Hudson Valley Cities Celebrate Hometown Artists

The Hudson Valley’s love affair with art stretches back to the 19^th century and the Hudson River School movement, which began with Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church’s landscape paintings. Nowadays, locals show their affection with citywide art-appreciation weekends. On designated days, visitors are encouraged to walk the city streets and immerse themselves in the local arts culture.

Every third Saturday of the month, for example, Poughkeepsie hosts Queen City Arts Weekends. “Over a decade ago, [that day] was when there were art openings,” says Linda Marston-Reid, executive director of Arts Mid-Hudson, the powerhouse organization behind the celebrations. “We decided to take back the third weekend.”

The project got off the ground when Ms. Marston-Reid and a few other intrepid art enthusiasts noticed how derelict Main Street had become and set out to revive it. In May of 2012, they began hosting outdoor art appreciation events (the first was a “funeral” for sculptures that were being taken down) with food, music, and other live entertainment.

Last year Poughkeepsie saw its first arts walk in over a decade [and] there is another planned for June 18 of this year.[/pullquotes] One year later saw the first official Queen City Arts Festival, with art and music outside in “Enterprise Park” on Main Street. Several local restaurants jumped on board by offering food tastings on the sidewalk. An instant hit, these block party-style events still go on in the warmer months.

Throughout the whole year, Arts Mid-Hudson is instrumental in promoting local galleries exhibits and also organizing changing galleries inside local businesses like The Artist’s Palate and Mill House Brewing Company. (A full list of participating venues is updated monthly on the website.)

“Last year Poughkeepsie saw its first arts walk in over a decade [and] there is another planned for June 18 of this year,” says Marston-Reid, referring to the scheduled day on which people can take a self-guided walking tour of local studios and view some artists in action.

Just a few Metro-North stops south in Beacon, a similar enterprise takes place on the second Saturday of each month. With more than 160 individual members and 80 participating businesses, it’s easy for a visitor to meander down Main Street, discover new artists, and devour a delectable lunch.

“The organic nature… is what really makes it so successful,” says Kelly Ellenwood, vice-president of BeaconArts, the nonprofit that organizes and promotes the almost 14-year-old initiative.

As with Poughkeepsie, Beacon galleries – from the heavy-hitting Dia:Beacon to the Matteawan Gallery – highlight new exhibits and often keep longer hours on the designated weekend. Local businesses offer specials and other types of live entertainment ranging from lectures to wine tastings. A newsletter and webpage are updated monthly to alert art enthusiasts of the participating venues.

“The most challenging aspect of Second Saturday is trying to keep up with its success,” says Ellenwood, citing BeaconArts’ first annual appeal to raise funds in order to keep pace with the growing and vibrant scene.

These two towns aren’t the only ones jumping on the arts bandwagon. Rhinebeck has its own Third Saturdays, Cold Spring and Saugerties host First Fridays, and Kingston gets in on the action on the First Saturdays.

It would seem the Valley has done the Hudson River School painters proud.