Peekskill Artists Alliance Celebrate 25 Years with Open Studios Weekend
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Artists have always been inspired by rivers, whether it was painters Thomas Cole and Susie Barstow of the Hudson River School or Auguste Renoir’s depictions of the Seine. There is something about natural waterways that sparks creativity.
It’s not surprising that artists have long been drawn to the City of Peekskill on the Hudson River, which led to a burgeoning arts community.
This weekend, the Peekskill Artist Alliance (PAA) will be holding its 25th Open Studios Weekend. About 100 artists in the downtown and surrounding areas will open their studios to the public. The annual event is free and will take place rain or shine.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm for Open Studios Weekend,” said Robin Kline who has been PAA president for the last seven years. “The number of artists participating were about 100 pre-COVID and we are pretty much at that number again.”
The nonprofit organization was preceded by the Valley Artist Association about 30 years ago. That group evolved into the Peekskill Arts Council, which started Open Studios Weekend, and re-incorporated in 2013 as the PAA.
Larry D’Amico, an artist and PAA vice president, said he remembers when he and his wife moved to Peekskill in 1992 and how there were very few artist groups.
“But we did have eight functioning galleries in downtown Peekskill and that number has gone up and down,” D’Amico said. “Today the number of artists here in Peekskill and the different types of artists are steadily growing.”
One significant boost to the artist community was the creation of lofts on South Street and Central Avenue in the downtown about 25 years ago. A few years later more lofts were built on Main Street.
D’Amico said he has been involved in Peekskill’s Business Improvement District (BID), which supports the inaugural Open Studios Weekend financially.
“The BID has always been very supportive. The PAA is a major business in downtown Peekskill and there are a lot of us,” D’Amico noted. “For downtown restaurants, Open Studios Weekend are their best days with about 2,500 people coming to the downtown.”
The Peekskill gazebo at Central Avenue and North Division Street will serve as the weekend’s main information center where visitors can get brochures about the artists, a map of artist studios and restaurant referrals. The downtown walking tour includes the “Off the Beaten Path” exhibition at the Westchester Community College Center for the Digital Arts on Division Street that showcases PAA members who do not have downtown studios.
Studios outside the area include those at the Hat Factory further down North Division Street.
Just down the block from the gazebo at the parking lot across from Bruised Apple Books will be the Tent-Site Gallery where more artists will display their work.
Also celebrating the PAA 25th Open Studios Weekend will be the monthly “First Monday Salon” at the BeanRunner Café on South Division Street and will be held on Tuesday, June 4 from 6 to 8 p.m.
“The First Monday Salon is being held for all those artists who opened their studios for the weekend and couldn’t get to see the work of other artists,” said Peekskill artist Carla Rae Johnson who founded the monthly salon in 2010.
“Artists may bring their actual work or digital images that will be projected on a screen. It’s a nice opportunity for artists to share what they have been working on.”
Peekskill Arts Alliance Open Studios Weekend will be held this Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2 from 12 to 5 p.m. For more information, visit
https://www.peekskillartsalliance.org/os.
Abby is a local journalist who has reported on breaking news for more than 20 years. She currently covers community issues in The Examiner as a full-time reporter and has written for the paper since its inception in 2007. Read more from Abby’s editor-author bio here. Read Abbys’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/ab-lub2019/
