Fundraising Galas & Events

Wednesday, November 4 • 5:00pm - 8:00pm

Update July 31, 2020:
We are happy to announce that the Albany Institute will host An Artful Evening on Wednesday, November 4! This event is a combination of our two annual signature events, the Museum Gala and Work of Art. Find out more below. Click here to learn how to submit original artwork for our silent art auction, and click here for more information about corporate sponsorship.

Update April 1, 2020:
Please note that we have decided to postpone the Museum Gala, originally scheduled for June 5, to a later date. The Gala is the museum's largest fundraiser of the year and many non-profits like the Albany Institute are making decisions to postpone similar key events in light of the current health crisis. We do not have any details at this point but when we have more information to share, we will. We thank you for your patience and support. We look forward to celebrating with you when we can.

Join us on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 for An Artful Evening to celebrate the vibrant cultural landscape of our region. This year we have combined our two signature events – the Museum Gala in June and Work of Art in November – into one. An Artful Evening, chaired by Deborah Groesbeck Bennett and Dr. John Bennett will be either in-person or virtual depending on where we are in the fall.

Our Museum Gala honorees are Peter and Rose-Marie Ten Eyck of Indian Ladder Farms, an apple orchard, cider mill, and retail farm market near Voorheesville, NY. Peter and Rose-Marie have been generous supporters of the Albany Institute for over 30 years. During Peter’s more than 10 years of Albany Institute Board service, he served as Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Collections Committee. The museum is proud to have many items in its collection related to the Ten Eyck family.

Our Work of Art honoree is Amy Biancolli, a former Times Union reporter who has enthusiastically covered the art, history, and culture of the Capital Region for over 15 years.  Her consistent and thoughtful coverage has enhanced this region’s rich and diverse cultural offerings. Amy will remain in Albany as she begins her new job this fall for Mad in America, nonprofit webzine covering the experiences of people in the mental-health system. 

While we may not know yet what form An Artful Evening will take, it will feature a silent auction of works by contemporary artists, continuing the Institute’s support of our vibrant community of regional artists. Proceeds from the auction are shared between the Albany Institute and the artists. Our Museum Gala and Work of Art account for a significant portion of the museum’s annual operating budget. By combining our two signature events, we will significantly reduce overhead so that your support will go directly to exhibitions and education programs at a time when we need it most. Your support of An Artful Evening will enable us to continue fulfilling our mission of connecting people to art and history and each other.

Click here to join the Honorary Committee. (You will be redirected to a secure external site)

Monday, September 21 • 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Members are invited to join the Albany Institute's Board of Trustees for a virtual meeting to learn about the museum's accomplishments in 2019 and its plans for the rest of this year. A link to the meeting will be sent the day of the meeting.

Free, but reservations are required. RSVP online or to Ellie Burhans at (518) 463-4478 ext. 402 or email burhanse@albanyinstitute.org.

Saturday, April 25 • 10:30am - 12:00pm

Saturday, April 25, 2020
10:30AM—12PM

Join us in exploring China's unique history of tea and how it has influenced Chinese culture. Members of the East Asia Studies Department at the University at Albany will guide us through a thousand years of tea and history before performing a Chinese tea ceremony with special participant Ruby Silvious. 

Reservations encouraged. Please call Ellie at (518) 463-4478, ext. 402.

• $10 for Albany Institute members | $12 non-members

$10.00

Wednesday, April 22 • 9:00am - 11:00am

Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | 9—11AM

Inspired by the exhibit Recycled & Refashioned: The Art of Ruby Silvious, we are hosting a special members-only tour of the Mohawk Fine Paper Company in Cohoes, New York.

Mohawk cares about the environment and is committed to a sustainable future. They source pulp from sustainable forests, use recycled fiber, conserve water, and harness wind power for their mills' electrical energy. The company combines a legacy of the region's manufacturing with innovation to create a sustainable future. We will tour the facility and learn how recycled materials becomes paper.

Space is limited and reservations are required. Tour details and meeting place provided upon registration. No open-toed shoes permitted. 

To register, please call Ellie at (518) 463-4478, ext. 402.

• Free for Albany Institute of History & Art members

View Details and
Register Online

Monday, April 20 • 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Monday, April 20, 2020
5:30—6PM Lecture | 6—7:30PM Reception

In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet is a warrior goddess often depocted as a lioness and seen as the protector of the pharaohs. Since 2013, a bust of Sekhmet has been on loan to the Albany Institute and on view in the Ancient Egypt galleries. It was one of dozens of black granuite statues located at the temple of Mut at Karnak, the same complex where one of the Albany Institute's mummies, Ankhefenmut, resided as a priest and sculptor during his lifetime.

Join us in bidding a fond farewell to Sekhmet before she returns to the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology in California. Dr. Peter Lacovara, Director of the Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage Fund, will give a short presentation about Sekhmet. Then, we invite you to a reception with light refreshments and a cash bar. 

RSVP to Ellie at burhanse@albanyinstitute.org or (518) 463-4478, ext. 402.

• Free for Albany Institute members | $10 non-members

$10.00

Thursday, March 5 • 10:00am - 3:00pm Thursday, March 12 • 10:00am - 3:00pm Thursday, March 19 • 10:00am - 3:00pm Thursday, March 26 • 10:00am - 3:00pm

Exclusive to Albany Institute members!

All day, take 15% off on regular merchandise in the shop and enjoy free coffee in the cafe.

Not yet a member? Learn more here and sign up here!

Wednesday, November 6 • 5:30pm - 8:00pm

Work of Art at the Albany Institute of History & Art is an annual cocktail party and silent art auction that celebrates and promotes one of our region’s greatest assets: its vibrant community of regional artists. 

This year, Work of Art will be on Wednesday, November 6^th from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the galleries of the Albany Institute. We are thrilled to announce that we are honoring Willie Marlowe, a beloved area artist who has exhibited work from our own Capital Region to national and international shows in Chicago, NYC, London, Venice, Berlin, and more. She will be honored for her contribution to the region’s cultural and artistic landscape as an artist and a professor for almost 50 years. 

At Work of Art, guests will enjoy fine fare while exploring the galleries. A silent auction will feature works by contemporary artists, continuing the Institute’s support of our area’s vibrant community of regional artists. Proceeds from the auction are shared between the Albany Institute and the artists, encouraging art creators and art patrons to connect during a night to remember. The deadline to submit artwork for consideration is now closed.

Tickets for this event are no longer available online.

Thank you to our Honorary Committee!

Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors!

Tuesday, July 23 • 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Enjoy refreshments and raise a glass to the Schuyler sisters at the exhibition opening on July 23, 2019 from 5-7PM.

• Albany Institute of History & Art Members: Free
• Friends of Schuyler Mansion Members: Free
• General Public: $10 per person

RSVP before July 19, 2019. Online ticketing for this event is now closed.

IMAGE: Portrait of Angelica Schuyler Church with her child and servant by John Trumbull, 1784, oil on canvas, private collection

$10.00

Thursday, April 11 • 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Hosted by the Fort Orange Garden Club

Katherine Aalto, Author

Join author Katherine Aalto and the Fort Orange Garden Club for a reception with light refreshments and a special lecture. Aalto, author of The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh: A Walk Through the Forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood, will take us on a journey into the real Ashdown Forest, which inspired one of the most iconic settings in children’s literature. You will discover the real places that inspired the stories as well as the rare flora and fauna of this forest. A.A. Milne’s tender adventures offer a hymn to those days of doing nothing while yet learning everything.

• Space is limited and reservation are requested. Pricing and RSVP information available on the Fort Orange Garden Club’s website: www.fortorangegardenclub.org.

IMAGE: Winne The Pooh, Everedy Modeling Material, The Embossing Company, Albany, N.Y., gift of Walter Wheeler, 2009.34.12A

Saturday, March 30 • 10:30am - 2:00pm

Come to the museum to have well-known local appraiser, Mark Lawson, and a team of certified gemologists tell you the fair market value of your jewelry.

• Appraisals are $5 per piece of jewelry with a limit of three per person.

Be sure to see the jewels on display in the exhibition Bejeweled and Bedazzled: Jewelry and Personal Adornment. This exhibition is included with regular museum admission.

Mark Lawson Antiques is a Major Sponsor of Bejeweled and Bedazzled.

More about the team:

Diane Burke has been appraising jewelry in the Capital District area for the past 20 years. She has a Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America and is a Senior Member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers.  Diane owns and operates A+ Associates Gemological Laboratory located in Troy N.Y. and provides gemological and jewelry appraisal services of all kinds including gem identification, diamond and gem verification, insurance and estate appraisals and verbal consultations.

$5.00