Wonder City of the World: New York City Travel Posters. Photo:Samuel Morgan

Summer 2024 Arts Guide

Enjoy summer in the City with an exciting array of performing and visual arts—including the aptly named Summer for the City, Lincoln Center’s series of performances, dances, talks and the like across the boroughs. Elsewhere you’ll find a celebration of NYC as a tourist destination at Poster House, hip-hop jewelry at the American Museum of Natural History, the chance to learn about native plants and insects at Brooklyn Botanic Garden and outdoor art installations in City Hall and Madison Square Parks. Look below to start filling up your calendar.

SUMMER EXHIBITS IN NYC

Head to museums and galleries for contemporary and classical works, and check out parks for public art displays.

Bolero in rehearsal, with Anatole Viltzak, Ida Rubinstein’s co-lead, at center.
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Museums & Galleries
Midtown East

Crafting the Ballets Russes

Music manuscripts help tell the story of women in early 20th century ballet.

Bee on red flower
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Outdoor Art Spaces
Prospect Heights

Natural Attractions: A Plant-Pollinator Love Story

The intersection between plants and their pollinators comes to life in this exhibit.

Wonder City of the World: New York City Travel Posters exhibit at Poster House
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Museums & Galleries
Chelsea

Wonder City of the World: New York City Travel Posters

See how New York City was promoted through an exhibit of historical marketing materials.

Slick Rick showing off his rings
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Museums & Galleries
Upper West Side

Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry

A visually arresting part of hip-hop style is on display at American Museum of Natural History.

Photography work from LaToya Ruby Frazier
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Museums & Galleries
Midtown West

LaToya Ruby Frazier: Monuments of Solidarity

View the first survey of this artist-activist’s two-decade career.

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Museums & Galleries
Long Island City

Hard Ground

See works by seven New York–based artists at MoMA PS1.

Rose B. Simpson, Seed instalation
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Outdoor Art Spaces
Flatiron District

Public Art in Public Space

The park puts on works by multiple artists on its grounds and in collaboration with other Manhattan green spaces.

Portrait of Cannupa Hanska Luger
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Outdoor Art Spaces
Lower Manhattan

Cannupa Hanska Luger: Attrition

Public Art Fund’s annual City Hall Park installation features the work of a Native American artist.

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Museums & Galleries
Upper West Side

From Paul Revere to Edward Hopper

Centuries of American artworks trace history up to today.

Interior of the Armory Show
Sep 24, 2026 - Sep 27, 2026
Museums & Galleries
Hells Kitchen

The Armory Show

This top international art fair features exhibits and events devoted to the most important artworks of the 20th and 21st centuries.

SUMMER PERFORMANCES IN NYC

Whether you are looking for modern dance recitals, outdoor concerts or Shakespeare on a grand stage, you'll find it in NYC.

Shakespeare in the Park
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Performing Arts
Central Park

Shakespeare in the Park

Enjoy free Shakespeare performances in Central Park's newly refurbished Delacorte Theater.

SummerStage
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Performing Arts
Central Park

SummerStage

See dozens of free and ticketed live music performances in parks around the five boroughs, with Central Park as the main stage.

The Official App of the Summer 2025 Arts Guide

The Official App of the Summer 2025 Arts Guide

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