Exhibitions and Permanent Installations
Plan Your Visit
- NYU community members and affiliates may visit exhibitions at Bobst Library during regular operating hours with a valid NYU Card or approved registration.
- Access to the Special Collections Gallery is by appointment.
- All other visits may be arranged by emailing the Events Team.
As a part of NYU’s commitment to global inclusion, our exhibitions are open to individuals of all backgrounds and identities.
Current Exhibitions
Village People: Life, Art & Activism
March – June 2026
Bobst Library, 2nd Floor, Special Collections Gallery
New York City is the largest city in the United States in terms of population, a fact we experience daily while making our way through the streets and subways we constantly navigate and negotiate. Despite the mass of people around us, the city can also be surprisingly small and compact—a series of villages and communities. Bobst Library is placed at the central point of three distinct yet interconnected such localities—Greenwich Village, the West Village, and the East Village.
In the last century, the Villages have been defined and redefined by their residents as they move through and around buildings, streets, and parks. Neighborhoods become known by the reputations of their citizens, which attract similar inhabitants and interested spectators. The personalities of the Villages are constantly shifting within their limited geography.
Occupying a horizontal slice of Manhattan from the Hudson to the East River, and from Fourteenth Street to Houston Street, these neighborhoods have been the home of artists, writers, musicians, and activists across generations. NYU Special Collections has long collected the material productions of these individuals, their communities, and the organizations who have made these Villages their home. This exhibition highlights some of their stories.