Second Saturday Art Gallery hop in Beacon

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For years, Beacon has had hoppin’ Second Saturdays with gallery openings and art happenings. But art refuses to be confined to a hashtagged event schedule. That’s why we’ve expanded this Guide to showcase as many art openings as we can within Beacon’s city limits. Artistic endeavors are going up on walls (and sidewalks, and lawns) all the time around town, so keep your eyes glued to this space and refresh often to stay in the loop. We try to update the bulk of this Guide on the Monday before Second Saturday, or as venues list their happenings. But we’re constantly updating the Guide as we hear about new events and openings.

Are you planning for the fourth Thursday of the month? Or maybe you’re already a seasoned #2Sat pro? Skip the Second Saturday 101 below if you'd like, and head straight for the listings, starting with Dia: Beacon.

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. At the reading room, you’ll find not just rotating exhibits, but cool collections of handmade books that the public is encouraged to peruse.

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: 

After you walk the galleries, you’ll be hungry and maybe thirsty! See our full list of restaurants who are open prior to 9 pm in our Restaurant Guide. 

• 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, February 8: We’re updating as events come in, so keep checking this space! Looking for more ways to keep busy this Second Saturday? Check out our Event Guide to fill you in on the rest of the happenings - if you're out and about in Beacon and see something that you think we shouldn't miss, tag us on Twitter or in your photos on Instagram (we're @alittlebeacon on both). Now, let's get to February’s art openings and events. 

NEAR THE TRAIN, BEFORE MAIN STREET

Dia:Beacon
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: Two Dia Talks highlight the artists behind recently opened works. At 11:30 am, Mel Bochner joins curators Alexis Lowry and James Meyer to discuss Bochner’s new site-specific, large-scale work. Commissioned by Dia, it recalls his Measurement series from the late 1960s, delineating and drawing attention to the space that surround us. At 2 pm, Meyer will join Barry Le Va in conversation about Le Va’s work, which likewise showcases spaces we might not normally pay attention to: floor-based powder dispersal installations that he focused on in the 1960s.
Also: Saturday Studio! At 10:30 am, visitors can join practicing artists for a free workshop of family-friendly art-making and play. Sign-up begins in Dia’s admissions area at 10 am. Advance reservations are usually snatched up, but Dia keeps a few first-come, first-serve spots open! All families participating in Saturday Studio receive free admission to Dia:Beacon for the day. Once the Learning Lab wraps up, check out a guided tour of the museum at 12:30 or 2 pm. Reservations for the tour aren't necessary, but may be made at the admissions desk.
On the horizon: Sunday, February 23, is Hudson Valley Free Day! Hudson Valley residents receive free admission to Dia:Beacon on the last Sunday of each month. The Hudson Valley encompasses the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Sullivan, Ulster, Washington, and Westchester. Don’t forget, City of Beacon residents (including the adjacent Hudson Valley communities of Chelsea, Fishkill, and Glenham) receive free admission to Dia:Beacon every Saturday and Sunday.
Hours: Friday to Monday, 11 am to 4 pm (January-March hours)

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.
Hours: The gallery is closed for winter, but according to an Instagram post from the gallery, Caitlin MacQueen has been working diligently on a new project in the space!

Parts & Labor Beacon
1154 North Ave. (upstairs)
Beacon, NY
(917) 664-8861
This recent arrival to the Beacon gallery scene, opening last May, uniquely pairs works by one younger or emerging artist and one more-established artist. Writer Alison Rooney and the gallery’s co-founders, Nicelle Beauchene and Franklin Parrasch, explain the concept really nicely in this Highlands Current piece.
Special for Second Saturday: Paired together in this installation are the paintings of Alex Bradley Cohen and Rafael Ferrer. The gallery describes Alex Bradley Cohen’s pieces: “Working with acrylic paint on canvas, the artist depicts friends and family members in scenes of everyday moments of connection. For Cohen, painting serves as an exercise in world building, a practice that embraces the effort— at once life-giving, messy, joyful, and discomfiting—of sharing in kinship.” Instead of directly observing and recording his subjects in a documentary way, he paints from photos, memories, and other one-step-removed influences. His works often invoke his home base of Chicago. Similarly, Rafael Ferrer’s paintings reference the tropical vibrancy of his native Puerto Rico. Though he works now from the North Fork of Long Island, Ferrer has traveled (and exhibited) internationally for decades, beginning with a trip to Paris in 1953, meeting influential artists during that buzzing era. The five portraits in P&L’s exhibition are from the 1980s. The gallery says: “His lines are quick and colors bold, exuding an expressive verve that captures just enough of his sitters’ likenesses.” See for yourself, through Sunday, May 3.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 pm, and by appointment; Second Saturday opening reception 6 to 8 pm

Beacon Historical Society
17 South Avenue
Beacon, NY
(845) 831-0514
Special for Second Saturday: Join the BHS for a Gallery Talk on Whispers from the Castle Keep by Neil Caplan, executive director of the the Bannerman Island. Caplan will tell stories of the Bannermans’ life on the island, and discuss the memorabilia and artifacts from the Civil and Spanish American War found there. Paintings, photographs, catalogs, and rare artifacts provide a deeper and more meaningful picture of this unique place. Whispers from the Castle Keep, an exhibit of memorabilia from the Bannerman Castle Trust, includes small artifacts from the Civil and Spanish American wars. Paintings, photographs, catalogs, and rare artifacts will tell the story of the Bannerman arsenal and castle. Through Saturday, February 29.
Hours: Thursdays, 10 am to 12 pm, and Saturdays, 1 to 4 pm

THE WEST END
(Close to the train station)

Marion Royael Gallery
159 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(727) 244-5535
Continuing for Second Saturday: How sweet it is! A new batch of treats is revealed behind the gallery, in MR Yard. This cozy space packs in a lot of art. (We wrote about the gallery and yard a couple years ago, here.) Take a peek, take your time, look around.
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. 
Also continuing: In the MR Yard outside, don't miss The Bird's Nest, a site-specific installation.
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. 
Special for Second Saturday: More than 60 artists (yes, really, but don’t worry, the pieces are small) are contributing to the eighth installment of [In]Action Figures, Clutter’s annual celebration of the art of the action figure. Intended to elevate action figures, bootlegs and other retro toys, this exhibit recalls the heyday of the Action Figure format - the 1970s and ’80s. Also, don’t miss the Knights of the Slice five-year anniversary show! Both shows, through Friday, March 6. Come for the art, stay for the refreshments: Second Saturdays at Clutter have libations from Lagunitas Beer!
Hours: Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturdays, noon to 5 pm; Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm

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.
Special for Second Saturday: Heidrun Morgan, Carol Flaitz, and Nancy Faulds bring their works in glass tiles, encaustic, and photography to this group show at RiverWinds Gallery, with each artist using basic elements to express unique visions. “My creations are the result of giving shape to a thought and/or feeling,” says Heidrun Morgan. “I don’t have a certain outcome in mind when I start – it is the process that fascinates me.” Through Sunday, March 8.
Hours: Monday and Wednesday, noon to 4 pm; Thursday and Sunday, noon to 5 pm; Friday and Saturday, noon to 6 pm; Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm.

Clarkson University’s Beacon Institute for Rivers & Estuaries
199 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 838-1600
This historic brick storefront houses a variety of Institute programs: the WOW! gallery, the Hudson River bookstore and gift shop, its administrative headquarters, and a new venture, Sensor Place. Events feature talks by artists and regional Hudson Valley authors.
Special for Second Saturday: The River, pastels from Croton-on-Hudson artist Evan Turk continues in the Main Street gallery. Turk created the series of more than 150 pastel paintings in the span of an entire year, through all four seasons, reflecting on continuity, impermanence, and change. See his website for more information. On view through March.
Hours: Friday and Saturday, 3 to 7 pm; Sunday, noon to 4 pm

TheoGanz Studio
4 DeWindt St.
Beacon, NY
(917) 318-2239
New this month: Welcome the brilliant curating work of TheoGanz Studio back to our gallery opening roundup. Eleni Smolen is pleased to present Stonecuts from Cape Dorset. Stonecut printing is unique to the Canadian Arctic. The techniques were borrowed from the Japanese practice of woodblock printing. Instead of wood, the printmakers of Canada’s north work with the same indigenous stone used for carving sculptures. Additionally, several lithographs and etchings will be on view. If you were a fan during the Main Street days, make sure you note the new location for the gallery!
Hours: Friday, February 14 from 4 to 7 pm, as well as by appointment: Contact Eleni Smolen at theoganzstudio@tds.net or (917) 318-2239.

THE MIDDLE & MARKET SQUARE

Howland Public Library
313 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 831-1134
Special for Second Saturday: The Southern Dutchess NAACP Black History Month exhibit returns. In celebration of Black History Month, the HPL will be exhibiting historical memorabilia in the library’s Community Room during the month of February. Organized by Barbara McCaskill, local resident and NAACP member, the display features historical items from the personal collections of NAACP members including original art, prints, photographs, political posters and historical ephemera. The Beacon Historical Society is also contributing information to the exhibit about some of the historical figures featured in the exhibit and their connection to Beacon, NY. Please join us Saturday in the Community Room. The exhibit will be on view through Sunday, March 1.
Hours: The Community Room is open during regular library hours; reception with light refreshments will be held on Second Saturday, February 8, from 1 to 3:30 pm.

Big Mouth Coffee Roasters
387 Main St.
Beacon, NY
Special for Second Saturday: In her first show in Beacon, Dutchess/Westchester native Aaren Vittoria Connolly will be exhibiting paintings, drawings, and multimedia installations (she works with stained glass, ceramics and string!).
Hours: Call for hours.

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. 
Hours: Call for hours and events

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. 
Special for Second Saturday: No. 3 Reading Room and Photo Book Works’ director Paulette Myers-Rich has done it again, spotlighting an artist whose work might otherwise be unimaginable to many of us. In this case, the gallery is devoting the next two months to Rosaire Appel’s Reach, a selection of drawings and artist’s books. In Paulette’s words, “Her prolific and imaginative works encompass the acts of listening, seeing and notating sensory experiences, translated into untranslatable pages that defy conventional reading. Appel is a well-known and respected practitioner of Asemic writing, which, simply put, is ‘writing’ or a script that has no discernable content or meaning, which is left to the viewer to determine.” Paulette explains the significance further: “Despite being open to its viewer’s interpretation, Rosaire Appel has concrete and specific sources for the generative aspect of her work. But once completed, it is free to be interpreted by anyone who wants to take the time to respond. There will be many of Rosaire’s artist’s books on view and available for purchase, as well as rare and unique works that can be viewed up on request.” To give even more context to Rosaire’s work, the gallery will also have on display reference works on Asemic writing and books by various practitioners of this form. Through Sunday, March 29.
Ongoing at the Reading Room: Poetry, photography and artists' books published by small and independent presses, including Hudson Valley writers and artists, are always available for browsing and for sale. “There are always books about poetry, book arts and photography that are not for sale or circulation, but are available for anyone who wants to take the time to read,” Paulette adds. “You’re always welcome to do so.”
Hours: Saturdays and Sunday, noon to 6 pm and by appointment; Second Saturday opening reception with the artist, 5 to 8 pm

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.
Special for Second Saturday: The Howland Cultural Center presents its 26th annual celebration of African American History Month, featuring African American artists of the Hudson Valley. Painting and mixed media works from so many talents, including Jean Benoit, Ronald E. Brown, Rhonda Green-Phillips, Arnold Hayes, Ondie Thomas James, Richard Outlaw, Symantha Outlaw, Oliver Spearman, Gina Waters, Donald Whitely and Rochleigh Wholfe. Through Saturday, February 29. (The Gallery will be closed on Sunday, February 16, for the Howland Chamber Music Circle's presentation of noted pianist Zoltan Fejervari at 4 pm.)
Hours: Friday to Monday, 1 to 5 pm

Maria Lago Studio 502
502 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 765-8421
Special for Second Saturday: You know Maria Lago for her looming, evocative, larger-than-life sculptures. Her latest work, though, returns to hypertextured painting with Ideograph Materica. The series is inspired by prehistoric cave drawings and archetypal images. The surfaces of the paintings resemble the walls of a cave and are inscribed with words and symbols. “Working spontaneously, I combine images from the past and present to create my own symbolic language. I am attempting to interpret my personal experience within a common visual code,” Lago says.
Hours: Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm; Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm; Second Saturday reception, 6 to 8 pm

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.
Special for Second Saturday: On first glance, the contents of the Main Gallery this month may be overwhelming, but that’s only fair when you take a look at the vastness of talent that’s been nurtured over the years by this space on Beacon’s East End. TIME, curated by Elizabeth Heskin, considers the continuum of experience in which events pass from future to present to past. How does one experience TIME? A particular occasion, a good time, a bad time, history, events of the day, visionary future, an instance of something happening or being done, mark making, measuring, movement… With nearly three dozen artists included in this open-call juried exhibition, you’re sure to find some fresh styles to ponder. Through Sunday, March 8.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 pm; Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm

BEACON near Route 52

Industrial Arts Brewing Company
511 Fishkill Ave.
Beacon, NY
Continuing for Second Saturday: Industrial Arts Brewing Co. keeps pushing the boundaries of what we expect when visiting a brewery. First, they scored a resident food truck with Eat Church. Now, there’s art up on the walls. Industrial Arts welcomes Casey Inch, who was born in Brooklyn and raised in Connecticut. He went out to Colorado to earn his BFA in Painting, then in 2007 he moved to Brooklyn to deepen his painting and drawing studies pursuing an MFA at Pratt Institute. Inch exhibits his work nationally, and continues to work in his Brooklyn studio. Through Sunday, April 5.
Hours: Call for hours