MoMA PS1 to host free block party for 50th anniversary
(L) MoMA PS1. Credit: Newell Reinvention on Flickr. (R) Credit: MoMA PS1
MoMA PS1 is hosting a free block party next month to celebrate its 50th anniversary, bringing live music, food, and special programming to its longtime home in Long Island City. The event will take place across the museum’s plaza, courtyard, and galleries on Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and include curator-led talks, artist activations, performances, and offerings from local food vendors. The celebration coincides with the opening weekend of “Greater New York,” the museum’s signature survey of working NYC artists, which highlights more than 50 multidisciplinary creatives in the early stages of their careers.
Graffiti artist and painter Lady Pink, the Ecuadorian-born, Astoria-raised creative whose work has transformed subway cars, city walls, and galleries, will lead three mural workshops at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. The 10:30 a.m. session is recommended for families with children ages 10 and older, the 12:30 p.m. session is open to all ages, and the 2:30 p.m. session is geared toward teens.
At 4 p.m., Red Canary Song, a grassroots collective of migrant massage workers, sex workers, and Asian diaspora allies, will present a screening of “Fly in Power,” a film that follows members of the community and highlights their work around care, survival, and organizing in response to incarceration and anti-trafficking systems.
A panel discussion with organizers from Red Canary Song and Centro Corona will follow the screening.
Other participating organizations include Discolocas NYC Fiesta Club, FAD Market, the Lower Eastside Girls Club, Make the Road, Malikah, Nuevayorkinos, Queens Night Market, Queensboro Dance Festival, Queensbridge Photo Collective, and St. James Joy.
During the block party, visitors can also experience the opening weekend of the museum’s “Greater New York” exhibition. Organized for the first time by MoMA PS1’s full curatorial team, the survey of NYC artists features site-specific commissions, new works, performances, and recent pieces addressing contemporary cultural issues.
This year’s exhibition focuses on the forces shaping daily life in NYC, as well as strategies of resistance and adaptation in response to heightened surveillance, economic uncertainty, and evolving technology.
MoMA PS1 is also hosting a range of special programs and celebrations for its 50th anniversary. This year, the museum launched free admission for all visitors for three years, made possible by a $900,000 gift from art collector Sonya Yu. Admission has been free for New Yorkers since 2015 and suggested for all other visitors.
In addition to “Greater New York,” programming includes a major outdoor commission by Precious Okoyomon in the courtyard, a historic survey of Black artists working in abstraction, an archival exhibition examining the history of fashion at PS1, a publication tied to the museum’s Homeroom program, and the first U.S. survey of Teresa Margolles, organized in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art.
Their anniversary year also includes a special season of Warm Up, the museum’s signature summer music series, as well as the 50th Anniversary Gala honoring founder Alanna Heiss and former MoMA director Glenn Lowry.
Admission to the block party is free. Reserve a spot here.
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