New York City’s annual month-long pride celebration kicks off on May 31, ushering in a month of celebrating the city’s LGBTQIA+ community. NYC Pride unveiled the 2024 theme earlier this year as “Reflect. Empower. Unite.,” which was chosen to commemorate the intersectionality of the annual celebration. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Heritage of Pride, as well as the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising that ignited the LGBTQIA+ rights movement. Though the festivities culminate in the NYC Pride March on June 30, there are countless ways to celebrate pride in the weeks leading up.
Kick Off Pride at The Whitney Museum
May 31, 2024
From 2-10 p.m., The Whitney Museum of America Art is celebrating pride with free choral performances by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. After tons of pop-up performances throughout the building, the evening will conclude with a final performance by over 200 singers on the steps of the museum. This event coincides with the museum’s Free Friday Nights, in which free admission to the museum begins at 5 p.m. every Friday. However, tickets are required and advance booking is recommended. Throughout the rest of the month, the museum will be celebrating the city’s gay community with Queer History Walks and a Radical Joy Ball on June 24.
Iconic Pride at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
May 31, 2024 – June 27, 2024
Join the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights for their annual pride celebration! This year’s theme is Pathways of Pride, inspired by the textile collection Divine Pathways by Anne Patterson, which is on display through pride month. Events begin with a special performance and the illumination of rainbow lights inside the nave of the Cathedral, and continue throughout the month with Frances Marshall’s Queer Religion: The Exhibition photography collection, the Pride Family Picnic, a performance by the Queer Big Apple Corps Marching Band, and a Pride Evensong featuring a community choir.
Pride: All Day, Every Day
Jun 1, 2024 – Aug 31, 2024
Brooklyn Pride, in partnership with Arts Gowanus and The Old Stone House, will exhibit an outdoor art exhibition titled Pride: All Day, Every Day, which will highlight artwork from emerging and established Brooklyn-based queer artists. The art will celebrate what “pride” means to the artist and to the wider Brooklyn community. Selected from an open call, the artwork will be printed on vinyl banners and will be displayed on the fence surrounding The Old Stone House & Washington Park and J.J. Byrne Playground in Park Slope. In addition, the exhibit will be available for viewing and purchase online on the Arts Gowanus website.
Night at the Museum: Pride at MoMA PS1
June 1, 2024
From 8 p.m. to midnight, the MoMA PS1 in Queens will host an after-hours party featuring exciting queer performances and late-night access to the museum’s spring exhibitions. Ring in pride by wandering around exhibitions including Reynaldo Rivera: Fistful of Love/También la bellaza, which features photographs of LA’s queer scene, and listening to performances from punk bands, burlesque performers, and ventriloquists. Tickets are required for entry to the event.
Queer Gallery Walk: Art Tour of Chelsea Gallery District, PRIDE EDITION
June 8, 2024
Starting at 11:45 a.m. and hosted by Queer Social, the gallery walk will encompass the best art shows in Chelsea, including a wide range of mediums from oil painting to photography and mixed-media art. Rain or shine, meet across the street from the KASMIN to embark on a stroll through the Chelsea Gallery District to see art and socialize with other guests. Buy tickets in advance at a discounted price.
“Dream of a Common Language” at the Baruch Performing Arts Center
June 21-23, 2024
Directed by Queer the Ballet founder and choreographer Adriana Pierce and presented with the support of the CUNY Dance Initiative, “Dream of a Common Language” is a new ballet inspired by lesbian writer Adrienne Rich and her 1970s poetry. The ballet follows six dancers’ journeys through friendship, community, and romance, illuminating Rich’s own desires for queer community in ’70s New York. Queer the Ballet, Pierce’s initiative, aims to broaden classical ballet to include LGBTQIA+ voices, and to bring queer artists and people of all genders to ballet spaces.
The LadyLand Music Festival
June 28-29, 2024
The LadyLand music festival, which was described by Billboard as “equal parts Coachella, Berlin nightclub, and queer warehouse rave,” will take place “Under the K Bridge” over Pride Weekend. Featuring a star-studded roster of performers including Slayyyter, Baby Tate, horsegiirl, Blue Hawaii, Julia Fox, Tinashe, A.G. Cook, and River Moon, the festival was created by Brooklyn-based nightlife promoter Ladyfag. Tickets are available here.
Queer|Art|Pride at Nowadays
June 29-30, 2024
Head to Nowadays in Brooklyn for a 36-hour pride celebration hosted by Queer|Art, a national organization for LGBTQIA+ artists. The activities will take place both indoors and outdoors, and include family and 21+ events. Events include a local vendor fair, a movie night, a poetry open mic, and life sunrise performances. Queer|Art|Pride will raise funds for G.L.I.T.S., an organization that provides healthcare access, support, and housing to transgender and sex worker communities in New York City.
PrideFest in Greenwich Village
June 30, 2024
PrideFest is back in Greenwich Village for its annual LGBTQIA+ street fair! The fair brings together locals, families, sponsors, and community leaders for a day of live performances and shopping starting at 11 a.m. The event is free to the public and is the perfect opportunity to grab a bite to eat and explore local vendors.
“Lyle Ashton Harris: Our first and last love” at the Queens Museum
May 19, 2024 – September 22, 2024
A new exhibit at the Queens Museum displays the artistic practice of Lyle Ashton Harris, an artist from the Bronx. His artwork explores the framing of Black and queer individuals, violence as an undercurrent of desire, and other social and political dialogues. The exhibition is anchored by “Shadow Works,” a recently completed collection that includes photographic prints within frames of Ghanaian textiles, and will also include earlier artworks and reference materials. Exploring gender, sexuality, and cultural narratives, Harris’ art commemorates belonging, which is more than appropriate for pride month and its celebration of inclusivity and equity.
