I'm the corny dude who can never stop talking about his trip to Japan that changed his life. So…read morenaturally, when I was walking through Soho shopping my ass off for my girlfriend's birthday and saw an inviting little art gallery with an Atari 2600 in the window and energy that was distinctly Japanese, I HAD to pop in. I always get shy when I see an art gallery I want to pop into, because I never know if I can just walk in or if I gotta pay or what the etiquette is. As I sheepishly entered, I saw they had a cafe in the back which made me feel much more comfortable entering and acting like I knew what was going on. Fake it till you make it. Come to find out, NowHere has a different gallery on display for New York City based Japanese creators every few months. This exhibit was all about the Atari 2600, the first video game console to truly captivate the world. The Atari was a little before my time, but my brother and I used to be GLUED to the N64 together, so any retro video game console brings out some sort of nostalgia in me. I walked in, got a FANTASTIC americano ($4) from the cafe and began just scoping out the scenery. I realized that the Ataris are actually PLAYABLE, so I sat down and began ripping into the sticks playing Pizza Boy. NowHere has an authentic, calming Japanese energy that you can rarely find outside of Japan. Oh you haven't been??????? COULDN'T BE ME! Sorry I had to get that off.... Nothing like some Japanese art or energy to give me a fresh batch of inspiration, I swear to god. IG @jnov_ Tiktok @jnov_reviews

Ordered: Large Iced Cafe Mocha (~$6): with oat milk…read more Aya's take: Art gallery + coffee shop? This is SO New York. We stopped by for a quick caffeine fix and got to enjoy the work of Takura Suzuki. I personally loved the art as it blended human and digital worlds; very AI-inspired. My Cafe Mocha was silky, smooth, and light. It wasn't too sweet from the chocolate and was definitely well-made. There isn't any seating so this is definitely a grab a coffee, check out the art, and leave kind of place. You won't spend too much time here. I definitely recommend checking out NowHere if you're in the area!

Major note- It's hard to say in general if it's worth it, outside of the wonderful gift shop, as…read morethere isn't really a permanent collection on display, unlike most other museums. I would recommend checking online what the current exhibits are or if there's any special event, prior to going here. Regardless of going to the museum, the gift shop is really nice and heavily recommended, and they have a quaint little cafe with Asian inspired food options. Price: $15 for adults, $10 for seniors/children, and free for members/people under 16 Amount of time: ~2-2.5 hours. More if you want to watch all the short films I have been to this small museum on Park Avenue a handful of times. The place consists of a few floors, accessible via a beautiful staircase or an elevator, with the main floor having an excellent gift shop, a small cafe, a tiny amount of stuff from other exhibitions, and stairs downstairs to go to their theater, which has rotating interesting movies mostly from years ago from a variety of Asian countries, of course. The second floor has the largest section, and either has one large exhibition, or the first/larger half of an exhibition continued upstairs, along with a little theater showcasing short films. The third floor has the remaining half, or other new exhibits, and another room, which is smaller. The most recent time I went there was a week ago. The main exhibition, split between two floors, was Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon, which appropriately has 70 of their finest works as it is celebrating their 70th anniversary. As can be seen in the photos, this ranged from statues and other relics to beautiful ceramics, among other things. There was also a small section including contributions from Blanchette Rockefeller, and a small collection of recent acquisitions on the third floor. The current short film series is Busy Busy Towns, an alright showcase of stop motion and short documentaries, with the longest one by a mile being a 35-minute short film called Factory by Chen Chieh-jen, produced in 2003. The concept was interesting, but I found it to be a snoozefest. As per last time, it wasn't the longest visit, but it was still nice. This isn't my favorite museum in the city, but it's nice for an afternoon visit. As said, check the current selection to see if you're interested.

Wednesday October 2 2024 how often do you see a collection of Aboriginal Australian bark painting?…read moreOne of the largest such collections in the western hemisphere in the last 30 years Over 70 such paintings displayed at the museum depicting turtles sharks fish kangaroos crocodiles and native people fishing and boating. Behind each painting is a story and a song. Videos of songs with natives dancing on interactive monitors. Bark painting in brown coloring of the bark against an off-white background. There is one painting in blue done with permission from a handicap painter. Paintings divided up between men and women painters women painters tend to paint scenes of domestic life.. This is the first review in Yelp and TripAdvisor on the subject matter, and probably the only review as exhibit was on display for only 3.5 months starting in mid September 2024. Sharks in Australia? Never been to Australia, and this is as close as I will come.

Captivated by the sights and sounds of my earlier years growing up in NYC earlier this May as I was…read moredrawn by the music of my teen hood. I turned the corner onto Orchard St and Grand St, and I was transformed into the 80s by the sight of people dancing and enjoying the community. I thrn saw a mural so reminiscent of my childhood Bronx and Brooklyn and the glorious works of art that just flowed out of doors ajar. The Shin Gallery was having an art exhibition opening unlike I've seen (moved me but I'm just an admirer) and as I walked towards the door the word almost pierced my heart. TIMELESS Words can't express what I saw, how I felt and how much I felt wrapped in an atmosphere of warm memories and in awe all at once. Kool Koor. Took me back and brought me back. Very cool. Thank you Shin Gallery. And thank you for thr Basquiat and Rammellzee paintings as well! So well rounded!

This mid level gallery was very welcoming and peaceful. They allow you to really take in the art…read moresince there are no guardrails. This series is full of raw emotion. Downstairs has some smaller upcoming artists paintings with some nice variety. Overall a great spot to go. The space could have better flow which is why I gave it 4 stars. You lose a bit of the awe when you transition rooms.

This non-profit center helps bridge and promote South Korean culture through education, arts, and…read moremulti-media. Walked in-to this spacious Media Wall with a mystical LED screen system on the ground lobby floor. All guests must sign in at the front desk and once check-in completed, guest can take the elevators up to other parts of the center. I especially loved the Library (spacious and serene); with plenty of Korean/English literature along the wall shelves. There's even a rooftop (Aeyangdan) garden for guests to enjoy the outdoor air. The beauty of this Center is definitely the Maru/Sarangbang studio located on the 4th Floor. There is this beautiful traditional Korean study area setup that represents the historic past of Korean culture, but also brings the aesthetics of how simple life was in those days. On the day of my visit certain areas were still under renovation, so was not able to explore all of the floors. Overall, loved my time spent here at this arts center. Will definitely return for upcoming events listed on their official website.

We were looking for something Free and indoors to do on a rainy day. The Korean Cultural Center…read morehas 4 floors that were open to us, but the second floor wasn't set up yet and the 2nd floor is a library. Visitors must check in with an ID.

Haven't been here in years and was happy to see Ed Young exhibit since I knew some of his books…read morefrom when my children were growing up. The other exhibits were good for reintroduction familiar Chinese-American and also learning about others I didn't know about. I wish there was more on display, but I guess the space is limited. I'm glad I was able to get the Culture Pass and bring my husband along.

Loved my visit here! I was born in Chinatown and could not believe I just discovered this gem. This…read morewas such a great way for me to celebrate being a Chinese American living in New York and it was amazing to see that the museum celebrates different regions, dialects, immigration waves, and class backgrounds - yet still brought together generations from shared experiences. They even have a beautiful learning center downstairs and I just loved the space. Def going to be back!

Plato Gallery is a contemporary art space in Bowery. It is close to the New Museum (Reopening is…read moreFall 2025) as well some shops & other art galleries in this area of lower manhattan. "Exaltation" was held from 7/11/25 - 8/23/25. This group exhibition consisted of artists who create their masterpieces via the Mannerist Art Style - technique from the Mannerism period. Mannerism is a European style that originated in Italy - using bold colors, stretched, beautifully exaggerated drawn figures, etc. that display tension in the artwork. Favorites in the Exaltation Group Exhibition: Jacob Rochester - The Temporal Moment, 2024 Erik Mieminen - Reverie, 2025 Kim Dejesus - Swan Math, 2025 Alex Sutcliffe - Long Way, 2025 Mevlana Lipp - Siren, 2025 Kim Dejesus - Teeth in the Lilac Fog, 2025 Takuya Suzuki. - The Wind Speaks, 2024 Plato has a Ground Fl. (Front & Back Room), & a Lower Gallery Fl. w/ two rooms. Plato Gallery ensured that the Exaltation exhibit's gorgeous art was diisplayed all throughout this cool gallery. Plato Gallery is open Tues. - Sat. - 11am-6pm. @platogallery platogallery.com "Stass Shpanini: Forbidden Garden" Exhibit opens on 9/5/25.

Chopsticks of all kinds and varying prices. There are wooden, ceramic ,plastic, beginner…read morechopsticks, chopstick sets, holders and more. Even if you haven't thought about having your own special individual chopsticks, you will most likely change your mind after visiting this tiny store filled with chopsticks!

Upon entering. You're greeted and helped instantly…read more There's sanitizer available and ventilation was very good. The ventilation felt very clean so they must be utilizing air filtration devices or very specialized commercial filters here which is a major plus. The employees are very friendly, professional and very social. Upon asking about a pair of sterling silver chopsticks. The employee was very knowledgeable and even told me about the exact weight of the sterling silver chopsticks. The store is fully stocked with all different types of chopsticks. The pricing is very fair for New York these days. Parking is street parking. The area is highly walkable with nearby restaurants too. The noise level is very relaxed and calm. The general crowd is mainly adults and there's no sales pressure whatsoever. Very relaxed environment. Overall A+++++++.

Very nice space, a big sized gallery and a few bigger "rooms" but it's pretty spread out in general…read morewith the rooms so depends on the series or work or the exhibition in general. This exhibition right now of Christian Marclay works, but not all artist or their works would work with this space. The 48 War Movies is great but the mouse makes me anxious so I left early.

Stood in quite the line for "The Clock" and cannot say I was particularly wowed by the exhibit, but…read morethe recent writeup clearly had people coming in droves and the staff was doing their best to keep up with the crush. Still a fine space with a good staff - would highly recommend.