Upcoming Events

5:00pm–7:00pm At the Albany Institute of History & Art, members make our exhibitions, programs, and collections possible. Join us for a holiday open house on Friday, December 5 from 5–7PM. Admission is free for all that evening for First Friday, and members are invited to enjoy special perks: festive libations and a door raffle for the chance to win prizes and AIHA memberships to gift to friends and family. Find the perfect presents in the museum shop; remember—members receive 20% off between Black Friday and December 31. Visit For Liberation and For Life: The Legacy of Black Dimensions in Art and Jacob Lawrence: Three Series of Prints during their final weeks on view. Drop in any time between 5–7PM for this evening of merriment with AIHA staff and fellow supporters of the museum. RSVPs are encouraged, but not required. Email Betye Arrastia-Nowak, Membership & Special Events Manager, at arrastia-nowakb@albanyinstitute.org.

10:00am–5:00pm This weekend, Bank of America cardholders receive free museum admission! Visit special exhibitions For Liberation and For Life: The Legacy of Black Dimensions in Art and Jacob Lawrence: Three Series of Prints during the final month on view, in addition to selections from the permanent collection. For the past 25 years, Bank of America has offered cardholders free general admission during the first full weekend of every month to more than 225 cultural institutions in cities across the United States via the Museums on Us initiative. Museums on Us is available to Bank of America, Merrill or Bank of America Private Bank (U.S. Trust) credit or debit cardholders.

11:00am–11:45am Enrich your experience of our current exhibitions through a docent-led tour of the galleries. Docent tours are an excellent way to learn more about the artworks and objects on display, in addition to the stories they tell. Interaction and questions are encouraged, and visitors of all ages are welcome. The tour is free with museum admission, no registration required. Please plan to meet in the museum atrium, main level, near the admission desk before the tour begins.

12:00pm–4:00pm Art for All is free with museum admission every Saturday from 12–4PM. All ages are welcome to participate. Enjoy your visit to the museum and explore your artistic side with a hands-on project inspired by the museum's exhibitions and collections. Visitors of all ages can create a paper sarcophagus inspired by the exhibition From the Hudson to the Nile: Dows Dunham and the Archaeology of Egypt and Sudan, on view through May 3, 2026.  

12:00pm–5:00pm This weekend, Bank of America cardholders receive free museum admission! Visit special exhibitions For Liberation and For Life: The Legacy of Black Dimensions in Art and Jacob Lawrence: Three Series of Prints during the final month on view, in addition to selections from the permanent collection. For the past 25 years, Bank of America has offered cardholders free general admission during the first full weekend of every month to more than 225 cultural institutions in cities across the United States via the Museums on Us initiative. Museums on Us is available to Bank of America, Merrill or Bank of America Private Bank (U.S. Trust) credit or debit cardholders.

2:00pm–3:00pm Enrich your experience of our current exhibitions through an insightful docent-led tour of the galleries. Docent tours are an excellent way to learn more about the artworks and objects on display, in addition to the stories they tell. Interaction and questions are encouraged, and visitors of all ages are welcome. The tour is free with museum admission, no registration required. Please plan to meet in the museum atrium, main level, near the admission desk before the tour begins.

2:00pm Free with admission Join us for a conversation between Patricia Encarnación, Clifford Oliver, ransome, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak—all artists currently exhibiting in For Liberation and For Life: The Legacy of Black Dimensions in Art—moderated by Rachel Cantave. This talk is a part of a series of programs held at the Albany Institute of History & Art that highlight the artists, mission, and legacy of Black Dimensions in Art, Inc. (BDA), the Capital Region’s longest-running Black arts collective celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year.

11:00am–12:00pm Free and open to the public (no museum admission required) Reframing an Empire explores the captivating journey of artist Thomas Cole and his profound impact on American identity. The Albany Institute is screening this documentary on the occasion of COLE200, the 200th Anniversary of Thomas Cole’s first trip to Catskill, New York (1825–2025), which changed the course of American Art. The paintings he made of the Hudson River Valley and Catskill Mountains launched not only his career, but the major art movement of the United States known as the Hudson River School of American landscape painting. Thomas Cole’s life and work coincide with a pivotal period in American history. Before Cole’s eyes and on his canvas, the newly formed nation would find a vision of its identity born and its future questioned. American history fixates on 1776 and 1865, but in the period between lies a rich and under-explored territory. Total runtime: 56:46Published: 2023/04/21Rating: NR