Celebrate One Year of Free Second Sundays with Free Admission and All-Ages Artmaking at Whitney Museum

The Whitney Museum of American Art is offering free admission and all-ages artmaking activities at the Museum on Sunday, January 12. This marks one year of Free Second Sundays since the expanded free programs launched in January 2024! Gather with family and friends for free creative programs inspired by the exhibitions currently on view, including Edges of Ailey and Shifting Landscapes. The Whitney is partnering with the Louis Armstrong House Museum for the first Free Second Sunday of 2025 to host special programming and a multimedia performance. There’s no better way to kick off the New Year than with resolutions to enjoy more art with free access to the Whitney.

On Sunday, January 12, Free Second Sundays continue with free admission all day from 10:30 am–6 pm for visitors of all ages. Join Whitney Museum educators in the third-floor theater to make collages with the Louis Armstrong House Museum from 11 am–4 pm. Explore the collages by artist Romare Bearden currently on view in Edges of Ailey and then incorporate improvisation, experimentation, and play in creations of your own. At 11:30 am, grab a seat in the theater for a special music performance by tap dancer and choreographer Lisa La Touche. Presented as part of Armstrong Now, a residency-based project connecting artists with the Louis Armstrong Archives, La Touche’s dynamic performance delves into the intersections of jazz, tap, and African American migration history. From 11 am–3 pm, visitors are invited to participate in Drawing Dance: Ailey-Inspired Live Figure Drawing, a drop-in figure drawing session on the eighth floor with dancers from Ailey Extension. Capture the grace and energy of the human form, drawing from live models influenced by Alvin Ailey’s dynamic choreography.

Additional artmaking programs for artists of all ages include Shapes in Space from 11 am–3 pm. First, experience Torkwase Dyson’s sculpture Liquid Shadows, Solid Dreams (A Monastic Playground) on the Whitney's fifth-floor terrace where visitors can touch, sit, and engage with the installation. Then head over to the pop-up art space to create artwork inspired by Dyson’s use of shape, space, and light. Dyson thinks of the installation as a kind of playground, inviting visitors to interact with and experience it in a hands-on way. This is the last Free Second Sunday to see this installation before it closes to the public on February 2.

In between artmaking sessions, follow a guided exhibition tour of Edges of Ailey in English at 12:30 pm or 1:30 pm to dive deeper into themes and connection throughout the show. There will also be an Edges of Ailey exhibition tour in Spanish offered at 3 pm. Other guided tours include an exhibition tour of Shifting Landscapes at 12:30 pm or 3 pm. The Whitney also invites visitors to check out the Artist’s Archive, a program organized in partnership with the Louis Armstrong House Museum, at 2 pm on the eighth floor. The program includes a conversation considering the importance of an artist’s archive, and how it can be used as a tool for legacy building as well as a touchstone for expansive creativity, and listening sessions of recorded music and interviews inspired by the Ailey and Armstrong legacies.

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. 

While general admission to the Whitney is free on Sunday, January 12, tickets are still required, and capacity is limited. Advance booking is strongly recommended, and Museum tickets can be reserved at whitney.org/admission.

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.

Edges of Ailey Exhibition and Performance Tickets

Timed tickets for the in-gallery exhibition Edges of Ailey, on view September 25, 2024–February 9, 2025, are currently available at whitney.org/admission. Performance tickets are also available for purchase on whitney.org and include same-day access to the exhibition. Performances take place in the Museum’s theater, and space is limited. 

Source: Whitney Museum Press Office