Explore NYC Exhibits

Location

Manhattan
Brooklyn
Queens
The Bronx

Type

Art
Architecture
Fashion
History
Science
Photography
NYC
Film

Admission

Free Admission
Suggested Admission
$15 or less

Visiting Today

Open
Open Late
Discount Hours

Relative Values

The Cost of Art in the Northern Renaissance

closes 28 February 2021

Metropolitan Museum of Art
You will have fun at this exhibit, which seeks to explain how 16th-century Europeans practically valued work we now consider priceless. To adjust for the variations of currency and economic assets, Relative Value attaches a contemporary price to each piece in the exhibit expressed in a number of cows. It is much more than a joke; it is educational to see how economic changes impact art.
In Praise of Painting

Dutch Masterpieces at the Met

closes 04 October

Metropolitan Museum of Art
As a result of the Met's European Paintings galleries continued renovation, many core pieces of the permanent collection are not on display. This exhibit puts some of those highlights back on display with a look at the ever-popular Golden Age of Dutch paintings from the 17th-century headlining Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and more.
Envisioning 2001

Stanley Kubrick's Space Odyssey

closes 19 July

Museum of the Moving Image
For six months, the MoMI will host this detailed exhibition examining all aspects of the seminal film 2001: A Space Odyssey by director Stanley Kubrick. In addition to original artifacts from the film, as well as an exhaustive look at Kubrick's early influences, the museum hosts an ongoing series of screenings and lectures.
Celebrating the Year of the Rat

closes 23 July

Metropolitan Museum of Art
The smallest exhibit currently on display at the Met celebrates the Chinese Zodiac and 2020 as the Year of the Rat. The museum has gathered together carvings and sculptures of rigs, together with the other eleven animals of the Chinese Zodiac, many of which date to the 1st- and 2nd-centuries. The most charming piece is an 18th-century porcelain statue of an anthropomorphized rat in colorful traditional garb.
All This Mine Alone

Lady Gregory and the Irish Literary Revival

closes 01 August

New York Public Library
Lady Augusta Gregory is the overdue subject of this fascinating exhibit at the New York Public Library. Lady Gregory was long known as an important patron of Irish writers and playwrights, including W.B. Yeats. This exhibit gathers her journals, manuscripts, and letters which show her gradual conversion to the cause of Irish Nationalism and friendship with Theodore Roosevelt. As her recent biographer wrote, "Lady Gregory is one of the architects of modern Ireland."
Measure Your Existence

closes 10 August

Rubin Museum of Art
The range of the Rubin's mission is on full display with Measure Your Existence. After wandering through galleries filled with millennia-old masterpieces, journey to the top floor and participate in some of the most interesting contemporary installations of the year. Six contemporary artists contributed works to this show, built around the theme of impermanence. Take a piece of candy off the floor. Write a deceased loved-one a letter. Watch a man punch a clock once an hour for a year. Plan on coming back again to see the works as they change through interaction.
Aesthetic Splendors

Highlights from the Gift of Barrie and Deedee Wigmore

closes 16 August

Metropolitan Museum of Art
This gorgeous collection of furniture, jewelry, paintings, and other decorative arts celebrates another of the recent gifts received by the Met in celebration of its 150th anniversary. Barrie and Deedee Wigmore donated these pristine examples of the American Aesthetic movement, which celebrated art for art's sake. The sensual, ornamented tables, wardrobes, and ironwork showcase the movement's preference for beauty over utility.
It's Yours

Jose Parla

closes 16 August

Bronx Museum of the Arts
Jose Parla's first solo museum exhibit is appropriately hosted at the Bronx Museum. Though born in Miami, Parla's first moved to the Bronx when relocating to New York City. His abstract paintings made of multiple layers of paint recall the large murals he painted in Miami under the name "Ease." This is a beautiful collection of work perfectly harmonious with the goals of the Bronx Museum.
Ordinary Treasures

Highlights from the Museum of Jewish Heritage

closes 16 August

Museum of Jewish Heritage
The individual impact of the Holocaust is often lost in the magnitude of the tragedy. The numbers and statistics do not capture the daily, personal horrors of Nazi persecution. This exhibit brings the individual impact to the forefront, celebrating objects treasured by individuals who suffered during the Holocaust. From homemade greeting cards written in the Ghetto to Torah scrolls hidden from destruction, the stories of individuals are made real through their treasures.
Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution

closes 23 August

New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society hosts what will be one of the must-see exhibitions of the summer. Get tickets soon (or hit the museum early in the day) as this is a crowd-pleaser. Bill Graham was one of the most influential rock-and-roll promoters in history. Graham fled Nazi Germany as a boy and went on to promote concerts featuring such acts as The Grateful Dead, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, and The Rolling Stones. This exhibit traces his long and influential life through the musicians and celebrities with whom Graham worked. Pick up the audio guide for a unique gallery experience.
Composition for Idlewild Airport

closes 23 August

Noguchi Museum
Idlewild Airport (now known as JFK) invited contemporary artists from across America to submit designs for a monumental sculpture as part of the construction of a new International Arrivals Building in 1956. Isamu Noguchi submitted a proposal for a large column. While not selected, the proposed artwork is impressive, as cataloged in this fascinating exhibit.
The Sculptor and the Ashtray

closes 23 August

Noguchi Museum
Among Isamu Noguchi's many projects was an ongoing effort to design the perfect ashtray. While uncommon in contemporary America, at the height of Noguchi's career in the 40s and 50s the ashtray was central to American society. This exhibit looks at Noguchi's various designs from a wide selection of materials and motivations. With few designers working in the medium of ashtrays today, it is truly a unique look back at a design challenge.
Who We Are

Visualizing New York by the Numbers

closes 23 August

Museum of the City of New York
2020 is a year of the census. Unsurprisingly, New York City, with 8.5 million people, will again be the largest city in the nation. But beyond that number, what else do we know about the New York population? Where do they come from? Where do they live? This exhibition is at the Avant-Garde of data visualization, demonstrating the way modern technology allows us to slice and splice these numbers.
Auschwitz

Not Long Ago. Not Far Away

closes 30 August

Museum of Jewish Heritage
Over the next seven years, this exhibition of artifacts from the Holocaust's most infamous extermination camp will travel to 14 cities in Europe and North America. Appropriately, during its time in New York, the Museum of Jewish Heritage will play host to this timely and sobering exhibition. With objects borrowed from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Israel's Yad Vashem, this exhibition demonstrates that we are a few short decades removed from the horrors of Auschwitz.
Sita and Rama

The Ramayana in Indian Painting

closes 30 August

Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Sanscript epic Ramayana inspired South Asian artists in the same way Homeric epics inspired painters and sculptors in Europe. This small exhibit gathers almost 30 paintings by a variety of artists, each depicting major scenes from the sprawling story. Even if you are not familiar with the story, the detailed paintings and textiles will delight and inspire lovers of north Indian art.
Labyrinth

Edie Fake

closes 13 September

Drawing Center
The Drawing Center maintains one of the best gallery stairwells in the city, with rotating installations of unique, site-specific work. This year, the commission was given to Edie Fake, a Chicago-based artist working in the fields of fantastical architecture. Fake's work is centered around metaphors of LGBTQ+ space and identity and this installation honors the Labyrinth Foundation which worked with trans men in Chicago in the 1960s. Take time to explore the elaborate installation.
Shrine Room Projects

Shiva Ahmadi / Genesis Breyer

closes 14 September

Rubin Museum of Art
This season the Rubin presents the work of three artists lining the way to the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room. This rotating series invites contemporary artists to contribute work harmonious with the Shrine room. Tehran-born Shiva Ahmadi contributed videos referencing the plight of refugees. Genesis Breyer P-Orridge invites visitors to shake his hand (actually a bronze cast of his own arm), reminding them that "wisdom can only be passed by the touching of hands." Nepalese artist Tsherin Sherpa built a striking memorial to the loss suffered in Nepal in the 2015 earthquake.
Kyoto

Capital of Artistic Imagination

closes 20 September

Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Japanese city of Kyoto was the political and cultural center of Japan until the 19th century. Spurned by the patronage of the political and economic elite of classical Japan, artists of the Golden Age produced some of the most beautiful pieces of work to come out of the country. This exhibit revisits Kyoto as a seat of power, highlighting the masterpieces produced in the vibrant metropolis.
Faces of the Crimean Tatar Deportation

75 Years Later

closes 30 September

Ukrainian Museum
Crimean Tatars are an ethnic group considered the indigenous people of Crimea. After suffering centuries of invasion and occupation, in May of 1944, the entire Tatar population--over 180,000 people--was forcibly exiled to Central Asia. Artist Zarema Yaliboylu revisits the lasting impact of this Stalinist crime. Combining contemporary portraits and stories of those who survived the exile, the artist shows the individual impact of large-scale tragedy.
Kamikaze

Beyond the Fire

closes 03 October

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
During its World War II service the USS Intrepid was repeatedly attacked by kamikaze pilots. 88 crew members died in these attacks. This exhibition looks at this unique form of warfare with interviews from both sides of the conflict, together with a multimedia installation looking at a particularly deadly attack on November 25, 1944.
Navy Cakes

A Slice of History

closes 03 October

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
At the opposite end of the spectrum from the Kamikaze installation, this charming exhibit explores the long naval tradition of baking cakes on board. What may sound simple is here shown to be a complex logistical feat: combining hundreds of pounds of ingredients in limited space aboard a moving vessel in order to feed an entire crew. Possibly the only current exhibit in New York that provides recipes.
Subversion & The Art of Slavery Abolition

closes 05 December

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
This epic exhibition takes a detailed look at "abolitionist art." Studies of the Abolition movement in America and Great Britain look primarily at the political and economic efforts of the abolitionists and enslaved persons. However, much more intimate efforts were made to promote abolitionist ideas through artistic and cultural means. This exhibit gathers a wide variety an anti-slavery artwork, poetry, music, and pamphlets that helped spread the cause in the nineteenth century.
A Conversation

Installation by Vlodko Kaufman

closes 31 December

Ukrainian Museum
Tucked into the basement of the Ukrainian Museum is this poignant installation from Vlodko Kaufman. For five years the artist has been sketching the faces of anonymous soldiers on whatever scraps of paper come his way: receipts, train tickets, or menus. The result is thousands of sketches lining the walls, commenting on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
A History of the Bronx Latino

closes 31 December

Valentine-Varian House
The Museum of Bronx History has installed a long-running look at the history of the Latin American community in this diverse community. While the increase in Latino residents of the Bronx began during the mid-twentieth century, Latinos have lived and worked in the Bronx as far back as the early 19th century. This exhibit presents historic photographs tracing the rise of the vibrant Bronx community over the past two centuries.
Alexander Archipenko

Selected Works

closes 31 December

Ukrainian Museum
The artist Alexander Archipenko is a long-time favorite of the Ukrainian Museum and has been featured in a variety of exhibits since the museum's 2005 founding. This small exhibit only features a handful of the artist's work, but given his impact on Modern Art and his association with the Ukrainian avant-garde, the museum should always have some of his work on display.
Collecting New York's Stories

Stuyvesant to Sid Vicious

closes 31 December

Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York continues to add to its vast collection, particularly in the area of photography. This long-running exhibit showcases recent additions to the collection. The main gallery is filled with contemporary photography, including works by Harvey Want and Bruce Davidson. The supplemental gallery adds posters, fashion, and historic objects related to the history of New York. This is a perfect fit for the museum and pairs well with the core story.
Reimagining the Cel

Experiments in Animation from the 1980s

closes 31 December

Museum of the Moving Image
In the museum's smalls, open screening area, 25-minutes of abstract animation play on a loop. Three films, the 3-minute The Case of the Spiral Staircase, the 10-minute The Ravishing of Frank N. Stein, and the 11-minute Feng Huang, look back at some of the last experiments in cel animation before the digital revolution. Take a break from the museum and enjoy these abstract works.
Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Up Close

closes 03 January 2021

Metropolitan Museum of Art
A significant part of the Asian Art wing at the Met is devoted to an up-close look at the ancient patterns and practices of Chinese calligraphy. Primarily drawn from the Met's own collection, the exhibit features macro-lens photographs highlighting instructive details of the works on display. Come discover the hidden insights revealed by a closer look at these masterworks.
Arte del mar

Artistic Exchange in the Caribbean

closes 10 January 2021

Metropolitan Museum of Art
This exhibit at the heart of the Met's Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas department explores the unique artistic contributions resulting from early cultural exchanges among the various Tiano cultures of the Carribean. Supplemented by descriptions by early Spanish colonists, this unique collection is a fascinating look at pre-Columbian politics and art.
Alien Property

Rayyane Tabet

closes 18 January 2021

Metropolitan Museum of Art
What makes Rayyane Tabet's small exhibit so interesting is the fascinating story of war, politics, and espionage told through the installation. Settled into the Assyrian Room at the Met, supplementing the reliefs rather than distracting from them, is a passionate story of ancient art extracted from Syria by Germans and later destroyed during World War II or ceded to Allies as part of the Alien Property Custodian Act. You will continue thinking about this exhibit and its lessons long after your visit.
City/Game

Basketball in New York

closes 18 January 2021

Museum of the City of New York
As one commentator in the accompanying video states, "New York City didn't birth the game, but we raised it." While the Knicks, Nets, nor Liberty may be overly impressive this year, New York is a city of basketball. An urban sport for a population without vast green fields, basketball has been everpresent in New York since its earliest days. This exhibit looks at the city's relationship with basketball from streetball to Linsanity.
45 Stories in Jewelry

closes 24 January 2021

Museum of Arts and Design
This exhibition will expand your definition of jewelry. MAD has long featured jewelry as a core part of its mission, but exhibits tend to look at the styles of previous generations. This exhibition brings together 45 contemporary artists who are redefining what can be considered jewelry for a new generation. The exhibition features pieces inspired by social protest, the space age, and a digital world.
Revealed

The Hunt for Bin Laden

closes 31 May 2021

National September 11 Memorial and Museum
In preparation for the ten year anniversary of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden the museum has installed a detailed exhibition exploring the decade-long manhunt. Artifacts from the operation, including the scale model of bin Laden's compound used to brief President Obama, are supplemented by interviews with members of the intelligence and military communities who participated in the search.
Stretching the Canvas

Eight Decades of Native Painting

closes 03 October 2021

National Museum of the American Indian
This sprawling, long-running exhibition features work from 29 contemporary artists and seeks to explore what constitutes contemporary Native Art. While traditional Native motifs such as canoes and textile patterns are present, the works are decidedly modern, incorporating contemporary issues such as refugees and climate change. Artists are members of tribes from around the continent, including the Navajo, the Cherokee Nation, and the Crow. The exhibition rotates the pieces, so plan on returning.
Creatures from the Land of Thra

Character Design for The Dark Crystal

closes 31 December 2021

Museum of the Moving Image
Continuing with the museum's celebration of Jim Henson, this exhibit features the actual puppets used in the new Netflix film "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance". Marvel at the detail of each figure and follow the design process from early sketches to completion, while remembering the entertainment revolution sparked by Jim Henson.
Taking Care of Brooklyn

Stories of Sickness and Health

closes 05 June 2022

Brooklyn Historical Society
This long-running exhibition--scheduled to be on display until 2022--addresses the history of a very contemporary issue: illness and healthcare in Brooklyn and New York City. With ongoing outbreaks of preventable disease in the city, the exhibit is an excellent reminder of the long struggle to contain and eliminate these diseases over past centuries.