FREE Programs and Admission to the Whitney Throughout April!

The Whitney Museum of American Art is offering free admission, music, artist-led programs, artmaking activities, and more all month long during Free Friday Nights and Free Second Sunday. Gather with family and friends this April to enjoy free programs and experience the exhibitions currently on view, including Amy Sherald: American Sublime, the New York debut of Sherald’s career survey. Opening today, April 9, American Sublime examines the artist’s powerful impact on contemporary art and culture. The exhibition features Sherald’s poetic early portraits alongside the distinct and striking figure paintings for which she is best known. Mary Heilmann: Long Line, Collection View: Louise Nevelson, Marina Zurkow: Parting Worlds, and Hyundai Terrace Commission: Marina Zurkow also open to the public on April 9.

On April 25, a special edition of Free Friday Nights will feature a thought-provoking panel titled American, Black & Beautiful: A Celebration of Amy Sherald. The program explores the profound intersection of beauty and culture throughout Black American communities. Happening in the Whitney’s third-floor theater, this multi-generational conversation is inspired by American Sublime, which presents portraits of Black Americans and highlights subjects often unseen or underrepresented in art history.

Friday, April 11

The Whitney’s April 11 Free Friday Night will feature music and unique sets by DJ Danglez in the lobby from 5–10 pm. A key figure in Brooklyn’s music scene and member of Federation Sound, DJ Danglez is known for his wide-ranging musical tastes that span reggae, dancehall, Soca, R&B, and beyond. From 5–9:45 pm, enjoy the Sunset Lounge in the third-floor theater. Relax and recharge while taking in the sunset views of the Hudson River with playlists curated by Brooklyn-based music and performance venue Public Records. In between sunset and music sessions, join Whitney Educators on a 15-minute tour of Amy Sherald: American Sublime at 7 pm or 7:30 pm in the fifth-floor galleries. There will also be an open studio for teens in the third-floor Artspace from 4–6 pm. Teens can join contemporary artists and educators to learn new techniques through hands-on artmaking projects inspired by themes and artists in the Whitney’s exhibitions and collection.

Sunday, April 13

On Sunday, April 13, the Whitney is offering free admission from 10:30 am–6 pm for visitors of all ages. The Museum is also excited to welcome back Jazz at Lincoln Center for Jazz as Portraiture, a family-friendly concert inspired by American Sublime, in the third-floor theater at 11 am. Just as Amy Sherald’s paintings highlight her subjects’ identities, emotions, and lived experiences, jazz can create a musical portrait, bringing to life the stories of people, places, histories, and cultures through melody and rhythm. From 12–4 pm in the theater, visitors can participate in All Ages Artmaking: Layered Polaroid Portraits. Strike a pose for a Polaroid portrait, then swap photos with someone in the program and transform the Polaroids into colorful, layered works of art. From 11 am–3 pm, artists of all ages are invited to join My America, a Collective Composition in the third-floor Artspace. After exploring American Sublime, visitors can take part in a collaborative artwork that reflects individual perspectives on the American experience. There will also be a live figure drawing session from 11 am–2 pm on the fifth floor where visitors can drop in and experiment with portraits of their own. Additional Second Sunday programs include free story times with librarians from The New York Public Library in the Museum’s lobby at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. The complete schedule of March 9 programs can be found at whitney.org/visit/second-sundays.

Friday, April 18

In partnership with Public Records, this Free Friday Night features live music by indie rock musician Ron Gallo. Gallo’s music often hovers between the feelings of optimism and despair, creating sounds that resemble the noise of NYC mixed with dank-punk and noise pop. On April 18, Gallo will be joined by Santa Chiara, the solo project of Italian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chiara D’Anzieri. The performances will begin at 6:30 pm in the Whitney’s lobby. From 5–9:45 pm, enjoy the Sunset Lounge in the third-floor theater. Enjoy the sunset views of the Hudson River while listening to the playlists curated by Public Records.

Friday, April 25

DJ Bembona will immerse visitors with music from 5–10 pm as they enter the Whitney’s lobby for this Free Friday Night. With her community-oriented and Afro-diasporic approach, the Brooklyn-born and raised Puerto Rican-Panamanian DJ Bembona has established herself as a singular voice in the landscape of New York City nightlife and beyond. Earlier in the day, there will be an open studio for teens in the third-floor Artspace from 4–6 pm where participants will draw inspiration from current exhibitions and the Museum’s collection and explore new methods through hands-on artmaking projects.

Ongoing Exhibition Tours

A variety of free exhibition tours led by Whitney educators, ranging from family-focused to 15-minute tours, are offered during Free Friday Nights and Free Second Sundays. Select tours include 15-Minute Tours: Highlights of Amy Sherald: American Sublime, 15-Minute Tours: Highlights of Whitney's Collection, 15-Minute Tours: Highlights of Christine Sun Kim: All Day All Night, Recorridos Familiares, and exhibition tours of Shifting Landscapes. 

New Free Admission Offerings at the Whitney

The Whitney Museum now offers free admission to all visitors 25 years of age and younger. The new Free 25 and Under program builds on the Museum’s popular Free Friday Nights and Free Second Sundays initiatives. With the addition of free admission for visitors 25 and under, the Whitney—already a leader in the field, providing free admission for visitors 18 and under for over a decade—offers one of the broadest and most comprehensive free admissions programs among museums in New York and the United States, affirming the Whitney’s commitment to broadening access to American contemporary art and culture, and to reaching new audiences. Free 25 and Under is made possible with the generous support of two three-year gifts from Whitney Museum Board members, longtime supporter Susan Hess, and artist Julie Mehretu.

Free Second Sundays at the Whitney help connect more people to the Museum and its mission of celebrating contemporary American art and artists. Second Sundays is made possible by a generous three-year grant from the Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All Program, which supports increased access to museums across the country and fosters engagement with local communities by focusing on common barriers to access. The program and another Whitney initiative, Free Friday Nights, both aim to reduce barriers to access, removing admission fees and offering programs that are entry points for anyone interested in visiting.

Source: Whitney Museum of American Art