Frances DaySaratoga Springs, NY (June 17, 2026) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College invites the public to Frances Day 2026, the museum’s annual summer community open house, on Saturday, July 18, from 2 to 6:30 pm. The free, family-friendly celebration offers an afternoon of art, art making, guided tours, music, food, and activities for visitors of all ages.

This year’s drop-in activities feature pinch pots made of air-dry clay led by Saratoga Clay Arts as well as bandana stamping, felt vases and flowers, mosaics, a photo booth, and more. These activities take inspiration from the artwork on view, including the ceramics in Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes and Pursuing Possibilities: Explorations in Glaze; Duke Riley’s mosaic Libertas Aut Mori, 2007; and work in Sheila Pepe: When & Where We Rest and All These Growing Things.

In addition to drop-in art-making activities, Frances Day also includes tours of exhibitions and collections. Visitors can get in-depth information from curators of Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes and All These Growing Things. Frances Day is also the one day of the year the museum gives public tours of its collection storage areas, which house most of the more than 18,000 works under Tang’s care. After the tours and drop-in activities, the celebration concludes with live music and a barbecue from 5 to 6:30 pm; the performer will be announced at tang.skidmore.edu.

Frances Day is held in honor of the museum’s namesake, Frances Young Tang, Skidmore College Class of 1961. The annual event celebrates her legacy of creativity and philanthropy with a day of free activities for the whole community.

EVENTS

Drop-in Activities: 2–5 pm

  • Pinch pots with Saratoga Clay Arts
  • Felt vases and flowers
  • Mosaics
  • Decorating glass vases with markers and yarn
  • Bandana stamping
  • Photo booth
  • Bubbles outside the Tang

Scheduled Activities: 2:15–6:30 pm

2:15 pm: Tour of All These Growing Things with Rachel Seligman, Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Malloy Curator

3:15 pm: Tour of Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes with Dayton Director Ian Berry

4:15 pm: Collections Tour with Collections Registrar Nora Riccio and Exhibitions Registrar Katrina Dumas

5 pm: Concert and barbecue

All events are free and open to the public. Free parking is available in lots adjacent to the museum. In case of inclement weather, activities will move indoors. For more information, visit tang.skidmore.edu or call the Tang Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080.

About Frances Young Tang and Frances Day

Frances Young Tang was a businesswoman, philanthropist, and 1961 Skidmore College graduate who died in 1992. In her memory, the Tang family made a substantial donation that helped make the Tang Teaching Museum a reality. The museum opened in 2000 as the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. Frances Day honors her legacy of creativity and philanthropy with a day of free activities for the whole community.

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 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 institution’s approach has become a model for university art museums across the country — with exhibition programs and series that bring together the visual and performing arts with fields of study as disparate as history, astronomy, and physics. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, the Mellon Seminar, and robust publication and touring exhibition initiatives that extend the institution’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of ideas and exchange the institution catalyzes. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, from noon to 5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. More information at http://tang.skidmore.edu.

###