Whitney Museum is Free to Visitors of All Ages Sunday, February 11 with Artmaking Programs Led by Artist Dyani White Hawk

Photographs by Filip Wolak

Before the big game, families can explore the Whitney as part of Free Second Sundays, with artmaking programs led by artist Dyani White Hawk, a tour of the brand new exhibition Harold Cohen: AARON, and more!

The Whitney Museum is offering free admission all day on Sunday, February 11 and special programming in English and Spanish for visitors of all ages. The Whitney is the perfect spot to gather with friends and family as New Yorkers are looking for things to do to celebrate Valentine’s Day or before the Super Bowl!

The February installment of this monthly program will offer all-ages artmaking activities led by artist Dyani White Hawk, exhibition tours, and in-gallery discussions, including a closer look at Harold Cohen: AARON and Natalie Ball: bilwi naats Ga’niipci, among other programs. More details on the special activities and ticket reservations can be found at whitney.org/visit/second-sundays.

The program and another new 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. While admission is free for these programs, tickets are still required and can be reserved at whitney.org. Advanced tickets are strongly encouraged.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11 PROGRAM LISTINGS

Recorridos Familiares
10:30 am, 12:30 pm
Invitamos a las familias de habla hispana y a sus infancias de cinco años o más, a que recorran las salas del museo junto al personal docente del Whitney, y participen en divertidas actividades grupales de creación artística. Este recorrido inicia en la mesa de registro del tercer piso.

Location: En todo el Whitney
Event Link: whitney.org/events/recorridos-familiares-2024

Artmaking with Dyani White Hawk
11 am–3 pm
Artists of all ages are invited to the eighth-floor Studio Cafe to view a new installation from Whitney collection artist Dyani White Hawk and participate in a hands-on workshop. Gaining inspiration from the themes in White Hawk’s work, Nourish, participants will have the opportunity to explore and experiment with a variety of art materials and create their own works of art.

Location: Floor 8
Event Link: whitney.org/events/artmaking-dyani-white-hawk

Double Take: Dialogue Across Generations
11:30 am, 3 pm
Join two Whitney experts on a special intergenerational tour of The Whitney’s Collection: Selections from 1900 to 1965. The guides will share their thoughts on selected artworks while encouraging participants to look closely at the pieces and discuss them together. Each session focuses on a single work of art or explores a connection between two works.

Location: Floor 7
Event Link: whitney.org/events/a-closer-look-secondsunday

Lo destacado en la colección
12 pm, 2:30 pm
Únase a una visita guiada y a una conversación breve, sobre las obras de arte de la colección del museo, dirigida en español por un educador del Whitney.

Location: Piso 7
Event Link: whitney.org/events/spotlights-tours-collection-es

Exhibition Tour Harold Cohen: AARON
12:30 pm
This exhibition traces the evolution of Harold Cohen’s AARON, the earliest artificial intelligence (AI) program for artmaking. Over the decades the AARON software has created images meant to be executed by drawing and painting devices. This exhibition features AARON works, and also highlights the software as the central creative force behind them through screen-based versions of the program and drawings made by plotters operating live in the gallery.

Location: Floor 8
Event Link: whitney.org/events/exhibition-tour-cohen

Exhibition Tour: Collection
1:30 pm
Join a guided tour through the current exhibition of works from the Whitney’s collection. Tours are free with Museum admission and meet in the galleries.

Location: Floor 7
Event Link: whitney.org/events/exhibition-tour-collection

Dialogues on Art: Natalie Ball: bilwi naats Ga’niipci
4:30 pm
Join Joan Tisch Teaching Fellow Patryk Tomaszewski for a guided conversation about the ideas raised in the work of Natalie Ball, currently on view in the Lobby Gallery.

Location: Floor 1
Event Link: whitney.org/events/a-closer-look-secondsunday

About Free Friday Nights and Second Sundays

The Whitney’s Second Sundays program marks a significant expansion of the Whitney’s already robust suite of free and discounted offerings. By offering free admission and special programming, the initiative aims to reduce barriers to the Whitney, offer audiences a welcoming entry point, and further the Museum’s mission of celebrating contemporary American art and artists.

Second Sundays are made possible by a 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 reducing common barriers to access.

In addition to Second Sundays, the Museum also launched Free Friday Nights on January 12, with free admission from 5–10 pm every Friday. The evenings will also offer music and special programming. The Whitney’s Free Friday Nights are an ideal destination for happy hours and date nights and will play a larger role in the evening energy of the Meatpacking District.

Free Friday Nights are made possible by three-year gifts from Whitney Trustee Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield, and Whitney Trustee Paul Arnhold and Wes Gordon. More details on upcoming Free Friday Nights and Second Sundays programs are available at whitney.org/free-days-and-nights.

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 a champion of the most innovative art and artists in the United States for over ninety years. At its core, 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 supporting modern and contemporary art. The Museum helps to 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 Acknowledgment, 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.