If you’ve only been to The Whitney, we need to talk.

This week, I’m sitting down with Michelle, the woman behind What’s Up in NY (@whats_up_in_ny) who's mapping the best art, talks, and cultural moments happening across New York City. We talk about:

• The best free and pay-what-you-wish museums in NYC
• The small galleries in Tribeca, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side you shouldn’t sleep on
• Why some of the most important shows aren’t the most hyped
• How to build your own taste (instead of chasing trends)
• What it really means to “get” art

Whether you live in New York or you’re visiting for the weekend, this is your insider’s guide to navigating the NYC art scene with confidence. Because art isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about knowing what moves you.

Come for the hidden gems. Stay for the permission to trust your own eye.

And make sure you follow What's Up in NY | Substack (⁠⁠@whatsupinnythisweek), Instagram: @whats_up_in_ny

We’re talking art discovery—NYC edition—with Morgan Everhart, artist and founder of ArtHap, the beloved New York listings platform that helped thousands of people figure out what openings were actually worth leaving the apartment for and is now part of ArtRabbit, a global art discovery platform.

In this episode, Mackenzie sits down with Morgan to unpack what’s really happening behind the curtain of the art world: how galleries function, why pricing is still so murky for artists and buyers, and what it takes to build a truly useful discovery tool in a city where everything opens on Thursday and somehow all at once. We also get into the big shift happening right now—our changing relationship to the internet, niche communities, and the tension between fragmentation and connection in the art scene.

Morgan shares what he’s learned from years of navigating every layer of the ecosystem (from museum jobs to studio management to platform-building), why it’s okay if you don’t like the work, and what parts of experiencing art will always be deeply human—no matter how digital the world gets.

If you’ve ever felt intimidated walking into a gallery, overwhelmed by the noise, or stuck scrolling without a plan — this is your roadmap.

Follow ArtRabbit (⁠⁠www.artrabbit.com⁠⁠⁠) | Instagram: @artrabbit

In this episode, Mackenzie explores art as a necessary form of expression during moments of crisis, division, and uncertainty. We talk about how artists use their work to document lived experience, preserve memory, and speak when language — or institutions — fail. From historical examples to contemporary artists working right now, this episode looks at how art often becomes the first draft of history.

This isn’t about taking sides or decoding art “correctly.” It’s about understanding why art so often emerges in moments of rupture, why discomfort is sometimes the point, and how looking closely can be an active, human response to the world we’re living in.

This is a slower, more reflective episode about art not as decoration or status, but as orientation — a way to make sense of what’s happening around us and feel a little less alone while we do.

Because art doesn’t just reflect the world. It responds to it.

Resources & References

• Francisco Goya (c. 1810–1820)

• Jacob Lawrence (1940–1941)

• Kara Walker (1990s–present)

• Dread Scott (1980s–present)

• ACT UP (late 1980s–1990s)

• Theaster Gates (2000s–present)

• Zanele Muholi (2000s–present)

• Forensic Architecture (2010–present)

• Banksy (1990s–present)