FABnyc

Free!
Saturday October 17, 2026

ABOUT
Organized by Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) the Lower East Side Arts & Culture Open House is now in its third year, welcoming folks into cultural spaces without a ticket to a show or the cost of admission. All organizations will have staff available to greet you & answer questions about their programs!

The Lower East Side Arts & Culture Open House is now in its fourth year! Choose-your-own-adventure around the neighborhood and learn more about Lower East Side Arts & Culture organizations straight from the people behind the scenes.

Coinciding with Open House New York weekend, over 20 Lower East Side based arts & culture groups are welcoming folks into their spaces or for an arts experience without a ticket to a show or the cost of admission. And all organizations will have staff available to answer questions about their programs!

On East 4th Street, you can meet organizations tabling on the block, check out live music, poetry and theater performances on our stage, plus hands-on arts activities good for all ages. Then, once you grab a map and plan your route, you can venture out to visit more cultural organizations in the LES who are opening their doors for you to explore!

Please save the date to join us Saturday October 17th.

ABC No Rio
2026 program information to be announced!

Abrons Arts Center
466 Grand Street | 12-4pm
Abrons Arts Center and Henry Street Settlement invite you to our Fall Festival, celebrating the start of a new season – enjoy food and refreshments, music, dancing, arts & crafts.

Artists Alliance Inc
Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space, 88 Essex Street no 21 (inside Essex Market) | 12-3pm
Take a guided tour of Wild Things, an exhibition by Sunny Leerasanthanah at Cuchifritos Gallery exploring belonging, identity, and American mythology through the parallel imagery of Florida’s python hunts and natural history dioramas.

Bond Street Theatre
E 4th Street Open Street (btwn 2nd Ave & Bowery) | 1-4pm
Bond Street Theatre presents Stories and Stilts (Free lessons).

The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center
E 4th Street Open Street (btwn 2nd Ave & Bowery) | 12-5pm
Drop by and learn about HISTORIAS, a multi-year citywide initiative by the Clemente, of how Latinx New Yorkers have made and shaped the city.

Cooper Square Actors Workshop
2026 program information to be announced!

Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc)
E 4th Street Open Street (btwn 2nd Ave & Bowery) & 70 East 4th Street | 12-5pm
Presenting live music & hands-on art activities good for all ages! Plus, learn about year-round programs and opportunities for artists & LES residents, & pick up a map of all the LES Open House sites & activities!

IATI Theater
64 East 4th Street | 1-5pm
Meet the IATI Theater team, learn about our programs, and get a preview of our upcoming production, Fifty fun facts sobre Olivia [mi madre].

International Center of Photography
84 Ludlow St | 10:30am-7:30pm

A three-day festival celebrating the art of photography taking place Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18, 2026.

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
East 4th Street and inside 74 East 4th Street | 12pm-5pm (Archive Tours at 2pm & 4pm, Theatre Space Tours at 1pm & 3pm)
Explore La MaMa’s legendary East Village spaces and 65-year history through behind-the-scenes tours, stories, and a chance to win free tickets.

Loisaida, Inc.
710 East 9th Street | 12-5pm
Fragile, an exhibition by Alexis Mendoza at Loisaida Center, uses interconnected iron and steel sculptures to explore the resilience of communities facing food insecurity and the fragile social, economic, and environmental systems that shape access to food.

Lower East Side Preservation Initiative
2026 program information to be announced!

Magnum Foundation
59 E 4th Street #7W | 2-5pm
Come visit Magnum Foundation, a photography non-profit that expands creativity and diversity in documentary photography. Last chance to see our current exhibition, Enduring Ecologies. Browse through our grantee library of photo books from all over the world!

Movement Research
150 1st Ave | 12-4pm
Join for 15-20 minutes tours of its dance studios and auxiliary spaces led by architect Angel Ayón and Movement Research staff. And 45 minute drop-in sample class sessions, exploring a variety of physical inquiry and somatic practices.

New Museum
235 Bowery St | 11-5pm
Join the New Museum for our Open House: A Day of Art and Celebration featuring workshops, performances, and activations alongside our fall exhibitions.

New York Theatre Workshop
83 East 4th Street | 12-5pm
Visitors will be invited to contribute to this living archive by adding personal reflections or recording mini-interviews about how their own lives and artistry intersect with NYTW.

Nuyorican Poets Cafe
E 4th Street Open Street (btwn 2nd Ave & Bowery) | 12-5pm
Join the historic Nuyorican Poets Cafe to build collaborative group poems reflecting on our neighborhood, Loisaida, celebrate the Cafe’s legacy, learn about volunteering and educational programming opportunities, hear updates on our building’s “Nuyoricanstruction” ahead of its Spring 2026 reopening, and enjoy a performance by Wednesday Open Mic host Brian Acosta Arya.

The Performance Project @ University Settlement
184 Eldridge Street | 11am-3pm
Learn more about University Settlement with a visit to our historic building at 184 Eldridge Street.

The Poetry Project
E 4th Street Open Street (btwn 2nd Ave & Bowery)| 12pm-3pm
Learn about the Poetry Project’s publication history and engage in writing prompts with us.

Rod Rodgers Dance Company & Studios
2026 Program to be announced!

Swiss Institute
E 4th Street Open Street (btwn 2nd Ave & Bowery) | 12-5pm
Join SI on E 4th St for hands-on artmaking exploring gifts and gift giving.

Think!Chinatown
1 Pike Street | 5-8pm
An open-air performance outside of Think!Chinatown’s Studio, starring dancer Ling Tang & Ba Ban Chinese Music Society.

The Ukrainian Museum
222 East 6th Street | 12-3pm
Take in Ukrainian culture at the Ukrainian Museum with our sensational current exhibitions celebrating 50 years of the Museum and highlighting the work of the acclaimed contemporary artist Zhanna Kadyrova.

WOW Café Theatre
E 4th Street Open Street (btwn 2nd Ave & Bowery)| 12-5pm
Learn about WOW history, current programming and how to join our creative collective.