Not to be missed is the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art’s New Folk exhibition, Jim Holl’s solo show of paintings and sculptures at Lockwood Gallery, a four-person exhibition of paintings at Green Kill, and works by Judy Pfaff and the three prizewinners of the Midtown Arts District’s first annual group show at the Arts Society of Kingston. All the shows are up through October.
On September 2, Kingston’s Common Council voted 6-2 not to rezone a portion of Montrepose Avenue to allow for high-density development, a precondition for a planned 15-unit apartment development.
Kingston’s art scene has been hit hard by the pandemic. But now a few galleries are once again welcoming visitors and this, along with the return of art workshops and the launch of a couple of noteworthy community art projects, is bringing the scene back to life.
In this summer of shutdowns, there’s been a flicker of life on the Kingston waterfront. ArtPort, an exhibition and cultural activities space that opened in the historic Cornell Steamboat Building last December, re-opened its doors on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in late June (after having closed mid-exhibit, along with the rest of the state, in mid-March). Artworks are arranged on the first and second floors of the cavernous historic building, which was built to maintain the fleet of tugboats that the Cornell Steamboat Company owned and deployed in the Hudson Valley from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century.
Eighteen years ago, Ward Mintz and his partner, Floyd Lattin, bought an 1850s house in Kingston overlooking the Hudson River. Since then, the two have assembled a significant collection of contemporary and historic art, including many works by artists living in Kingston and the region. Mintz is more than a local art patron. He’s contributed significantly to the enrichment of the city’s arts and cultural community.
Ever since Frank Waters arrived in Kingston from New York City eight years ago with his wife and two children, he’s been helping transform the city’s cultural scene and cement its community bonds.
The plan allows businesses to expand their facilities onto the street at certain times, making it easier to fulfill the state’s social-distancing requirements and to compensate for limits on indoor capacity.
“The end goal is to have a comprehensive document that’s an assessment of what’s currently in the city and also hopefully some sort of plan and strategy of what the future of arts and culture should look like.”
Should the Pike Plan, which was constructed in the mid-1970s as a way to revitalize Kingston’s moribund shopping district, be preserved, necessitating more repairs and ongoing maintenance, or should it be taken down? Both options carry significant costs.
Neighbors refer to it as “the pit.” Excavated two years ago, the site of the Irish Cultural Center of the Hudson Valley (ICCHV), at 32 Abeel Street in Kingston’s Rondout, is an eyesore for those who venture up Company Path and has been a safety hazard for the neighboring properties. First proposed in 2011, the 16,000-square-foot structure, which would include a pub, exhibit space, 171-seat theater, and classrooms, is yet to be built.