SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY.- The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announced today a grant award totaling $80,000 from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support the recovery of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. Following New York state’s historic investment for the arts, NYSCA has awarded $90 million since spring 2022 to a record number of artists and organizations across the state.
Since the Tang Teaching Museum’s opening exhibition S.O.S.: Scenes of Sound in fall 2000, NYSCA support has bolstered the museum’s ability to support contemporary artists directly and to offer visitors from the Capital Region access to extraordinary exhibitions and programs, all of which are presented free of charge.
The new funding will ensure that the Tang can emerge with its full range of exhibitions and events. In the 2021-22 season, the Tang presented 18 exhibitions, featuring the work of more than 130 artists, including presentations on new and recent work by New York-based artists Lauren Kelley, Laura Ortman, Laura Splan, and Ruby Sky Stiler. In addition to interdisciplinary exhibitions for which the Tang is well known, such as Parallax: Framing the Cosmos that is now on view, the Tang’s gallery presentations include the Opener Series, which focuses on artists early in the careers to introduce them to broader audiences; the Elevator Music Series, which turns the museum’s elevator into an exhibition space for experimental sound and visuals; and curatorial projects organized by Skidmore College faculty and students.
Last year, the Tang offered 145 public events and brought in 45 guest artists. Annual Tang events include Dunkerley Dialogues, which pair artists and professors in conversation; the Whole Grain screening series of experimental films; Family Saturdays intergenerational art-making workshops; Frances Day, the daylong summer open house; Upbeat on the Roof summer outdoor concert series; Tang Guide Tours; Curator’s Tours; artist talks; dance, music, and theatrical performances; and the annual Winter/Miller Lecture, in which a Skidmore student intern at the Tang invites and organizes a talk by a leading artist. This year, it will be Trenton Doyle Hancock on Thursday, March 30, at 6 pm.
Skidmore College President Marc Conner said, “This NYSCA grant will provide crucial support for the Tang Teaching Museum’s contemporary art exhibitions and public programs. We are extremely grateful to NYSCA for this support, which will make artists and their work more accessible and a catalyst for transformative experiences for our students, faculty, staff, and visitors.”
Governor Kathy Hochul said, “As a cultural capital of the world, New York state is strengthened by our expansive coverage of the arts across all 62 counties. This year's historic commitment to the arts sector will spur our continuing recovery from the pandemic and set the course for a stronger future."
NYSCA Executive Director Mara Manus said, “We are immensely grateful to Governor Hochul and the Legislature for their unprecedented investment of $240 million to support arts organizations across the state. New York State arts organizations such as the Tang Teaching Museum are the cornerstone of our vibrant arts economy. As crucial drivers of our health and vitality, we are grateful to the unwavering dedication of arts workers across the state.”
NYSCA Chair Katherine Nicholls said, “On behalf of the entire Council, I congratulate the Tang Teaching Museum on this grant award. Their creative work provides the benefits of the arts to both their community and all of New York. Arts organizations are essential, leading our tourism economy and fueling sectors such as hospitality, transit, and Main Streets across our state.”
