Hyperallergic: What to See at New York’s 2023 Upstate Art Weekend

The sun is scorching, the muggy subway platform is unbearable, and the distinctive smell of urine is encroaching onto the sidewalk outside your apartment — it’s time to take a trip north. Just in time, 130 art venues are opening their doors next week for the fourth annual Upstate Art Weekend. From July 21 through 24, arts organizations in the Hudson Valley will offer exhibitions, screenings, open studios, and performances. With so many participants, the event can become overwhelming, but a custom map — and our run-down of highlights below — make it easy for visitors to plan personalized trips.

While last weekend’s storm flooding hit some upstate venues especially hard (Storm King was forced to close for a day and the Russel Wright Design Center in Garrison suffered extensive damage), the upstate arts scene is bouncing back for its big celebration. Helen Toomer, who co-founded the Stoneleaf Residency Program in Eddyville in 2017, started Upstate Art Weekend in 2020. Stifled by COVID restrictions, only 23 organizations participated that first year, but the event has grown exponentially since.

Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring will host the official kickoff on Friday evening. The private museum was founded in 2017 to showcase contemporary Italian art and recently opened an exhibition of works by Michelangelo Pistoletto as part of a new series dedicated to the Arte Povera movement. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, Magazzino will present Cinema in Piazza, an outdoor film series in collaboration with the Cold Spring Film Society and Artecinema in Naples.