juilliard Artists at 180 Maiden Lane Inside this angular glass tower, the bamboo-and-light-filled atrium is a calming and inviting oasis—especially on Tuesdays at 12:30pm, when Juilliard students and alums (some groups, some soloists, all exquisite) offer free hour-long concerts in the back. It’s a perfect spot to step away from the bid-’em-up crowd and take five, or just sit and enjoy your takeout. 180 Maiden Ln between Front and South Sts. Tue, 12:30pm. FREE

National Museum of the American Indian The Lenape have long since departed lower Manhattan, but Native American culture still thrives at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, housed in the old U.S. Custom House in Battery Park. While ancient artifacts abound, the museum also nurtures living traditions—including powwows and drum groups—in the Diker Pavilion for Native Arts and Cultures, opened in 2006. Coming to the museum in March: “Off the Map: Landscape in the Native Imagination,” a group show by contemporary Native artists. Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, 1 Bowling Green between State and Whitehall Sts (212-514-3700). Mon–Wed, Fri–Sun 10am–5pm; Thu noon–8pm. FREE

Redhead Gallery NYC’s hub for power suits and power brokers has never been the city’s hot spot for visual art. Since 1972, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council has been working on that. Last year, the nonprofit’s president, Tom Healy, opened Redhead Gallery at 125 Maiden Lane, just across the hall from LMCC’s second-floor offices. Past projects have included a renegade motorboat chasing Robert Smithson’s Floating Island down the East River, and an experimental feminist art exhibition that accepted a flowing stream of submissions throughout the run of the show. Expect equally outrageous drama in the future. At Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, 125 Maiden Ln between Pearl and Water Sts, second floor (212-219-9041). Mon–Fri 11am–6pm.

South Street Seaport Museum The history of the Port of New York has been the subject and soul of this quaint museum for nearly 40 years. But recently, next-door galleries and a minifleet of privately held exhibition spaces have moved in. The refurbished Schermerhorn Row Galleries (12 Fulton St between Front and South Sts, 212-748-8725) serve as the museum’s home base, a repository of an intriguing collection of nautical artifacts. Equally fascinating are the vestiges of the early-19th-century mercantile-exchange buildings the museum now occupies, such as evidence of 1800s graffiti. The museum operates two galleries on Water Street: The Walter Lord Gallery (209 Water St between Beekman and Fulton Sts) is home to a permanent exhibition of enormous ocean-liner models, and the Melville Gallery (213 Water St between Beekman and Fulton Sts) hosts rotating exhibits and literary readings. Admission to the museum includes tours of the lightship Ambrose and 1911 bark Peking, both docked at Pier 16. 12 Fulton St between Front and South Sts (212-748-8786, southstseaport.org). 10am–6pm. $8, seniors and students $6, children under 5 and members free.