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 -
A Dickens Christmas
Through January 8, 2023Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingThis holiday season, the Library is celebrating with a special installation featuring Dickens’s heavily annotated…
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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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Focus Center Stage: 50 Years of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive
Through February 25, 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.
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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
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…
Community Showcases
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Nancy Macina: Paintings
OngoingOttendorfer LibraryJoin us for the exhibit, Nancy Macina: Paintings. The exhibition includes ten works, all oil on canvas, of various cityscapes. On…
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De Natura Libris Project by Álvaro Alejandro López
Through December 31, 2024Hudson Park LibraryAn invitation to delve into the nooks and crannies of the “book” concept as an object and as a score that each reader must build from…
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Victoria Horne's Trip to Thailand
Through April 30, 2023Hudson Park LibraryVirtual Photography Exhibition
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 AllAll 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…
Peter Kuper's INterSECTS: Where Arthropods and Homo Sapiens Meet
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
INterSECTS presents excerpts from artist Peter Kuper’s forthcoming graphic novel, which he developed during his tenure as a fellow at The…
