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 Building -
Fortune and Folly in 1720
Through February 19, 2023Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingFortune and Folly in 1720 chronicles the spectacular rise and fall of the first international bubble economy. The Mississippi…
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Boundless: 10 Years of Seeding Black Comic Futures
Through February 28, 2023Schomburg 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… -
Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars
Through March 4, 2023The New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsThe first large-scale exhibition featuring previously unseen and unheard work from Lou Reed’s archive. -
Virginia Woolf: A Modern Mind
Through March 5, 2023Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingVirginia Woolf dedicated her literary life to the examination of the human character, whether in essays, short stories, and novels,…
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Been Seen
Through March 11, 2023Schomburg 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… -
Focus Center Stage: 50 Years of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive
Through June 24, 2023The New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsA look back at the archive, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Theatre on Film and Tape and how it affected theatre history.
Coming Soon
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The Wondrous Willa Kim: Costume Designs for Actors and Dancers
February 23–August 19, 2023The New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsThe Library for the Performing Arts celebrates the long and colorful career of costume designer Willa Kim.
Community Showcases
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Looking Up Series: Artist Shu Tu
Through March 3, 2023Inwood LibraryA series of paintings inspired by Inwood sunsets
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Sue Burickson: WISDOM AND WONDER
Through February 28, 2023St. Agnes LibraryWISDOM AND WONDER, my current exhibition at the St. Agnes Library is about what happens within us as we experience the intersection of…
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Have A Heat: Friendship & Activism of Jesus Lebron
Through March 31, 2023Belmont Library and Enrico Fermi Cultural CenterThe Bronx County Historical Society invites you to celebrate Bronx-born Puerto Rican activist Jesús
Lebrón's central role in…
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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All This Mine Alone: Lady Gregory and the Irish Literary Revival
Online 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 AllA Dickens Christmas
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
This holiday season, the Library is celebrating with a special installation featuring Dickens’s heavily annotated…
All This Mine Alone: Lady Gregory and the Irish Literary Revival
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Augusta Gregory has long been recognized as the woman who helped shape a new era of modern Irish literature at the turn of the 20th…
We Were Beautiful Then, Too: Late 19th Century African American Cabinet Cards
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
In the 19th century, African Americans harnessed the power of photography to claim a self-possessed identity in line with middle class…
