Programs

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.

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  

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–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–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.

12:00pm–3:00pm Art Cart offers interactive and up-close experiences with artifacts and hands-on art creation inspired by objects in our collections, all guided by an educator.

12:00pm–3:00pm Art Cart offers interactive and up-close experiences with artifacts and hands-on art creation inspired by objects in our collections, all guided by an educator.

12:00pm–3:00pm Art Cart offers interactive and up-close experiences with artifacts and hands-on art creation inspired by objects in our collections, all guided by an educator.

2:00pm Free with admission Join us for a special screening of The Great Muslim American Road Trip, the award-winning PBS documentary that follows a Muslim American couple as they journey along historic Route 66. Through encounters with jazz musicians in Tulsa, community leaders in Chicago, historians in New Mexico, tech innovators, and a date-farming family in the Coachella Valley, the film reveals the many ways Muslims have shaped American culture and life. For this program, producer Jawaad Abdul Rahman will guide the audience through a curated selection of clips—approximately 40 minutes drawn from the three-hour documentary series—and offer insights into the stories behind the scenes. Presented as a travelogue, the film invites viewers to experience American history through a fresh and engaging lens, with time for audience questions and discussion. The program will conclude with brief remarks highlighting connections to Muslim history in Albany and early America.