Looking for a fun new cultural activity but not sure what to check out next? We’ve rounded up some of the highlights that you can experience for free this month with Culture Pass, from new exhibition openings to limited-run live performances. Check back each month for a new set of recommendations!
You can learn more about individual exhibitions and events by clicking the links in the blurbs below, but if you want to book a Culture Pass, click here to return to the homepage and log in with your library card to make a reservation.
May 2024
All offers listed below are subject to availability.
RETURNING SITE: Step Back in Time at the New-York Historical Society
Dates: Tuesday-Sunday
The New-York Historical Society—New York City's oldest museum, founded 220 years ago in 1804—is now offering Culture Passes for the first time since the start of the pandemic, bringing the total number of partner locations to 100 for the very first time! Visit this storied institution to see everything from the Castello Plan to a sprawling collection of a hundred Tiffany lamps.
NEW SITE: See Something Unexpected at Film Forum
Date: Select Mondays & Tuesdays
Another exciting addition to the Culture Pass network this month is one of Manhattan's most iconic destinations for cinephiles: Film Forum! Coming up later this month: screenings of Evil Does Not Exist, Oscar®-winning auteur Hamaguchi's newest feature, in which taciturn widower Takumi must adapt to the arrival of corporate invaders who have bought choice land on the outskirts of Tokyo for a glamping site.
EXPERIENCE: Stroll the Streets of HRT's Open Village
Dates: Wednesday-Sunday
May marks the return of Historic Richmond Town's delightful Open Village season, during which the open air museum is alive thanks to costumed Historical Interpreters in structures throughout the campus. The campus zones interpret life in the 1770s, 1820s, and 1860s, with historic trades displayed in shops and domestic life shown inside historic homes.
EXHIBITION: Uncover the Archaeology of Memory at El Museo
Dates: Opening 5/2
El Museo del Barrio is gearing up for the opening of Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory, the first retrospective exhibition by the pioneering, genre-defying Chicanx artist, curator, and theorist. The exhibition features over 40 works including the artist’s large-scale “altar-installations”, as well as prints, artist books, and codices.
NEW SITE: Score Ringside Seats at STREB
Date: Opening 5/10
Head to Williamsburg this month for the premiere of RINGSIDE, a new Action Event on the STREB Lab for Action Mechanics’ latest Action Machine, SURF. This thrilling apparatus was designed to evoke the power and turbulence of maverick waves. Don’t miss your chance to experience the daring choreography and exhilarating performances at another brand new Culture Pass partner site!
PERFORMANCE: Take in a Show at Second Stage
Date: Opening 5/16
In Breaking the Story, the latest production from Second Stage Theater, foreign war correspondent Marina (Maggie Siff) has put her life on the line to illuminate the darkest corners of humanity. Having just returned from a particularly bloody conflict, she flirts with staying home for good. But as Marina tries to take hold of her life, she’s forced to reckon with the hold war has on her.
EXHIBITION: Experience the Guggenheim in a Whole New Light
Date: Opening 5/16
If you missed Jenny Holzer’s landmark 1989 installation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, you're in luck: this month, the museum will present Jenny Holzer: Light Line, a reimagination of this iconic work that will transform the rotunda into a spiraling vortex of scrolling text. From May 16–20, the artist’s light projection For the Guggenheim will be displayed on the building’s façade at sundown.