5 things to do this weekend, including a digital media art exhibit and a genre-bending dance performance

It’s the last weekend in February, it’s staying light after 5 p.m. and I’m starting to feel the light at the end of the seasonal depression tunnel. If you’re looking to get out of the house this weekend, there are many mind-bending and expanding events happening around Boston. Artist Alison Nguyen premieres her sci-fi-esque video installation “history as hypnosis” at the MIT List Visual Arts Center, Manual Cinema brings Frankenstein’s monster to life with a signature blend of puppetry, music and animation. Keep reading to learn about these events and more.

Artist Alison Nguyen’s first institutional solo exhibition opens this weekend at the MIT List Visual Arts Center, where she’s premiering “history as hypnosis.” The three-channel video installation surfaces themes of alienation and assimilation through three narratives. Nguyen’s work explores digital media’s psychological effects on the public, reflecting on how images are produced, circulated and consumed in mainstream U.S. culture. [Want more art exhibit recommendations? Check out our winter visual arts guide.]

This weekend, award-winning street-dance duo The Wondertwins celebrate hip-hop culture through movement at The Dance Complex in Cambridge. The Wondertwins’ Billy and Bobby McClain are known for weaving documentary and social commentary with dance in their genre-pushing performances. “Love & Happiness'' is billed as a “hip-hop expression through dance that brings us all together as one.” [Dance critic Iris Fanger shares her other must-see performances in our winter dance guide.]

Filmmaker Amir Dixon’s documentary explores the contemporary history of Boston’s Black LGBTQ community. From Boston's first Black gay club founded in 1971 to the 2020 Black Trans Resistance March, attendees can expect stories of survival, resistance and community from history makers, pioneers and community elders. The documentary will screen Sunday at the Bruce C. Bolling Building in Roxbury. The event is presented for free (with an option to donate) by Boston Lesbigay Urban Foundation and LGBTQ+ Elders of Color

ArtsEmerson presents Manual Cinema’s adaptation of a famous tale of technology gone wrong. In this version, the theater troupe employs its eclectic blend of puppetry, live music and animation to weave together author Mary Shelley’s biography with the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster in a narrative that explores "love, loss and creation."

Musician Matt Heaton writes songs for kids that respect their parents’ sanity. His Toddlerbilly Takeovers are a favorite for fans of all ages. This weekend, he’ll be at Medford Brewing Company from 4-5 p.m., along with a pop-up treat shop from Frostin’ in Boston. Heaton’s sincerely funny children’s music is a blend of surf, rockabilly, Western swing and soul that promises to get the whole family dancing and singing along.