Weekend / Weekend guide
Things to do this weekend in New York City
Sept. 25 to 27, 2026: Five cultural appointments, from a final look at American craftsmanship to opening weekend at the cinema.
This weekend in New York City, Sept. 25 to 27, brings the New York Art Book Fair, the opening of the New York Film Festival and two newly listed museum exhibitions. Make room for Cooper Hewitt, too: Its Christopher Payne photography show closes Sunday. These five choices reward a selective calendar.
For Sept. 25 to 27, 2026.
This is an archived weekend guide. See the latest weekend plans.
Begin with the deadline. An exhibition that ends Sunday deserves a firmer place in the diary than one that will remain through winter. Then choose between an afternoon of browsing in Queens and an evening organized around a film. The pleasure is in giving each enough time, not collecting all five.
For an uptown day, choose one of the three museum stops below as the main event. A second is an option, not an obligation. Keep the Queens fair on its own afternoon and buy the screening ticket before deciding where dinner belongs. Details and official listings were checked again Sept. 26. A listing is not a guarantee of remaining ticket availability.
1. The closing appointment: Made in America
Christopher Payne turns the manufacture of familiar objects into the subject of a museum visit. Cooper Hewitt lists more than 70 photographs in Made in America, which ends Sept. 27. Choose this for the friend who notices materials, tools and the work behind a beautiful object. It is the weekend's clearest now or later decision, because later is not an option for this exhibition.
Address: 2 East 91st Street, New York, NY
Website: Official website
Sept. 25 to 27. Cooper Hewitt, 2 E. 91st St., Manhattan. Listed hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Reduced adult admission is currently $20; pay what you wish from 5 to 6 p.m.
Admission and official booking2. The browsing afternoon: New York Art Book Fair
At MoMA PS1, the best purchase may be the one you had no intention of making. Leave room to browse before deciding what deserves space in your bag. The fair's weekend hours offer three different ways in: Friday afternoon, an earlier Saturday start or a Sunday visit that ends before dinner.
Address: MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Queens, NY
Website: Official website
Sept. 25: noon to 7 p.m. Sept. 26: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 27: noon to 6 p.m. MoMA PS1, Jackson Avenue at 46th Avenue, Queens. Listed admission: $10 each day. Advance registration encouraged.
Fair hours and official tickets3. The evening anchor: New York Film Festival
Opening weekend is a reason to choose a film before choosing a restaurant. The festival begins Sept. 25 and runs through Oct. 12. Use the official date filters for Friday, Saturday or Sunday, then check the screening's venue and ticket status. Leave the conversation afterward unscheduled; that is where a cinema evening earns its keep.
Website: Official website
Sept. 25 to 27 selections are on the official festival calendar. Venue, price and admission availability depend on the individual screening.
Choose a screening and check tickets4. The new perspective: David Hartt at The Met
The Met now lists David Hartt: Peripheries as on view in Gallery 735. The installation responds to an existing panorama of Versailles. Make this the focus of a museum visit, then resist the impulse to add every famous room to the route. One work considered properly can be a more memorable afternoon than a building treated as a checklist.
Address: 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Website: Official website
Now on view through Feb. 7, 2027. The Met Fifth Avenue, 1000 Fifth Ave., Manhattan. Included with museum admission. Check visitor hours before setting out.
Exhibition and visitor information5. The civic conversation: Raise Your Voice
The Museum of the City of New York now lists Raise Your Voice: New York Activism as an ongoing exhibition. Its subject is how New Yorkers organize and press for change. Pair this with a friend who enjoys a conversation that moves beyond where to go next. The exhibition offers a reason to think about the city as something people make, not simply somewhere they live.
Address: 1220 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Website: Official website
Listed as ongoing. Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd Street. See the museum’s ticket page for current admission.
Exhibition details and museum tickets