18 galleries for kids across all five boroughs of New York City, 12 of them free. Art spaces with family programs. Includes Abrons Arts Center and Arsenal Gallery.
A Lower East Side arts center with free contemporary art galleries, theaters and studios, run by Henry Street Settlement. Families can visit exhibitions and attend performances and community arts events.
A small free gallery on the third floor of the Arsenal, NYC Parks' headquarters inside Central Park near the zoo. Rotating shows often explore nature, parks and the city, making it an easy art stop during a Central Park outing.
A nonprofit gallery in a former DUMBO industrial building that shows large-scale work by emerging and mid-career artists, free of charge. Its Art Ready program offers free art mentorship for NYC public school students.
A seasonal arts center on Governors Island where resident artists work in open studios and exhibitions fill the galleries. Families can drop into free hands-on art-making workshops led by visiting artists.
An East Harlem artist collective founded in 1969 that runs a gallery and the Rafael Tufiño Printmaking Workshop. Families can see Puerto Rican and Latino art and look for community printmaking workshops.
A historic Harlem nonprofit art center with a gallery and low-cost community workshops in watercolor, printmaking, clay and crochet. Teens and families can join zine-making sessions and family art days tied to exhibitions.
A nonprofit gallery and performance space near the Long Island City waterfront hosting exhibitions, live music and theater, many of them free. Its Culture Lab for Kids programming includes music-movement-and-craft sessions for young children.
Once a year, dozens of working artists at the EFA Studio Center in the Garment District open their studios to visitors, and the building's gallery and Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop are open too. It's a chance for curious kids to see how artists actually work.
Columbia's free art gallery on the top floor of the Lenfest Center in Manhattanville, with contemporary and historical exhibitions. Families can use downloadable kids activity sheets and join sketch sessions tied to the shows.
A Melrose gallery devoted to documentary photography and film. Its free Youth Photo League teaches middle and high schoolers photography, filmmaking and visual journalism after school.
A South Bronx arts education center with after-school and summer arts programs for elementary and middle schoolers, plus a free gallery showing art tied to Bronx cultures. Exhibitions feed directly into the kids' lesson plans.
A residency for international artists in a converted East Williamsburg factory with two galleries and dozens of studios. Exhibitions and events are free, and the program opens artists' studios to the public during its open studios events.
A contemporary art gallery in the South Bronx run by the Bronx Council on the Arts' Longwood Arts Project, showing work by Bronx and other emerging artists. The project also runs a youth engagement program connecting young people with art.
A volunteer-run festival where Bushwick artists, galleries and creative spaces open their doors for a weekend of studio visits, exhibits and events. It's an easy way for families to see street art and meet working artists in the neighborhood.
An annual weekend when hundreds of artists across Gowanus open their studios to the public. Families can wander between workshops and makerspaces, meet artists and see work in progress, with some venues offering hands-on activities.
The city's creative reuse warehouse in Long Island City, which collects donated supplies for schools and nonprofits and hosts a gallery of art made from reclaimed materials. Monthly Third Thursday events feature hands-on art-making workshops.
A free outdoor photography festival that sets up exhibitions in public spaces, with its main hub in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Kids can walk through open-air photo installations, and outdoor displays also appear in other boroughs through the year.
A waterfront park on the East River where large contemporary sculptures and installations rotate through the lawns. Kids can roam among the artworks and join free summer art-making projects and community events.
LittleGotham lists 18 galleries for kids in New York City.
Yes. 12 of 18 are free to attend, including Arsenal Gallery, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island, Smack Mellon.
14 listings are indoors, such as Abrons Arts Center, Arsenal Gallery, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island.
Manhattan (7), Brooklyn (5), Queens (3).