Fall Arts Preview

FilmColumbia, Columbia County’s premier annual cultural event, screens the very best upcoming American and international films for ten days in late October. Launched in 1999 as the Crandell Theatre’s “little local festival that could,” FilmColumbia is now an acclaimed, nationally recognized film event.

If a film screens at FilmColumbia, there’s more than a good chance that following its official release it will go on to be nominated for one of the industry’s top prizes. A look back at the festival’s award-winning programming year after year speaks for itself.

FilmColumbia’s special events are legendary. Among the most popular is the mystery “Saturday Sneak” preview film, which is only revealed to the audience moments before the screening. In recent years, the festival has also included special panels with filmmakers and industry leaders, a screenwriting workshop where participants can hear their work read by professional actors, and a children’s international festival of short films that is free to the community.

The festival is programmed every year by Peter Biskind and Laurence Kardish. Biskind is an author, film historian, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Esquire, and past executive editor of Premiere magazine. His new book about the streaming revolution, Pandora’s Box: How Guts, Guile, and Greed Upended TV, will be published by HarperCollins in November 2023. Kardish is senior curator emeritus for film and media at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Calliope Nicholas, the long-time director of the festival, is Co-Director and Manager of Residency Programs at Millay Arts, an international artist residency in Austerlitz, N.Y.

FilmColumbia was recently recognized by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.” Said Tim Molloy, MovieMaker‘s editor-in-chief, “Obviously a lot of New Yorkers are now discovering the beautiful small communities just a short drive from New York City, and we think they’ll be delighted to learn more about FilmColumbia, a fest that blends a gorgeous location, local color (both people and leaves) and Oscar-caliber films, lovingly programmed by a revered team with exquisite taste.”

At our 10-acre National Historic Landmark District, visitors experience over 300 years of history across seven historic stone-house museums, a reconstructed 1717 French Church, the Huguenot community’s original burying ground, and a replica Esopus Munsee wigwam. Period rooms and exhibits tell the stories of a French Huguenot settlement as it evolved over time, and also reveal the history of the area’s Native and enslaved African peoples and Dutch settlers.

The West Strand Art Gallery is a contemporary commercial art gallery located on the waterfront in Kingston’s Rondout neighborhood. The gallery exhibits the work of mid-career, emerging, and established artists of diverse backgrounds primarily from the Hudson Valley and Tristate region including New York City, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Be Curious. Be Creative, Be in Beacon, NY on November 4 + 5 for the First Beacon Bonfire Music + Art Festival. Festival Pass includes: Two days of programming and activations Over 50 artists performing throughout Beacon 14 + venues, both traditional and found Discounts on food, beverages, services and retail. Cozy fires from one end of Main to the other. An immersive experience for everyone, everywhere. Children 12 and under are FREE when accompanied by a Festival Ticket Holder.

Art Gallery 71 is a fine art gallery nestled in the heart of the idyllic village of Rhinebeck NY. In the tradition of the Salon de Paris, art is displayed ‘salon style’ utilizing much of the floor to ceiling space in the manner still employed by the Barnes Foundation today. As a result, there are always many works on display at any given time and visitors are encouraged to linger.

Art Omi is a not-for-profit arts center with a 120-acre sculpture and architecture park and gallery, residency programs for international artists, writers, translators, musicians, architects and dancers.

Wired Gallery was founded in May 2012 in High Falls, New York by Sevan Melikyan. Since its inception, the focus of the gallery has been to exhibit and champion artists from the Mid-Hudson Valley, with a particular attention to those based in Ulster County. The gallery achieves its mission by mounting exhibitions not only in its High Falls location but also at off-site locations, fairs, festivals, resorts, and pop-up spaces.

The Lockwood Gallery is recognized for mounting concept-driven group shows featuring the work of highly creative artists who make art distinguished by originality and personal vision; work which is realized skillfully and motivated by the belief in the power of art to convey truth and beauty. Founder Michael Lockwood and curator Alan Goolman share a passion for art that matches that of the artists whose work they show.​

Jane St. Art Center is a fully renovated artist-owned 19th Century brick warehouse dedicated to mid-career artists new work and works in progress, artist residencies, performances, exhibitions, community projects and classes.

Matthew O’Neill is a musical artist and performer based in the Catskill mountains. O’Neill’s songwriting acknowledges the interconnectedness of all things and often features poetic allegory centering on non-anthropocentric articulations of gratitude, joy, suffering, celebration, and loss.

Unison Arts offers opportunities to grow our creative community through innovative environmental, racial, and social justice centered art practices, as well as exceptional exhibits and performances.

Geary was founded in the Lower East Side in 2013 by Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary. The gallery represents emerging and mid-career artists working in a variety of media. Geary presents solo, two-person, and group exhibitions, and seeks to raise artist profiles and exposure through placement in museum collections and exhibitions, and through presentations at art fairs.

The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents live performances, film, and cultural events year-round, bringing a variety of content to the stage and screen of our historic Berkshire theater, through programs of the highest quality in dance, music, drama, comedy, ​and educational and family programs. We bring together diverse audiences and artists, highlight national and regional talent, and contribute to the quality of life of our community through the performing arts.

Athens Fine Art Services LLC is a licensed and bonded freight shipping and trucking company providing fine art services in the Hudson Valley, New York and surrounding region.

The WAAM is a not-for-profit membership organization. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest continuing arts organizations of its kind, with contemporary galleries, a historic collection and archives, and dynamic educational programming.

Roost Studios, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to artistic expression, community connection, and creative educational partnerships.

Established in 1991, Carrie Haddad Gallery represents mid-career and emerging artists of the Hudson Valley and beyond working in all types of painting, both large and small sculpture, works on paper and a variety of techniques in photography.

Founded in 1891, the Hotchkiss School is one of the top private high schools in New England. We are passionate about teaching the best and the brightest to unlock their highest potential. Our student-centered learning community, where 96% of students live across 13 residence halls, offers outstanding academic preparation and life-changing opportunities while providing students with tools they need to become leaders and change-makers.

With Egyptian artifacts, Hudson River landscapes, and works by Picasso, O’Keeffe, and more, great art is closer than you think! Free admission.

Garrison Art Center’s summer arts programs have been touted by parents as the best in the Hudson Valley. Summer Arts on the Hudson (June 26-July 21) for K through 8th graders, Summer Art Institute, an intensive two-week program for high school students (July 24-Aug4), and Art a la Carte for 2nd - 8th graders (Aug 7-18). For more information email [email protected]. Upstate Art Weekend July 21 - 24th, visitors to the Garrison Art Center will have the opportunity to view a selection of teaching artist James Murray and his students' completed work displayed throughout the grounds of the Art Center and the Garrison's Landing riverfront park. Saturday, July 22nd, and Sunday, July 23rd, from 12-5 pm, visitors will have the opportunity to experience a steam bending demonstration along with wood assembly by James Murray himself.

Opened in 2021, 1053 Main Street Gallery is a fully renovated gallery space created with the primary mission of supporting the vibrant artistic community in the Catskills and surrounding areas. The gallery was developed to support artists in every phase of their careers, welcoming all disciplines of creative work. In addition to the gallery exhibitions, the space, housed in a historic building on Main Street in the village of Fleischmanns, can transform itself to lend to live musical performances and special events.

The Pelham Art Center is a non-profit educational and cultural institution committed to providing access to study, experience and appreciate the arts. With community at our core, we welcome participants of diverse backgrounds to foster connections and encourage the open exchange of ideas.

One of the most extensive arts-in-education programs in the northeast, Shakespeare & Company reaches more than 40,000 students and teachers each year with innovative, socially responsive, and educationally challenging performances, workshops and residencies. The Program has been nationally recognized as an innovative leader in the field of integrating theatre arts into education, and teaching Shakespeare.

In 2018, Paulien Lethen opened Holland Tunnel Art Newburgh / Gallery & Studios in a refurbished 1860 warehouse on Chambers Street between Broadway and First Street. The industrial gallery space, with its high ceiling and grand piano for concerts, is the fourth location for Holland Tunnel Gallery. It seemed logical that when Lethen moved to live in Newburgh and met the lively art community, the Holland Tunnel Gallery would follow. With Holland Tunnel Art Newburgh she creates a new place for exhibitions, performances, concerts and movie screenings. The other spaces in the building are artist studios. In Newburgh, Paulien Lethen feels the same exciting artistic energy of Williamsburg in the ‘90’s – then known as The New Bohemia. She is happy to offer a new cultural venue and art center in the Historic District of Newburgh where art and people can get together.

Through plays and workshops, Voice Theatre brings people together to experience the full diversity of being human. We transform and enrich lives by creating theatre and giving workshops. We produce in Kingston, NY and when possible in New York City, whilst providing educational programming both upstate and downstate. Voice Theatre is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

The Dorsky Museum is a hub for the art and artists of the Hudson Valley and beyond—free, open, and accessible to all. We strie to create art experiences that spark curiosity, critical thinking, and delight, connecting and serving the diverse communities of our region.