Museum of Modern Art

Test the boundaries of creativity and explore the limits of imagination at the Museum of Modern Art, where guests can wander amidst a plethora of thought-provoking paintings, sculptures, photographs and installation pieces. The Museum of Modern Art, or MoMA, showcases a huge selection of world-famous art that encourages viewers to open their minds by thinning the line between art and philosophy.

MoMA boasts the world's first architecture and design department, which began in 1932. Today, this groundbreaking department includes 28,000 works from architectural models to large-scale design objects, as well as a multitude of photographs, drawings, and models of buildings. Its design collection features an extensive assortment of objects, such as furniture, tableware, and sports cars. The Museum of Modern Art also includes an overwhelming variety of more than 10,000 drawings in a huge range of media: pencil, ink, and charcoal to collages and watercolors. Its painting and sculpture collection showcases influential artists such as Cezanne, Dali, Van Gogh, and Pollack.

The MoMa's extraordinary collection of photography began in 1930 and features work from not only professionals, but also journalists, scientists, entrepreneurs, and amateurs. The Department of Media and Performance Art encourages experimentation with its diverse selection of time-based pieces, including film installations, moving images, and motion- and sound-based works, too. MoMA also offers an array of dining options, including the French-American cuisine of "The Modern," given three stars by the New York Times.

Recent and current exhibitions include Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West, and Tangles Alphabets: Leon Ferrari and Mira Schendel, which portrays two of the most significant artists in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth-century who illustrated language as a metaphor for human existence. Rediscover the art of film with Modern Mondays, a weekly feature that showcases experimentation in motion pictures.

Recent film exhibitions also include The West: Myth, Character, and Reinvention by Andy Warhol, and a contemplative look at 22 films by influential French director and screenwriter Julien Duvivier. Check the website often for up-to-date exhibitions and film schedules. MoMA also owns other various galleries around the city, including Long Island City's P.S.1, which showcases progressive art from all over the world and over 50 special exhibitions a year. Its Young Architects Program features live bands, DJs, and all kinds of experimental music on the courtyard during the summer.

- Danielle Baldassini