Photograph by Filip Wolak
The Whitney Museum of American Art presents a series of free, on-site public programs and events celebrating Pride throughout the month of June. Pride at the Whitney will activate the Museum building and surrounding neighborhood with festivities for visitors of all ages. Pride at the Whitney is part of the Museum’s ongoing commitment to support LGBTQ+ artists and communities and offer an inclusive space for all to gather and enjoy American art.
Pride at the Whitney kicks off on May 31 with choral performances featuring the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and coinciding with one of the Whitney’s Free Friday Nights. During this program, groups of coral singers will gather throughout the Museum to perform for visitors in a series of pop-up performances that echo through the halls of the Museum and fill the building with the transformative power of song. The evening culminates in a final performance featuring over 200 singers on the Whitney’s main entrance steps. Free admission to the Whitney begins at 5 pm each Friday.
On Wednesday, June 5, 6:30 pm, the Museum will host Legends of Drag, which is presented by the New York City AIDS Memorial. This celebratory evening honors queens and queer elders who have long been cultural and spiritual leaders within their communities and will include performances by Linda Simpson (emcee), Simone, Ruby Rims, Egyptt LaBeija, Princess Diandra, Lawanda Jackson, and special guest Agosto Machado.
Festivities continue on Sunday, June 9, with Free Second Sundays, which provides visitors of all ages with free admission to the Museum all day long from 10:30 am–6 pm. For this special Pride edition of Free Second Sunday, all are welcome to participate in helping to create the Whitney Community Pride Mural by reflecting on their personal meanings of Pride and creating a work of art to add to the mural. Additional family-friendly activities, including hands-on artmaking, collaborative coloring projects, and more will occur throughout the day.
Throughout June, visitors are invited to join Whitney education staff on Queer History Walks in the Meatpacking District to learn more about the impact and history of LGBTQ+ communities in the neighborhood around the Whitney.
On Friday, June 14, Queer Teen Night is led by the Museum’s Youth Insights Leaders 2024 Biennial artist Nyala Moon. LGBTQ+ teens and allies are invited to celebrate Pride, participate in artmaking workshops, enjoy performances, take a tour of the acclaimed 2024 Whitney Biennial, and more.
On Monday, June 24, 4–6 pm, the Whitney and community partner ADAPT Community Network will host a Radical Joy Ball in the Museum’s Theater. Museum visitors are welcome to join in celebrating and recognizing those within our community who are LGBTQ+, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), and living with disabilities. Drawing from New York’s ballroom culture traditions, this event creates a space to celebrate the vibrancy of LGBTQ+ and disability pride through music, dance, and runway performances.
PROGRAM LISTINGS
These events are part of Pride at the Whitney, a series of free public programs and events dedicated to LGBTQ+ artists and communities, offering an inclusive space for all to gather and enjoy American art. Additional information about Pride at the Whitney, digital offerings, and visitor information, including accessibility services, is available on the Museum’s website at whitney.org/pride-2024. More details about programs and events will be added to the website as they are confirmed.
Tickets to the Museum must be reserved separately, including on Free Friday Nights and Free Second Sundays. Advance booking is recommended.
New York City Gay Men’s Chorus: Our Joy Is a Protest
Friday, May 31, 2–10 pm
Experience the vibrant heart of queer Pride with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus at the Whitney! Our Joy Is a Protest: A Choral Installation of Song is an all-day celebration bringing together the NYCGMC, Tonewall, Youth Pride Chorus, and the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus. Featuring choral pieces that embody the spirit of Pride, joy, and community, the Museum will be filled with performances that surprise and uplift, and challenge, echoing through the halls of the Whitney. The final performance of the evening will feature more than 200 singers coming together on the stairs on the Museum’s main entrance.
This event coincides with Free Friday Nights, which offers free admission to the Museum beginning at 5 pm.
Location: Whitney Museum
Tickets: Free with Museum admission; advance booking is recommended. Event Link: whitney.org/events/gay-mens-chorus
Free Friday Nights
Friday, May 31, 5–10 pm
Friday, June 7, 5–10 pm
Friday, June 14, 5–10 pm
Friday, June 21, 5–10 pm
Friday, June 28, 5–10 pm
Admission to the Whitney is now free on Friday evenings from 5–10 pm. Join us for free admission, music, and special programming. Though admission is free, tickets are required and capacity is limited.
Location: Whitney Museum
Tickets: Free; tickets required. Advance booking is recommended. Event Link: whitney.org/visit/free-friday-nights
Legends of Drag
Wednesday, June 5, 6:30 pm
In honor of Pride Month, and on HIV/AIDS Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day, the New York City AIDS Memorial and Whitney Museum present the second annual Legends of Drag revue. This celebratory evening honors queens and queer elders who have long been cultural and spiritual leaders within their communities. The evening will feature performances by Linda Simpson (emcee), Simone, Ruby Rims, Egyptt LaBeija, Princess Diandra, Lawanda Jackson, and special guest Agosto Machado—all icons who paved the way for the drag renaissance of today.
Location: Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater Tickets: Tickets required; $10 per person.
Event Link: whitney.org/events/legends-of-drag-24
Whitney Community Pride Mural
Sunday, June 9, 11 am–3 pm
Visitors of all ages are welcome to contribute a work of art to the Whitney Community Pride Mural. To honor our LGBTQ+ community and allies, the Whitney invites visitors to reflect on their personal connections to Pride. Pride first started as a political march in 1970—one year after the Stonewall Riots—and now takes place all over the world, creating space for the LGBTQ+ community to feel safe, welcomed, affirmed, and celebrated.
Location: Floor 3, Hearst Artspace
Tickets: Free with Museum admission; advance booking is recommended. Event Link: whitney.org/events/community-pride-mural
Free Second Sundays
Sunday, June 9, 10:30 am–6 pm
Admission to the Whitney is free all day on the second Sunday of every month. Visitors of all ages will enjoy artmaking, tours, and other special activities that celebrate Whitney exhibitions and community events. The day also includes free storytimes with The New York Public Library at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. Though admission is free, tickets are required and capacity is limited.
Location: Whitney Museum
Tickets: Free; tickets required. Advance booking is recommended. Event Link: whitney.org/visit/second-sundays
Queer Teen Night
Friday, June 14, 4–7 pm
The Whitney will host a dedicated evening designed for LGBTQ+ teens and allies. Join the Museum’s Youth Insights Leaders 2024 Biennial artist Nyala Moon, in collaboration with The Door and Haus of Us, for an evening of artmaking, performances, dancing, giveaways, and a tour of Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than the Real Thing.
Location: Whitney Museum
Tickets: Free, registration required.
Event Link: whitney.org/events/queer-teen-night-24
Radical Joy Ball
Monday, June 24, 4–6 pm
Join the Whitney and our partner, ADAPT Community Network, for an evening celebrating inclusivity, access, and the pride of self-expression in the Museum’s theater. This event creates a space to celebrate the vibrancy of LGBTQ+ and disability pride through music, dance, and runway performances.
Location: Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Tickets: Free; guests can pick up tickets in the lobby. Seating is first come, first served. Event Link: whitney.org/events/radical-joy-ball-adapt
Queer History Walks
Friday, June 7, 6 pm
Sunday, June 9, 4 pm
Friday, June 14, 6 pm
Sunday, June 16, 4 pm
Friday, June 21, 6 pm
Sunday, June 23, 4 pm
Friday, June 28, 6 pm
Sunday, June 30, 4 pm
Join the Whitney education team on a Queer History Walk in the Meatpacking District to learn more about the impact and history of LGBTQ+ communities throughout the neighborhood surrounding the Museum. From the Hudson River piers to the clubs, visitors are invited to consider their connection to the changing landscape of the neighborhood that the Whitney now occupies, as well as the city’s history. View the tour map.
Outdoor events are weather dependent and subject to cancellation or being moved indoors should conditions require. Any changes to event plans will be noted online.
Location: Tours will meet outside the entrance of the Museum. The meeting place will be marked with physical signage.
Tickets: Free, registration required. Please note that Museum admission is not included. Event Link: whitney.org/events/queer-history-walks-2024
ABOUT THE WHITNEY
The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded in 1930 by the artist and philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), houses the foremost collection of American art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Mrs. Whitney, an early and ardent supporter of modern American art, nurtured groundbreaking artists when audiences were still largely preoccupied with the Old Masters. From her vision arose the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has been championing the most innovative art of the United States for ninety years. The core of the Whitney’s mission is to collect, preserve, interpret, and exhibit American art of our time and serve a wide variety of audiences in celebration of the complexity and diversity of art and culture in the United States. Through this mission and a steadfast commitment to artists, the Whitney has long been a powerful force in support of modern and contemporary art and continues to help define what is innovative and influential in American art today.
Whitney Museum Land Acknowledgment
The Whitney is located in Lenapehoking, the ancestral homeland of the Lenape. The name Manhattan comes from their word Mannahatta, meaning “island of many hills.” The Museum’s current site is close to land that was a Lenape fishing and planting site called Sapponckanikan (“tobacco field”). The Whitney acknowledges the displacement of this region’s original inhabitants and the Lenape diaspora that exists today.
As a museum of American art in a city with vital and diverse communities of Indigenous people, the Whitney recognizes the historical exclusion of Indigenous artists from its collection and program. The Museum is committed to addressing these erasures and honoring the perspectives of Indigenous artists and communities as we work for a more equitable future. To read more about the Museum’s Land Acknowledgement, visit the Museum’s website.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The Whitney Museum of American Art is located at 99 Gansevoort Street between Washington and West Streets, New York City. Public hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 10:30 am–6 pm; Friday, 10:30 am–10 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 am–6 pm. Closed Tuesday. Visitors eighteen years and under and Whitney members: FREE. The Museum offers FREE admission and special programming for visitors of all ages every Friday evening from 5–10 pm and on the second Sunday of every month.
You must be logged in to post a comment.