Upcoming Events

3:00pm–4:30pm Join us at the Albany Institute for a relaxing evening of observational drawing in the galleries! In our final week of the program, choose from any of the galleries to observe and draw from! Create a study of a nineteenth-century landscape painting or combine various elements across the galleries to create your own interpretation! Supplies are provided, but participants are encouraged to bring their own sketchbooks and pencils. All abilities are welcome. Free with admission, no pre-registration required. Sketch in the Galleries is a weekly series held Wednesdays from 3–4:30PM at the Albany Institute from April 1–29, 2026.

6:30pm–8:30pm Pleas note: This event takes place at The Greenhouse at La Serre, Albany, NY. The Greenhouse at La Serre14 Green St, Albany, NY 12207  

5:00pm–7:30pm The Albany Institute of History & Art is pleased to host the 12th Annual City School District of Albany Elementary Art Show from Friday, May 1, through Sunday, May 3, 2026. This event is one of a kind, as it is a special opportunity for Albany's elementary students to showcase their artistic talents and how they were inspired this year in school. This creative student artwork from all twelve elementary schools will be showcased in the museum's Key Cultural Center on Friday, May 1, from 5–7:30PM, Saturday, May 2, from 10AM–5PM, and Sunday, May 3, from 12–5PM. AIHA appreciates our partnership with the City School District of Albany Fine Arts program and are excited to host this special show. The opening reception is free, and all are invited to attend! Note: The art show is open during regular museum hours on Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 in the museum's Key Cultural Center. Free admission for exhibiting students and their families.  

5:00pm–7:30pm Albany Institute of History & Art holds extended hours for the city of Albany's popular First Friday program! Enjoy free gallery admission from 5–7:30PM, hands-on activities, and a pop-up bar—plus a free screen printing activity with The Department of Things and a free weaving workshop led by artist Margot Becker. May First Friday also features the 12th Annual City School District of Albany Art Show Opening Reception! This event is one of a kind, as it is a special opportunity for Albany's elementary students to showcase their artistic talents and how they were inspired this year in school. This creative student artwork from all twelve elementary schools will be showcased in the museum's Key Cultural Center on Friday, May 1, from 5–7:30PM.  

10:00am–5:00pm 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. Inspired by the flowers in A Life in Bloom: The Floral Paintings of Julia McEntee Dillon, participants will create mixed-media wildflower seed packets. Taking inspiration from decorative seed packets from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and from Julia McEntee Dillon’s floral paintings, participants will use a variety of materials to customize their packets. At the end of the program, participants will receive wildflower seeds, to be kept safe in their packets until they are ready to plant them in the ground!   Julia McEntee Dillon (1834–1919), Pink Peonies and Roses, pastel on paper laid on canvas, 1885, Ulster County Historical Society.

1:00pm–6:00pm Please note: This event takes place at Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, NY. Olana State Historic Site5720 State Route 9G, Hudson, NY 12534 Celebrate Frederic Church’s 200th birthday at Olana with a full day of free activities for all ages. Enjoy access to Frederic Church's historic house, artmaking and nature activities, musical performances, and more. Stop by the Albany Institute of History & Art's table for a hands-on artmaking activity and to learn more about AIHA's exhibition Your Friend, Frederic E. Church, opening June 6, 2026. All Day Free access to Olana’s historic interiors and free landscape tours Art and nature activities for all ages offered by the Albany Institute of History & Art, 4-H, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners, Hawthorne Valley, and The Sylvia Center Refreshments for purchase from local food vendors Visits with friendly farm animals Free photobooth Fun giveaways including Stewart’s Ice Cream, Bjorn Qorn, and Hudson Valley Seed Co. packets (while supplies last) For more information, visit https://olana.org/birthday/

12:00pm–5:00pm 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 Please note: This event takes place at Historic Cherry Hill in Albany, NY. Historic Cherry Hill523 1/2, 523 S Pearl St, Albany, NY 12202 Join us at the 2026 Albany History Fair at Historic Cherry Hill on May 3rd! Each year, the Albany History Fair brings together public audiences and heritage sites to explore a unique theme in Albany’s history and collaboratively market thematically linked programming. Historic Cherry Hill is proud to be partnering with the Underground Railroad Education Center and Schuyler Mansion to present the 27th annual Albany History Fair. The fair this year will be held on Sunday, May 3, from 12–4PM on the grounds of Historic Cherry Hill. This year’s theme is Revolution 250, focusing on life in the Albany region during the 18th century and the wide-ranging impacts of the Revolutionary War. The Albany History Fair is the grand opening event for Historic Cherry Hill’s 2026 season, debuting a new tour of the house and programs that will focus on Philip Van Rensselaer, Commissary of Stores for the Northern Department, Hudson River merchant, driver and consumer of global trade, and enslaver, examining his life in terms of the expressed ideals of the Revolution. The Albany Institute of History & Art will be sharing information about our summer programming, as well as leading a hands-on art activity related to our upcoming exhibition Albany c. 1776, opening this fall. Events of the day: Live Music Urban Windowsill Project House Tours and Pop Up Museum Colonial Crafts 18th Century Cooking Tinsmithing "Revolution 250" Historical Panel: Moderated by Devin Lander, State Historian For more information, visit https://historiccherryhill.org/event/albany-history-fair/

2:00pm–3:00pm The Docent Tour on Sunday, May 3 is cancelled, we apologize for the inconvenience. Please join us for a curator-led tour by Peter Lacovara on Sunday, May 3 at 2PM for the final day of the exhibition From the Hudson to the Nile: Dows Dunham and the Archaeology of Egypt and Sudan. Please join us next Sunday, May 10 at 2PM for the next regularly scheduled docent tour.

2:00pm–3:00pm Join Dr. Peter Lacovara, consulting Egyptologist and curator of From the Hudson to the Nile: Dows Dunham and the Archaeology of Egypt and Sudan on the final day of the exhibition. The tour is free with museum admission, no registration is required. From the Hudson to the Nile: Dows Dunham and the Archaeology of Egypt and Sudan celebrates the remarkable career of Dows Dunham (1890–1984), a Hudson Valley-born archaeologist whose pioneering fieldwork in Egypt and Sudan and dedicated scholarship as a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston transformed the field and continue to shape the study and preservation of ancient civilizations today.