free things to do in New York City
Free events for Friday, 01/16/26
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Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City!  Read More

Are you looking for free things to do in New York City (NYC) on January 16, 2026?

18 free events take place on Friday, January 16 in New York City. Don't miss the opportunities that only New York provides! Exciting, high quality, unique and off the beaten path free events and free things to do take place in New York today, tonight, tomorrow and each day of the year, any time of the day: whether it's a weekday or a weekend, day or night, morning or evening or afternoon, December or July, April or November! These events will take your breath away!

New York City (NYC) never ceases to amaze you with quantity and quality of its free culture and free entertainment. Check out January 16 and see for yourself. Summer or Winter, Spring or Fall! Just click on any day of the calendar above and you'll find most inspiring and entertaining free events to go to and free things to do on each day of January . Don't miss the opportunities that only New York provides!

Some events take place all year long: same day of the week, same time there are there for you to take advantage of. One of the oldest free weekly events in Manhattan is Dixieland Jazz with the Gotham Jazzmen, which happen at noon every Tuesday. Another example of an event that you can attend all year round on weekdays is Federal Reserve Bank Tour, which takes place every week day at 1 pm (but advanced reservations are required). You can take at least 13 free tours every day of the year, except the New Year Day, July 4th, and the Christmas Day. If you are classical music afficionado, you can spend whole day in New York going from one free classical concert to another. If you love theater, then New York gives you an option to attend plays and musicals free of charge, or at deep discount. You just need to have information about it. And we are here to make that information available to you.
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The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.

So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!

18 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Friday, January 16, 2026

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
        

Workshop | Zumba: Latin-Inspired Dance Fitness


Get your heart pumping with Zumba, a dynamic workout set to Latin, international, and popular music. This fun, easy-to-follow class combines fast and slow rhythms for aerobic interval training that challenges both heart and muscles. Perfect for all fitness levels.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 am
Free
Workshops, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Zumba: Latin-Inspired Dance Fitness

Museums | Friday at Pop Culture/Art Museum


Through temporary exhibitions, a growing permanent collection, and educational events, this museum examines the significant influence of posters on society and culture, and how they are adapted for modern use. As the first poster museum in the United States, it offers a space for inquiry for anyone interested in design, advertising, and public interventions, with the goal of enhancing design literacy among the general public. Works explore: mass communication and persuasion the intersection of art and commerce control of the public domain
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free
Museumss, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Friday at Pop Culture/Art Museum

Museums | Asian Art and Culture Museum


The museum features a diverse collection of artworks, including traditional and contemporary pieces from various Asian cultures. 2 pm: guided tour.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free
Museumss, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Asian Art and Culture Museum

Film | Black Bag (2025): Spy Thriller with Cate Blanchett


When intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse is suspected of betraying the nation, her husband - also a legendary agent - faces the ultimate test of whether to be loyal to his marriage, or his country. Director: Steven Soderbergh Cast: Michael Fassbender, Gustav Skarsgard, and Cate Blanchett Australian actor and producer Cate Blanchett has received much recogniton, including two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, four Golden Globes, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She's also been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. Among her honors are the 2001 Australian Centenary Medal, and an appointment to the Companion of the Order of Australia. Both a film and stage actor, Blanchett has been in 20 theater productions.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free
Films, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Black Bag (2025): Spy Thriller with Cate Blanchett

Workshop | Crafting Community: Work on Personal Projects & Make New Friends


Freeform crafting and conversation! Bring your own project or choose something from the collection to work on. The organizers have materials for sewing, knitting, crochet, coloring, and paper crafts. All programs are subject to change or cancellation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:30 pm
Free
Workshops, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Crafting Community: Work on Personal Projects & Make New Friends

Jazz | Afternoon Jam Sesh (Play Music or Just Listen)


This jam session is open to all musicians. Come and play or just listen to some jazzy tunes.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free
Concerts, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Afternoon Jam Sesh (Play Music or Just Listen)

Gallery Talk | Expert Insights: Marriage in Medieval Art


Examine how medieval art depicted marriage, from everyday devotion to mystical visions of divine love. Experts lead small groups through select objects, offering fresh insights, untold stories, and close-up perspectives on the symbolism and context of the works.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free
Gallery Talks, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Expert Insights:&nbsp;Marriage in Medieval Art

Workshop | Play Chess


Sharpen your mind, meet new people, and enjoy this timeless game. Chess sets and timers are provided. Adults only.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free
Workshops, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Play Chess

Museums | A Night of Live Music, Drinks & 5,000 Years of Art


Enjoy a stylish evening of art, live music, and engaging talks every Friday and Saturday night. From 5-9 PM, sip on drink specials, sample light fare, and take in the museum's vast collection spanning millennia. Grab a friend, a partner, or come solo--this after-hours experience offers something for everyone.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free
Museumss, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, A Night of Live Music, Drinks & 5,000 Years of Art

Museums | American History and Artifact Collections


Enjoy a stroll through galleries of an extensive collection of American art, learn about the history of New York and the USA. Last admission is at 7 pm.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Pay-what-you-wish, reservation required
Museumss, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, American History and Artifact Collections

Museums | Friday Evening at the Art/History Museum


This museum is an assemblage of illuminated, literary, and historical manuscripts, early printed books, and old master drawings and prints inside a historic building. Registration opens 7 days in advance & does sell out.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free
Museumss, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Friday Evening at the Art/History Museum

Museums | Friday Night Function at an Iconic Art Museum


Enjoy art, drinks, special programming, music, city views, and more! Throughout the night, there will be a few "15-minute tours," highlighting different parts of the collection.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free
Museumss, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Friday Night Function at an Iconic Art Museum

Classical Music | Duo Recital for Viola and Piano: Works by Schumann & Shostakovich


Enjoy an evening of chamber music featuring violist Ekaterina Eibozhenko and pianist Viona Sanjaya, performing selections by Schumann and Shostakovich. The program begins at 6 p.m. (doors at 5:30). Note: Please present your ticket at least ten minutes before the concert to ensure seating. Registration opens January 9th at noon.
   New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
Free
Concerts, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Duo Recital for Viola and Piano: Works by Schumann & Shostakovich

Museums | Friday Evening at the Famous Art Museum


This special, all-ages evening celebrates the art and the city. Explore in the galleries, get creative with drop-in drawing sessions, and see a film in the theaters. Museum stores and cafe will be open, too, so you can grab a bite, get drinks, or shop for unique design objects. Free for New York State residents but must be reserved in advance (up to two adults), and are subject to availability and proof of residency. Tickets are released one week in advance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free
Museumss, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Friday Evening at the Famous Art Museum

Opening Reception | Multi-Artist Exhibition on Bodies & Souls in the Digital Age


This exhibition. Liquid Crystal Respawn, investigates the porous spaces between life and artifice. The artworks operate within a long lineage of performance as a method of testing the body’s thresholds: what can be outsourced, coded, automated, ritualized, or rebuilt. In these practices, inanimate forms become sites of emotional and spiritual projection, echoing ancient stories of golems—automata brought to life from clay through ritual intention. Only here, golems are not the soulless automata of Jewish folklore, but humans reconfigured. These tender, uncanny bodies emerge from tradition, memory, labor, and intimacy, and the bodies and souls of their artist makers. This continual cycle becomes a survival mechanism of collapse and reconstitution, as autonomic as the impulse to deactivate and then later reactivate a social media account. Together, these artists and their works resist narratives of human obsolescence by staging the posthuman as something sensorial and affective. Their work defends emotional life from within the liquid crystal display, inviting viewers to slow down and smell the digital flowers. Artists include Sadrie Alves, Dahlia Bloomstone, Clare Gatto, Kara Güt, Maya Man, Krysta Sa, and Asia Stewart.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Opening Receptions, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Multi-Artist Exhibition on Bodies & Souls in the Digital Age

Opening Reception | Myth, Memory, and Shelter in Sculptures and Drawings


This joint presentation features two interconnected exhibitions by Simone Fattal, celebrating the artist’s return to New York after her 2019 survey at MoMA PS1. Covering sculpture, drawing, and collage, Fattal’s work links the ancient with the modern, drawing on mythic, literary, and archaeological references from the Mediterranean region. Using materials like clay, stoneware, and bronze, she portrays elemental forces, architectural fragments, and figures that express timeless ideas of home, resilience, and faith.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Opening Receptions, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Myth, Memory, and Shelter in Sculptures and Drawings

Opening Reception | Seven Decades of Prints & Sculpture


This solo exhibition showcases work by Zarina (1937–2020), covering her seven-decade career and serving as a major posthumous presentation of her art. It gathers prints, woodcuts, collages, and sculptural works in cast paper, emphasizing the scope and lasting significance of her practice. Influenced by a life spanning different geographies, languages, and cultures, Zarina’s work explores themes of displacement, memory, and history, often referencing the Urdu language and a precisely minimal visual vocabulary of line, geometry, and material.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Opening Receptions, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Seven Decades of Prints & Sculpture

Opening Reception | Surviving Shadows: Contemporary Afghan Art Under Repression


This exhibition presents works by artists based in Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora responding to the loss of cultural freedom following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Featuring painting, video, photography, and personal testimony, the show brings together smuggled works, hidden creations, images of destroyed art, and newly made pieces that reflect resilience in the face of censorship, displacement, and violence.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Opening Receptions, January 16, 2026, 01/16/2026, Surviving Shadows: Contemporary Afghan Art Under Repression
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Complimentary Tickets

to shows, concerts ... (CFT Deals!)

Play | Broadway Stars in a Play About Lifelong Friendship

Regular Price: $77
CFT Member Price: $0.00

Classical Music | Music by One of The Most-Performed Living Classical Composers at a Landmark Venue

Regular Price: $40
CFT Member Price: $0.00