{"id":125651,"date":"2025-08-07T06:37:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T06:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/125651\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T06:37:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T06:37:14","slug":"jane-augusts-quest-to-visit-every-new-york-city-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/125651\/","title":{"rendered":"Jane August’s quest to visit every New York City museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Museums throughout New York City were just reopening<\/a> in the wake of the COVID pandemic<\/a> when Jane August launched what seemed like a straightforward plan: She would travel<\/a> to every single museum in the city, producing a short video log of each one. She figured it would take three years at most. <\/p>\n

But with 136 museums documented since 2021, she still has about 64 to go by her estimation. And with new museums opening and some old ones changing so dramatically that they deserve a revisit, the 26-year-old now says she\u2019s realistically aiming to complete the project before she\u2019s 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, I started the project for myself to safely get out of my house and experience culture in the city again,\u201d said August, who grew up in Arizona and has lived in New York for nine years. She said she wasn\u2019t a big museum person before starting the project, and had only been to around seven at the time.<\/p>\n

But as she began, the plan quickly evolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided TikTok<\/a> would be a cool way to document this so my friends could keep up with my journey and maybe discover something new,\u201d August said. Her audience has since far expanded with about 40,000 followers across social platforms.<\/p>\n

Museums big and small, Manhattan and beyond<\/p>\n

Visiting its museums has sparked a new appreciation for New York City, she said, as well as for the sheer breadth of what\u2019s on offer, particularly for those willing to explore smaller museums<\/a> and those in the boroughs beyond Manhattan.<\/p>\n

And yes, she has favorites. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love Poster House. It\u2019s the first poster museum in the country, has great programming and is free on Fridays,\u201d she says of the largely unsung museum<\/a> at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue, which features graphic design and advertising posters ranging from Art Nouveau to political propaganda. <\/p>\n

Others on her list of favorites include the Tenement Museum<\/a> in lower Manhattan and the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, as well as three Brooklyn<\/a> museums: the Brooklyn Seltzer Museum, the New York Sign Museum and the Red Hook Pinball Museum. She also has a soft spot for The Paley Center for Media NYC<\/a> in midtown Manhattan. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey have archives with every TV show you could possibly think of. It\u2019s amazing,\u201d she said of The Paley Center.<\/p>\n

Staten Island offerings are worth the ferry ride<\/p>\n

As for the city\u2019s smallest borough, the ferry ride to Staten Island<\/a> (free, with views of the Statue of Liberty<\/a> along the way) is well worth the trip for museum-goers, she said.<\/p>\n

The borough features the Newhouse Center of Contemporary Art, as well as the Alice Austen House, a Victorian Gothic house important to LGBTQ+ history. It was the home of one of the country\u2019s earliest and most prolific female photographers, famous for documenting the city\u2019s immigrant communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t imagine that Staten Island had one of the gayest museums in New York, dedicated to a queer photographer, but it does,\u201d August said.<\/p>\n

Staten Island is also home to the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art and the Chinese Scholar\u2019s Garden, which claims to be one of only two authentic classical outdoor Chinese gardens in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so peaceful and quiet, and I love riding the ferry,\u201d August said.<\/p>\n

Taking advantage of free days and slow hours<\/p>\n

While museums can be expensive, she said she makes good use of museum passes at her local library, and that many museums have days or times when they are free.<\/p>\n

And because her \u201cday jobs\u201d tend to be at night \u2014 she works at different venues in ticketing and production, and also bartends \u2014 she\u2019s able to visit museums in the middle of weekdays, when they tend to be less crowded. <\/p>\n

August recently became a licensed New York City tour guide, and she says it\u2019s given her a renewed appreciation both of the city and its visitors.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also seen a few trends take hold, like the rise in museum programming aimed at younger audiences and the trend away from chronological exhibits, which she says make return visits less enticing. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo many of us are desperate for third spaces,\u201d she said, referring to a place distinct from both home and work where people can relax or socialize. \u201cFor a lot of us, we have a hunger to come back and visit again, especially when it\u2019s free.\u201d <\/p>\n

Although big museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art<\/a> can certainly be crowded, August says New York isn\u2019t facing nearly the level of overcrowding as in European cities<\/a> like Paris.<\/p>\n

And at peak times and seasons, like summer, it\u2019s nice to know there are plenty of smaller museums to visit. <\/p>\n

Seeing the whole city<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is especially important for the lesser-known museums that don\u2019t often get press or social media features,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are some small museums that get a huge bump in attendance and press after I have posted my videos so it\u2019s exciting to be able to play a small role in that success.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for her motivation to continue the project, she said \u201cit boils down to the people. I get to connect with fascinating and passionate people who are making these museums what they are and I get to connect with enthusiasts who want to find something fun to do with their weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

For anyone interested in giving something like this a go for themselves, she says it takes a lot of endurance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe prepared to go to corners of the city you never considered \u2014 I\u2019m talking edges of the Bronx and middle of Staten Island,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if you\u2019re up for the challenge, you\u2019ll probably gain a lot of insight on not just the museums and their content, but also the communities they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n