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.

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 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 the 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 need (another) drink! 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.

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

Second Saturday, September 8: Happy Second Saturday, Beacon! It's the last day to see Windows on Main Street. What else is going on around town? 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 September 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. Many people point to the museum's arrival as a turning point for Beacon's arts-intensive revival. 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.)
Dia's Second Saturdays: Bookend a trip to Main Street with a guided tour at 12:30 or 2 pm of the museum, including François Morellet's light art incorporating 61 neon tubes, Michelle Stuart's revelation of New Jersey's natural hues, Anne Truitt's sculptural abstractions, and the museum's permanent collection of works by Louise Bourgeois, Robert Morris, On Kawara and many more. Recent additions include exhibitions of works by Dorothea Rockburne - working at the intersection of painting, dance, mathematics theory, and "non-art materials" in the late 1960s and early '70s - and Mary Corse, one of few women associated with the Southern California, 1960s, Light and Space art movement. Reservations aren't necessary, but may be made at the admissions desk.
Dia hours: Thursday to Monday, 11 am to 6 pm

Mother Gallery
18 West Main St. #7
Beacon, NY
Special for Second Saturday: Between the Acts, paintings from Delphine Kennelly, Sophie Larrimore, and Ken Tisa that evoke Virginia Woolf's book of the same name. Through Saturday, October 20.
Hours: Thursday to Saturday, noon to 5 pm; Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm

Beacon Popmart
45 Beekman St.
Beacon, NY
Weekends through December: Ron English is kind of a big deal, and he's cool enough to base himself in Beacon. Once in a while, we get a glimpse of the greatness among us. Witness: Beacon Popmart. Colorful creatures and whimsical ideas surround you, in a cheer-inducing, maybe challenging way. Mermaid milk, anyone? Find it at the Popmart. 
Hours: Friday to Sunday, noon to 6 pm  

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
15 South Ave.
Beacon, NY
(845) 831-1369
The church frequently hosts Art in the Sanctuary events on Second Saturday. Past art celebrations have included organ concerts, photography openings, popular music performed in a choral style, knitting sprees, and contemporary, contemplative labyrinth walking. The church is wheelchair accessible. There is ample parking in the rear of the church; enter on Beacon Street. 
Hours: Call for details

THE WEST END
(Close to the train station)

ReMADE
133 Main St.
Beacon, NY
We've seen a lot of changes over the years in the space that is now home to ReMADE. The shop started a Second Saturday tradition of spotlighting a single artist, no practical function necessary for their work. ReMADE fills an entire wall with the work of a single artist.
Hours: 11 am to 6 pm

Catalyst Gallery
137 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 204-3844
The intention of this artist-run space is to create an opportunity for individual artists or groups to show and sell work in a vibrant community that supports the arts.
Special for Second Saturday: New works from Tom Chibbaro and Kathleen Andersen. Through Sunday, September 30.
Hours: Sunday to Thursday, noon to 6 pm; Friday and Saturday, 1 to 9 pm; Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm

TheoGanz Studio
149 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(917) 318-2239
As of May 2018, TheoGanz Studio is leaving this location. According to Eleni Smolen, the gallery - in a different, yet-to-be-determined form, will still be a local source to represent original sculpture and graphics of Inuit artists from Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada. TheoGanz Studio, the little gallery with the big windows in Beacon's west end, was founded by artist Eleni Smolen as a venue for contemporary artists working in all media.
Hours: Call for appointment

Bannerman Island Gallery
150 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 416-8342
This gallery is devoted to showcasing the beauty of Bannerman Island Castle and the Hudson Highlands that surround the former arsenal. Works in the gallery are available for purchase, benefiting the Bannerman Castle Trust's preservation efforts.
Special for Second Saturday: Masters of Landscape Painting, recent paintings by Gary E. Fifer and Joseph Paquet. Through Sunday, November 3. 
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 pm or by appointment

The Inn & Spa at Beacon
151 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 205-2900
Beacon's newest West End destination is ready for the viewing public. (Read our scoop here!) The lobby of The Inn & Spa at Beacon features evocative still-life paintings, etchings, and art jewelry by the acclaimed Anamario Hernández.
Anamario Hernández's paintings blend contemporary and classical techniques and subject matter. Read more about Anamario in our article about the painter.
Ongoing: Anamario Hernández's paintings blend contemporary and classical techniques and subject matter. Read more about Anamario in our article about the painter.
Hours: Call for hours

Marion Royael Gallery
159 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(727) 244-5535
Ongoing: 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. 
In the MR Yard outside, don't miss The Bird's Nest, a site-specific installation.
Hours: Noon to 7 pm (sometimes later)

Hudson Beach Glass / Fovea
162 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 440-0068
This glass studio has been casting functional and sculptural objects for over 20 years - a truly special establishment to have in Beacon. Stop in to find blown-glass objects of all kinds, from lights to bowls to wind chimes. Sometimes on Second Saturday, you can watch them blow glass.
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm; Sunday, 11 am to 6 pm

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: Two ridiculously fun shows open this week: They Came From Planet Rainbow Sparkles II: Glitter In Your Eye and Horrible Adorables. More than four dozen artists are bringing their whimsical wares to take over Clutter aka Planet Rainbow Sparkles. Each artist was assigned a color to work in; they'll be arranged as a rainbow. Are you familiar with the Horrible Adorables? A husband-and-wife duo covers foam forms of animals with scales, resulting in a Noah's Ark of really cute fantastic beasts. Second Saturday openings at Clutter include drinks and treats!  
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.
Hours: Sunday and Monday, noon to 5 pm; Wednesday, noon to 4 pm; Thursday, noon to 5 pm; Friday and Saturday, noon to 6 pm

Dream in Plastic
177 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 632-3383
Dream in Plastic frequently celebrates Second Saturday, adorning the walls of their sweet retail shop with amazing artwork from their friends. Exhibits have included photography, painting, and illustrations from like-minded whimsical geniuses. In the past, DiP has been known to offer cupcakes and coffee at openings!
Hours: 11 am to 7 pm; opening receptions are usually 6 to 9 pm

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: Betsy Jacaruso, a name familiar to Beacon art fans, brings the watercolors of Luminous Waterways to the Beacon Institute. The exhibition celebrates the vibrancy of seasons changing along the Hudson River and in the valley around it. 
Hours: Monday, 1 to 5 pm; Second Saturday, 3 to 9 pm; Sunday, 10 am to 2 pm

THE MIDDLE & MARKET SQUARE

Beahive
291 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 418-3731
A pioneering co-working space in Beacon, and A Little Beacon Blog's neighbor in the historic Telephone Building, Beahive sometimes hosts art openings. 
Special for Second Saturday: Join ambidextrous artist Donna Mikkelsen for a Day of Spontaneous Symmetry! From 3 to 4 pm, the littlest mark-makers (ages 1 to 3) are welcome to draw. From 4 to 5 pm, everyone, all ages, is invited to playfully explore symmetry, movement, and rhythm. Both of those sessions are free, so don't miss out! Come back in the evening for an opening of Donna Mikkelsen's own work, Spontaneous Symmetry, with art on Beahive's walls and happening live, before your eyes.   
Hours: Community drawing, 3 to 5 pm; art opening and performance, 7 to 9 pm

Howland Public Library
313 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 831-1134
Special for Second Saturday: The library is partnering with the revived Spirit of Beacon Day committee, led by Gwenno James, to celebrate our little city with a photo exhibit. More than 50 photos from over three dozen artists grace the library's Community Room. What do you consider central to Beacon's spirit - is it the mountain, the river, the traditions, or the people? Great news: it can be all of these things. Come see them depicted through other people's eyes, in the Howland Public Library's Community (how appropriate!) Room. 
Hours: The Community Room is open during regular library hours; Second Saturday opening reception, 5 to 7 pm

Binnacle Books
321 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 838-6191
Special for Second Saturday: Binnacle Books hosts a book release party, complete with refreshments and record-spinning! All this, to celebrate the arrival of Beacon resident Nate Chinen's Playing Changes, which The Washington Post said is a "terrific book about the shape of contemporary jazz, and right now is a terrific time to read it.”
Hours: Reception, 7 to 9 pm

Oak Vino Wine Bar
389 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 765-2400
Not just a place to kick back with a glass and unwind, Oak Vino is also a great spot to see art. Owner Rinny Patel often has work from local painters on the walls, and occasionally hosts Second Saturday shindigs. 
Special for Second Saturday: This is Windows on Main Street central - and Second Saturday is the final day to see the window displays around town! Join Oak Vino, BeaconArts members, artists, and art enthusiasts for Windows on Main Street! Windows on Main Street is an annual monthlong exhibit that pairs local artists with businesses in Beacon, New York. The monthlong event bridges the gap between art and commerce, as Main Street becomes a gallery space more than a mile long! 
Hours: 3 to 11 pm

Compass Arts
395 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(917) 648-4454
Compass Arts Enrichment Center, in the heart of Beacon right by the Yankee Clipper diner, is a home for creative pursuits for young and old alike. Classes are taught by professionals in a variety of arts fields.
Hours: Call for hours and Second Saturday happenings.

THE EAST END & BEYOND
(Closer to the mountain)

Howling at the Edge of Chaos
428 Main St.
Beacon, NY
Tucked into a sliver of a Main Street storefront is this new shop, run by an artist who shines a spotlight on other artists. Mixed-media artist Valerie J. Mitchell showcases art and goods made by women around the world. 
Hours: Thursday to Saturday, noon to 6 pm; Sunday, 12:30 to 5 pm

Matteawan Gallery
436 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 440-7901
Matteawan Gallery specializes in contemporary art with an emphasis on works on paper by emerging and mid-career artists.
Special for Second Saturday: Eleanor White returns to Matteawan Gallery with It's About Time. In her second solo show at the gallery, Eleanor explores the passing of time in sculpture and drawings. Natural materials, including hair, dandelion fluff, wood ash, and eggshells break out of their place in the daily background to figure prominently as materials, reminding viewers of fragility and the cyclic nature of ... nature. According to gallery owner Karlyn Benson, "White takes ordinary objects and makes them into something wonderful, captivating, and strange, thereby showing the potential of everything around us to change over time." Through Sunday, October 7.
Gallery closing: It's bittersweet that this opening reflects on the passage of time: This will be Matteawan Gallery's final show. Karlyn Benson opened Matteawan Gallery in March 2013 in a small space further east on Main Street. It was a pretty common sight to see familiar faces packed into the gallery and congregating on the sidewalk outside, discussing everything from new puppies (hi, Jack!) to the featured artist who used math and dots to make really neat art that I couldn't wait to share with my math teacher-Renaissance man dad. I (I = Second Saturday writer Catherine, not bloggista extraordinaire Katie) am a total art newbie, and don't always "get" the fancy/important work, but Karlyn's gallery always had pieces by new (to me), interesting artists. Who remembers the baseball card guy? Matteawan will be missed, but keep your eyes peeled for Karlyn's name: "I plan to curate exhibitions under the name Matteawan Projects and to write about art in the Hudson Valley," she says. (Her first article is already up at Chronogram!) 
Hours: Friday to Sunday, noon to 5 pm; Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm

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

Center for Creative Education
464 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 338-7664
According to their website, the mission of the Center for Creative Education (CCE) is to enrich the social and cultural awareness of our youth and community through arts, wellness and education.
Special for Second Saturday: CCE frequently holds art workshops in addition to dance, music, theater, and fitness events.
Hours: Call for event information and hours.

No.3 Reading Room & Photo Book Works
469 Main St. 
Beacon, NY
Right next to the Beacon Theatre, No.3 Reading Room & Photo Book Works is an artist-run venue, featuring select artist’s 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: Donna Turner's kaleidoscopic images graced the windows of Photo Book Works during Windows and Main Street. But that was just dipping a toe in the water. With Pattern, an exhibition of photo compositions by Donna Turner, the storefront/gallery is diving into the deep end. In the gallery, visitors can get up close and examine each photo's tiniest details. Also available will be books by other authors that focus on pattern, whether in nature or manmade environments. Finally, an assemblage of digital videos and experimental film will be viewable. Through Sunday, October 7.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 pm and by appointment; Second Saturday opening reception, noon to 8 pm

TERRESON:BEACON
475 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(914) 772-6570
Jeffrey Terreson's paintings are in the collections of various Fortune 500 companies, as well as the United Nations. His work is inspired by 20th-century post-war masters such as Julian Schnabel, Jasper Johns, Mark Rothko and Joan Snyder. 
Hours: Second Saturday, 10 am to 10 pm; opening reception, 5 to 10 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: To celebrate National Hispanic American Heritage Month, the Howland Cultural Center presents Together: We Celebrate. Eighteen Hispanic American artists from around the Hudson Valley exhibit paintings and more. Read more about one of the artists, Joe Pimentel - put a face to art you've experienced around Beacon. Through Sunday, September 30.
Hours: Friday to Monday, 1 to 5 pm

Maria Lago Studio 502
502 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 765-8421
Maria Lago's super-textural paintings come to life with her larger-than-life sculptures. Her gallery is filled with the looming, evocative figures.
Special for Second Saturday: Her Wanderers have moved on to nearby pastures, making way for new visitors to Studio 502. Come meet Women Warriors, Maria Lago's latest painted additions to her family of haunting, elongated beings.
Hours: Call for hours

bau Gallery
506 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 440-7584
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: In the Main Gallery, Carla Goldberg's Water Under the Bridge. What can an artist come up with from existing materials, rather than hauling Plexiglas to the dump? Carla Goldberg undertook to find out, considering the project's own artistic (not just recyclabe) merits: "The series sets out as a two-part exercise. First is creating works that capture in black and silver something reminiscent of rippling, swirling and flowing patterns in water under the shadow of a bridge," Goldberg says. In the Beacon Room, Factory from Cecilie Beck: a painstaking, evocative recreation (in images and sound) of poking around in the old Tioronda Hat Works, the last of Beacon's factories to stand (and not for long).   
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 pm; Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm

Russell Cusick Gallery
530 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 202-7787
Way down to the East End, right across from the Roundhouse, you'll find Russell Cusick's gallery. He has transmuted photography and painted Hudson Valley vistas, rendering the familiar scenes into hypervivid dreamscapes. But he's also known for turning manhole covers into art. (Yes, really. See for yourself!)
Hours: Call for hours and Second Saturday happenings.

BEACON near Route 52

Ethan Cohen Kunsthalle Beacon (KuBe)
192 Verplanck Ave.
(The old Beacon High School)
Beacon, NY
(845) 765-8270
Kunsthalle Beacon is the official name for what many people refer to as "the artist studios in the old high school." Since 2010, the corridors and classrooms have housed dozens of studios and gallery spaces. Maybe you've visited before, maybe for a Beacon Open Studios jaunt. If you haven't yet checked it out, now's the time!
Hours: Monday, by appointment; Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm

The Lofts at Beacon Gallery
18 Front St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 202-7211
The Lofts at Beacon brought back to life a 19th-century brick mill that once made textiles in the Hudson Valley, located by the Fishkill Creek and situated near the Hudson River in the artists' haven town of Beacon. The Lofts have been completely remodeled into beautiful spaces, providing excellent loft rental units for the working artist.
Hours: Call for hours

Do check out A Little Beacon Blog's constantly updated Pop-Up Shop Guide and the Shopping Guide to help you shop and take advantage of special opportunities and events offered by shops during this exciting day.

Past Second Saturday Guides

• August 2018
• July 2018
• June 2018
• May 2018
• April 2018
• March 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• December 2017
• November 2017
• October 2017
• September 2017
• August 2017
• July 2017
• June 2017
• May 2017
• April 2017
• March 2017
• February 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• September 2016
• August 2016
• July 2016