By Alexandra Hildreth and Anna Grace Lee
May 1st to May 4th-the most fashion-packed four-day period … ever?
Starting today, The Devil Wears Prada 2 has finally landed in theaters, and the First Monday in May (a.k.a. the 2026 Met Gala) is mere days away. And while those are both exciting happenings in the world of fashion, we recognize that for some, it may be nice to step away and remember that the month-the very precipice of summer-also brings a host of openings, happenings, and goings-on, all available to the vast majority of us not attending fashion's biggest night. That leaves plenty of New York City to sink our teeth into. With that in mind, we're bringing you a little Met Gala counter-programming.
As you may have heard, this year's exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute is "Costume Art," bridging the gap between fashion and fine art, with a focus on the body as a dressed form. The exhibition will officially open to the public on May 10th, but there is still plenty of art to see between now and then (and beyond!). Quite a few masters are on view, too. Check out Dalí's greatest hits on the brooding walls of Di Donna, including Untitled (Dreams of Venus), or Matisse's bold colors and dynamic forms at Acquavella Gallery. Armory Show renegade and modernist prankster Marcel Duchamp is on view at MoMA; meanwhile, Polaroids from the father of pop culture, Andy Warhol, are now up at The Whitney. Likewise, you can revel in Keith Haring's formative years as a graffiti savant at The Brant Foundation in the East Village.
Lovers of contemporary and emerging works, we've got you. Stop by the inaugural Conductor Art Fair in Brooklyn (on until May 3rd) for a selection of work from the global majority and indigenous nations-that is, artists from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania. At Galerie Sardine, catch a glimpse of Joline Kwakkenbos, a queer Dutch artist who uses her portraiture to explore her identity and experience. If by then you aren't gallery'd-out, up your whimsy at "Mystery and Wonder: A Legacy of Golden Age Magicians in New York City," at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, which is accompanied by a reading list of magic-related texts.
Stage-wise, people are buzzing about the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Rocky Horrow Show (seen in the pages of this very magazine!). Grab a ticket (if you can) and do the time warp again. Or tap a toe into the experimental dance scene at the LaMama Moves! Dance Festival (through May 10th).
In other words, there's lots t do that isn't watching The Devil Wears Prada 2 or gearing up for the spectacle that is the Met Gala. Friends, the world is your oyster. Go out there and take advantage.
