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.
April 2026
All offers listed below are subject to availability.
PERFORMANCE: Experience Japanese Circus Arts at the New Victory
Dates: 4/2, 4/3, 4/4, 4/5
The New Victory Theater in Midtown welcomesFukuoka-based Cirquework's YOAH this month. In the moonlit glow of dawn, a young wanderer named Yoah descends from her aerial silks into a circle of Shinto spirits, made manifest as mysterious maestros of cirque! Set to a dramatic medley of traditional Japanese drumming and thumping electronica, this wordless symphony of circus will dazzle your breath away.
EXHIBITION: See a New Interactive Artwork at the Leslie-Lohman
Dates: Opening 4/3
Lover Love, a new commission for the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art by Shu Lea Cheang, begins with a portal. A window is flung open and the gray wall of an apartment block dissolves into a turbulent, overcast sky, against which a smoky being is enveloped by a six-winged seraphim—an angel of the highest order. This collaboratively scripted film moves between physical and virtual space across four screens, themselves portals to the film’s world, which can be shifted by viewers into and out of the path of each projector.
EXHIBITION: Explore the Oceans of the World at the Noble Maritime Collection
Dates: Opening 4/9
Great bodies of water shape the earth and the lives of animals within, on land, and above. Featuring the work of Michael McWeeney, Donna Napoli-Steele, Captain Bill Schuppman, and Sarah Yuster, the Noble Maritime Collection's new exhibition OCEANUS is a collection of these artist’s visceral responses, their personal statements via their work on that enormous, universal entity—the sea.
EXHIBITION: Visit the Imaginative World of the Haas Brothers at MAD
Date: Opening 4/11
Haas Brothers: Uncanny Valley is a midcareer survey of the exuberant, imaginative worlds of twin artists Nikolai and Simon Haas. Featuring 85 fantastical, hybrid creatures, algorithmically generated landscapes, and meticulously hand‑built ceramics, the latest exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design reveals the Haas brothers’ singular ability to fuse cutting‑edge technology with deeply tactile, human‑centered making.
PERFORMANCE: Discover the Stories of Mexican Immigrant Families at HCAC
Date: 4/17, 4/19
The Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture will present two performances of the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company's "Monarcas" this month. The show celebrates the contributions and sacrifices of Mexican immigrants to the United States through folkloric dance, live music, and powerful storytelling. It is named after the most inspiring immigrant, the monarch butterfly, whose voyage across North America reminds us of a world without borders.
SCREENING: Catch the Debut of a Bronx-Born Director at Film Forum
Date: 4/20, 4/21
Film Forum will screen 19-year-old Bronx-born debut filmmaker Joel Alfonso Vargas' Mad Bills To Pay, shot guerilla-style in 14 days, later this month. Dominican American Rico figures he’ll ride out the summer selling his homemade “nutcracker” cocktails on Orchard Beach and hanging out with his friends. But after his girlfriend, Destiny, moves into his family’s already-crowded apartment, the two must face a new, adult reality.
PERFORMANCE: Celebrate Holi at Flushing Town Hall
Date: 4/25
Celebrate at Flushing Town Hall with ullas (joy), sahbhaajan (sharing) & prem (love) at the Holi Dance & Music Celebration: Festival of Colors. Experience India’s rich folk-dance legacy with live musical accompaniment. The Abha B. Roy and Srijan Dance Company will perform lively dances from Bengal, Jammu-Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh. Featuring the renowned classical Hindustani vocalist, Sanjukta Sen alongside Tapan Modak on tabla and Mirashi Gulam on harmonium.