New York City is always filled with exciting things to do, and amazing places to see, but it tends to get pricey sometimes. Last week, things were a little different! On Tuesday, June 14, New York City hosted their annual Museum Mile Festival on 5th Avenue, running from 82nd to 105th Streets. On the event's website, visitors can find all of the information they need, including how the festival began. It states that it "Begun as an initiative to spur the development of new museum audiences and to increase support for the arts during the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, Museum Mile was formed as a consortium by the museums that share the Fifth Avenue address." This initiative sparked something fantastic that allows the people of New York (and those visiting from near and far), to experience some of the best museums in the country, expose people of all ages to the arts, while also uniting the community through culture right on Central Park.
On this mile, you can find seven amazing museums to lose yourself in: El Museo Del Barrio, Museum of the City of New York, the Jewish Museum, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Neue Galerie New York, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Aside from gaining free admission to these museums from 6-9 p.m., the city takes it one step further and blocks off 23 blocks, to make this festival easier to access, and fills the streets with local food and entertainment! Hard to imagine having 23 bustling NYC blocks closed off to packed-out taxis, right?
They had local food vendors from Harlem cooking up some amazing eats for the visitors of the festival. What a great way to get the word out about the great restaurants Harlem has to offer (plus, who doesn't love free food?)! What's even cooler than free food? Free personalized poetry. Alexis Morozano is a local poet who sets up his station around Manhattan and composes personal written works for those who stop by. Even if you're not a fan of poetry, you can't deny that having your very own, personalized piece of literature is awesome. Here's one of the pieces he wrote:
So, what exhibits does this festival have to offer when you're not indulging in delicious food or checking out the local artists? Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to make it to all seven museums in the three hours the festival runs for, but here are the highlights from the ones we made it to:
The Museum of the City of New York
This museum was pretty cool, with exhibits all relating to events that took place right in the city that never sleeps! What's cool about this museum is their staircase, and not the one you see when you first come in. While the main entrance staircase is beautiful, the staircase that takes you from floor to floor is pretty exciting. Covering the walls are quotes from famous authors, philosophers, and New Yorkers. This is the staircase that leads you to the main exhibit on activism movements in New York.
This exhibit is one to experience! Titled "Activist New York," this exhibit featured several major activist movements in the United States, and how New Yorkers played a role in each movement. Some of the movements include: Abolishment of Slavery, Prohibition, Women's Suffrage, Civil Rights, Gay Liberation and Nuclear Disarmament. 
Each section of the exhibit contained artifacts from the movement, a timeline of events, photos, newspaper articles, and any video coverage from protests. It was incredible to time travel back through each of these movements and realize how it has effected our lives today, and how some of these are still completely relevant to our daily lives. It was also cool because, as a New Yorker, you are able to see just how your state contributed to the success of each movement.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Guggenheim is a highly acclaimed museum located on 89th street, holds pieces by many different types of artists with many different styles. Some of these artists include Pablo Picasso, László Moholy-Nagy, and Justin K. Thannhauser, just to name a few. The museum's architecture is fairly simplistic allowing for a smooth visit. Each floor can be accessed by an walking up a constant elevated ramp in a circular nature (almost like walking up a spring) making it easily accessible for everyone, and very unique.The museum's exhibits contain many paintings, photographs as well as sculptures, displaying art from every decade.
One of the current main exhibits is László Moholy-Nagy's "Future Present." Moholy-Nagy's exhibition embodies multiple mediums to portray the betterment of humanity through modern technology. A majority of the exhibit consists of photograms, paintings, and sculptures that portray his powerful message. This exhibit is one you shouldn't miss!
Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum
Believe it or not, Cooper Hewitt is the only museum exclusively dedicated to historic and contemporary design. Instead of educating on all different types of art, this museum's goal is to educate the public specifically on different forms of design throughout the centuries, while appealing to all of the senses. They also offer several different educational programs to further reach the community in order to educate them on the history and importance of design.
There were quite a few current exhibitions at the Cooper Hewitt, and way too much to see in a short period of time! But, the sculptures and pieces there was time to see were really amazing. Some of the current exhibitions include: Beauty - Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, Fragile Beasts, and Pixar: The Design of Story. These three exhibits take guests through three very diverse forms of the art of design - one having to do with sculptures of varies shapes, sizes, and colors, that engages the "mind, body, and soul," according to their website, another featuring rare prints from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the last giving an in-depth look at Pixar Animation Studios featuring hands-on design activities so that guests get a better understanding of the time and effort that goes in to creating our favorite animated films. But, whether you're going there to see one of these fascinating exhibits, or just to appreciate the other pieces this museum has to offer, you're bound to be amazed by the creations of design seen here.
Don't get upset if you missed out on this experience, you can always go next year and see all of the new exhibits these fantastic museums have to offer! You'll have your chance to draw with chalk on 102nd street, get your own personalized piece of poetry from Alexis Morozano, have a free taste of Harlem's finest cuisine, and gain free admission to seven of the greatest museums, all while enjoying the always exciting City of New York.
