Celebrate Pride at The Whitney Museum with Free Public Programs and Events Beginning June 1

2024 New York City Gay Men’s Chorus at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Photograph by Filip Wolak

The Whitney is hosting Pride celebrations, musical performances, tours, artmaking activities, free programs, and more at the Museum and in the neighborhood throughout June.

The Whitney Museum of American Art presents a series of free, on-site public programs and events celebrating Pride throughout the month of June. Coinciding with the Whitney’s anniversary of 10 years in the Meatpacking District, 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 Saturday, June 1, with the first Queer History Walking Tour of the month. Throughout June and on select Free Friday Nights, 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.

Festivities continue on Sunday, June 8, at Free Second Sunday, 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.

On Friday, June 13, 4–6 pm, the Museum’s Youth Insights Leaders and artist Dalton Gata will host Queer Teen Night at the Whitney, in collaboration with The Door. LGBTQ+ teens and allies are invited to celebrate Pride, participate in artmaking workshops, enjoy performances, take a tour of the current exhibition Shifting Landscapes, and more.

On Wednesday, June 18, 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.

On Friday, June 27, 5:30–10 pm, the galleries will be filled with choral pieces by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. Returning to the Museum after last year’s moving performances, the NYC Gay Men’s Chorus will close out the month of special activities honoring Pride at the Whitney during the last Free Friday Night of June.

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-2025. 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.

Whitney Community Pride Mural

Sunday, June 8, 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/artmaking-pride-mural

Whitney Pride Celebration at Free Second Sunday

Sunday, June 8, 10:30 am–6 pm

Celebrate Pride at the Whitney with a series of programs dedicated to LGBTQ+ artists and communities and offer an inclusive space for all to gather and enjoy American art. Enjoy free admission all day, artmaking, tours, and other special activities while also exploring the Whitney’s latest exhibitions. Free Second Sundays also includes free story times with The New York Public Library at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm.

Location: Whitney Museum

Tickets: Free; tickets required. Advance booking is recommended.

Event Link: whitney.org/visit/second-sundays

Queer Teen Night

Friday, June 13, 4–6 pm

The Whitney will host a dedicated evening designed for LGBTQ+ youth and allies. Join the Museum’s Youth Insights Leaders and artist Dalton Gata, in collaboration with The Door, for a night of artmaking, performances, dancing, giveaways, and a tour of Shifting Landscapes.

Location: Whitney Museum

Tickets: Free, registration required.

Event Link: whitney.org/events/queer-teen-night-25

Radical Joy Ball with ADAPT

Wednesday, June 18, 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-25

New York City Gay Men’s Chorus at Free Friday Night

Friday, June 27, 5:30–10 pm

Experience the vibrant heart of queer Pride with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus at the Whitney! This event fills the entire Museum with the transformative power of song, featuring pop-up choral pieces that embody the spirit of Pride, joy, and community. Prepare to be moved and inspired by performances echoing through the galleries of the Whitney. This event coincides with Free Friday Night, which offers free admission to the Museum.

Location: Whitney Museum

Tickets: Free with Museum admission; advance booking is recommended.

Event Link: whitney.org/events/nyc-gay-mens-chorus-25

Queer History Walks

Sunday, June 1, 4 pm

Friday, June 6, 6 pm

Sunday, June 8, 4 pm

Friday, June 13, 6 pm

Sunday, June 15, 4 pm

Friday, June 20, 6 pm

Sunday, June 22, 4 pm

Friday, June 27, 6 pm

Sunday, June 29, 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.

Location: Tours will meet outside the entrance of the Museum. The meeting place will be marked with physical signage. 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.

Tickets: Free, registration required. Please note that Museum admission is not included.

Event Link: whitney.org/events/queer-history-walks-2025

Free Friday Nights

Friday, June 6, 5–10 pm

Friday, June 13, 5–10 pm

Friday, June 20, 5–10 pm

Friday, June 27, 5–10 pm

Admission to the Whitney is free on Friday evenings from 5–10 pm. Join us for free admission, music with Public Records, 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

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 twenty-five 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.