New York City is the greatest outdoor gallery in the world, and spring is when it wakes up. As warmer temperatures pull artists back onto the streets and new installations appear seemingly overnight, the walls of this city are telling stories that no museum could contain. From an asphalt mural project transforming a Queens open street, to a legendary graffiti pioneer painting a new work at one of NYC’s most celebrated art institutions, to the ever-evolving wonderland of Bushwick — here’s where to find the city’s best street art right now, and how to make a day of it.
⭐ DON’T MISS: Lady Pink at MoMA PS1 — Long Island City, Queens
If you know anything about New York graffiti history, the name Lady Pink stops you cold. One of the most significant female artists to emerge from the subway art movement of the 1970s and ’80s, Lady Pink has been shaping New York’s visual culture for over four decades. Right now, her mural Foundations is on the exterior plaza of MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, and you need to see it in person.
The mural weaves together the visual language Pink has developed over a career — surreal brick structures, sweeping New York City skylines, the iconic 7 train threading through the composition in an homage to 5Pointz and the history of New York as a contested, complicated site of creative experimentation. It’s not just beautiful; it’s a history lesson painted large on the wall of one of the most important art spaces in the country.
The mural is viewable anytime from the public plaza outside the museum, and on April 18, Pink will be leading free community mural workshops on-site as part of the MoMA PS1 50th Anniversary Block Party (RSVP required for the workshops). If you want to watch a master at work, that’s your moment.
Where: MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens
Getting There: E, M, or 7 train to Court Square, or G train to 21 Street
Viewable: From the public plaza, free anytime
Hours: Museum interior open Thursday–Monday, 12–6 PM; admission $10
The Bushwick Collective: Brooklyn’s Living Outdoor Museum
There is nowhere in New York — arguably nowhere in the world — quite like the Bushwick Collective. Founded in 2012 by Joseph Ficalora on the industrial blocks around Troutman Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in Brooklyn, the Collective transformed a gritty warehouse district into the most famous open-air mural exhibition on the planet. And unlike a museum, nothing here sits still.
New murals are painted year-round, with the most intense activity happening in the weeks leading up to the annual summer block party. But spring brings its own energy — you’ll often find artists at work on fresh pieces as the weather turns, making Bushwick one of the rare art experiences where the art itself is happening in front of you.
The murals span dozens of city blocks and include work by local emerging artists alongside international names who have made the pilgrimage specifically to paint here. Every wall tells a different story: some are hyper-detailed photorealistic portraits, some are abstract explosions of color, some are politically charged, some are purely playful. The whole neighborhood is the gallery, and admission is free.
Self-Guided Route: Start at Troutman Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, Brooklyn. Walk east on Troutman to Wyckoff Avenue, then north and south exploring the side streets. The heaviest concentration of murals spans about a six-block radius.
Getting There: L train to Jefferson Street or Morgan Avenue
Guided Tours: Brooklyn Unplugged Tours offers guided Bushwick Collective walks daily at 10:30 AM, meeting in front of Wyckoff-Starr coffee shop. Free Tours by Foot also offers guided mural tours with expert commentary on the artists and their stories.
DUMBO Walls: Where Brooklyn Meets the Water
Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass — DUMBO — has quietly become one of Brooklyn’s most compelling street art destinations, and the rotating collection of large-scale murals installed on the neighborhood’s iconic brick warehouse walls is a major reason why. The DUMBO Walls program brings local and international artists to create works that interact with the neighborhood’s industrial architecture and waterfront setting.
The collection is ongoing and changes as new artists are commissioned, meaning return visits consistently reveal something new. The backdrop alone — the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges framing the skyline behind the murals — makes this one of the most photographed art destinations in the entire city. And a neighborhood-wide video art series projected onto the BQE and bridges continues through spring, rotating new works and artists on a regular schedule.
Where: DUMBO neighborhood, Brooklyn — explore the blocks between the Manhattan Bridge and the waterfront
Getting There: A or C train to High Street, or F train to York Street
Cost: Free
Astoria’s 31st Avenue Open Street: New Murals Coming to Queens
One of the most exciting public art projects happening right now in New York City isn’t in Brooklyn or Manhattan — it’s in Astoria, Queens. The 31st Avenue Open Street Collective is currently installing a series of asphalt murals on the pedestrian areas of 31st Avenue Open Street over the course of April, funded by a $25,000 Public Realm Grant from the NYC Department of Small Business Services.
The project brings commissioned artists to create at least five large-scale asphalt murals on the pedestrian walkways between 33rd and 35th Streets, with each piece celebrating the cultural identity of Astoria — one of the most diverse neighborhoods in one of the most diverse cities on earth. As the murals are installed in the coming weeks, 31st Avenue is becoming a living canvas. This is genuinely new public art you can watch being made.
And while you’re in Astoria, don’t miss the nearby Welling Court Mural Project on Welling Court just off Astoria Blvd — a dense concentration of over 100 works by graffiti artists and muralists that has been building since 2009, making it one of Queens’ most impressive outdoor art destinations.
Where: 31st Avenue between 33rd and 35th Streets, Astoria, Queens
Getting There: N or W train to 30th Avenue or 36th Avenue
Welling Court: Welling Court, off Astoria Blvd — R train to Astoria Blvd
Making a Day of It: The Brooklyn Street Art Loop
Want to hit multiple NYC street art destinations in a single day? Here’s a route that works beautifully on a spring weekend:
Start in DUMBO in the morning — arrive around 10 AM when the light off the bridges is spectacular for photography and the neighborhood is still quiet. Walk the waterfront and explore the DUMBO Walls. Then hop the L train from Bedford Avenue (a short walk or Citi Bike ride from DUMBO’s edge) to Jefferson Street for Bushwick. Spend two to three hours in the Collective — honestly it rewards the time. End in Williamsburg for lunch and a look at the ever-changing murals along the Wythe Avenue corridor, where galleries and studios continue to commission outdoor works throughout the year.
The whole loop is free except transportation, and it will genuinely change how you see this city.
Artexpo New York: Inside the Fair, April 9–12
For those who want their art experience with a gallery-fair edge, Artexpo New York returns to Pier 36 at 299 South Street this week, April 9–12. The 49th annual edition features over 1,000 artists and galleries in a sprawling waterfront showcase that’s been a fixture of the NYC art calendar for decades. The Opening Night VIP Preview is Thursday, April 9 from 5–8 PM; the fair opens to the public Friday through Sunday starting at 11 AM. Advance tickets from $30 at redwoodartgroup.com/artexpo-new-york.
Where: Pier 36, 299 South Street, Manhattan
When: April 9–12, 2026
Getting There: F, J, M, Z train to Delancey/Essex Streets
The Walls Are Always Changing — That’s the Point
The beautiful frustration of NYC street art is that you can never see it all, because it never stops changing. A mural that was there last month might be replaced by something entirely new. An empty wall you walked past this morning might have a full piece on it by evening. That impermanence is part of what makes it so alive. The city itself is the canvas, and it never sits still — just like the rest of New York.
Get outside this spring and look at the walls. They’re talking to you.
