West Side Fest

The West Side Cultural Network—a group of more than 19 museums, parks, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions located within a half-mile portion of historic New York—is presenting the first-ever West Side Fest, a day of free admission, special indoor and outdoor programming, crafts for kids, artmaking for all ages, an evening dance party, and more to welcome all New Yorkers to their vibrant, exciting, cultural village along the waterfront. The September 30 event highlights the city’s newest cultural destination on the western edge of Manhattan, a historic area with a welcoming and unique mix of fresh, fun activities, open gathering spaces, and more. The neighborhood—a gathering space for New Yorkers still recovering and coming back together—includes organizations that have been on the West Side
for decades as well as newer arrivals with more to come—including the soon-to-open 5.5-acre Gansevoort Peninsula in Hudson River Park.

Some events planned for the day include:
● Free admission, neighborhood tours, and artmaking for kids from 11 am to 3 pm at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Several exhibitions on view, including a permanent collection show with works by Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jay DeFeo, Alexander Calder, Lee Krasner, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and more.
● Free admission and tours of newly opened exhibitions for the fall season, Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde and We Tried to Warn You! Environmental Crisis Posters, 1970–2020 will be available at Poster House, plus live performances and printing activities for all ages at Hudson River Park’s Pier 63 (at W 23 St.)
● The SUBMERGE Marine Science Festival at Hudson River Park’s 84 (at S 44 St.) is free and open to all! Come experience wildlife art projects, family-friendly live entertainment, and more.
● A puppet show, open studios, and live music at Westbeth Artists Housing
● A Creative Break, free art-making activities for all ages at Little Island
● An Open Rehearsal with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater at West Village Rehearsal Co-op
● An evening block party at The Shed featuring dance sets by The Dragon Sisters in partnership with Poster House and Ladies of Hip-Hop in partnership with Chelsea Factory, as well as ongoing DJ sets by Riobamba, BEARCAT, and Ashley Venom

● A free film festival at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center in partnership with Queer Voices NYC that centers & celebrates Queer-BIPOC voices
● A presentation of Arthur Russell’s 1973 composition “City Park” at the New York City AIDS Memorial Park
● A free exhibition of paintings, archival materials, audiovisual elements, and ephemera by multidisciplinary artist Matthew Lutz-Kinoy presented by The Kitchen

● Free admission and exhibition tours at the Rubin Museum of Art, and a drop-in art workshop from 1 pm to 3 pm led by art therapy graduate students from New York University
● A poetry reading on the High Line inspired by Pamela Rosenkranz’s Plinth commission Old Tree, featuring New York-based poets
● The opening of solo exhibition by artist and choreographer Ligia Lewis at Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA), featuring a live performance of the artist’s newest work West Side Fest is conveniently accessible by subway, bus, the High Line, bike, or car.

See website for complete schedule and all locations.