Pack a day bag and get ready to explore the Hudson Valley art scene as part of Stoneleaf Retreat‘s new initiative, “Upstate Art Weekend,” on August 29-30. The weekend-long program, designed mostly as a self-guided tour, will be showcasing creative spaces throughout the Hudson Valley. The itinerary includes stops at 19 art spaces—sculpture parks, group exhibitions and solo shows, among others—spanning from Hudson, NY, to Garrison, NY, as well as live pop-up events hosted by arts festival The Hudson Eye.
Founded in 2017 by Helen Toomer and Eric Romano, Stoneleaf Retreat is an artists’ retreat and connective space tucked away in the Catskill Mountains that focuses on creating a safe and creative space for women and families. For the past three years, Stoneleaf has hosted an array of women artists-in-residence and featured their work at special exhibitions and events onsite. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Stoneleaf’s directors were forced to postpone this year’s retreat until 2021. Hence, Upstate Art Weekend. Stoneleaf has even created a comprehensive map, with navigation instructions, to facilitate art lovers getting from one installation to the next.
“If there’s anything these past few months has taught us, it’s that community, collaboration, art and the outdoors are essential to our well-being, says Stoneleaf Retreat founder Helen Toomer. “Upstate Art Weekend is a combination of all of these,”
Many of the exhibitions are free to view, but others require pre-registration and the purchase of a ticket, which can be done here.
