Poster House, the first museum in the United States dedicated to the global history of posters, will host its monthly “First Friday” event November 3, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM at Poster House, 119 West 23rd Street in Manhattan. On the first Friday of every month, Poster House offers free admission and extended hours for guests to come explore the museum’s latest exhibitions. The two main exhibitions currently on display for the fall season are Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde and We Tried to Warn You! Environmental Crisis Posters, 1970-2020. Both exhibits will be open through February 25, 2024.
Every First Friday is different, offering unique opportunities such as tours, workshops, performances, and activities, to further engage visitors with the exhibitions. This month, Poster House’s Education Department is taking over First Friday to highlight the museum’s education & family offerings. First Friday Activities for November 3rd include:
•10:30 – 11:30 AM: Attend a drop-in program for toddlers and children of all ages (accompanied by an adult) that focuses on the posters in the new exhibitions Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde and We Tried to Warn You! Environmental Crisis Posters, 1970–2020. Explore the galleries guided by Poster House’s Kids Cards, then stop by our workshop space to create colorful prints of your own.
•1:00 PM: Join Poster House Educator Maya Varadaraj for a tour of the We Tried to Warn You: Environmental Crisis Posters, 1970–2020 exhibition and explore the global history of environmental activism through graphic design.
•3:00 PM: Join Poster House Educator Maya Varadaraj for a tour of the Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde exhibition and learn about the rise and fall of what we now know as Art Deco through this in-depth exhibition exploring the global phenomenon of avant-garde commercial advertising.
• 3:30 – 5:00 PM: Join the Young Lordes Collective (YLC) for a special edition of PH x Teens at Poster House and make environmental activism vinyl record covers cover using watercolor paint, collage, and/or letterpress techniques.
•6:00 – 7:00 PM: College students are invited for a discussion regarding the role of youth in environmental justice movements—past, present, and future. Poster House Educator, Rayyan Mikati, will guide this conversation toward historical inquiry and speculative imagination.
•6:30 – 8:00 PM: Lorenzo Van Ness from Sins Invalid will hold a screening and discussion of Loving with Three Hearts. After the viewing, there will be a discussion on the intersection of climate justice and disability justice. Special attention will be paid to how Sins Invalid utilizes performance to explore these connections. Please note that while Poster House is mask-optional, this event is mask-mandatory. Masks and clear masks will be provided.
