The New York Public Library offers free major exhibitions and special displays at three of its research library locations—the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Library for the Performing Arts, and Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture—and community showcases at many of its branch locations throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.
Current Exhibitions
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Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures
OngoingStephen A. Schwarzman BuildingThe Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures showcases some of the most extraordinary items from the 56…
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Code Switch: Distributing Blackness, Reprogramming Internet Art
Through December 19, 2024Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureThe first of its kind internationally, Code Switch: Distributing Blackness, Reprogramming Internet Art presented by The…
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Byron: A Life in Motion
Through January 12, 2025Stephen A. Schwarzman Building -
Line & Thread: Prints and Textiles from the 1600s to the Present
Through January 12, 2025Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingThis exhibition, which starts with a section of historical examples that illustrate overlaps between prints and textiles, examines how…
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Becoming Bohemia: Greenwich Village, 1912–1923
Through February 1, 2025Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingThe exhibition traces the flowering of America’s first large-scale countercultural enclave.
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JIMMY! God's Black Revolutionary Mouth
Through February 28, 2025Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureNovelist, essayist, intellectual, and activist James Baldwin (1924–1987) is renowned as one of the world’s most influential and…
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The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S.
Through March 1, 2025The New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsThe Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S. tells the story of what made the Joffrey a unique force in the world of dance, demonstrating…
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From Panama to New York: The Musical Journey of Rubén Blades
Through April 15, 2025The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts -
Letters from Home: The Black ABCs Reimagined
Through May 22, 2025Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureStep into Letters from Home: The Black ABCs Reimagined, an extraordinary exhibition by the Schomburg Junior Scholars Program.
Coming Soon
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A Century of The New Yorker
February 22, 2025–February 21, 2026Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingThis exhibition will survey 100 years of life at The New Yorker, bringing to life the people, stories, and ideas…
Community Showcases
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Mai La Thai: The Light Thereafter
Ongoing53rd Street LibraryMai La Thai is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and photographer. Her accolades include FIrst Place in the 2019 PDN…
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Between Branches: The Light Hereafter
Through January 1, 2025Hudson Park LibraryPhotography Exhibition by Mai La Thai
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WE: A Portrait Show
Through January 31, 2025George Bruce LibraryJoin us for an inspiring exhibition showcasing the artistic talents of our very own NYPL librarians!
Online Exhibitions
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The Skeleton Caricatures of Posada | Las meras meras calaveras de Posada
OngoingOnline OnlyStephen A. Schwarzman BuildingThis online exhibition presents a selection of Posada’s calaveras and announces the digitization of the entirety of the Library’s Posada… -
Pride & Privacy: LGBTQ+ Visibility in Library Collections
OngoingOnline OnlyStephen A. Schwarzman BuildingThe lives of people who identify as LGBTQ+, more than those of others, have often historically been shaped by questions of visibility…
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Banned: Censorship and the Freedom to Read
OngoingOnline OnlyStephen A. Schwarzman BuildingThis online exhibition, accompanied by a curriculum guide and temporary displays of material, explores censorship in the United States,…
Past Exhibitions
See AllVisibility & Resistance: New Acquisitions, Contemporary Afro-Mexican Photography
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Visibility & Resistance celebrates the recent acquisition of a collection of contemporary Afro-Mexican photography. By…
FLY BALL: Vintage Snapshots of Black Athletes by Morgan & Marvin Smith
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
This year’s Photoville outdoor banner exhibition—hosted at St. Nicholas Park and Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem from June - September,…
Photo Call: The Theater Photos of Joan Marcus and Carol Rosegg
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Photo Call: The Theater Photos of Joan Marcus and Carol Rosegg features an extensive selection of the many theater…
