by Elena on February 18, 2010
New York City is a mecca of culture, art, music, and society, where you can brush elbows with artists and creatives in one of the many museums, theaters, or galleries that the city has to offer. Unfortunately for many however, New York City is also a mecca for those paying high rent, a high cost of living, and just getting over an economic depression. It isn’t always so easy to experience culture without the cash, which is why smart New Yorkers and travelers alike take advantage of FREE NYC. As a student living in NYC, I used to get into quite a bit of museums for free merely by showing my student ID, but you don’t have to be a student to enjoy the benefits of free culture. In fact most museums in NYC have a night when one can visit and pay absolutely nothing to enter. There are also quite a few lesser known museums that are free to enter at any time. Take a look at the compiled list below to find out when you should visit each museum.
MoMA | Museum of Modern Art
Admission to the MoMA is free for all visitors on Target Free Friday Nights. Every Friday evening from 4pm to 8pm. The museum also offers what they call MoMA Nights. Every first Thursday of every month, the MoMA stays open until 8:45pm. Although you do have to pay admission, you can enjoy free gallery talks and music. There is also a cash bar and a pre fixe dinner on this night.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Although the Metropolitan Museum of Art lists entrance fees, if you pay closer attention you will see that these fees are suggested. If you want you can enter without paying anything, although I have gotten a few dirty looks from the employees until I show them my old student ID with an extended expiration date. Don’t be guilted into paying if you don’t have the cash, but if you do you can donate if you wish.
Guggenheim New York
The Guggenheim offers a pay-what-you-wish program on Saturday evenings from 5:45-7:45 pm. The program means exactly what it says, pay what you wish, which means free! Check out the Guggenheim’s calendar of events. Sometimes they offer programs and events that are free for students.
American Museum of Natural History
At the American Museum of Natural History there is a suggested donation of $15, but we all know what suggested means. If you want to see the show at the planetarium you will need to pay the full price of admission. The museum also hosts the party One Step Beyond once a month (every second Friday) inside the Rose Center for Earth and Space with the Planetarium looming overhead. The entrance fee is $20 in advance but you can use the ticket as free admission to the Planetarium space show.
New Museum of Contemporary Art
The New Museum offers Target Free Admission for youth everyday of the week, so if you are 18 years or younger, you get to enter for free. General admission is $12 and student admission is $8.
American Folk Art Museum
Every Friday after 5:30 until 7:30 pm admission to the American Folk Art Museum is free for visitors. Not only is the museum free, but there is live music, as well as your choice of food and drink provided at the cafe (which you have to pay for).
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney has a pay-what-you-wish admission on Friday nights from 6-9 pm.
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York has a suggested donation of $10. If you live in the neighborhood all you have to do is say “I’m a neighbor” at the entrance, and they will let you in for free.
Here is a list of museums that are free every day:
Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
The Hispanic Society of America
National Museum of the American Indian
Carnegie Hall/Rose Museum
Dahesh Museum
The Drawing Center
Artists Space
Goethe House German Cultural Center
The Municipal Art Society
by Elena on February 18, 2010
Enjoying modern art at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
by Elena on November 4, 2009
Grand Central Station, New York City
by Elena on October 1, 2009
The Wall Street Journal has declared the top cities for the Young and Restless. They dutifully noted that less people are moving around, no doubt because of the uncertain economy, but they predict that when things pick up, so will those young and restless souls looking for a new city to call home. These cities have a few similarities, for one they are big urban cities, with plenty of financial opportunities. People aren’t flocking to smaller, less pragmatic towns because of financial constraints, although Portland made the list, so the allure of the bohemian isn’t completely lost.
Washington DC – 1st Place (tie)
New job prospects in government, and an extremely popular president, are very appealing to young urban professionals looking to make a name for themselves. “In the eyes of some people, Barack Obama is America’s coolest boss.” Although the chances of overhearing political jargon during happy hour in D.C. is as high as overhearing financial musings over lunch in New York City, you need not work in politics in order to enjoy living in this town. While politics may rule, there are plenty of other factors that attract the upwardly mobile masses. In neighborhoods such as Adam’s Morgan you will find bookstores, bars, farmer’s markets, restaurants, art galleries, and coffeehouses; a far cry from the expanse of Capitol Hill.
Seattle, WA – First Place (tie)
For someone like me, who has been dying to visit this west coast city, I concur with Seattle’s inclusion on the list, mostly because of my own preconceptions. Seattle seems to be where the innovative (think Starbucks and Amazon) mix with their rugged, nature loving friends. Not to mention the beautiful terrain that lies just outside of the city. Of course there are a few disadvantages, although I won’t over saturate you with my complaints of constant rain and never-ending humidity. Ok and I admit, I also really want to see those flying fish at the Pike Place Fish Market.
Image via: Phil Roman
New York City- Third Place
New York City is an obvious choice for many. The city attracts people from all over the world who have to live in this iconic city. It certainly lives up to the hype. Frankly it boggles my mind how so many young people, working on measly salaries (perhaps an entry-level media job or a waitress gig to pay for school) can afford to live in such an expensive city. I don’t know how, but I do know why. Because they love it. It is that simple. You have to live in New York City to truly understand the charm and madness that collide in these yellow taxi filled streets. There are some who complain about the noise and the frenetic pace, the ones who have told me that, ‘eh NYC just isn’t for me.’ This East coast girl tends to tune them out.
Portland, OR – Fourth Place
Portland is quirky and for lack of better terminology seems to be the ‘trend’ as of late. With good reason of course. There is a deeply rooted artistic scene in Portland that has been attracting artists and free spirits for quite some time. The unemployment rate (11.2%) doesn’t seem to bother these folks. The appeal is that it may be the anti-big city. There isn’t the frantic pace and the preconceived judgments about how much money you make or who you work for. It seems that Portland promotes a more laid back approach to city life, something that Pacific Northwest cities do so well.
Image via: egazelle
Austin, TX – Fifth Place
When people talk about Texas, Austin always gets a lot of praise. Austin has a slightly cooler climate than other cities in the state, as well as a youthful culture. If the neighborhood has good bars, trendy restaurants, galleries, and good coffee, give it some time and the young and hip will soon follow.
Image via: Kafka0622
One of the reasons New York City is so unique is because of the conspicuous happenstances you come across everyday. You can see a businessman in heels chasing down a bus, a naked cowboy with a guitar in Times Square, the 6 mile expanse of green smack dab in the middle of a high rising metropolis, or a juggler performing on the side of the FDR Drive and merely chalk it up the the fact that anything, and I mean anything, can happen in New York City.
This past spring I was walking around and taking pictures with a friend of mine. I never got a chance to post them and I wanted to because I think they are so quintessential NYC. Not necessarily momentous, but rather a mundane and casual afternoon.
Washington Square Park finally is opened to the public. All the other times I visited in the past 2 years I had the misfortune to see uninviting gates and fence surrounding the area where I used to roam instead of attending classes. This spring day the park returned to what I remember most about New York City, the way people come together to use the public space, in particular the parks that are always bustling with people playing games, catching some rays, walking their dogs, or going for a stroll.
In the park you will often find a group of men throwing around a metal ball. We decided to ask them the name of the game we had seen many times before but didn’t really understand. One of the guys told us it was a French game named petanque (similar to Italian bocce or English bowls).
The purpose of petanque, played by millions of French in the summer months, is to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a wooden ball called the cochonnet. It is often played on a dirt surface which I would imagine provides an appropriate cushion for the metal balls being thrown.
You throw the ball with somewhat of an arc as you can see with the guy below. I thought the cigar in his mouth was an authentic touch, because in my mind I imagine lots of men coming together to play, smoke cigars, talk about sports, and enjoy the good weather and company. But that is my interpretation.
The origin of the games petanque, bocce, and bowls, is said to derive from Ancient Greece and Rome. For a full set of rules on how to play petanque check it out here.
by Elena on April 28, 2009
Halloween in NYC
by Elena on November 2, 2009
This year the streets were filled with superheroes, detectives, Jokers, the undead, Gilligans, Mary Anns, harlots, detectives, Monroes, Jackie O’s, pop stars, rolls of toilet paper, and even giant green Gumbys? Add the fact that Halloween fell on the Saturday coinciding with game 4 of World Series, Yankees vs Phillies. Needless to say New Yorkers were going nuts. We won… by the way. Sorry Philly fans.
All corners of the Village, East, West, Greenwich and everything in between, had people walking around in costume, some even getting a little too into character. We stumbled upon a Bruno so dedicated to his role he had to interview every person in his path. The living dead were jumping on unsuspecting pedestrians and the occasional taxi cab. The Halloween Parade that marches down 6th avenue, often times takes over two hours to fully leave the starting point. It truly is an experience that people visiting this city won’t ever forget, definitely the most eccentric NYC parade you will ever see. The great part is that everyone is allowed to participate. You merely need to show up at the starting point in your best costume, and you are free to parade down 6th avenue dressed as a giant flea, zombie, fire breathing dragon, or whatever else your creative mind can come up with.
Halloween Parade in New York City
Image via: clgregor
Image via: Bob Jagendorf
Image via: Bob Jagendorf
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