The Beat

Granville, N.Y. – After several months of closure following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the Slate Valley Museum is ready to re-open its doors. On Friday, September 25, the Museum will begin welcoming guests for scheduled visits.

“The Museum opened 25 years ago this month, and we are excited to re-open and begin our anniversary year by welcoming people back to visit us,” shared Interim Director Sarah Kijowski, “We’ve reviewed guidelines and recommendations, and we’ve looked toward other museums of our size to see how they are handling visits and programs. We really wanted to take our time, learn from our peers, and open in the safest way possible for our visitors and our staff.”…

Explore, make, and share during five Zoom sessions from Sept. 25 to Nov. 20

Saratoga Springs, NY (September 17, 2020) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces the fall 2020 Tang at Home Studio series. This series will be conducted online to ensure the health and safety of our audiences and our staff. The Museum building is closed to the public for now, but we are open online to bring the Tang experience into your home.

Tang at Home Studio gives kids the chance to explore their creativity, make new things, and share their artwork with peers online! Each session, which occurs every other Friday at 5:00 PM from September 25 to November 20, includes an at-home looking and exploration of an artwork, instructions for project preparation and a real-time online gathering led by Sunny Ra,  The Laurie M. Tisch Educator for K-12 and Community Programs, with assistance from Skidmore College student interns. Learn how to take part and read the description of all five sessions…

Albany, N.Y. – The New York State Museum is offering programming to commemorate the 19^th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Beginning Friday, September 11, 2020, a display of World Trade Center artifacts will be added to the  Windows on New York (http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/exhibitions/windows-new-york) exhibition in the museum’s Madison Avenue lobby window. While the museum facility remains closed to the public, the display can be viewed outside while socially distancing during our closure.

To Launch in the Saratoga Spa State Park on September 21

Socially distanced, Interactive, Outdoor Experience Co-Commissioned by SPAC 

Saratoga Springs, NY (September 10, 2020) – On September 21, 2020, Saratoga Performing Arts Center will present Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK, a GPS-enabled work of public art in the Saratoga Spa State Park that uses music to illuminate the natural environment. Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid and co-commissioned by Saratoga Performing Arts Center as part of its SPAC REIMAGINED 2020 season, Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK is an immersive audio experience tailor-made for the Saratoga Spa State Park featuring its famous natural springs, wooded areas, a geyser, a waterfall and more. The New York Philharmonic, also a co-commissioner of this work, is presenting the World Premiere of Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK today, September 10 in New York City's Central Park. The exhibit is free to the public, and can be experienced while following social distancing guidelines.

Exhibition features work by 100 female and non-binary artists including Firelei Baez, Renee Cox, Chioma Ebinama, Nan Goldin, Juliana Huxtable, Carrie Moyer, Laurel Nakadate, Catherine Opie, Deborah Roberts, Wendy Red Star, Lorna Simpson, Kiki Smith, Cindy Sherman, Tschabalala Self, Sarah Sze, Barbara Takenaga, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, and more

Saratoga Springs, NY (September 8, 2020) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces the September 17 opening online of the election-year exhibition Never Done: 100 Years of Women in Politics and Beyond.

Artist Nicole Cherubini collaborates with the Tang Museum and MASKS4PEOPLE to create a new way to experience SHAKING THE TREES

Saratoga Springs, NY (September 1, 2020) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces a new collaboration that addresses the current pandemic and protests with artist Nicole Cherubini, and MASKS4PEOPLE, an organization based in Catskill, New York, that was founded in response to COVID-19 by regional artists to create and distribute masks free to the community.

The Tang collaboration is an edition of 500 unique masks based on Cherubini’s exhibition Shaking the Trees that will be distributed to Skidmore students and other college community members, as well as regional community groups taking part in the Tang’s educational outreach initiatives.

With new state-of-the-art Hall of Fame and multiple exhibit openings

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. — The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will reopen to the public on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 9 a.m. The Museum has been closed since January for the installation of a new state-of-the-art Hall of Fame experience as well as multiple new and updated exhibitions. The Museum has put in place a number of enhanced safety protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is a Saratoga Cares Stay Safe Pledge institution with a commitment to the health of Saratoga County residents, workers, and visitors.

Saratoga Springs, NY (August 25, 2020) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, in accordance with Skidmore College guidelines, will reopen for the fall semester for Skidmore students, faculty and staff only with limited hours and new protocols.

While the Museum building is closed to the public, the Tang continues to be open online for everyone. Since the COVID-19 closure started in March, the Tang has expanded its exhibitions online, opened new digital exhibitions, created a new page of at-home art-making activities, and presented many online programs that have included Tang at Home Studio family art-making projects, student musical, dance, and poetry performances, and special events with artists Tim Davis and Liz Collins, both celebrating the publication of their new exhibition catalogues.

New audio play written by Damian Lanigan, directed by Marcus Dean Fuller and featuring recordings by The Philadelphia Orchestra is a portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven at a time of personal crisis 

The performance will be available online for just two days on August 22^nd -23^rd in conjunction with Beethoven 2020, SPAC’s celebration of the 250^th anniversary of the composer's birth

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – On August 22^nd, Saratoga Shakespeare Company (SSC) will premiere the audio performance of Testament, written by Damian Lanigan and co-produced with the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in association with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Commissioned by Saratoga Shakespeare Company to be premiered during SPAC’s Beethoven 2020 Festival, Testament is a portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven in a moment of crisis – grappling with the loss of his hearing, and emerging from his suffering to write one of the greatest symphonies of all time. The production features recordings from The Philadelphia Orchestra, recreations of period instrumentation, and appearances by professional actors including several students and alumni from Skidmore College. In keeping with SSC’s commitment to presenting free and accessible professional productions, the performance will be available to stream online for free on both SSC and SPACBeethoven.org from August 22 at 8p.m. until 11:59p.m. on August 23.  …

Artist marks release of Opener Series book with talk, performance on Tang’s Instagram account, Aug. 11 7pm

Saratoga Springs, NY (August 4, 2020) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College invites the public to an online celebration of the new publication Opener 31: Tim Davis – When We Are Dancing (I Get Ideas) on Tuesday, August 11 at 7 p.m. on the Tang Instagram account. 

The event will feature a conversation between artist, writer, and musician Tim Davis and Rachel Seligman, the book’s editor and the Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Malloy Curator at the Tang. Davis, who will be on the front porch of his upstate New York home, will also have perform some original songs.