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New York, New York

New York Arts: Art Scene in New York

Much can be said, good and bad, about the New York art scene. The edgy days of the ’30s-’40s and the truly experimental ’60s are in the past and the Big Apple gets more commercial and expensive every year. But this city still dominates the American cultural-arts scene like no other. The best in art, from the Mona Lisa to The Book of Mormon, always finds a way there.

New York Arts Information

(For theater-only arts information, see the theater page.)

  • AM New York—Arts coverage from a free daily newspaper available near subway stops
  • New York Times—Excellent news and feature coverage of all the arts; the reviewers (unjustly perhaps) still have the power to make or break many shows
  • New York Post—Check out the Wednesday and Friday editions for Michael Riedel’s newsy (and very dishy) theater column
  • Wall Street Journal—Since its acquisition by Rupert Murdoch, the WSJ’s New York (as well as national and international) arts coverage has increased in both quantity and quality
  • New York—Glossy weekly mag covers NYC news, restaurants and entertainment
  • NYC-ARTS – Web home of WNET/Thirteen weekly arts newsmagazine, focusing on increasing awareness of NYC’s nonprofit cultural organizations.
  • TimeOut New York—Abundance of NYC events listings (many of them free) plus excellent reviews at your fingertips each week
  • Village Voice—New York City’s premiere alternative paper isn’t as edgy (or as thick) as it used to be, but it’s still a great resource for arts lovers—and it’s free
  • Playbill Arts—Covers classical music, opera, dance, and jazz.

Discounts

Theater and concert ticket prices in New York City are probably among the highest in the nation, thanks to large numbers of visitors and business-account demographics. To make up for it (and thus allow for a local audience), New York has an abundance of discount methods and schemes that you don’t find in many other cities. (For theater-only discounts, see the theater page.)

  • Goldstar—The New York section doesn’t have anywhere near the selection found in other cities, but certainly worth a free look
  • Dancelink—An email discount club devoted strictly to dance
  • Club Free Time—Excellent and encyclopedic listing of all the free events (walks, lectures, concerts, theater, etc.) going on in New York, plus, the Club sponsors special high-quality low-price events for its members, who pay only $20 a year
  • Playbill Arts—Playbill’s sister site offers some discounts on classical music, opera, dance, and jazz
  • High 5—Dedicated to making the arts affordable for teens, High 5 provides $5 tickets to hundreds of New York’s dance, music, theater, film, and museum events year-round. Plus, each teen can purchase one additional $5 ticket, so they can be accompanied by one adult, or another teen or pre-teen. Teens don’t have to be from New York, but they must have proof of age or school enrollment (a report card will do)
  • Schooltix—Best site for discounted school group tickets.