West Side Fest
July 11–13, 2025
West Side Fest, 2023. Photograph by Filip Wolak
Join us and our neighboring cultural institutions on July 11–13, 2025 for West Side Fest, a free, multi-site celebration organized by the West Side Cultural Network.
The West Side Cultural Network—a group of museums, parks, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions located within a half-mile portion of historic New York—is presenting free admission days, special indoor and outdoor programming, artmaking for all ages, performances, and more to welcome all New Yorkers to the culturally vibrant western edge of Manhattan.
The Whitney Museum will offer free admission on Friday, July 11 from 5–10 pm and on Sunday, July 13 from 10:30 am–6 pm. While admission to the Museum is free on Friday nights and the second Sunday of every month, tickets are required, and capacity is limited. Advance booking is strongly recommended.
Friday, July 11, 2025 at the Whitney
Free Friday Night
5–10 pm
Admission to the Museum is free on Friday evening. Join us for music, tours, and special programming. Reserve tickets in advance.
Open Studio for Teens
1–3 pm
Grab your friends and get creative! New York City teens are invited to a free drop-in artmaking program.
Art + You: Gallery Conversations for Younger Adults
4–5 pm
Bring friends or just yourself to engage with artwork through guided close-looking and conversation.
Gallery Tours
Throughout the day
Join us for gallery tours through current exhibitions. Tours are free with Museum admission but capacity is limited to twenty people on a first-come, first-served basis.
Decade Downtown Whitney Walking Tour
6 pm
The Whitney’s building may be ten years new, but its surrounding neighborhood’s past is long and storied. Learn about the vibrant and varied cultural highlights within just a few blocks of the Whitney.
Saturday, July 12, 2025 at the Whitney
Gallery Tours
Throughout the day
Join us for gallery tours through current exhibitions. Tours are free with Museum admission but capacity is limited to twenty people on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sunday, July 13, 2025 at the Whitney
Free Second Sunday
10:30 am–6 pm
Admission to the Whitney is free all day on the second Sunday of every month. Visitors of all ages enjoy artmaking, activities, tours, and story times with NYPL librarians.
All Ages Artmaking
11 am–4 pm
Artists of all ages are invited to get creative. Explore the galleries and then drop by for a live figure drawing session 11 am–2 pm or contribute to a collective composition from 11 am–4 pm.
Story Time with NYPL
11 am–4 pm
Join librarians from The New York Public Library (NYPL) for Story Time at the Whitney. Three sessions will be held at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm.
Disability Pride Artmaking Workshop
11:30 am–1:30 pm
Join us for an artmaking program celebrating Disability Pride Month. We invite participants of all ages and backgrounds to learn about the progressive Disability Pride flags and explore various aspects of disability.
West Side Fest throughout the Neighborhood
West Side Fest highlights the city's newest cultural destination on the western edge of Manhattan, a historic area with a welcoming and unique mix of fresh activities, open gathering spaces, and more. The neighborhood includes organizations that have been on the West Side for decades as well as newer arrivals like Gansevoort Peninsula in Hudson River Park. While many organizations are offering free admission to programs and events, advance registration may be required.
Participants include: Center for Art, Research and Alliances; CUE Art; Dia Chelsea; the High Line; Hill Art Foundation; Hudson Guild; Hudson River Park; The Joyce Theater; The Kitchen; The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center; Little Island; NYC AIDS Memorial; Poster House; Print Center New York; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; The Shed; Westbeth Artists Housing; White Columns; Whitney Museum of American Art.
LISTEN
Queer History Walk
Audio tour and podcast minisode
Explore the rich queer history of the Meatpacking District. Listen to our podcast minisode for a quick five-minute snapshot and find the complete twenty-minute tour on the audio guide. Listen while walking in the neighborhood or from the comfort of your home.
Whitney Art Outside
Amy Sherald: Four Ways of Being
95 Horatio Street
Four Ways of Being is a newly commissioned work by Amy Sherald and is presented at 95 Horatio Street, on the facade of the building across the street from the Whitney and the south end of the High Line.
Rashid Johnson: New Poetry
At the Museum entrance
Extending from within the Whitney out onto the plaza in front of the Museum, Rashid Johnson’s New Poetry was made specifically for this site. Grab some food and drink at Frenchette Bakery and take a seat surrounded by the artwork.
David Hammons: Day’s End
Hudson River Park
Across from the Museum in Hudson River Park is a monumental installation by David Hammons titled Day's End. The artwork traces the outline of a pier that once existed on this site. Enjoy the sculpture from sandy Gansevoort Beach nearby.
Land Acknowledgment
The Whitney is located in Lenapehoking, the ancestral homeland of the Lenape. The Whitney acknowledges the displacement of this region’s original inhabitants and the Lenape diaspora that exists today.
Accessibility
To learn more about the accommodations offered at each program, please visit the individual event pages. Email accessfeedback@whitney.org or call (646) 666-5574 with additional questions. View additional Museum access information and resources.
Free West Side Fest transportation is available for older adults on Saturday, July 13, 10 am–6 pm, provided by New York Foundation for Senior Citizens' Project CART. View the schedule and pick up locations.