Forts Ferry Farm (185 Forts Ferry Rd, Latham, NY 12110)
Museum Gala 2025
The Albany Institute of History & Art is pleased to announce the 2025 Museum Gala on Saturday, June 14, 2025, from 6–10PM at Forts Ferry Farm in Latham, NY. This year’s signature fundraising event promises to be an unforgettable evening of celebration, culture, and community.
Guests will enjoy a strolling cocktail hour with sumptuous appetizer stations, a seated dinner amid the farm’s beautiful gardens and open fields, musical interludes by Albany Pro Musica and Opera Saratoga, a spirited live auction courtesy of Sotheby’s, and dancing under the stars.
The 2025 Museum Gala will honor Christine Miles Kelliher, who served as Executive Director of the Albany Institute from 1986 to 2011. Miles Kelliher’s tenure marked a transformative era for the museum, during which she led the development of the Institute’s first strategic plan and spearheaded a $17 million capital campaign and renovation project that established the accessible, modern campus the Institute occupies today. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees and remains actively involved in contributing to the museum’s mission and vision.
View the 2025 Museum Gala press release here.
Honorary Committee
Join the Gala Honorary Committee to show your support for the Albany Institute. Honorary Committee members receive a prominent listing in the Gala program.
Honorary Committee commitments received after April 18, 2025, will be included in the program.
Museum Gala Tickets
Tickets are on sale now!
Secure your tickets by Friday, May 30, 2025.
Corporate Sponsorship
Gala Corporate Sponsors enjoy a range of benefits, including Honorary Committee listings, event tickets, and placement in the event program, event materials, and on the museum's website. Beyond the gala, sponsors receive year-round benefits such as complimentary memberships and passes, private tours, and recognition across all platforms—including onsite signage, digital promotions, and print materials.
Exclusive benefits are reserved for Corporate Partners. Investments of $15,000 or more unlock invitations to exhibition previews and a Fall Fundraising event, and acknowledgement at all events and in exhibition and education collateral.
View the Corporate Sponsorship benefits matrix here.
Sponsorship commitments received after April 18, 2025, will be included in the program.
2025 Honoree: Christine Miles Kelliher
Christine Miles Kelliher was Director of the Albany Institute of History & Art from 1986–2011 and currently serves on the Board of Trustees. She guided the development of the museum’s first strategic plan, with the goal to make the Albany Institute a more accessible cultural and educational resource. Under her leadership the museum conducted a transformative $17 million capital campaign and renovation project that created the museum as it exists today, including the incorporation of environmental controls, expanded gallery, collections storage, and education spaces, a magnificent three-story glass atrium connecting three previously separate National Register properties, and an outdoor sculpture garden.
Christine’s early museum career in New York City and Washington, DC, included positions at Fraunces Tavern Museum, South Street Seaport Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of the City of New York, and The Octagon. Chris has a BA in Art History from Boston University and an MA in American Culture and Museum Studies from The George Washington University. She studied graduate level Art History at Hunter College, was a fellow at the Winterthur Summer Institute on the Decorative Arts in Early America, and is a graduate of the Getty Foundation’s Museum Leadership.
Christine has been active in the museum and arts community nationally and state-wide and served as president of the Museum Association of New York and Gallery Association of New York State. Over the past four decades she has served on a number of local boards including the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, Albany Parking Authority, President's Council of The Sage Colleges, University at Albany Foundation, WMHT, Historic Albany Foundation, Washington Park Conservancy, Capitalize Albany and Albany Local Development Authority. She received a Women of Excellence Award from the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce in 1996, and the President’s Award from the Hudson Mohawk Association of Colleges and Universities in 2002.