August's Second Saturday Openings for Art Galleries in Beacon

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August 2020 continues the return, kind of, of Second Saturday. Eight venues have in-person openings, whether on windows or in very strictly spaced indoors. Clockwise from top right: Nancy Woogen in the Howland Cultural Center’s annual member-artist …

August 2020 continues the return, kind of, of Second Saturday. Eight venues have in-person openings, whether on windows or in very strictly spaced indoors. Clockwise from top right: Nancy Woogen in the Howland Cultural Center’s annual member-artist show; Carla Goldberg’s FIZZ at Bau Gallery; Slippage as Form, works by Edwin Torres in the storefront windows of No.3 Reading Room and Photo Book Works; one of Karl LaLonde’s trees paintings at RiverWinds Gallery, who will close at the end of this month; and a creature from They Came From Planet Rainbow Sparkles at Clutter Gallery, one of three shows opening there.

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It’s Second Saturday, and more galleries around town are tiptoeing into holding in-person events. Last month, five Beacon venues celebrated (re)opening with live indoor events, and this month it looks like we’re up to eight (Dia, Clutter, RiverWinds, Marion Royael, Bau, Howland Cultural Center, Mother, Parts & Labor), as well as the big windows installation at No. 3 Reading Room and Photo Book Works. If you do head out to Main Street, please, please follow each gallery’s rules about masks and distancing.

While galleries were closed, we focused on online exhibitions, social justice/protest art (there’s another protest and evening of action in Beacon), and taking care of the general health of those close to us. But if you plan to keep staying home, local galleries (especially Dia, Mother, and Clutter) are offering lots of digital alternatives to explore. We've got it all covered in Beacon’s most comprehensive Art Gallery Guide.

The biggest news this month is the impending closure of RiverWinds Gallery, Beacon’s longest-running gallery highlighting dozens of Hudson Valley artists over 17 years. See our writeup of the gallery and its backstory in our article here.

This month’s 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, where you’ll find not just rotating exhibits, but cool collections of handmade books that the public is encouraged to peruse. Owner Paulette Myers-Rich has found new veins of creativity, coming up with ways to engage readers and consumers of art via her storefront windows.

While you're out and about doing Second Saturday, stop by our sponsors and support the businesses who support us! You too can become a sponsor at any time.