Summer in the City: Things to See and Do

While many people leave the city once it gets hot, summer can actually be one of the best times to see what New York City has to offer. You don’t have to go far to find art and culture—you just need to know where to look. So whether you’re a local staying in the city or an out-of-towner popping in for a visit, check out some cool things to do when it gets hot.

14th Street: A new public installation along NYC’s bustling 14th Street corridor (just steps from Pratt Manhattan on 14th Street) turns vacant storefront windows into a public showcase for the creativity and ingenuity of Pratt students. Organized in partnership with The Village West, the windows offer a glimpse into work from across Pratt’s schools of design, architecture, art, information, liberal arts and sciences, and continuing and professional studies. 

Pratt Manhattan Gallery: Beyond Digital: Living Systems & Distributed Intelligence, curated by visual artist Elena Soterakis, is on view at Pratt Manhattan Gallery through September 5, 2026. Beyond Digital brings together artists from Pratt Institute’s Digital Arts alumni community—including Tess Adams, Nicolás Cuestas, Nate King, Caroline Voagen Nelson, Taezoo Park, Karolina Rojas, and Ruyin Tsai & Jung-Shang Chang—to explore and expand upon how we understand technology. The show looks at these technologies not simply as tools but as part of larger systems that sense, respond, and change.

The Whitney Museum of American Art: Untitled (America), an exhibition at the Whitney, pays homage to Félix González-Torres, BFA Photography ’86, “whose work of the same title illuminates a window in the exhibition, creating a passage between the Museum and the world beyond.” The exhibition quotes González-Torres: “America has always been an unattainable dream, a place to dream about. . . . The America that I now know is still a place of light, a place of opportunities, of risks, of justice, of racism, of injustice, of hunger and excess, of pleasure and growth. Democracy is a constant job, a collective dedication.” The exhibition also includes work by artist and alumna Kay WalkingStick, MFA ’75. The Whitney Museum is among the museums with free entry for Pratt students, faculty, and staff. 

Hilton Hotel Times Square: Two works by Shivani Mithbaokar, MFA Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) ’25, are on view at the Hilton Hotel Times Square Ground Floor and Sky Lobby until the end of this year.

Columbus Circle: For our soccer fans, be sure to check out “The Art of the Game,” a public art initiative featuring 23 monumental soccer ball sculptures installed across NYC and New Jersey in celebration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A sculpture by Tomokazu Matsuyama, MFA Communications Design ’04, Softly Distance, is installed at Columbus Circle in Manhattan and will be on view through September 7, 2026.

Lincoln Center: As part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City, stop by the Poet-in-Residence Farewell Party on July 31 for Mahogany Browne, MFA ’16, who is completing her four-year residency at Lincoln Center. “As this residency closes, we celebrate Browne at the final installation of her long-running Seen, Sound, Scribe series. Join Browne for a thought-provoking gathering of multidisciplinary creators. Expect spoken word, spirited dialogues, presentations of new work, music, and the founding of new communities.”

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY): Through July 19, catch Raise Your Voice, an art installation by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, MFA Communications Design ’15, at MCNY. While you’re there, check out New York at Its Core. Pratt’s Spatial Analysis & Visualization Initiative (SAVI) performed data analysis and mapping for the museum’s first-ever permanent exhibition. SAVI worked with MCNY curators for six months to analyze spatial data and develop stories for the Future City Lab. The project resulted in nearly 100 maps.

St. Nicholas Park: Head over to Harlem to see work by Moses Ros, BArch ’83, on view as part of Harlem Sculpture Gardens, taking place through October 2027.

Public Address: Faculty and former Fine Arts Civic Engagement Fellow Alex Strada’s project, Public Address, is a multi-borough public artwork that was created through collaborative “log-writing” workshops with residents and staff in New York City homeless shelters. Commissioned by Storefront for Art and Architecture, Strada worked with city agencies including the Departments of Homeless Services, Cultural Affairs, Parks, and Transportation to bring these perspectives to light.

Green-Wood Cemetery: Adjunct Professor – CCE of Fine Arts Jean Shin is exhibiting a major site-specific installation at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark. Shin’s monumental regenerative earthworks titled “Offering” and “Celadon Landscape” will be on view through January 2027.

Summer Streets: The Bower, a new installation by Studio Elsa Ponce, MPS Creative Enterprise Leadership (Design Management) ‘17, was commissioned by the NYC DOT Art Program as part of this year’s Summer Streets. “Over the past few years, my work has centered on creating spaces of care and belonging,” said Ponce. “The Bower continues that exploration through something both simple and essential: shade.” Throughout the day, people will be invited to contribute to a collective chalk mural, “reflecting on what shade means to New Yorkers and why it is becoming an essential form of care, comfort, and safety in our warming city.” The piece will be on view August 1, August 8, and August 15 (location to be announced). 

The MTA: As you navigate around the city, keep an eye out for the incredible artwork created through the ongoing MTA Arts & Design program for the subway and commuter rail stations. See Pratt’s Transit Art Tour map to find key works by members of the Pratt community. 

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