The museum celebrates the month with Free Friday Nights and Free Second Sunday, along with the debut of Roy Lichtenstein: 1997, an exhibition featuring rarely seen works from the final year of the artist’s life.
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New York, NY, September 10, 2026 — The Whitney Museum of American Art offers free admission, music, dance, special programs, exhibition tours and much more during Free Friday Nights and the September edition of Free Second Sundays. Currently on view, visitors can explore The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans. Just over fifty years after the Whitney presented the artist’s first solo museum exhibition, this landmark exhibition celebrates the visionary work of one of America’s most admired self-taught artists. Visitors will also have the opportunity to experience the special exhibition Roy Lichtenstein: 1997, opening September 5. This exhibition brings together rarely seen works made during the final year of the pioneering Pop artist’s life. Revisiting and expanding upon some of the major thematic lines of Roy Lichtenstein: Like New, which will open on October 11, Roy Lichtenstein: 1997 includes prints, photographs, and sculptural maquettes, as well as drawing and collage studies for various projects that were never realized.
Sunday, September 13
On Sunday, September 13, the Whitney will offer free admission from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for all visitors in celebration of the July edition of Free Second Sunday. Program highlights include:
In collaboration with Librería Comunitaria Barco de Papel y Centro Cultural, a vibrant community space dedicated to books and culture, audiences can enjoy art-inspired readings that celebrate the joy of storytelling in Spanish and English.
- 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., All Ages Artmaking: Family Emblems
Inspired by Consumables, a work by Biennial artist Ash Arder on view in the sixth-floor gallery, participants of all ages can use collage and drawing to create their own emblem, representing the qualities, traditions, and ideas that shape their family. Visitors are invited to join Arder for a day of artmaking, sound experimentation, and close looking.
- 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., All Ages Artmaking: Solar Sounders with Alex Nathanson
Using basic circuits and small solar panels, Simple Solar Sounders produce a variety of sounds determined by their relationship to sunlight and their position in space. Participants will learn how to make their own devices and use them to explore different sonic spaces.
This tour, led by Katherine Cheairs, Joan Tisch Teaching Fellow, offers an exploration of the work of prominent Black artists of the twentieth century featured in the permanent collection exhibition “Untitled” (America), including Barkley L. Hendricks, Richmond Barthé, Eldzier Cortor, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Alma Thomas.
Friday, September 18
With free admission from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Free Friday Nights at the Whitney offers art, drinks, a great view of the city, dance, and much more. Program highlights include:
- 6:00 p.m., Queer History Walk
From the Hudson River piers to nightclubs, these free walking tours explore the rich queer history of the Whitney’s neighborhood and take visitors to different historic locations that once served as spaces for gathering and building queer community.
- 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., Free Afro-Latin Dance Classes with Ailey Extension
People of all ages and experience levels are invited to participate in a free Afro-Latin dance class led by Ailey Extension instructor Katherine Jimenez.
Friday, September 25
From 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the Whitney invites the public to enjoy free admission, art, music, and a magnificent view of the city during Free Friday Nights. Program highlights include:
- 6:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m., DJ Set: FKAjazz
Upon entering the lobby, visitors will be welcomed by a DJ set from FKAjazz. Grammy-nominated and Billboard-charting, FKAjazz is a Jazztronica artist, saxophonist, producer, and DJ who combines live saxophone with the sophistication of electronic music, bringing a high level of musicianship, creativity, and energy to every performance.
Ongoing Exhibition Tours
During Free Friday Nights and Free Second Sundays, a variety of free exhibition tours led by Whitney educators are offered, ranging from family-oriented visits to 15-minute tours. For more details about upcoming tours, visit whitney.org/events.
Although general admission to the Whitney is free every Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and throughout Sunday, September 13, a ticket is required and capacity is limited. Advance reservations are strongly recommended; tickets can be reserved at whitney.org/admission.
PROGRAM SUPPORT
Free 25 and Under is supported by lead sponsors Susan and John Hess and Julie Mehretu, with major support from Judy Hart Angelo.
Free Friday Nights receives lead sponsorship from Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield, as well as Paul Arnhold and Wes Gordon, with significant support from Leslie Bluhm and David Helfand, and the Brown Foundation Inc., of Houston.
Free Second Sundays is supported by lead sponsor Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program, with generous support from Julie and Doug Ostrover.
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ABOUT THE WHITNEY
The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded in 1930 by artist and philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), houses the foremost collection of twentieth- and twenty-first-century American art. Mrs. Whitney, one of the earliest and most fervent advocates of modern American art, championed innovative artists at a time when the public was still largely captivated by the Old Masters. From her vision grew the Whitney Museum of American Art, an institution that for more than ninety years has advanced the most innovative art in the United States. At the core of its mission is collecting, preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting American art of our time, as well as serving a wide diversity of audiences in celebration of the complexity and richness of art and culture in the United States. Through this mission and a firm and unwavering commitment to artists, the Whitney has established itself as a decisive force in supporting modern and contemporary art, and continues to 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 people. The name Manhattan comes from their word Mannahatta, meaning “island of many hills.” The Museum’s current site is located near what was once a Lenape fishing and planting area known as Sapponckanikan (“tobacco field”). The Whitney acknowledges the displacement of the original inhabitants of this region, as well as the Lenape diaspora that continues today.
As a museum of American art in a city that is home to vital and diverse Indigenous communities, the Whitney acknowledges the historic exclusion of Indigenous artists from its collection and programming. The Museum is committed to addressing these omissions and honoring the perspectives of Indigenous artists and communities as it moves toward building a more equitable future. For more information about the Museum’s land acknowledgment, please visit its website.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The Whitney Museum of American Art is located at 99 Gansevoort Street, between Washington and West Streets, in New York City. Public hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Friday, from 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Museum is closed on Tuesdays. Visitors 25 and under and Whitney members enter FREE. The Museum offers FREE admission and special programming for visitors of all ages every Friday evening, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on the second Sunday of every month.
Image Credit:
Main image: Second Sunday, May 10, 2026. Photograph by Filip Wolak
From left to right: Free Second Sunday, July 12, 2026. Photograph by Filip Wolak; Free Friday Night, February 27, 2026. Photograph by Summer Surgent-Gough
PRESS CONTACT:
Daniela Botero daniela@ivoice.agency
