Whitney Museum Offers Free Storytimes with NYPL and Free Admission on Sunday, April 14

Photographs by Filip Wolak

The Whitney Museum of American Art offers free storytimes in partnership with The New York Public Library on April 14 during Free Second Sundays at the Museum. This special free admission day is also an opportunity to experience the recently opened Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than the Real Thing. Visit the acclaimed exhibition that everyone’s talking about this spring!

On Sunday, April 14, storytimes with NYPL librarians will take place in the Museum’s lobby at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm, in both English and Spanish for families and visitors of all ages. This month’s storytimes will feature a reading of the beloved children’s story Millions of Cats, written and illustrated by artist Wanda Gág, whose work is currently highlighted in the exhibition Wanda Gág’s World, which recently opened in the 7th floor galleries. Visitors to the Museum will also have the opportunity to sign up for NYPL library cards in the lobby.

Additional special programs like exhibition tours in English and Spanish, artmaking activities, and in-gallery discussions, including a closer look at Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than the Real Thing and Harold Cohen: AARON, will also be offered throughout the day. Artists of all ages are encouraged to make their own colorful artworks inspired by the works of Biennial artist Eamon Ore-Giron in the 3rd floor Artspace. In the 7th floor galleries, a special in-gallery artmaking station will provide opportunities to create hands-on projects in front of Wanda Gág’s expressive prints on view. For more information about the April 14 schedule of activities, please visit whitney.org/visit/second-sundays.

Free Second Sundays at the Whitney help connect more people to the Museum and its mission of celebrating contemporary American art and artists. While admission is free for these programs, tickets are still required and can be reserved at whitney.org/tickets. Advanced tickets are strongly encouraged.

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

PROGRAM SUPPORT

Free Friday Nights are generously supported by Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield and Paul Arnhold and Wes Gordon.

Generous support for Second Sundays is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.

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.