NYC Arts: The Complete Guide to Art and Culture

The Jewish Museum is the preeminent museum in the United States devoted exclusively to art and Jewish culture.  Visitors to the Museum, in the elegant Warburg mansion on New York City’s Museum Mile, will find themselves on a journey through time and across continents.

Founded in 1904 with just 26 donated objects, the Museum has grown a thousand-fold, and its collections now comprise 27,000 items, ranging from archaeological artifacts to works by today’s cutting-edge artists. Whether hundreds of years old or newly created, each object collected or exhibited by the Museum embodies an aspect of a truly universal story: at once ancient and modern, global and local, material and spiritual.

A great place to start a visit is the permanent exhibition, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey. It tells the story of the Jewish people through more than 800 works of art chosen from the Museum’s remarkably diverse holdings of paintings and sculpture; prints and drawings; installation art; decorative arts; antiquities; and media, including a uniquely comprehensive body of radio and television programs related to the Jewish experience.

The Jewish Museum’s wide-ranging collection of objects is just the starting point for a dynamic exploration of art and ideas. In Culture and Continuity and in our temporary exhibitions, the Museum seeks to answer two important and intriguing questions: How have the Jewish people been able to thrive for thousands of years, often in difficult and even tragic circumstances? What constitutes the essence of Jewish identity? Whether exhibiting a 2,000-year-old ceremonial object or delving into the world of Jewish hip-hop; offering talks and performances for discerning adults; presenting The New York Jewish Film Festival; hosting a group tour; or introducing schoolchildren, teens and families to archaeology, music or art, those fascinating and essential questions provide visitors of all ages and backgrounds with a feast for the eyes, the heart and the mind.

• Landmark Status
• Directions: Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 86th Street

• ADA Compliant Restrooms
• Audio Guides: Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, the Museum's permanent exhibition is accompanied by a series of free thematic, random access audio guides using MP3 technology, including a Director’s Highlights Tour with The Jewish Museum’s Director Joan Rosenbaum and WNYC Radio’s Brian Lehrer. Audio guides are also available for selected temporary exhibitions, for $5.
• Coat Check
• Disability Access: Fully accessible; ramp at main entrance. Wheelchairs available.
• Disability Assistance: Access tours and programs are free of charge, but require advance registration. Contact the Scheduling and Access Coordinator at (212) 423-3225, TTY (212) 660-1515 or e-mail access@thejm.org.
  Hearing: Assistive listening devices, neckloops and headsets available for exhibitions. Infrared listening system available for public programs. Sign-language interpreted group tours.
  Vision: Large-print materials, touch tours and verbal imaging tours. A tactile book can be used in the galleries by people who read Braille.
• Gift Shops: Books, catalogs, audio and video tapes, children's items
• On-Site Food: Cafe Weissman serves cafeteria fare.
• Space Rental: The Jewish Museum offers outstanding rental spaces in a Museum Mile landmark. Housed in the former Warburg Mansion and designed as a French Gothic chateau, our elegant rooms can accommodate a wide range of events. Private viewings of our world class exhibitions enhance all occasions.
• Special Education
• Tours

Get involved with Jewish Museum

• Donations through NYCharities.org
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Memberships