The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
mapmap

Discover the Library for the Performing Arts

  • Large red banner reading "The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Welcome to The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

  • A woman with large glasses perches on the edge of a table with a television while a man wearing headphones sitting in a chair touches a machine on the table

    History of the Library for the Performing Arts

Current Exhibitions & Audio

  • Black-and-white photo of a group of five dancers against a brick wall with their heads down and arms out in front of them
    audio indicatorThis content includes audio.

    Room to Move: Dance Theater Workshop and Alternative Histories of Downtown Dance

    April 16 – September 13, 2025

  • A jazz band made up of five women with the words Rhythm Is My Business: Women Who Shaped Jazz
    audio indicatorThis content includes audio.

    Rhythm Is My Business: Women Who Shaped Jazz

    December 13, 2024 – June 13, 2025

Explore the Library for the Performing Arts

  • Exterior of the Library for the Performing Arts
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Inside Look: Virtual Walkthrough

  • The Oenslager Gallery, with images hanging on lavender walls

    Exhibition Spaces

  • A man hands a book to a woman seated at a circulation desk

    Circulating Collections

  • Outdoor reading room at the Library for the Performing Arts

    Outdoor Reading Room

  • A Black woman wearing a beige sweater holds a purple tote bag that says New York Public Library for the Performing Arts with a white design

    Shop

  • Interior of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive

    Third Floor: Special Collections & Displays

  • Dark room with a piano and cubes for seating illuminated by screens with silhouettes of dancers

    Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab

From the Collections

  • The cast of Annie, with Annie in a red dress hugging a dog sitting in a large green box

    Always a Day Away: ‘Annie’ at the Library for the Performing Arts

  • Yellow poster for the Wizard of Oz at the Majestic Theatre with drawings of the Tin Woodsman and Scarecrow, played by Montgomery and Stone
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    ‘The Wizard of Oz’ on Stage

  • Jerome Robbins, a man with a white beard wearing a purple sweater, leans against a ballet barre
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Jerome Robbins Collections

  • Purple background with covers of Teatro al día, Cinelandia, and Empresario Internacional

    Historical Performing Arts Publications in Spanish

  • Display of comedy records in a glass case with a blue background
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Comedy Records

  • A group of dancers in front of a mirror posing with top hats

    Highlights from the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive

  • Three Black women in dresses and two Black men in suits and hats smile and pose with jazz hands around a red drum and cymbal

    Black Performing Arts History in the Collections

  • A Black man with glasses in a black shirt stands between bookshelves holding open a book to show a cover of Vibe magazine
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Hip-Hop 50: Vibe Magazine

Past Exhibitions

  • Black-and-white photo of Rubén Blades

    From Panama to New York: The Musical Journey of Rubén Blades

    October 15, 2024 – April 15, 2025
  • Dancers in colorful outfits posing along a dance barre
    video indicatoraudio indicatorThis content includes video and audio.

    The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S.

    September 19, 2024 – March 1, 2025
  • The cast of the musical Hamilton on stage, wearing American Revolution uniforms and standing on tables, chairs, stairs, and boxes
    audio indicatorThis content includes audio.

    Photo Call: The Theater Photos of Joan Marcus and Carol Rosegg

    May 1 – September 28, 2024
  • Black-and-white photo of a woman and man holding hands as they run down a street in New York City
    audio indicatorThis content includes audio.

    Reanimating Theater: The Photography of Friedman-Abeles

    March 15 – September 25, 2024
  • Lavender display outside the Border Crossings exhibition with black-and-white photos of dancers
    video indicatoraudio indicatorThis content includes video and audio.

    Border Crossings: Exile and American Modern Dance, 1900–1955

    June 8, 2023 – March 16, 2024
  • Black-and-white photo of an old woman in a wheelchair leaning toward a young girl kneeling at her side
    audio indicatorThis content includes audio.

    Regina Resnik, A New York Treasure

    September 21, 2023 – February 10, 2024
  • Black-and-white photo of Willa Kim with her hands on her hips, wearing a silk scarf
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    The Wondrous Willa Kim: Costume Designs for Actors and Dancers

    February 23 – August 19, 2023

Digital Exhibitions

  • A signed black and white promotional photo of Frederic Franklin lifting Alexandra Danilova. The bottom left corner is marked Maurice Seymour Studios.

    Winter Wonderland: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®

More Work We Do

  • Hands at a piece of machinery with spinning reels
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Media Playback

  • A Black woman with curly hair wearing a cheetah-print shirt
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Dance Residencies

  • A white man wearing a green shirt stands in front of shelves full of folders
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Orchestra Collection

Inspired by the Archives

  • Martha Graham posing with both arms up her head tilted upward
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Dance Research Fellowship

  • Lucy Ashe holding her book The Sleeping Beauties at a table with open books
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Researching Historical Fiction at the Library

  • video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Finding Inspiration in the Arthur Russell Archives

  • A white woman with short, curly hair, glasses, and a colorful scarf speaks in front of a wooden table
    video indicatorThis content includes video.

    Researching Chick Webb at the Library

Your Research Journey

  • Sketch of four women in form-fitting dresses

    Billy Rose Theatre Division

  • Sketch of three dancers on stage

    Jerome Robbins Dance Division

  • Archival sketch of musicians

    Music and Recorded Sound Division

  • Interior of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive

    Theatre on Film and Tape Archive

  • A person wearing headphones sits at a computer

    Reserve Film and Video Collection

More to Explore

  • Four people sitting and one standing on a stage in front of an image of John Coltrane

    Public Programs

Stay Connected

  • People in a gallery

    Get Email Updates

  • A group of people stand around a table where a woman handles a ballet pointe shoe

    Become a Member

More from NYPL

  • Exterior of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, a marble building with wide steps and a lion on either side of the steps.

    Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

  • Exterior of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

    Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Bloomberg Philanthropies
  1. Privacy Policy
  2. •
  3. Terms of Service
  4. •