Upcoming Events

5:00pm–7:00pm Albany Institute of History & Art holds extended hours for the city of Albany's popular First Friday program! Enjoy free gallery admission from 5–7PM, live music, hands-on activities, and a pop-up bar.

This weekend, Bank of America cardholders receive free museum admission! 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 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 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. Participants will create masks that reflect something meaningful to them, inspired by the culturally significant Mexican masks found in many of Phyllis Galembo's photographs in the exhibition, Mexico Mask/Rituals: Photographs by Phyllis Galembo. Using a blank mask template, participants will use multiple types of media to make their vision come to life. This project may include gluing, drawing, and cutting.

This weekend, Bank of America cardholders receive free museum admission! 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.

12:00pm–4:00pm Stop by the museum café for a special coffee pop-up! Tortoise and Hare Coffee will be onsite from 12–4PM, serving a selection of hot and cold coffee drinks available for purchase. Check out Tortoise and Hare Coffee on Instagram to learn more and see what they're brewing.

2:00pm–3:00pm The docent tour on Sunday, October 4 is cancelled; we apologize for the inconvenience. Please join us for the next regularly scheduled docent tour on Sunday, October 11.

2:00pm–3:30pm Free with museum admission Working from his Albany studio, Erastus Dow Palmer (1817–1904) catapulted to fame as a leading American sculptor in the 1850s and 60s. Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Thayer Tolles will trace his rise to success in an illustrated talk focusing on how New York was central to advancing his career. Relying on the Empire City to display, market, and sell his marbles, Palmer set American sculpture on a new course and inspired a younger generation of artists. This program is presented in conjunction with the current exhibition, Your Friend, Frederic E. Church, which investigates the long friendship between Palmer and eminent landscape painter Church through letters, paintings, and sculptures.   Program support is provided by Donald and Ann Eberle.  

10:30am–12:00pm Please join us for Meet Me at the Institute, a program designed for people living with dementia and their caregivers. Held on select Mondays February–December 2026, sessions occur when the museum is closed to the public—minimizing distractions and providing a relaxing environment. Sessions are led by trained educators who facilitate open-ended discussions about the Albany Institute's exhibitions and collections. The program is developed based on Meet Me at MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art's Alzheimer's Project. Meet Me at the Institute is free; advanced registration is required. Contact Natalie Oliver, Education Associate, at 518-463-4478 ext. 405 to register and for more information.