POSTER HOUSE PRESENTS FREE FIRST FRIDAY ON JUNE 6 at Poster House

Poster House, the first museum in the United States dedicated to the global history of posters, will host its monthly “First Friday” event June 6, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM at Poster House, 119 West 23rd Street in Manhattan. On the first Friday of every month, Poster House offers free admission and extended hours for guests. Explore the museum’s latest exhibitions and get in on the fun by attending a tour, workshop, performance, or activity throughout the day. The two main exhibitions currently on view are: Fallout: Atoms for War & Peace and Puerto Rico in Print: The Posters of Lorenzo Homar. Both exhibitions are open until September 7, 2025. Poster House’s spring capsule exhibitions are: From the Bronx to the Battery: Subway Sun and Copy/Paste/Print/Repeat: Mike King & the Art of the Gig Poster. These exhibitions are open until November 2, 2025.

Every First Friday is different, offering unique opportunities such as tours, workshops, performances, and activities, to further engage visitors with the exhibitions. First Friday activities for June 6th include:

      12—1:30pm: Minimal Blooms, Maximum Impact: A Floral Design Workshop – $10

In honor of the flower-filled posters of Lorenzo Homar, Poster House is hosting an exciting floral design workshop. Discover the beauty of simplicity in this hands-on activity that proves less truly can be more.

Under the guidance of Matt Zaccari, a florist and gardening expert focused on sustainability, guests will discover how to utilize seasonal flowers and greenery to create three eye-catching arrangements: a hand-tied bouquet, a minimalist centerpiece, and a bold structural design featuring branches. All materials are included—and yours to take home! This program is suitable for attendees over the age of 8.

      1—7pm: Paper Petals & Peace: An Origami Workshop – $10

As part of Poster House’s ongoing partnership with Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, the museum is thrilled to host a daylong origami-making event in the Poster History Timeline. Aimed at balancing participants’ minds and bodies while encouraging interpersonal connection, this hands-on activity will use natural materials, including washi paper, to create delicate works of art. Guests will learn how to fold cranes and kusudama flowers out of dyed paper.

All ages and skill levels are welcome.

The Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (RBPMW) is a dynamic community print studio that honors the legacy of pioneering artist and master printmaker Robert Blackburn (1920–2003). Founded in the spirit of inclusivity and artistic excellence, RBPMW provides a supportive, collaborative space for artists of all backgrounds to explore and expand their printmaking practice.

      2—4pm: Subway Insides Workshop: The Ink Explosion of the 1980s – $15

Many people are familiar with the colorful cartoon-laden logotypes and abstract masterpieces that adorned the exteriors of New York City subway cars throughout the 1970s and ’80s. The interiors of the subway cars were also completely covered with bold signatures of every size written with homemade fountain pens and magic markers. This chiseled-script calligraphy dripped and ran over every available space inside the subway cars between about 1970 and 1989. In his photographs from this era, Richard Sandler captured New Yorkers amidst this visual chaotic energy, which he likens to free jazz or the semblance of thoughts within the minds of his subjects. 

Hosted in honor of From the Bronx to the Battery: The Subway Sun, this workshop will discuss and look back at this little-studied phenomenon that was once a large part of the city’s aesthetic and can be seen in countless movies from Saturday Night Fever to Coming to America. Visitors will look at examples and create their own tag-covered image on a subway interior template, using chisel- and broad-nibbed markers to mimic this time-honored practice.

This is not a drop-in workshop. Please plan on arriving on time and staying for the duration of the event. Appropriate for participants ages 13 and up.

Sam Meyerson is a visual designer who grew up studying and practicing within the “Graffiti Art” movement. He has a deep affinity for the subway, and for the youth-oriented folk-art forms of graffiti that turned public urban environments into museums. He has painted murals for BEYOND THE STREETS and designed apparel for Supreme. He currently lives in NYC, where he works as a freelance artist in several capacities and mediums.

      4–5pm: Spanish-language Tour of Puerto Rico in Print

Lorenzo Homar was one of Puerto Rico’s most influential graphic designers and is often referred to as the father of the Puerto Rican poster. This guided tour of Puerto Rico In Print: The Posters of Lorenzo Homar will focus on the history of the island as well as on the artist’s biography, providing an important context for his extensive body of work.

This tour will be given in Spanish. Additional Spanish-language tours will be offered throughout the summer.

A Lorenzo Homar se lo considera como uno de los artistas gráficos de mayor influencia de Puerto Rico y a menudo se le conoce como el padre del cartel puertorriqueño. Esta visita guiada de Impresiones de Puerto Rico: Los carteles de Lorenzo Homar se enfocará en la historia de la isla, así como en la biografía del artista, proporcionando el contexto necesario para apreciar su extenso cuerpo de trabajo.

Ofreceremos esta visita guiada en español. Visitas adicionales en español estarán disponibles durante los meses del verano.

      7—8:30pm: The Second Annual Miss Poster House NYC: Fallout & Fierce

Join the museum for the Second Annual Miss Poster House NYC: a dazzling drag competition celebrating Pride. Inspired by the current exhibitions Fallout: Atoms for War & Peace and Puerto Rico in Print: The Posters of Lorenzo Homar, five fierce drag queens will battle it out in a show-stopping competition to be crowned Miss Poster House NYC—and they’re pulling out all the stops! Expect high-energy performances, bold fashion, and unforgettable moments.

Hosted by the sensational Junior Mintt and featuring an all-star lineup of local talent, this is a night of art, pride, and power you won’t want to miss. Parental Advisory: 16+ Recommended

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