Block parties are arguably among the most exhilarating rites of summer in New York, channeling the city’s irrepressible energy as it bursts into its most vibrant and expressive season. Picture impromptu DJ sets spinning under bridges or on sidewalks, dancers spilling into the street, strangers striking up conversations and food and merch pop-ups from scrappy startups and indie labels—each a vivid, unfiltered snapshot of New York’s raw creative pulse. On June 10, one of New York’s biggest block parties, the Museum Mile Festival, returns for its 47th edition, with eight museums and numerous neighborhood partners joining forces to celebrate the city’s extraordinary cultural diversity and the sheer density of museums that line the walkable stretch of Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street to 110th.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Neue Galerie New York, the Guggenheim, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, The Jewish Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, El Museo del Barrio and the Africa Center will be admission-free starting at 6 p.m. and stay open until 9 p.m. Rain or shine, the festival will also have live programming, musical performances, exhibitions, art-making for all ages and more.
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“The Museum Mile Festival has long been a testament to the enduring power of the arts to bring people together across neighborhoods and generations,” Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, director and president of the Museum of the City of New York, told Observer. “For 47 years, this vibrant celebration has evolved into more than just a festival—it’s become New York City’s most beloved block party, where the doors of world-class museums open to the public, free of charge. As part of the Founded By NYC campaign, this year’s event honors the city’s legacy of creativity, community, and civic leadership. We’re proud to be part of a tradition that continues to make culture accessible to all.”
What is the Museum Mile Festival?
The Museum Mile Festival isn’t necessarily about seeing art, though the participating museums are definitely heavy hitters. The event was established in 1978 to “increase public awareness of its member institutions and promote public support of the arts.” Shared culture is the order of the evening, whether that involves gazing in awe at Old Masters, enjoying live music, making your own art or simply strolling (or biking) down a carless twenty-three-block stretch of Fifth Avenue with a few thousand of your neighbors. Most years, more than 50,000 people attend.
The Museum Mile, which actually encompasses just under a mile and a half of city thoroughfare, is the stretch of Fifth Avenue from East 82nd Street to East 110th Street on the Upper East Side that marks the western edge of Carnegie Hill and the southernmost section of East Harlem. It’s a hotbed of culture, history and unsurprisingly, money. The Roosevelts, Rockefellers, Kennedys and Carnegies have all, at one time or another, called the area home. But the mere existence of Central Park does a lot to democratize the Museum Mile, as do the street vendors who set up shop along the route.
What’s on view at the 2025 Museum Mile Festival?
The Met will host special performances and interactive labs for kids and families, and you can pop into “Colorful Korea: The Lea R. Sneider Collection,” “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” “Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100-1900” and “The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910.” The Neue Galerie New York will offer free admission for teens and adults—the institution’s no-under-twelves policy will still be in effect during the Museum Mile Festival. The twelve-and-ups can check out “Austrian Masterworks from the Neue Galerie” on a first-come, first-served basis.
Inside, the Jewish Museum has a newly opened exhibition, “Ben Shahn: On Nonconformity;” outside, a high-energy performance of Eastern European Yiddish music will animate the street, paired with hands-on art activities and poster-making inspired by Shahn’s socially engaged practice. The Guggenheim has planned a slate of playful outdoor activities on Fifth Avenue. Inspired by its current exhibition “Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers,” the museum’s family-friendly offerings include sidewalk
Further uptown, El Museo del Barrio will offer free access to its standout summer programming, including “Candida Alvarez: Circle, Point, Hoop,” the artist’s long-awaited major survey, and a powerful monographic exhibition dedicated to the spiritually resonant work of late Afro-Brazilian sculptor, writer and cultural leader Mestre Didi, whose art has not been seen in a U.S. museum in more than two decades. El Museo’s educators will guide young visitors in exploring Alvarez’s vivid visual language, while the museum collaborates with East Harlem cultural partners to bring the neighborhood’s energy to life, culminating in a late-night DJ set by Chiquita Brujita.
On 110th Street, The Africa Center will spotlight artist Sarah Elawad’s striking window installation “When the War Is Over,” which transforms the museum’s Fifth Avenue façade into a layered visual narrative exploring diasporic heritage, memory and resilience, and “Between Nostalgia & Dreams” by photographer Yusuf Ahmed. Central to the work is the traditional Sudanese tobe—a flowing garment that serves as both material and metaphor, symbolizing womanhood and the threads that bind generations of women across place, politics and time. During the Museum Mile festivities, the museum will also host a live performance by Alsarah & the Nubatones, whose “songs of return” reflect on migration and cultural memory between Sudan and Egypt, shaped by intimate dinner-table conversations.
Across the avenue, the Museum of the City of New York will commemorate the city’s 400th anniversary with two dynamic exhibitions celebrating its unruly spirit and subcultural creativity. “Above Ground: Art from the Martin Wong Graffiti Collection,” drawn from over 300 works donated by the artist, offers a major exploration of the 1970s graffiti scene, spotlighting icons like Rammellzee, Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink and Futura 2000. Meanwhile, “Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor” pays homage to 200 years of social dance—from 19th-century saloons to 21st-century dance floors and everything in between. The museum will also present bilingual programming, live music and several interactive family activities, including street games, Bhangra dance workshops, craft-making, participatory mapping and hands-on artifact exploration.
Meanwhile, the Cooper Hewitt welcomes visitors with “Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial,” a sweeping exhibition of twenty-five newly commissioned works that examine how design shapes daily life in New York and beyond. As part of the evening’s festivities, the museum will invite guests to take part in a participatory drawing activity that reflects on the people, places and objects that help define a sense of home in the city.
Several neighborhood partners will also join the celebrations, extending the Museum Mile Festival’s reach across disciplines and institutions. These include The Church of the Heavenly Rest, the New York Academy of Medicine, the Asia Society, the AKC Museum of the Dog, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, the New York City Civic Engagement People’s Bus and 92NY.
There’s no wrong way to experience the Museum Mile Festival—possibly other than sticking to the sidewalk. The cars have been banished, and it’s summer in the city. It’s the perfect time to step out into the street.