Poster House, the United States’ first poster museum, celebrates its fifth anniversary this year. A series of parties, panels, and projects mark the event.
Since the museum opened its doors in June 2019, the museum has welcomed more than 130,000 people to its exhibitions and programming. Thousands more are expected to enjoy the annual Block Party, a lively, free kickoff to the anniversary celebrations on Saturday, July 13, 2024, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM just outside the museum on 24th street between 6th and 7thAvenues in Manhattan.
When it opened on June 20, 2019, Poster House filled a long-acknowledged gap in the New York cultural landscape for accessible art and design. Since then, the museum has opened nearly 40 exhibitions on subjects ranging from turn-of-the-century Russian Constructivism to modern environmental activism, and held hundreds of community events and workshops for all ages. Its permanent collection has grown from a small selection of World War I and II propaganda to a diverse holding of more than 11,000 posters across eras, styles, countries, and subjects. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the museum to close its doors just nine months after it opened, Poster House rededicated itself to virtual projects, including a 2,000-screen, citywide PSA campaign with work by 30 designers; and a video series about how the virus affected Chinatown, emphasizing the institution’s commitment to its surrounding communities in New York.
Poster House Five-Year Anniversary Block Party
The Anniversary Block Party will feature games, prizes, food trucks and art-making activities for all ages—plus free admission to the museum. Museum tours will be offered throughout the day, featuring spring exhibitions, Wonder City of the World: New York City Travel Posters and The Anatomy of a Movie Poster: The Work of Dawn Baillie.
- WHEN: Saturday, July 13, 2024 | 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- WHERE: Poster House, 119 West 23rd Street, New York, NY
- WHAT: Live letterpress printing, live screen-printing, live woodblock and litho printing, as well as activities for children, teens, and families.
- WHO: Performances by The Blue Angels Drumline & Blue Royalty Dance, Shake Rattle and Roll Dueling Pianos, Mike Freeman ZonaVibe, Josh Lawrence Organ Quartet, It’s Showtime NYC, and Soul Summit, with DevDoe emceeing.
Poster House is a member of The West Side Cultural Network—a group of museums, parks, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions located within a half-mile portion of historic New York. Poster House’s Block Party is a part of the second annual West Side Fest, a celebration of arts and culture on the West Side of Manhattan. Now extended to three days of festivities, West Side Fest will offer free admission, special indoor and outdoor programming, crafts for kids and families, artmaking activities for all ages, performances, and much more. New Yorkers and visitors of all ages are invited to celebrate the vibrant, cultural village along the waterfront of Manhattan’s west side.