Whitney Museum Celebrates West Side Fest During Free Second Sundays on July 14

Photograph by Filip Wolak

The Whitney Museum of American Art will offer free admission all day Sunday, July 14, as part of its ongoing Free Second Sundays initiative. The day includes storytimes for families and visitors of all ages with The New York Public Library, family-friendly activities, and hands-on artmaking among other programs. This Free Second Sunday coincides with West Side Fest, a weekend-long celebration of arts and culture taking place across 20 cultural organizations, including the Whitney, located along the West Side of Manhattan. This weekend of fun offers free admission days, special programming, community celebrations, and more.

On Sunday, July 14, Free Second Sundays continue with free admission at the Whitney for all visitors from 10:30 am–6 pm. From 11 am–3 pm, visitors of all ages can participate in Artmaking Inspired by Wanda Gág. Young artists are invited to get creative and imagine a world of their own by making a set of story dice and discovering a new tale with every roll. Artist, illustrator, and children’s book author Wanda Gág’s work is highlighted in the exhibition Wanda Gág’s World, currently on view in the 7th floor galleries. From 11 am–4 pm, join Whitney Museum educators in the theater for Artmaking and Storytelling inspired by Archibald John Motley, Jr.’s iconic painting Gettin’ Religion, from the Whitney’s collection. Beginning at 11:30 am, Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents: The Charles Turner Quintet will fill the Whitney’s theater with music as visitors create. Free storytimes with NYPL librarians will take place in the Museum’s lobby at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. Visitors to the Museum will also have the opportunity to sign up for NYPL library cards in the lobby. At 2 pm and 3 pm, Ask a Horticulturist is happening in the 8th floor galleries among the Museum’s newest exhibition Survival Piece #5: Portable Orchard. Join this engaging conversation with horticulturists Tim Kerins and Orrin Sheehan and learn about the exhibition and how to sustainably cultivate and care for plants in different environments. For more details about the July 14 schedule of activities, please visit whitney.org/visit/second-sundays.

While general admission to the Museum is free on Sunday, July 14, tickets are still required, and capacity is limited. Advance booking is strongly recommended, and tickets can be reserved at whitney.org/tickets. This will also be one of the last chances to see Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than the Real Thing in its entirety before it closes on Sunday, August 11.

Additional information about West Side Fest at the Whitney is available on the Museum’s website at whitney.org/west-side-fest-2024. Kicking off on Friday, July 12, and continuing through Sunday, July 14, West Side Fest celebrates the dynamic cultural offerings along the Hudson River and the adjoining neighborhoods.

Special events, programs, exhibition-related performances, and screenings may require additional tickets. For more information on these offerings, please visit whitney.org/events.

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.

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.