Free Sunday programming at the Studio Museum in Harlem, a book talk with artist Glenn Ligon, a staged reading of a new Jordan E. Cooper play at the Apollo, a Harlem Meer geology walk and jazz on Riverside Drive fill the Harlem calendar between October 20 and 27, 2026. Here is what is on, where and what it costs.

Studio Sunday at the Studio Museum, Sunday, October 25

Admission to the Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 West 125th Street, is free every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. under its Studio Sundays program. Tickets are still required, and the museum recommends reserving ahead. The day's schedule includes a 30-minute Storytime at 11:30 a.m. built around children's books by authors and illustrators of African descent, drop-in art-making from noon to 4 p.m., a family tour of the galleries from 1 to 2 p.m., and 15-minute gallery talks at 12:30, 2 and 4 p.m.

Studio Salon: Touched by the Mother, Sunday, October 25

From 3 to 5 p.m. on the museum's Stoop, art historian Huey Copeland marks the release of his new book, Touched by the Mother: Black Men, American Art, Feminist Horizons (University of Chicago Press), in conversation with curator Thomas Lax and artist Glenn Ligon. Musician Alicia Hall Moran performs first. Copeland is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Modern Art and Black Study at the University of Pittsburgh. The event is free with RSVP, and ASL interpretation will be provided.

On other days, the Studio Museum is open Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday until 9 p.m. It is closed Monday and Tuesday. Suggested pay-what-you-can tickets are $16 for adults and $9 for seniors and students; children 16 and under get in free.

Geology: Central Park Rocks!, Sunday, October 25

NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers lead a free one-hour walk at the Harlem Meer, at 110th Street and Lenox Avenue, from 1 to 2 p.m. The subject is the bedrock under Manhattan, which dates back more than a billion years and is made of three layers: Manhattan Schist, Inwood Marble and Fordham Gneiss. No registration is needed. The 2 and 3 trains stop at Central Park North (110th Street) next to the Meer.

Jazz in the Park at Ralph Ellison Plaza, Sunday, October 25

Berta Indeed presents Let the Music Play, a free afternoon of jazz with local musicians and vocalists, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Ralph Ellison Plaza, Riverside Drive and West 150th Street. The concert is part of the Riverside Park Conservancy's Summer on the Hudson series. Seating is limited and first come, first served. The event is canceled in heavy rain. The 1 train stops at 145th Street and Broadway.

Jordan E. Cooper's Sitcom at the Apollo, Monday, October 26

The Apollo opens its Works in Process season with a free staged reading of Sitcom, a new comedy by Jordan E. Cooper, the Tony-nominated playwright of Ain't No Mo' and co-creator of the BET+ series The Ms. Pat Show. The play follows the cast of a hit 1990s TV show reuniting for dinner after 25 years. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the reading starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Apollo Stages at the Victoria, 233 West 125th Street. The Apollo lists the event as sold out, so check its page for any changes.

Harlem Run, Monday, October 26

Harlem Run holds its free weekly Monday night run and walk from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m., starting and ending in Marcus Garvey Park. Groups meet between the restroom building and the baseball field on the south side of the Pelham Fritz Recreation Center, near West 122nd Street and Mount Morris Park West. Pace groups run from 7 to 12 minutes per mile, with run/walk and walk groups too. Registration through NYC Parks is recommended but not required. The 2 and 3 trains stop at 116th Street and 125th Street on Lenox Avenue.

Tickets, RSVP links and event details are on the Studio Museum, Apollo, NYC Parks and Riverside Park Conservancy pages listed below.

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