Plan your visit.
Gallery Hours
Monday–Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 11 am–8 pm
Thursday–Sunday: 11 am–5 pm
Wednesday: 11 am–8 pm
Thursday–Sunday: 11 am–5 pm
First Free Fridays
Join us on the first Friday of each month when admission is free all day long.
Upcoming First Free Fridays:
October 3, 2025
November 7, 2025
February 6, 2026
March 6, 2026
April 3, 2026
May 1, 2026
Upcoming First Free Fridays:
October 3, 2025
November 7, 2025
February 6, 2026
March 6, 2026
April 3, 2026
May 1, 2026
Admission
For faster check-in, we encourage you to purchase tickets for the day of your choice in advance. You can arrive at any time that day. We are happy to help with refunds and exchanges if the day you select doesn’t work out. Please contact gallery@bgc.bard.edu.
You can also purchase same-day tickets at the door.
Bard Graduate Center Gallery’s intimate townhouse setting provides the opportunity for visitors to look closely at the objects on view. To create a positive experience for all of our guests, we monitor capacity very closely. In the rare instances that we have reached our limit on a particular floor of the gallery, we may ask you to begin your visit on another floor or consider waiting to enter for 15–30 minutes.
You can also purchase same-day tickets at the door.
Bard Graduate Center Gallery’s intimate townhouse setting provides the opportunity for visitors to look closely at the objects on view. To create a positive experience for all of our guests, we monitor capacity very closely. In the rare instances that we have reached our limit on a particular floor of the gallery, we may ask you to begin your visit on another floor or consider waiting to enter for 15–30 minutes.
Ticket Prices
We strive to remove barriers to attendance. If purchasing a ticket would present a financial hardship for you, please email gallery@bgc.bard.edu or call 212 501 3023. It would be our pleasure to offer you a complimentary ticket.
Students: $6
Seniors: $12
All Others: $15
Complimentary Tickets
Bard Graduate Center (BGC) members
People with disabilities and their care partners
NYC Culture Pass ticket holders
Anyone for whom purchasing tickets would create a financial hardship (see above)
Other museum / gallery staff members
American Alliance of Museums / ICOM members
North American Reciprocal Museum Association members
Students: $6
Seniors: $12
All Others: $15
Complimentary Tickets
Bard Graduate Center (BGC) members
People with disabilities and their care partners
NYC Culture Pass ticket holders
Anyone for whom purchasing tickets would create a financial hardship (see above)
Other museum / gallery staff members
American Alliance of Museums / ICOM members
North American Reciprocal Museum Association members
Getting Here
Bard Graduate Center Gallery
18 West 86th Street
(between Columbus and Central Park West)
New York, NY 10024
Click here to see a map of the area. BGC Gallery is easily accessible by public transportation. Use the information below as a general guide, or use MTA’s Trip Planner to get the most current information about the best route for you.
By Bus
Uptown: M10, M7 or M11 to 86th Street.
Downtown: M10, M7 or M11 to 86th Street.
Crosstown: M86 to Central Park West and 86th Street.
By Subway
B or C train to 86th Street and Central Park West; walk a half block west.
1 train to 86th Street and Broadway; walk two and half blocks east
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) offers reduced fares on its subways, buses, and commuter railroads to visitors with disabilities. Consult The MTA Guide to Accessible Transit for information about reduced fare programs, accessible stations, large print maps, and a variety of other ADA-accessible services MTA agencies provide.
By Car
On-street parking in the area is extremely limited. Several garages in the area charge hourly rates, including ones located at 87th Street and Columbus Avenue, 84th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, and 83rd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues.
Accessibility
Bard Graduate Center Gallery’s exhibition spaces are sites for understanding, thoughtful questioning, and enjoyment for all people, and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In the lobby of our gallery, staff are available to answer any questions about accessibility. Visitors may also email gallery@bgc.bard.edu or call 212 501 3023 for more information.
Visitors with disabilities are welcome to pay as they wish. Care partners and aids are always given complimentary admission when attending Bard Graduate Center with an individual with a disability.
Visitors with Limited Mobility
The main entrance to Bard Graduate Center Gallery is located at 18 West 86th Street. A wheelchair lift is available to transport visitors from the street level to the lobby of the gallery.
Inside the gallery, an elevator brings visitors to all four floors of exhibition space and the public spaces and restrooms on the lower level. A standard manual wheelchair (requires a companion to push) is available free of charge for visitors. Please email us at gallery@bgc.bard.edu to reserve a wheelchair or ask for one on arrival.
Wheelchair accessible restrooms are located on the lower level, where there are also lockers for coats and valuables and a water fountain.
We offer portable chairs on every floor of the gallery for any visitor who would prefer to sit while they look at the objects on view.
Visitors Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Assistive listening devices are available for all programs that take place in our lecture hall.
American Sign Language interpretation and CART captioning is available for Bard Graduate Center programs by request with two weeks’ notice.
To place a request for additional services, email gallery@bgc.bard.edu or call 212 501 3023. These services are provided free of charge.
Visitors with Vision Loss
One-time use large-print labels are available and can be downloaded from our website. Verbal description tours of exhibitions are available by request. Join a Bard Graduate Center Gallery educator in conversation and explore a selection of objects through detailed verbal description and touch.
Service Dogs
All service dogs are welcome.
In the lobby of our gallery, staff are available to answer any questions about accessibility. Visitors may also email gallery@bgc.bard.edu or call 212 501 3023 for more information.
Visitors with disabilities are welcome to pay as they wish. Care partners and aids are always given complimentary admission when attending Bard Graduate Center with an individual with a disability.
Visitors with Limited Mobility
The main entrance to Bard Graduate Center Gallery is located at 18 West 86th Street. A wheelchair lift is available to transport visitors from the street level to the lobby of the gallery.
Inside the gallery, an elevator brings visitors to all four floors of exhibition space and the public spaces and restrooms on the lower level. A standard manual wheelchair (requires a companion to push) is available free of charge for visitors. Please email us at gallery@bgc.bard.edu to reserve a wheelchair or ask for one on arrival.
Wheelchair accessible restrooms are located on the lower level, where there are also lockers for coats and valuables and a water fountain.
We offer portable chairs on every floor of the gallery for any visitor who would prefer to sit while they look at the objects on view.
Visitors Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Assistive listening devices are available for all programs that take place in our lecture hall.
American Sign Language interpretation and CART captioning is available for Bard Graduate Center programs by request with two weeks’ notice.
To place a request for additional services, email gallery@bgc.bard.edu or call 212 501 3023. These services are provided free of charge.
Visitors with Vision Loss
One-time use large-print labels are available and can be downloaded from our website. Verbal description tours of exhibitions are available by request. Join a Bard Graduate Center Gallery educator in conversation and explore a selection of objects through detailed verbal description and touch.
Service Dogs
All service dogs are welcome.
Amenities
Coat Check
Bard Graduate Center Gallery does not staff a coat check; however, visitors to the gallery may hang their coats in the coat closet on the lower level. BGC Gallery is not responsible for loss or damage.
WiFi
Connect to the BGC Gallery free WiFi network to access the audio guide and engage with digital content.
Bard Graduate Center Gallery does not staff a coat check; however, visitors to the gallery may hang their coats in the coat closet on the lower level. BGC Gallery is not responsible for loss or damage.
WiFi
Connect to the BGC Gallery free WiFi network to access the audio guide and engage with digital content.
Tours
Bard Graduate Center offers tours on select Thursdays. Visit our events page for tour dates and to book.
About
The Bard Graduate Center Gallery produces multiple exhibitions and publications each year, serving as a vital center of learning and a catalyst for engagement in the interrelated disciplines of decorative arts, design, and material culture. The gallery is celebrated in the museum world for its long-standing legacy of landmark projects dedicated to significant—yet often understudied—figures and movements in the history of decorative arts and design; these exhibitions and publications typically represent the definitive intervention on the artists and objects they investigate. BGC Gallery is also committed to generating and supporting a vast range of diverse presentations, small and large, that challenge traditional approaches to object inquiry; these examinations of material culture explore the human experience as manifest in our creation and use of “things” of all kinds. Whether originating in internal research and expertise, or in collaboration with external subject specialists, these endeavors prioritize rigorous scholarship while seeking to adhere to the field’s highest standards in production and design.
Contact Us
212 501 3023
gallery@bgc.bard.edu
You can also stay in touch with everything that’s happening at BGC by connecting with us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube or by signing up for our newsletters.
Contact Us
212 501 3023
gallery@bgc.bard.edu
You can also stay in touch with everything that’s happening at BGC by connecting with us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube or by signing up for our newsletters.
Visitor Policies
Bard Graduate Center (BGC) Gallery’s policies reflect our commitment to create a safe and comfortable environment for everyone who visits our buildings. Please follow the policies and safety guidelines outlined below. We reserve the right to ask visitors who do not follow these guidelines to leave.
BGC advances research in the decorative arts, design history, and material culture. Our exhibitions reflect our scholarly pursuits and serve as the basis for collaboration with colleagues at institutions all over the world. In this spirit of collaboration and inquiry, discussion in the gallery is not frowned upon but encouraged.
The BGC Gallery is housed in an intimate townhouse environment. From time to time when attendance is very high, you may be asked to wait to enter the gallery for a few minutes to enter to ensure the safety of all visitors as well as the objects on display.
Follow the guidance of BGC staff, who are monitoring visitor traffic throughout the building. They are there to help keep everyone safe and comfortable.
BGC visitors and staff have the right to an environment free from abusive, threatening, or inappropriate behavior. We reserve the right to remove any person acting in an unacceptable or inappropriate manner.
Unless otherwise noted, you may take photographs in the gallery for personal, non-commercial purposes only. Flash photography is not permitted.
As a visitor to BGC Gallery, you may be photographed, videotaped, or otherwise recorded. By attending, you grant BGC Gallery permission to use photographs and/or audiovisual recordings in which you appear for archival, documentary, publicity, advertising, or other purposes.
Do not touch the items on display unless specifically encouraged to do so.
Food, drink, smoking, e-cigarettes, weapons, and firearms are strictly prohibited.
Oversized items (larger than 17 × 15 × 5 inches), including luggage, backpacks, large purses or tote bags, garment bags, wrapped gifts, strollers, bicycles, scooters, and camera extension poles are not permitted in the gallery. Lockers are available on the lower level of the Gallery if you need to store oversized items.
Please do not visit BGC Gallery if you have a fever or any COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days, or have had close contact with anyone who is confirmed to have or suspected of having COVID-19.
Our institution is mask-friendly; we support and encourage those who wish to wear one.
BGC advances research in the decorative arts, design history, and material culture. Our exhibitions reflect our scholarly pursuits and serve as the basis for collaboration with colleagues at institutions all over the world. In this spirit of collaboration and inquiry, discussion in the gallery is not frowned upon but encouraged.
The BGC Gallery is housed in an intimate townhouse environment. From time to time when attendance is very high, you may be asked to wait to enter the gallery for a few minutes to enter to ensure the safety of all visitors as well as the objects on display.
Follow the guidance of BGC staff, who are monitoring visitor traffic throughout the building. They are there to help keep everyone safe and comfortable.
BGC visitors and staff have the right to an environment free from abusive, threatening, or inappropriate behavior. We reserve the right to remove any person acting in an unacceptable or inappropriate manner.
Unless otherwise noted, you may take photographs in the gallery for personal, non-commercial purposes only. Flash photography is not permitted.
As a visitor to BGC Gallery, you may be photographed, videotaped, or otherwise recorded. By attending, you grant BGC Gallery permission to use photographs and/or audiovisual recordings in which you appear for archival, documentary, publicity, advertising, or other purposes.
Do not touch the items on display unless specifically encouraged to do so.
Food, drink, smoking, e-cigarettes, weapons, and firearms are strictly prohibited.
Oversized items (larger than 17 × 15 × 5 inches), including luggage, backpacks, large purses or tote bags, garment bags, wrapped gifts, strollers, bicycles, scooters, and camera extension poles are not permitted in the gallery. Lockers are available on the lower level of the Gallery if you need to store oversized items.
Please do not visit BGC Gallery if you have a fever or any COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days, or have had close contact with anyone who is confirmed to have or suspected of having COVID-19.
Our institution is mask-friendly; we support and encourage those who wish to wear one.