7 Best Performing Arts in New York City, New York

The reigning arbiter of poetry slams, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe is known for hosting the influential granddaddy (b. 1989) of the spoken-word scene, the Wednesday and Friday Night Poetry Slams as well as a variety of open-mike nights, the latter of which have been mostly online during the pandemic. These days there are outdoor events on the schedule as well, but check the website for updates.

Dedicated to first-person storytelling, this roving series has spread far beyond New York, where it was founded in 1997 by the writer George Dawes Green, but it's still going strong here: the curated Mainstage shows feature both celebrities and everyday people who worked with The Moth directors to shape their stories. At the much looser, open-mike StorySLAMs, competitors are randomly selected and given just five minutes to tell a story, which must tie in with the night's theme. Moth tales get told at Housing Works and other venues downtown and throughout the boroughs.

This contemporary glass-faced gallery near Washington Square hosts lively discussions (which might be accompanied by films or other visuals) on topics like modernist architecture in Africa or Communist-era architecture in Prague.

The New York Public Library's discussion series includes a rich program of lectures and reading events from the biggest names in books and culture in general. Most programs are held at the famous main library (and are sometimes available virtually, too), and many are free.

The venerable New York Studio School hosts two—always free, almost always on Tuesday and Wednesday—evening lecture series (fall and spring) on contemporary issues in art. Hear from both emerging and established artists and curators, as well as some of the biggest names in art history and criticism. The school building served as the original location of the Whitney Museum.

Launched in 1966, the Poetry Project has been a source of sustenance for poets (and their audiences) ever since. This place has seen performances by Eric Bogosian, Allen Ginsberg, Amiri Baraka, Sam Shepard, Patti Smith, Anne Waldman, Jim Carroll, Philip Glass, and many others. Current readings feature artists of a similar caliber.

Insight into the creative process is what the Works & Process program at the Guggenheim is all about. Often drawing on dance and theater works in progress, the live performances are complemented by illuminating discussions with their choreographers, playwrights, and directors. There are popular holiday concerts, too. Works & Process also presents at Gibney Center, Lincoln Center, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.