Ten Must-Visit Destinations for Upstate Art Weekend

It’s that time of the year again when the sweltering, swampy heat of New York City has even the cockroaches stumbling down its sidewalks. For those who find themselves among the swarms of city folk hopping aboard the Hudson Line this week to catch their breath and clear their heads in the Catskills, be sure to swing by the 158 local galleries, museums, artist residencies, studios, and cultural organizations taking part in the sixth iteration of Upstate Art Weekend (UAW), which this year takes place across a whopping five days from Thursday, July 17, through Monday, July 21.

At its heart, the event is a celebration of the rich arts and culture scene in the Hudson Valley region, which especially in recent years has come under threat due to rising housing costs exacerbated by city-driven gentrification. To combat these issues, the community advocate group Celebrate845 has created a helpful resource guide for locals that spotlights free and low-cost services including cooling centers, food pantries and fridges, and affordable wellness care in the region.

From art-filled barns in Ghent to hands-on indigo dyeing in Garrison, we’ve rounded up a variety of not-to-be-missed programming that tackles every twist and turn along the Hudson River.

Upstate Open Studios

Upstate Open Studios, various locations
July 19–20, 11am to 6pm

More than 180 local artists across the Hudson Valley and upstate New York region, including figurative painter Marcus Leslie Singleton, performance artist Holly Hughes, and new media artist Nancy Baker Cahill, will offer visitors a peek into their creative processes as part of the inaugural Upstate Open Studios event. Artist Tatana Kellner, a co-founder of the Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, told Hyperallergic that she will be exhibiting a selection of recent paintings from her Apart series alongside works by collage artist Judith Hoyt and abstract painter Ted Nixon. “I think it’s always a good idea to give exposure to the many artists living in the Hudson Valley, and it’ll take a sustained effort to have any meaningful impact,” Kellner said.

Trees Never End And Houses Never End

Sky High Farm, 11 Main Street, Germantown
July 18–20, 11am to 5pm

Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Nan Goldin, Ryan McGinley, and Tschabalala Self are among the more than 50 artists featured in this inaugural biennial exhibition at Sky High Farm, a food equity and farming nonprofit founded by artist Dan Colen. Presented in a historic apple storage warehouse, this group show delves into issues related to climate change, agriculture, food access, community activism, and education which lie at the crux of the organization’s mission.

All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group

Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, 33 Garden Rd, Annandale-On-Hudson
July 17–20, 11am to 5pm

In 1951, in the period following Iraq’s liberation from British colonial rule, artists Jewad Selim and Shakir Hassan Al Said founded the Baghdad Modern Art Group, a pivotal arts collective that aimed to reinterpret modernism through the lens of Iraqi cultural heritage. Spanning nearly eight decades of artwork and archival materials, this comprehensive survey revisits the history of the group and its enduring influence across West Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Works like Selim’s “Children’s Games” (1953) exemplify the early synthesis of ancient Mesopotamian, Islamic, and Western motifs that evoked the founders’ notion of istilham al-turath, or finding inspiration in heritage.

Community Indigo Dyeing & Shibori Workshop

Garrison Art Center, 23 Garrison’s Landing, Garrison
July 19, 10am to 2pm

Teaching artist Katrin Reifeiss will lead participants in a hands-on course diving into indigo dyeing and shibori, the ancient Japanese art of resist-dyeing. Participants are invited to breathe new life into a stained t-shirt, spruce up an old bedspread, or create a new work of art from vintage linens. Admission is $10 per item to dye, and participants are limited to two items. Check the center’s website for more details.

Emily Cole: Ceramics, Flora & Contemporary Responses

Thomas Cole National Historic Site, 218 Spring Street, Catskill
July 17–20, 10:45am to 4:30pm

Intricately painted porcelain and works on paper by botanical artist Emily Cole, the daughter of Hudson River School founder Thomas Cole, are placed in conversation with site-specific installations, ceramics, sculptures, paintings, and photography by eight contemporary women artists in this cross-generational survey of floral art. Visitors can peruse the