NYS Arts Go Online: Virtual Events for All Ages
In these unprecedented times, New York’s arts and culture play as valuable a role in our lives as ever.
We are proud to support our grantees as they ensure that all New Yorkers can continue to experience our creative culture while upholding essential public health measures.
Although doors to our cultural institutions have closed, across all regions of the state, many are offering streaming movies and performances, hands-on activities for kids and families, and virtual galleries.
From family art projects to theater, independent film, opera, streaming house concerts and centuries of incredible painting and sculpture, as we practice social distancing, we can still connect through the arts.
We will continue to update this post – and encourage you to share your virtual events at [email protected].
Kids & Family
92Y: The new 92Y @ Home is full of ideas for kids to create their own art, theatre and music. The online feature also includes classical concert livestreams and archived performances and talks with artists including Gene Wilder, David Simon, Isabelle Allende, Nick Kroll, and John Mulaney.
American Ballet Theatre: Beginning Monday, March 23, 2020, children and parents can tune into @ABTSchool on Instagram for daily classes in ballet movement. Classes will be uploaded at the following times: ABTots (Ages 2-4): Tuesdays & Thursdays at 10:00AM EST; Primary (Ages 5-8): Mondays & Wednesdays at 2:00PM EST. Classes will be saved on the @ABTSchool IGTV feed for access following the initial broadcast.
American Museum of Natural History: A virtual dinosaur tour, a science website for kids, hands-on activities, games and videos are among the museum's many online exhibits and offerings for families.
Art Omi: Art Omi: Education has launched a series of make-at-home projects highlighting contemporary artists and artworks. Join the Art Omi: Education email list to have a new weekly project delivered to you every week.
ArtsWestchester: ArtsWestchester is hosting weekly social media activities, such as Art of the Week assignments (every Monday), a look back at the staff’s favorite exhibited works (every Thursday), online arts workshops (to be announced soon) and more at facebook.com/artswestchester and instagram.com/artswestchester. At ArtsWestchester.org, they're also listing local virtual arts programs.
Bronx Museum at Home: Art Studio videos focus on at-home artmaking activities that children can engage with independently or that encourage family cooperation and collaboration. You can also watch Guided Tours, of current and past exhibitions at the Bronx Museum and interviews with artists who discuss their practice, background, and work. Plus, Sharing Stories videos highlight a range of stories from the borough and the city, often either youth-made or youth-focused.
Children’s Museum of the Arts: Looking for hands-on activities for kids? CMA is providing free How-To Videos and curricula guides for projects. Make your own kites, storybooks, paper towel-tube space stations and more.
East End Arts: Film a movie, make your own scrunchie, take a Seeing Mindfully portrait workshop, create an illustrated book and more with classes for age 6-adult.
Eastman Museum at Home: Create your own moving images with hands-on-activities for all ages; explore more than 250,000 objects in the museum’s online collection; take virtual tours of the historic mansion and gardens, the conservation lab, and the technology collection; and learn about George Eastman through the museum’s mobile tour.
Everson Museum: Explore art, architecture and movement with hands-on projects from Syracuse's Everson Museum.
Explore and More Children’s Museum: Sanity Savers: This Buffalo museum’s new series of creative projects keep small hands busy and support school curriculum concepts, including instructions to create a “leprechaun trap” or a “walking rainbow.”
Flushing Town Hall at HOME: Flushing Town Hall’s Teaching Artists are offering online classes in the new series FTH at HOME: Global Arts for Global Kids. The series of arts education will run Tuesday through Friday, and culminate in an online family matinee performance on Saturday. Each day participants will can watch videos of music or dance and post-lesson activities will be available online at FTH website and live on Facebook and YouTube each day at 2 PM. Participants are also encouraged to post short video clips of themselves learning on Facebook and tag FTH facebook page @flushingtownhall.
Hanford Mills Museum: Hanford Mills Museum in East Meredith is offering a weekly online science exploration for kids and families. "What I Learned Wednesdays" features HMM Education Coordinator Luke Murphy presenting on topics like water power, simple machines, and other STEAM subjects. 11 am each Wednesday @HanfordMillsMuseum on Facebook. Videos will be posted at hanfordmills.org.
Lincoln Center at Home: Schools may be closed but Lincoln Center Pop-Up Classroom is open. Tune in to @LincolnCenterNYC on Facebook Live every weekday at 10:00 a.m. ET for your daily dose of creativity. Each creative learning activity utilizes simple materials found at home to help families with children explore a variety of art forms. Lincoln Center is also offering #ConcertsforKids, teaming up with artists who will bring performances and diverse musical perspectives straight from their homes to yours, and archival classical, jazz, world music and dance performances suitable for adults.
New Victory Arts Break: New Victory Arts Break was created for families to discover new creative skills at home. Guided by New Victory Teaching Artists, a series of posts will tell you what you need, what to expect and what to do. You can create a mini art class and do every activity at once, or just pick one or two.
New York Hall of Science: Visit NYSCI for games, activities, experiments and projects for all ages, including 10 tutorials from the museum's maker space, interactive looks at physics and movement for middle schoolers, a math and animation program for teens, and an easy-to-follow digital exhibition and interactive comic book explaining COVID-19 and viral transmission.
New York Philharmonic: Young People's Concerts: Music class is in session with a library of educational concerts available for on-demand streaming, along with interactive features to help you get even more out of the concert experience.
New York Public Library: Catch up on reading with access to over 300,000 free e-books and e-audiobooks. Home with kids? Create digital storytime with Bookflix read-alouds with books about science, music, history, and more for Pre-K-Grade 3, in English and Spanish.
New York Transit Museum: Kids can kick-start their morning with Transit Tots on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:15am! Join Museum educators for songs and stories for the youngest transit fans. Recommended for ages 2-5.
New York Youth Symphony: Isolation can't keep the members of the New York Youth Symphony from joining together to create. Watch as 71 students perform an uplifting movement from Mahler's Symphony No. 1, "Titan," from their homes - a video edited by NYYS violinist, Raina Tung.
Tech Kids Unlimited: This NYC-based not-for-profit organization that teaches computer science thinking and technology to students with disabilities, especially those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), will offer free workshops and parent talks in digital storytelling, audio production, photo editing, art and animation.
TheaterWorksUSA’s TheaterWorks Anywhere: Watch video clips from TWUSA productions and behind-the-scenes looks, and take part in creative projects led by teaching artists. Now streaming: Charlotte's Web for grades K-4; coming April 12: The Velveteen Rabbit benefit reading.
Vanaver Caravan: Good News Stream: Dance classes for age 3+ include movement games and stories, modern, clogging, and world dance. The stream also features crafting ideas, concert and puppet show footage, and exercise tutorials.
Film & Media
Anthology Film Archives: Anthology has made select upcoming programming available via free online streaming, offering partnership discounts to various streaming services, and creating a “virtual” film series, “Helter Shelter,” that highlights movies that take place almost solely – if not entirely – within the confines of the protagonists’ apartments or houses.
French Institute Alliance Française: FIAF's traditional Tuesday evening CinéSalon screenings are on hold, but you can still watch this week's selection online and join the conversation about the film on FIAF's Facebook page. FIAF also offers online French lessons.
NewFilmmakers NY: New Filmmakers will screen its Winter Series films live from its Facebook page every Wednesday, starting this week with a slate of short films including Regev Berkovitz' Moving Day, Mia Jessup's Baggage, Jamal Bilal's The Norm, and Duncan Birmingham's Exterminator.
New York Women in Film & Television: Take a quick break with NYWIFT’s Online Shorts Festival, featuring a wide range of drama, comedy, and fantasy.
The Paley Center for Media: Paley@Home: Each morning at 10 am ET / 7 am PT, Paley will post a full discussion from PaleyFest LA or NY leading into popular TV shows airing this week. The full video—never before released by the Paley Center for free on YouTube—will be available until 10 am ET / 7 am PT the next morning, following this schedule:
Sproutflix: Virtual Sprout FIlm Festival: Sproutflix has created a free full-screen playlist of 10 popular short films, featuring people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Tribeca Film Festival: The Tribeca Film Festival is sharing select works (including online premieres) from our its alumni filmmakers, with a new film rolled out at 11 a.m. every day.
Women Make Movies: WMM has extended its no-cost, virtual film festival commemorating #WomensHistoryMonth through May 31.
Woodstock Film Festival: Visit WFF's website and social media for short and full-length films curated by festival alum filmmakers, programmers, industry friends, and staff for you to stream from the comfort of your home. You can also watch or join film conversations via Facebook and Zoom.
Dance
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Dancing in your apartment? Alvin Ailey dancers are doing the same, bringing a new twist to company repertoire with #DigitalDancing for the social distancing age.
Ballet Hispanico: Ballet Hispanico's dancers are sharing their stories - and their moves - on Instagram.
Battery Dance: The new Battery Dance TV features, morning warmup/stretching/conditioning exercises, mid-day classes in contemporary dance with afro, ballet and jazz fusion elements, evening classes in varied ballroom styles, and a daily 4pm short video by dancers performing in their living rooms. Beginning on March 29, Battery Dance will tap into its international network to host Artists Talks every Sunday at 9:00 AM (EST) with performers based in New York and from around the world.
Calpulli Mexican Dance: Calpulli's directors are creating weekly folklorico videos, breaking down steps for you to learn on their YouTube channel.
Dance Theatre of Harlem: Via Instagram, change up your at-home workouts by joining DTH for stretches - you can also find performances on their channel.
Garth Fagan Dance: Learn the distinctive style of the Lion King choreographer, which blends Afro-Caribbean, modern and ballet, through daily free virtual classes. Follow GFD on Facebook for up-to-date info.
LEIMAY: Check the Butoh-influenced dance company's Instagram and Facebook for dance, yoga and stretching classes and live-streams.
Martha Graham Dance: Visit the Martha Graham website or Instagram for classes for all levels, and their YouTube channel for performance clips and archival footage.
New York Live Arts: Once a week, Live Arts will post three full length performances from the Live Arts and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company video archives ranging across the past 5 decades.
Parsons Dance: Dancing with Us: Performance videos and at-home training provide entertainment and ways to stay active during social isolation. Company dancers are holding live stream classes and workouts on Facebook and Instagram:
STREB: Change up your routine with free "extreme action" movement classes created for small spaces and at-home participants from the STREB Lab for Action Mechanics.
Theatre
Auburn Public Theater: Comedy shows, poetry readings and live performing arts are streaming live on the Auburn Public Theater's Facebook Page and archived on YouTube. To be emailed a schedule in advance, sign up here.
Bard Fisher Center: UPSTREAMING, the new virtual stage features archival footage and new commissions for the digital sphere, starting with Neil Gaiman in conversation with Art Spiegelman, Pam Tanowitz Dance, and the rarely staged opera The Miracle of Heliane.
Fiasco Theater: Fiasco is sharing a series of selections from their February 20th concert, Songs of Resistance: Singing Truth To Power via YouTube.
Geva Theatre Center: From the most-attended regional theatre in New York State, watch Tony-winning musical love story Once, a co-production with Syracuse Stage, or Cry It Out, a new play about adjusting to motherhood staged in partnership with Ithaca's Kitchen Theatre.
HERE Arts Center: Here is hosting weekly HERE@HOME watch parties of full-length productions, and #stillHERE livestreams in which artists from the HERE community will share in the creation of new work for the social-distancing age.
La MaMa and CultureHub: La MaMa and CultureHub are teaming up to create Downtown Variety, a weekly online live performance series that will feature short acts of dance, music, theater, new media, comedy, A/V performance, and more. The Downtown Variety will use emerging technologies to create a new venue for artistic expression that questions how art can function and how we as a society can survive challenging periods of history.
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene: Folksbiene LIVE! will feature live-streamed theatre, workshops, talkbacks and other events, starting with a house concert by NYTF’s Artistic Director, Zalmen Mlotek.
New York City Center: Encores! Archives Project—this song-a-day video series on social media (@NYCityCenter on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter), curated by Encores! Artistic Director Jack Viertel features archived musical theater favorites. City Center will also include a roundup of each week’s videos on its website every Friday afternoon.
New York Classical Theatre: NY Classical has launched a video series, #ShakesInPlace, with virtual samples of Shakespeare performances added to the archives every few days. Visit NYClassical's Facebook for updates.
Ontheboards.tv: This streaming website of contemporary performing arts will be free through the month of April and features performances by several NYSCA grantees, commission recipients and NYSCA-NYFA Fellows including Big Dance Theatre, Young Jean Lee, Danspace, PSNY, Kyle Abraham, Tere O’Conner and Okwui Okpokwasili.
The Tank: CyberTank: CyberTank is an e-home for e-merging artists, with new variety arts gatherings streaming every Tuesday at 4PM.
Young Jean Lee: Lee is streaming a production of her musical "We're Gonna Die" from Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3 on her website.
Music
Apollo Theater: Looking for good news? Watch fresh talents get a break on Amateur Night at the Apollo, now streaming on Facebook. If you're inspired to be a part of the competition, you can do that from home, too - the historic theater is now accepting video auditions.
Beth Morrison Projects: Opera of the Week: The NY-based new opera and music theater company is streaming a weekly opera on its website. This week's is David Lang and Mark Dion's anatomy theater. Based on texts from the 18th century, the opera follows the progression of an English murderess from her confession to execution, to denouncement, and finally to dissection, including an anatomy lesson for curious onlookers.
BRIC: Check out performances from BRIC House and the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, including Georgia Anne Muldrow, Les Nubians, Emel Mathlouthi, and more.
Caramoor and New York Festival of Song: NYFOS’ resident emerging singers at Caramoor livestreamed their performance, “The Art of Pleasure,” with songs by a wide range of artists from Rachmaninoff to Leonard Bernstein to the Kinks, and a dose of humor from Tom Lehrer and Gabriel Kahane. Caramoor has also created a new livestream series, with upcoming performances by Thalea String Quartet, Vijay Iyer, Aaron Diehl Trio and Conrad Tao.
Carnegie Hall Live on WQXR: Hear archival broadcasts of Carnegie Hall concerts at wqxr.org with digital-exclusive content to enhance the listening experience, including live videos, concert highlights and recaps, and backstage photos on Facebook and Instagram.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Just before closing its doors, Chamber Music Society streamed its last performance without an audience. You can catch more on their website, including Meet the Music educational concerts, full performances, and playlists.
International Contemporary Ensemble: Take part in a world-wide musical exchange, every Saturday throughout the month of April. Hosted by ICE and led by IONE and Claire Chase, Pauline Oliveros' Tuning Meditation is an interactive music performance bringing communities together through meditative singing. No music experience necessary. RSVP via Eventbrite to join on Zoom.
Jazz at Lincoln Center: JALC is hosting a running list of free jazz livestreams, including daily performances by Fred Hersch, Swinghouse, and Sammy Miller and the Congregation. You can also stream archived concerts featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis.
Joe's Pub Live!: The Public Theater's Joe's Pub has launched a weekly series of live-streamed performances. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 8PM, on YouTube Live, they will share free, live-streamed and archived performances from its cabaret stage.
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music: This new virtual concert and commissioning series features bite-sized performances of newly commissioned, classical, and contemporary works from musicians sheltering around the country. You can access new content on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10AM on Metropolis' website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Metropolitan Opera: Nightly Met Opera Streams: Nightly Met Opera Streams will begin at 7:30pm EDT and will remain available via the homepage of metopera.org for 20 hours.
On Site Opera Online: From mid-March to mid-April, OSO will host live-streamed “watch parties” on its Facebook page. Each Monday at noon, they will show video of a past site-specific opera production, followed by a live Q&A with General & Artistic Director, Eric Einhorn. These archival videos will remain on the company’s YouTube page for public viewing through the end of April.
Opera on Tap: Emmie and Harry’s: an online cabaret club, in collaboration with Opera On Tap NYC, was created to 1) provide performance opportunities for artists, and 2) provide access to live performances for audiences, while 3) supporting social distancing mandates during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Roulette TV: Roulette TV captures the creative process of live performance at the boundary-breaking venue through in-depth artist-driven features including studio visits, performance footage, and interviews. The archive includes many avant-garde luminaries from Roulette’s rich history, such as Pauline Oliveros, Robert Ashley, Sun Ra, Mary Halvorson, and Tyshawn Sorey.
Museums & Exhibitions
120° Intercollegiate Regional Exhibition: See what local young artists are creating: Saratoga Arts in partnership with LARAC and the Arts Center of the Capital Region present artwork by 68 artists who are currently enrolled in 16 different colleges and universities and include sculpture, video art, drawing, and painting.
Albright-Knox Art Gallery: Western New York’s world-class art museum is open to all online – explore the collection, which is easily navigable by art movement – including pop art and abstraction expressionism – or timeline, with artists including Picasso, Cézanne, Rodin, Matisse, Gauguin and Kahlo. And don’t miss the museum’s public artworks – if you’re in the area, you can visit the museum’s map to find one near you.
Corning Museum of Glass: The Corning Museum of Glass has recorded glassmaking demos, including the family-friendly series "You Design It; We Make It!" where artist transform children's drawings into glass art, and a virtual tour on Google Arts and Culture.
Katonah Museum of Art: Tour a virtual exhibition of Bisa Butler's Portraits, her first solo museum show, which features 26 of her vivid and larger-than-life quilts that capture African American identity and culture. You can also watch video of how she creates her work. Also on view: Sparkling Amazons presents the often-overlooked contribution by women artists to the Abstract Expressionist movement and the significant role they played as bold innovators within the New York School during the 1940s and 50s.
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Browse the museum’s online collections, featuring more than 5,000 years of art from around the globe. #MetKids offers a treasure trove of video – including “how to” art project instructions using simple materials – plus interactive tours of the museum and art history lessons.
The Morgan Library & Museum: Visit the Morgan's website for digital collections and online audio of its Jean-Jacques Lequeu exhibition, and its YouTube channel for a video archive with selections such as An Evening with Fran Lebowitz: On Peter Hujar.
Museum of the City of New York: MCNY launched #MuseumMomentOfZen to feature highlights from its collection with the goal of providing a peaceful outlet on social media. The movement has gained momentum and more than 100 institutions have joined in worldwide. You can also catch up on videos from recent museum Programs, explore the Museum’s online exhibitions and extensive Collection and read stories about New York history.
New Museum: The New Museum’s First Look: New Art Online is a series of innovative online projects and new commissions. Currently featured Black Room, a browser-based game by artist Cassie McQuater that weaves a dreamlike narrative through a world populated by iconic female characters from video game history. You can also explore current exhibitions with audio and visit the museum's digital archive.
New York Botanical Garden: Orchid Show: A virtual walk through of NYBG's Orchid Show is now available on Facebook with a video tour of the exhibition featuring Marc Hachadourian, Director of Glasshouse Horticulture and Senior Curator of Orchids. Through this tour Marc will show you all the kaleidoscopic highlights of designer Jeff Leatham’s bold vision, which you can discuss with your fellow plant lovers in a live chat. Stay tuned for NYBG's next watch party, April 1, Chorus of the Forest, a site-specific work by composer Angélica Negrón that premiered last November among the fall leaves of NYBG’s Thain Family Forest.
New-York Historical Society: Explore History from Home Library: NYHS’ Media Page brings you select educational programs, exhibitions and events as well as fun facts and deep dives into topics about the history of the United States.
Parrish Art Museum: From the Long Island museum dedicated to American and East End artists, watch videos by curators and creators, listen to a podcast for conversations on emerging trends, artist projects and cultural issues, and learn about the collection through the museum’s Artist Stories feature.
Rubin Museum Care Package: The Rubin's Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room is a quiet space for contemplation in an immersive art setting. You can experience its calm atmosphere in your home via video. The museum also has a Daily Offering video series of art, ideas, and practices inspired by their collection as well as resources on meditation and stress relief.
Saratoga Arts: The Art in Public Places series has moved online, featuring work by local artists for viewing and purchase. Feeling inspired? You can also take a class to hone your smartphone photography and digital photo editing skills, or learn landscape painting or pastels.
St. Lawrence County Arts Council: Check out local North Country artists as SLC Arts Council hosts live videos every weekday showcasing community talents.
The Studio Museum in Harlem: Discover thousands of artworks from the collection of The Studio Museum in Harlem, a home for artists of African descent and work inspired and influenced by black culture.
White Columns Online: 'Cloud Memories' curated by Adrianne Rubenstein features works from White Columns' artist registry on themes of nature, psychology and dreams.
Readings and Talks
Just Buffalo Literary Center: Lit City Voices: A video poem series showcases the voices and landscapes of Buffalo, with new videos released every other Friday.
New York Theatre Workshop: Members of NYTW’s artistic community will be leading master classes on directing, writing, performance and beyond on Monday afternoons. On Wednesdays, NYTW will also stream conversations with artists. Plus, stay tuned to NYTW Facebook and Instagram for artist jam sessions and virtual collaborations.
Poets House: 10*10*10: Free Video Workshops with Dave Johnson: Starting Monday, March 23rd, 10am, join Dave Johnson to write a new poem in only 10 minutes. Poets House will present a new video every weekday for 10 days. For teens to adults. The Poets House website also features an extensive digital collection as well as audio and video.
Point of Contact: The annual poetry reading series, Cruel April, welcomes Ana Merino on Thursday, April 16, 2020 for a live stream reading on Facebook from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.
Symphony Space: Every Sunday, Symphony Space will select a story from its Selected Shorts readings to stream. The series kicks off with Taste, a betting game with a vintage of a bottle of wine and a twist from beloved storyteller Roald Dahl, read by John Lithgow.
