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
-
Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures
OngoingStephen A. Schwarzman Building -
We Were Beautiful Then, Too: Late 19th Century African American Cabinet Cards
OngoingSchomburg Center for Research in Black CultureIn the 19th century, African Americans harnessed the power of photography to claim a self-possessed identity in line with middle class…
-
Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars
Through March 4, 2023The New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsThe New York Public Library for the Performing Arts mounts Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars, the first large-scale exhibition… -
Been Seen
OngoingSchomburg Center for Research in Black CultureHighlighting the work of Harlem-based photographer Austin Hansen (1910 -1996) and the experiences of Black photographers to illuminate the… -
Boundless: 10 Years of Seeding Black Comic Futures
OngoingSchomburg Center for Research in Black CultureThe exhibition celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture’s Black Comic Book Festival and… -
Peter Kuper's INterSECTS: Where Arthropods and Homo Sapiens Meet
Through August 13, 2022Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingINterSECTS presents excerpts from artist Peter Kuper’s forthcoming graphic novel, which he developed during his tenure as a fellow at The… -
Climate, Environment, and the Performing Arts
Through June 30, 2022The New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsMaterials from the dance, theatre, and music & recorded sound divisions address how the performing arts have responded to climate…
Coming Soon
See All-
Fortune and Folly in 1720
September 23, 2022–January 8, 2023Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingFortune and Folly in 1720 chronicles the spectacular rise and fall of the first international bubble economy. The Mississippi…
Community Showcases
See All-
Two Cities. Photographs by Renata Contins and Tiago Chediak
Through June 27, 2023Hudson Park LibraryThe exhibition “Two Cities” is a selection of photographs by Renata Contins and Tiago Chediak shot in Rio de Janeiro and New York…
-
Brett Gingold: An Abstract Artist’s Journey from Private to Public
Through December 31, 2022Hudson Park Library -
Sato Yamamoto: A Letter from Kimono World
Through June 7, 2023Hudson Park Library
Online Exhibitions
See All-
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…
-
All This Mine Alone: Lady Gregory and the Irish Literary Revival
OngoingOnline OnlyStephen A. Schwarzman BuildingAugusta Gregory has long been recognized as the woman who helped shape a new era of modern Irish literature at the turn of the 20th…
Past Exhibitions
See AllAkhnaten: Philip Glass’ Operatic Portrait of a Pharaoh
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Celebrating the return of Phillip Glass' Akhnaten, the Library for the Performing Arts delves into the archives.
TARYN SIMON // The Color of a Flea's Eye: The Picture Collection
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
The Color of a Flea’s Eye foregrounds the Picture Collection at The New York Public Library which, since its founding in 1915, has allowed…
The Skin of Our Teeth: Through Thornton Wilder's Letters
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
A collection of photographs and letters by playwright Thorton Wilder highlighting the play, The Skin of Our Teeth.
