State of the Art: a Creative Break in New York

Within walking distance of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and handy for all of NYC’s central galleries and museums, this red-brick hotel channels the instantly recognizable loft aesthetic of the city’s artists. Exposed concrete, painted pipes, Basquiat-inspired murals and sculptural light fixtures all add to the feeling that you’re poised to sell your first painting, while supersoft beds and nifty modern amenities up the luxury factor. The building has real artistic pedigree, too: in the 1920s, artists and writers who stayed here include Thomas Mann, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and F Scott Fitzgerald. Today’s generation of creatives has crafted many of its masterstroke design details, from the skyline-shaped blinds to the “Do not disturb” signs.

Whether you’re into art, history, music, politics or food, Harlem is the obvious place to learn about the golden age of the Harlem Renaissance, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Explore the neighborhood with a lifelong Harlem resident, who gives you the background on how this vibrant Black community filled the city with hot jazz, political commentary, visceral poetry and seminal art via formative figures such as Marcus Garvey and Langston Hughes. The era was a cultural pressure cooker, and its influence can still be felt today.

Brooklyn is the home of NYC’s contemporary art scene, where neat streets of brownstone houses and riverside parks are peppered with some of the best white-cube art studios and flea markets in the country. This walking tour focuses on the Bushwick neighborhood’s proliferation of street art, where the top graffiti pros create head-turning, thought-provoking – but often temporary – works of genius. New to the form? Your passionate guide is sure to spark your interest, make you a connoisseur and help you view the city through spray-can spectacles.

One fascinating aspect of New York’s creative scene is its super-specialists – the artisans who create one incredibly specific product, from hats to stationery. One such master is M&S Schmalberg, a family business that’s spent a century making fabric flowers for the fashion and design industry. Get behind the scenes on this backstage-pass factory tour to see how its unique products are made. You may recognize its work from Sarah Jessica Parker’s outfits on Sex and the City.