Second Saturday Art Gallery stroll in Beacon

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August 8 - Beacon is re-awakening…

It’s a somber time, full of reflection but also action. Still dealing with the COVID pandemic, the country finds itself in a reckoning for racial justice, reexamining systems and traditions and practices that disproportionately benefit white people. We’re listening, and learning, and working to amplify the voices of those who traditionally haven’t had a seat at the table.

New York has been doing so well with bringing down the COVID illness rates as we move through the phases of reopening, that it feels like we’re creeping closer to The New Normal. But it’s no time to let our guards down. Phase 4 means that indoor establishments are still restricted. Most galleries are quite small and adequate ventilation continues to be an issue. So once again, the usual Main Street vigor of Second Saturday art happenings will be muted.

That doesn’t mean nothing is going on, though. If you’re heading out to a protest, get inspired to make your own sign with the chalk art created and/or shared by Moraya Seeger DeGeare (@tomyoldracistearth). Other local art happenings:
• We’ll give you the good news first: Dia’s reopening is set for Friday, August 7. On the other side of the joy scale, however, we’re sad to see that RiverWinds Gallery will be closing as of Monday, August 31. “The pandemic has done us in!” says Mary Ann Glass. See the gallery’s listing for more words from the owners, as well as details on a clearance sale.
• No. 3 Reading Room and Photo Book Works has placed works from Beacon artist Edwin Torres in the large storefront windows, inviting safely distanced viewing.
• As official champions of the local arts scene, BeaconArts has stayed active, sharing info about grant/financial relief programs for people working in New York’s arts industries, and hosting conversations with local artists.

Taking precautions to protect their staff and visitors, many galleries remain closed. But there’s still plenty of art. Scroll down to the venues, starting with Dia, for details on any online exhibitions we’re coming across.

Our Second Saturday Art Gallery Guide is sponsored by No. 3 Reading Room and Photo Book Works, at 469 Main Street, down toward the east end of Main Street near the Story Screen Beacon Theater. Owner Paulette Myers-Rich has set up a new exhibit in the storefront windows, and is still showing the previous artist online. Peruse it at your leisure!

Do you have an art opening coming up? Tell us about it: Drop a line to editorial@alittlebeaconblog.com with the who/what/when/where, and include a representative photo, to be considered for inclusion in this Guide. 

Second Saturday 101

Second Saturday is a lively day into night in Beacon, and is a celebration of Beacon's galleries, restaurants and other businesses on the second Saturday of every month. Dan Rigney, former president of BeaconArts (the organization who encouraged this movement to happen over a decade ago, and who still heavily promotes the events) says: “Back then, Beacon was one of the last places people outside of town thought to go on a Saturday night. Now Second Saturday has become a part of the fabric of Beacon. It’s such a part of it, many galleries have their opening events on other Saturdays, so that they get two big crowds each month.” Second Saturday provides a great reason to walk Main Street and beyond, and explore the events going on around town. It's always a pleasure to dine your way through Beacon, so turn to our Restaurant Guide to help you puzzle out where to eat and drink as you explore special exhibits and happenings.

What to Know About This Guide:

• This Guide includes gallery and art showings that may be hosted in a gallery or in a shop or restaurant.

• Many of these shows run through the current month, so check back often if you are on an art hunt.

• Closing times posted here are for Second Saturdays only, and may not reflect regular Saturdays. Always call an establishment directly for current hours, offerings, or any other questions.

• Parking can be found on side streets, on Main Street, and in municipal lots. Click here for A Little Beacon Blog’s Free Public Parking Guide, with pictures and cross streets!

• Share your way through Second Saturday by using #2SAT, the hashtag created by BeaconArts, and tack on #beaconny or #SecondSaturday if you have room in your tweets or Instagram postings.

• If you are a gallery and have something special to add, please email editorial@alittlebeaconblog.com.

Late-Night (After 9pm) Spots to Eat and Drink: 

August 2020: Check these places, and others in our Restaurant Guide, to see who’s offering takeout. 

• Bank Square 129 Main St.

• Chill Wine Bar 173 Main St.

• Meyer’s Olde Dutch 184 Main St.

• Max’s On Main 246 Main St.

• Baja 328 328 Main St.

• Quinn’s 330 Main St.

• The Towne Crier (bar only) 379 Main St.

• Oak Vino Wine Bar 389 Main St. (call first to see if cheese plates and dessert are still being served!)

• Draught Industries 394 Main St.

• The Beacon Hotel Restaurant 424 Main St.

• The Vault 446 Main St.

• Joe’s Irish Pub 455 Main St.

• Roundhouse 2 East Main St.

• Dogwood 47 East Main St.

• Melzingah Tap House 554 Main St.

Leave all of our Guides open on your phone, because they include addresses and phone numbers. Tap on a phone number to call anyone!

Second Saturday, August 8: Read on to learn about Beacon’s galleries, the exhibitions their artists had planned, and any fundraising efforts each venue has. If you see something that you think we shouldn't miss, tag us on Twitter or in your photos on Instagram (we’re @alittlebeacon on both). Take care of yourselves and one another! Let’s hope this passes quickly. 

NEAR THE TRAIN, BEFORE MAIN STREET

Dia:Beacon - Reopening in August!
3 Beekman St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 440-0100
One of the preeminent modern art museums in the world, Dia:Beacon opened in 2003 in a former Nabisco box-printing factory on the shore of the Hudson River. Take a closer look at Dia:Beacon's giant shapes, piles of glass, grayscale geometry, neon tubes and so. much. more. Dia:Beacon offers complimentary admission with identification to all residents of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties on the last Sunday of every month. Dia:Beacon is free for residents of Beacon, Fishkill, Chelsea, and Glenham every Saturday and Sunday, year-round. (Thanks, Pete Seeger.)
Special for Second Saturday, August 8: After a several-month closure due to COVID-19, Dia:Beacon is reopening this month. Admission is by advance reservation only, with timed tickets. “Availability will be extremely limited,” Dia warns. From a few quick checks of dates/times on this page, it seems like Mondays are your best bet. See more information here.
Online: Dia’s website is spotlighting a lot of neat content. A behind-the-scenes series lets us peek into Dia employees’ lives, while an Artist Prompt encourages us to get friendly with our plants.
Hours: By appointment/timed ticket only

Mother Gallery
1154 North Ave. (downstairs)
Beacon, NY
(845) 236-6039
Mother Gallery is a co-creative, artist-run, exhibition space located in Beacon, NY. Conceived and stewarded by Kirsten Deirup and Paola Oxoa to foster collaboration, community, and open dialogue amongst all people in the Hudson Valley and beyond.
Special for Second Saturday: Opening broadly to the public for the first time on August 8, Chie Fueki’s Mother Altar is gracing the gallery’s large glass garage window, as a site-specific community-contributed piece. The main work, two shaped paintings on mulberry paper, suggest a veneration. Under them viewers see a growing assortment of objects, meaningful pieces that community members have contributed to the installation. The gallery describes the piece as “a time capsule, or place holder for our intentions and contributions—allowing us to experience some agency and community as we move ahead in this time of pain and uncertainty.” Through August 30, 2020.
Online: Mother Gallery is “showing” online via Future Fair, “a capsule-sized exhibition that is accessible to art lovers of all kinds.” Mother’s spotlighting the works of Alessandro Keegan, Jenny Morgan, and Julia Kunin in Equilibration of the Energies.
In the gallery’s own words: “Our presentation is inspired by Alan Saret's 1978 drawing ‘VINE CASTLE: Equilibration of the Energies’ and its accompanying text: ‘Describe all the relationships in the cosmos you are dreaming about. Include the various consciousnesses, suns, planets, animals and plants. Determine the physics which provide them and the philosophies which guide them in the forms their activities take.’”
Hours: Open to the public for Second Saturday, August 8, 5 to 9 pm; also open Saturday, August 29, and Sunday, August 30, from 5 to 9 pm

Parts & Labor Beacon
1154 North Ave. (upstairs)
Beacon, NY
(917) 664-8861
This recent arrival to the Beacon gallery scene uniquely pairs works by young or emerging artists with pieces from more-established artists. Writer Alison Rooney and the gallery’s co-founders, Nicelle Beauchene and Franklin Parrasch, explain the concept really nicely in this Highlands Current piece.
Open for Second Saturday (in person): My Way: The Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers and Contemporary Abstractions includes works from six quilters in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, with six nonquilting pieces. The quilters, hailing from “a remote, rural Black community” continue expressing the work their predecessors did, creating patterns and telling stories using vibrant fabrics and repurposed materials, including feed sacks, faded denim, work clothes and remnants. According to Parts & Labor’s press release, “The majority of Gee’s Bend works are ‘My Way’ quilts: their improvisational, abstract imagery and patterning is informed by the particular quilter’s personal vision, rather than that of a guide or template.” The nonquilting pieces also showcase geometries and vibrant colors, tying together the different ways artists in any medium can explore storytelling through the abstract. See for yourself, through Sunday, August 9.
Coming up: Lois Dodd // Shara Hughes opens Saturday, August 15.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 6 pm, by appointment. Appointments may be made by texting or calling (207) 460-0768.

THE WEST END
(Close to the train station)

Marion Royael Gallery
159 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(727) 244-5535
New for Second Saturday: Stick a fork in him? Not yet. Not ever. Local Beaconite Ed Benavente is popping up in Marion Royael after taking down some of his longstanding sculptures around town. You may remember the hammer people at Brett's Hardware, and other pieces that have been acquired to stay in place. See what else Marion Royael has in store for you.
Ongoing: Inside the gallery, see Candelabra: Things That Carry the Light of the World, featuring "finely executed visual perspectives" in various mediums by more than a dozen artists. What carries the light of the world to you? How do you carry light? Don't hide it under a bushel. Bring it to Main Street and the MR Gallery. 
Hours: Noon to 7 pm (sometimes later)

Clutter Magazine Gallery
163 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(212) 255-2505
The Clutter Gallery is a branch of the Clutter Media Group family, and is focused on showing quality work by both established and emerging artists in the fields of toy design and customization, as well as modern pop and lowbrow art. Clutter Gallery’s exhibitions are open to the public and free of charge. 
In person for Second Saturday: Be excited, but also please be super careful and respectful of everyone around you - Clutter is hosting their second real, live, in-person, in-gallery opening! (Their safety details are at the end of this listing.) First up is the fourth annual They Came From Planet Rainbow Sparkles, a show featuring more than five dozen artists and over one hundred pieces. Clutter hypes up the always-fun show: “Bigger and brighter than ever, this epic event transforms the entire gallery into a rainbow of gigantic proportions!”
Orby Attacks! is a solo show from Japanese artist Baccan, featuring their cute/creepy creation of a critter. Sneak a peek at their first solo show in the United States in this video. The third show sees the Clutter return of artist One-Eyed Girl, aka New Jersey’s Kasey Tararuj, with her Quarnival - blending quarantine with all of the county fair and summer carnival edible treats we’ve been missing out on this year - all in whimsical, adorable characters. She has been a regular participant in many of Clutter's group custom shows. All three shows, through Friday, September 4.
Online: Head over to Clutter Magazine’s YouTube channel for videos and conversations with toy artists, and the people who love them. #ClutterTalks!
Hours: Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm
Social Distancing Guidelines: “Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation we will only be allowing in ten guests at a time. NO ONE will be admitted without a mask, so please make sure you are prepared. We ask that everyone observe social distancing rules both inside and outside the gallery.”

RiverWinds Gallery
172 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 838-2880
RiverWinds Gallery features Hudson Valley artists. Work includes fine art paintings and photography, plus contemporary crafts including ceramics, jewelry, fiber arts and more.
Gallery closing: Despite reopening earlier this summer, RiverWinds has made the difficult decision to close their doors for good. One of the original galleries on Main Street, and owned by actual working artists, RiverWinds has been a home for the work of dozens of Hudson Valley artists creating with paint, ceramics, fibers, glass, jewelry, paper, photography - and anything else you can think of. “It’s been a painful decision to close,” says Karl LaLonde, one of the co-owners. “We will miss our artists, our customers - both local people and folks from out of town. And we will miss being part of Beacon’s vibrant artistic community.” Another co-owner, Mary Ann Glass, added, “The pandemic has done us in! We are the longest-running gallery in Beacon. We opened in July 2003, shortly after Dia:Beacon opened its doors. At that time, the west end of Main Street was a bit grim! But we just had a feeling that it was on the edge of change. And we were right. RiverWinds has been an integral part of Beacon’s renaissance. For 17 years we have promoted and sold work by some of the finest Hudson Valley artists.” Hopefully the owners will find a way to continue offering classes in painting, mobile phone photography, and making cyanotypes.
Closing sale: RiverWinds’ last day will be Monday, August 31. Until then, a Going Out of Business sale will offer discounts of 25 percent to 50 percent on most pieces of artwork: paintings, photography, pottery, jewelry, glasswork and fiber art.
Hours: Wednesday to Monday, noon to 4 pm; closed Tuesday (call to verify before going)

THE EAST END & BEYOND
(Closer to the mountain)

Morphicism
444 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 440-3092
Moveable art in frames - art you must see and experience. Jay Palefsky taught art in New York high schools for more than two decades, then packed his bags to pursue life as an artrepreneur, with a steadfast commitment to doing things differently. 
Online: Take a while to cruise around Morphicism’s website. There are dozens of owner Jay Palefsky’s boxes of sliding panels, waiting to be explored.
Hours: Closed until further notice.

No.3 Reading Room & Photo Book Works
469 Main St. 
Beacon, NY
Two doors west of the Howland Center, No. 3 Reading Room & Photo Book Works is an artist-run venue, featuring select artists’ books, artist photobookworks, photography books, work on paper and poetry from small and independent presses. Contact Paulette Myers-Rich at photobookworks@gmail.com for additional information. 
In person: Another well-planned window show, in Slippage as Form: Visual Poems by Edwin Torres. How does an art space owner make connections with the public, when so much of her space’s collection is based on close contact - lingering looks at hand-crafted books, considered careful turns of each page? We share here Paulette’s thoughts about exhibiting the work of Edwin Torres, Beacon poet and graphic artist, in 17x22-inch prints, mounted in the reading room’s storefront window. Through Thursday, September 10, 2020.
Online: Go deep, with Paulette Myers-Rich’s essay about Reach: A Selection of Drawings and Artist’s Books by Rosaire Appel, an exhibition that Photo Book Works hosted earlier this year.
Hours: Indoor space is closed until further notice.

Howland Cultural Center
477 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 831-4988
Beacon's Howland Cultural Center is not just another arts organization. Its beautiful home is a Victorian building, a library for a long time, that was born specifically to serve the community as a cultural resource.
In person for Second Saturday: The 2020 Members Art Show and Sale, featuring the works of the Howland Center’s nearly three dozen member artists. Through Sunday, August 30, 2020.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 pm
Social Distancing Guidelines: No entry without a mask, per their event flyer.

Bau Gallery
506 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 222-0177
Bau (Beacon Artist Union) is a platform for members and artists to grow, present and market their work and collaborative curatorial projects, while hosting events of related disciplines: performances, talks, film and music. Bau builds a vital link between artists’ activities and rest of the community.
In person for Second Saturday: After last month’s fundraiser, Bau is really back, with two shows opening up this month - just like the olden days (you know, way back in February). In Gallery 1, Carla Goldberg’s FIZZ stems from a piece she made in 2009, for her first show with Bau. All the works in this show were created at home, over the past few months. Water is a powerful force of nature, just as infections can be, and Carla makes the parallels really clear. In Gallery 2, Faith Adams’ Nocturnal is a series of 60 wheel thrown porcelain wall hanging plates and bowls as well as a collection of mixed media paintings. Her new work features designs of night-dwelling creatures and insects that have been screen-printed and hand-detailed. In the Beacon Room, works from other Bau artists. Through Sunday, September 6.
Hours: Second Saturday opening reception (all day), noon to 8 pm; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 pm