Spring at the Whitney
A Seasonal Guide

Enjoy spring at the Whitney. During this busy season, there is so much to do and see at the Museum and in the neighborhood. Don’t miss these favorites. 

Celebrate A Decade Downtown
99 Gansevoort Street

Time flies—can you believe that May 1 marks ten years since the Whitney moved to New York City’s Meatpacking District? Join us in celebrating a decade of art, culture, and community in the neighborhood with public programs and events from May through mid-July. Festivities include dance parties, live performances, artist-led activities, and much more. 

Take in a Season of Vibrant Portraits
Amy Sherald: American Sublime, Floor 5

Discover Amy Sherald’s vibrant portraits in her debut solo exhibition at a New York museum, featuring everyday Black Americans and iconic depictions of Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor. The luminous colors in Sherald’s portraits, such as All Things Bright and Beautiful seen here, get us in the mood for spring.

Spring-Clean, Louise Nevelson Style
Collection View: Louise Nevelson, Floor 5

Instead of throwing things away during your annual spring clean, consider repurposing them! That’s what sculptor Louise Nevelson did to create her assemblages, which include discarded materials scavenged in Manhattan. In 1957, Nevelson received a case of liquor for Christmas and was intrigued by its segmented form. She began collecting milk boxes, lettuce crates, and wooden containers to transform into sculptures like Black Chord. The artist was captivated by New York City’s ever-changing skyline, and “wall works” like Black Chord evoke the city’s structures. Nevelson, dubbed an “Architect of Shadows,” painted her sculptures black, cloaking the identifying details of found objects and turning them into abstract shapes. Discover this work and more of Nevelson’s dynamic sculptures in our fifth-floor galleries.

Relax in Technicolor
Mary Heilmann: Long Line, Floor 5

Reflecting on the Whitney’s decade downtown, create colorful new memories and revisit old ones on Floor 5. Mary Heilmann’s art often fosters social connection, and her vibrant new installation, Long Line, is no exception. In 2015, the artist created a site-specific installation, Sunset, to inaugurate the terraces at our new downtown location. The current show reprises her Monochrome Chairs from that project, which sprinkle the gallery like confetti. Relax in these chairs while enjoying the view of Hudson River Park and admiring a hand-painted mural of Heilmann’s painting, Long Line. 

Inspect Insects (from a Comfortable Distance)
Shifting Landscapes, Floor 6

As the weather warms up, nature teems with new life—and more insects! You may not want them in your home, but you can observe ants and many other crawling creatures in Theo Triantafyllidis’s live software simulation BugSim (Pheromone Spa). This ever-changing digital terrarium is home to a colony of ants building a home out of rock-like materials. The software uses “ant colony optimization algorithms” to help the virtual ants find their paths. These algorithms mimic the trails of pheromones that guide insects’ movements. See how many different insects you can spot in this lively micro-ecosystem, and discover more surprising landscapes in the Floor 6 exhibition, Shifting Landscapes. 

Dine with a Living Artwork
Frenchette Bakery, Floor 1 & Studio Bar and Cafe, Floor 8

Now that it’s finally warm enough to relax outdoors, enjoy a refreshment or grab a bite at Frenchette Bakery or the Studio Bar and Cafe terrace. The menu includes pizza, soups, salads, and pastries, as well as refreshing cocktails, coffees, and teas. At Frenchette Bakery, dine surrounded by the lush greenery of Rashid Johnson’s living artwork, New Poetry, which exists both inside and outside the Whitney. Johnson thinks of the artwork as a poem, combining unusual materials and information—poetry books, grow lights, and TV monitors—to reflect new and intertwined forms of thinking.

Walk through History
Meatpacking District

Dive into the Whitney’s rich creative history—from the Greenwich Village artists who came through the Museum’s first home on 8th Street, to the various artistic projects along the Hudson River Piers. Organized as a part of our Decade Downtown celebration, join an in-person Walking Tour to uncover vibrant and varied cultural highlights near the Whitney. Additionally, embark on our Queer History Walking Tour via a self-guided tour or through our podcast to learn more about the Queer community and establishments that once flourished in the Meatpacking District.

Stroll above the City Buzz
The High Line, Manhattan’s West Side

Pair your visit to the Whitney with an art and nature-filled stroll along the High Line—the southern entrance is just steps away from our building. Formerly a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets of Manhattan’s West Side, the High Line walking path features exciting outdoor art projects, views of nearby neighborhoods, and diverse gardens. Feel the gentle breeze, take in the new blooms, and catch a view of the Whitney’s striking asymmetric architecture and Marina Zurkow’s new installation on the fifth floor terrace, The River is a Circle. This dynamic software-driven animation, engages with ecologies of the Hudson River and the history of the Meatpacking District, and changes to reflect the current weather and season in New York City. 

Plan your visit
What to know before you go.