NEWSLETTER
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (June 13, 2025) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces a series of public events in conjunction with the new exhibition Up to Us: Black Dimensions in Art, 1975–Tomorrow. These programs aim to provide deeper insights into the exhibition, which honors the 50-year history of Black Dimensions in Art Inc. (BDA), the Capital Region’s longest-running Black arts collective.
The exhibition, which the online art magazine Hyperallergic touts as one of season’s must-see shows, presents a rich collection of archival material—including publications, posters, photographs, and other ephemera—alongside artwork by BDA members as well as artists from the Tang collection who have been included in past BDA exhibitions or are associated with larger conversations around Black liberation in the late 20th century. The title Up to Us originates from a 1980s Harlem Week slogan “Much more to do … a better Harlem is up to us,” which epitomizes the need for Black communities to create and claim space for themselves and connects BDA to other grassroots Black arts and culture organizations throughout the country.
Public Programs
· Saturday, June 21, 2 pm: Family Saturday: Tape Abstraction
Robert Reed’s Plum Nellie, One, One, One, one view in the exhibition, serves as the inspiration for a family-friendly art-making workshop in which participants will make their own tape relief paintings. This workshop is geared toward children ages 5 and older, accompanied by an adult. No registration required; supplies provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
· Saturday, June 21, 4:45 pm and 5:30 pm: Tour
Join us for a tour with BDA board members Jacqueline Lake-Sample and Stephen Tyson.
· Thursday, July 10, noon: Curator’s Tour
Rebecca McNamara, The Frances Young Tang ’61 Associate Curator, leads a tour.
· Saturday, July 21: Frances Day
The Tang’s annual open house features tours, art-making projects, music, and more, including activities related to Up to Us.
The exhibition is on view through Nov. 2. Admission is free. The Tang Museum, located on the Skidmore College campus at 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, New York, is open noon–5 p.m. Tuesday–Sunday, with extended hours until 9 p.m. Thursday. For more information, call the Visitor Services Desk at 518-580-8080 or visit https://tang.skidmore.edu.
Up to Us: Black Dimensions in Art, 1975–Tomorrow is organized by Rebecca McNamara, The Frances Young Tang ’61 Associate Curator, in collaboration with BDA members Marcus Anderson, D. Colin, Miki Conn, Daesha Devón Harris, Jacqueline Lake-Sample, and Stephen J. Tyson, with support from Angela Beallor, Documentarian in Community Co-Creation in the John B. Moore Documentary Collaborative at Skidmore College. The exhibition was made possible by the Friends of the Tang and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
About Black Dimensions in Art, Inc.
Founded in Schenectady, New York, in 1975, Black Dimensions in Art, Inc. (BDA) is a volunteer-led group of creatives and activists seeking to address a lack of access and visibility for artists of the African Diaspora, and to encourage youth of African descent in the practice, application, and appreciation of the arts. Energized by the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, BDA’s founders focused on breaking down systemic barriers fortified by the art world. BDA’s mission is to educate the public about the unique contributions of African Diasporic artists within the American art scene and provide opportunities for Black artists to be seen and acknowledged. blackdimensionsinart.org
About Skidmore College
Founded in 1903, Skidmore College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college of about 2,700 students located in the dynamic town of Saratoga Springs, New York. Consistently ranked as a top liberal arts college by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Forbes, and more, Skidmore has also been recognized for its innovation, value, and sustainability efforts. Skidmore fosters academic and personal excellence — all driven by a belief that Creative Thought Matters. Its comprehensive array of opportunities encompasses more than 40 bachelor’s degree programs, including popular offerings in business, psychology, and the creative and performing arts; competitive NCAA Division III athletics; world-class facilities; and hands-on civic engagement and career development resources.
About The John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative
The John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative (MDOCS) embeds documentary within Skidmore's curriculum and culture, building capacities for creative public engagement and impact. Extending from the traditional documentary mediums (film, audio, photo, exhibition, writing, archives) to the edges of nonfiction (oral history, VR/AR, performance, social practice), MDOCS creates dynamic contexts for creation and exchange, where students and scholars, activists and artists, campus and community, can join to craft the stories that will shape our past, present, and future.
About the Tang Teaching Museum
The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the Tang’s approach has become a model for college and university art museums across the country—with exhibition programs that bring together visual and performing arts with interdisciplinary ideas from history, economics, biology, dance, and physics, to name just a few. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, and a robust publication and touring exhibition program that extends the museum’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s award-winning building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of art and ideas. The Museum is open to the public Tuesday–Sunday, noon–5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. https://tang.skidmore.edu
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Caption for image:
Tang_BDA_Ballinger-3kpx.jpg: Photograph of the artist Juanita Ballinger with her work in Juanita Ballinger, Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, February 1–28, 1983. Black Dimensions in Art Archive, image courtesy Tang Museum, Skidmore College
Media Contact
Michael Janairo
Head of Communications
Tang Teaching Museum | Skidmore College
518-580-5542 | mjanairo@skidmore.edu