Looking for Halloween plans? The city’s art scene has you covered.
From a fancy masked ball to costume parties for the whole family, there’s something for everyone going on this holiday weekend in New York.
Thursday, October 27
Tickets at the $500 level to Madame’s Masquerade come with a handcrafted artisan mask by Kenny Harris. Courtesy of the Morris-Jumel Mansion.
1. Madame’s Masquerade at the Morris-Jumel Mansion
Manhattan’s supposedly-haunted mansion celebrates its longest-term resident, Eliza Jumel, who died in 1865, with a spooky Halloween affair.
The dress code is “widow’s weeds and appropriate mourning attire,” and guests will enjoy an open bar and passed hors d’oeuvres. The museum is also currently showing “The Fabric of Emancipation,” an exhibition of contemporary fiber art organized in partnership with Harlem Needle Arts.
Location: Morris-Jumel Mansion, 65 Jumel Terrace
Price: $100 general admission/$250 for a seat at seance reaching out to Eliza Jumel/$500 handcrafted masquerade mask by artist Kenny Harris
Time: 8:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m.
Children at the Met pajama party. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
2. Lights Out at the Met! at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Lest we forget, children love Halloween too. To celebrate the holiday, the Met is inviting families to don costumes—or pajamas—for an art-filled celebration with live entertainment and arts and crafts. The evening concludes with Halloween-themed breakfast for dinner at the appropriately atmospheric Temple of Dendur.
Meanwhile, up on the roof, it’s the perfect time to catch Cornelia Parker’s spooky installation, Transitional Object (PsychoBarn), which closes October 31.
Location: Metropolitan Musuem of Art, 1000 5th Avenue
Price: $70 adult/$55 child
Time: 4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
Friday, October 28
Jonathan Coble &and Cameron R. as “#avangardners” at the 2014 Storefront for Art and Architecture Corporate Avant Garde Critical Halloween Party. Courtesy of Storefront for Art and Architecture.
3. Storefront for Art and Architecture ON LUXURY Critical Halloween at United Palace
More than a mere party, the Storefront for Art and Architecture bills its annual Halloween celebration as “an intellectual debate, a costume competition, and a space for the expression of radical thought.”
This year’s theme is luxury, “a feared ghost of art and architectural production.” In addition to dancing, “luxurious debauchery,” and a highly-competitive contest competition, it just might be the only bash happening this weekend with an official bibliography.
Location: United Palace, 4140 Broadway
Price: $50 in advance/$60 at the door
Time: 9:00 p.m.–2:00 a.m.
Still from The Exorcist (1973), directed by William Friedkin. Courtesy of Photofest/the Museum of Modern Art.
4. HallowSCREEN at the Museum of Modern Art
In celebration of All Hallows’ Eve, PopRally is hosting a HallowSCREENing of Catch William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) at MoMA.
Guests are encouraged to come in costume, and to brush up on their knowledge of the classic horror film. In addition to an open bar and candy, there will be a trivia contest hosted by Barbie Frudakis and Denise Duffy of the Loud Mouthed Ladies of Trivia.
Location: Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street
Price: $18
Time: 9:00 p.m.–12:30 a.m.
A creature stands on a stage at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.Courtesy of AFP Photo/Stan Honda.
5. Halloween Extravaganza and Procession of Ghouls at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
Can’t stand the crowds at the Village Halloween Parade but love the fantastically creepy masks and puppets created by parade founder Ralph Lee and his Mettawee River Theater Company?
Head uptown to St. John the Divine, where Timothy Brumfield will provide a live soundtrack to the silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) on the cathedral organ. To conclude the evening, a parade of Lee’s fantastical creatures will process down the atmospherically-lit church aisle.
Location: Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street
Price: $25
Time: 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.; 10:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m.
Saturday, October 29
The MoMA PS1 Halloween party. Courtesy of MoMA PS1.
6. 5th Annual MoMA PS1 Halloween Ball with Susanne Bartsch at MoMA PS1
The theme for this year’s party from night life legend Susanne Bartsch is The White House of Horror—as if the impending presidential election wasn’t already giving us enough nightmares.
Expect live performances, plenty of dancing, and epic artistic costumes.
Location: MoMA PS1,22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City; after party at 54 North 11th Street, Brooklyn
Price: $18 in advance/$20 at the door
Time: 8:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m., after party til dawn
Halloween Harvest Festival. Courtesy of Socrates Sculpture Park.
7. Halloween Harvest Festival at Socrates Sculpture Park
Socrates is embracing a circus theme for the 2016 edition of its annual Halloween festivities with a performance from Circus Amok! blending experimental theater and traditional circus acts.
There will also be a canine costume contest, a magic show, face painting, and a chance to make art and costumes with Socrates artists. If that’s not enough to tempt you out to Queens, Free Style Arts Association will oversee the construction of a large-scale collaborative sculpture.
Location: Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City
Price: Free
Time: 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Monday, October 31
![After Oskar Schlemmer, <em>Das Triadische Ballett [Triadic Ballet]</em> (1970). © 1970 Bavaria Atelier for SWR in collaboration with Inter Nationes and RTB, courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art.](https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2016/10/schlemmer_forweb_1140-1024x819.jpg)
After Oskar Schlemmer, Das Triadische Ballett [Triadic Ballet] (1970). © 1970 Bavaria Atelier for SWR in collaboration with Inter Nationes and RTB, courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Members can spend All Hallow’s Eve at the Whitney, where the museum is open late for an evening of special exhibition tours.
Visitors will be among the first to see “Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016” (October 28, 2016–February 5, 2017), a purposefully-H.P. Lovecraftian exhibition (it’s named for the alternate dimension created by the science fiction writer) on the museum’s spacious fifth-floor galleries.
Location: Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort Street
Price: Members only
Time: 7:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.