Your Ultimate NYC Fall Art Guide
The best shows to see this season, The Met’s John Galliano exhibition is nixed, and why your City Bike might run slower in certain neighborhoods.
It’s hard to believe it’s already September. How did it sneak up on us like that? Is it because August ended with a string of monumental losses within the arts and culture sector that left us bereft and disoriented?
Let’s hear it for artist Justin Blinde, who created a device that makes electric City Bikes slow down in less affordable neighborhoods. That’s art activism you can actually feel. Read Eliana Perozo’s report, co-published with the nonprofit news organization Next City.
Meanwhile, John Galliano withdraws his exhibition from the Costume Institute at The Met after an onslaught of criticism regarding his racist and antisemitic hate speech (which includes but is not limited to literally saying “I love Hitler”) that led to his conviction in 2011. I guess this is a more favorable outcome compared to the Costume Institute’s 2023 exhibition for late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, and Jeff and Lauren (Sánchez) Bezos bankrolling the 2026 Met Gala, but one has to ask when and where the line gets drawn.
This month, I’ll be budgeting my time to make the most of an intense lineup of coinciding art happenings. Thankfully, you have our extensive annual fall exhibition guide for New York City, which will make it a lot easier to map out my seasonal itinerary.
I’m particularly intrigued by Aziz Hazara: Coming Home at the SculptureCenter as it contends with two decades of quotidian “leftovers” from the US-led NATO occupation of Afghanistan; Jack Shainman Gallery’s upcoming Gordon Parks exhibition featuring new insights from the families of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and other subjects Parks photographed; and Raise Your Voice: New York Activism at the Museum of the City of New York. There are dozens of other shows to check out in what’s shaping up to be a September to remember.
Hyperallergic Fall 2026 New York Art Guide
School’s back in session in the art world, too — this fall, exhibitions on textbook artists like Abstract Expressionists Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, and modernist Constantin Brancusi are landing at The Met, the Whitney, and MoMA, respectively. Then there’s the shows writing the textbooks of tomorrow: surveys of artist-filmmaker Arthur Jafa, who remixes and shapes Black visual culture; photographer Taryn Simon, who plumbs American myths and institutions; and conceptual artist (and pathologist!) Teresa Margolles, who takes on death, that cruelest of subjects.
Still, it’s not just blockbuster exhibitions this season. There’s something for everyone.
Read More
Affordable Art Fair New York Fall 2026 is back!
Affordable Art Fair New York returns for its Fall edition from September 16-20 at the Starrett-Lehigh building in Chelsea. You’ll find over 90 galleries showcasing thousands of artworks all priced from $100-$1200. Find your next favorite artwork!
News
- The British fashion designer John Galliano withdraws his upcoming exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, set to run concurrently with the 2027 Met Gala, after intense criticism of his past racist behavior.
- Artist Yayoi Kusama, who channeled psychological phenomena into impossibly kaleidoscopic artworks that enamored millions around the world, dies at the age of 97.
Opinion
What I Got Wrong About Krasner and Pollock
I had assumed that loving an artist meant disappearing a little, and I had assumed that Lee Krasner had been forced to shrink, too. | Lia Strasser
Read MoreFeature
Artist’s Device Slows Down Citi Bikes in Less Affordable Neighborhoods
Justin Blinder’s latest project examines New York City’s affordability crisis and makes the disparities felt on a physical level. | Eliana Perozo
Read MoreWhat Else Is Happening?
- On view at the Long Island Museum, visit Enduring Heart: Native American Long Island, a celebration of the First Peoples of Long Island through artifacts and art. (Through December 20) [longislandmuseum.org]
- IFC's 2026 Sundance Film Festival short film tour opens this week. (Wed Sept 2) [ifccenter.com]
- Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance will host a closing artists talk for its exhibition America, the Beautiful? (Wed Sept 2) [nomaanyc.org]
- Join LES Ecology Center and Black Girls Sew for a hands-on clothing repair and mending workshop. (Tues Sept 8) [lesecologycenter.org]
- Conduits of the Unseen: Women Artists Imagine Other Worlds at Andrew Edlin Gallery opens next week. (Opening Wed Sept 9) [edlingallery.com]
- 440 Gallery announces the Call for Art for the 22nd annual Small Works Show 2026. Submit by September 9. (Wed Sept 9) [440gallery.com]
- Join an Alma Thomas-inspired abstract painting workshop at Liz's Book Bar. (Sun Sept 13) [lizsbookbar.com]
- Attend the Opening Reception of Bill Miller's upcoming solo exhibition. Miller has been using scraps of vintage linoleum as a principle medium for three decades. (Thurs Sept 17) [diefirmanyc.com]
- Pete’s Candy Store is hosting its annual Mini Zinefest later this month! (Sat Sept 19) [Pete's Mini Zinefest]
- Enjoy free sustainability-focused art activations in a community art garden in Harlem, with clay coasters, printmaking, and more! (Sat Sept 19) [The Unframed Arts Collective]
