Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory, on view at Olana State Historic Site through October 27, shows how art and the natural world can be a source of reflection, peace, and beauty. Olana is both a family home and an artist’s creation, made up of 250 acres of designed landscape that frame breathtaking views. As you explore Olana State Historic Site’s landscape, listen to Olana’s community members share memories of Olana’s landscape and hear how this place is connected to meaningful recollections, memories of loved ones, and important milestones.
To learn more about the exhibition, visit OLANA.org/AFTERGLOW
Olana’s Free Community Day at Olana State Historic Site, the Third Thursday of every month, organized by The Olana Partnership.
Dia Comunitario Gratuito al Sitio Estatal Histórico Olana cada tercer jueves del mes, organizado por La Asociación Olana.
Join Farmscape Ecology researchers for a walk to experience Olana’s landscape from the perspective of habitats. What are they? Which plants and animals live in them? And how does Frederic Church’s landscape compare to that of the wider region? FREE, meets at the Wagon House Education Center.
Drop by for a special free performance by Brasskill, the Hudson Valley’s Party Brass Band. Listen to lively tunes as you watch the sunset and take in Olana’s famous view. Performance will take place outdoors near the Main House; check in at Olana’s Visitor Center for more information day-of.
Artmaking in the Afternoon
Inspired by your time at Olana? Join The Olana Partnership educators for hands-on artmaking using professional materials and a series of prompts to get your creativity flowing.
Drop in program; FREE. All materials provided. Located in the Wagon House Education Center.
Join artist and yoga practitioner Nkoula Badila for a special yoga workshop. Get centered in Olana’s landscape as you explore movement and mindfulness outdoors. Program will take place along Ridge Road; check in at Olana’s Visitor Center for more information day-of.
Celebrate summer with live music outdoors at Olana. Listen to ANDES MANTA perform the vibrant music of South America and the Andes on traditional instruments such as panpipes and the Andean flute. Performance will take place outdoors near the Main House; check in at Olana’s Visitor Center for more information day-of.
Why do so many turn to farms and gardens in moments of personal, social and ecological turbulence? From about 1861 to 1870, the farm, orchard and garden below Frederic and Isabel Church’s first house at Olana, Cosy Cottage, was a place to ground their daily lives. The landscape they helped shape and tend was their home through moments of Church’s artistic success, travel, the Civil War, and profound personal loss. Today, the once productive farm looks different. A rewilding meadow and honeybee hives stand where there were once peach, cherry and apple trees. During this program, participants will walk through the historic farm, using their senses to tune into the living world of plants and animals. Use sketching and journaling to gather plant impressions and explore who continues to inhabit the farm now. The program will include opportunities for sharing and discussion and will end with seasonal snacks.
Jill Jakimetz has spent the past twenty years engaging in art, literature, ecology, food production and history, and how our ideas about Nature shape the landscapes we live in and the nature of our inner lives. She is a sometimes-farmer, former Fulbright student fellow studying “farming for nature” initiatives and is a certified Forest Therapy Guide. She is a resident of Columbia County and has worked with local initiatives including The Institute for Mindful Agriculture and the Farmscape Ecology Program at Hawthorne Valley.
$15 general; $10 Members; $5 Columbia & Greene County Residents.
Artmaking in the Afternoon
Inspired by your time at Olana? Join The Olana Partnership educators for hands-on artmaking using professional materials and a series of prompts to get your creativity flowing.
Drop in program; FREE. All materials provided. Located in the Wagon House Education Center.
Join The Olana Partnership and Upstate Films at Olana State Historic Site for a movie night under the stars. Director Michel Gondry delivers a sci-fi love story for the ages about memory, ideals, and tenderness. When Joel (Jim Carrey) discovers his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had memories of him erased from her mind, he desperately decides to match the process and have her removed from his memory. But as Joel’s memories progressively disappear, he begins to rediscover his love for Clementine. (dir. Michel Gondry, US, 2004, 108m)
This film is presented as part of Upstate Films’ 2024 Hudson Valley Picture Show and in conjunction with Afterglow: Frederic Church and The Landscape of Memory on view at Olana State Historic Site until October 27.
$14 general admission/$10 members. Register at Upstate Films.
Anne Crowley’s recent series of paintings are in honor of her twin sister who died in 1979. Her memories were triggered by the reflections of the landscape mirrored into the Ashokan Reservoir.
“I have walked around the reservoir in every season, during every kind of weather for over twenty years, one day I suddenly had the sense that I was looking at portraits of Ellen and me in the landscape. It was such a profound and unmistakable connection that I went home and started on a large canvas, the first of what turned into a series of memory reflections that I refer to as The Twinning Series.”
Now join Anne for the opportunity to express your connection to memories through landscape painting in a plein air workshop at Olana. The breathtaking views can help you share and reflect on an important memory of yours. Grab your French easel and oil painting supplies and enjoy this outdoor adventure in art.
This program is offered in collaboration with Woodstock School of Art on occasion of the exhibition Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory. To learn more, visit Olana.org/afterglow.
Workshop registrants who are interested in joining an add-on FREE tour of the exhibition Afterglow Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory can email education@olana.org to learn more!
$74 per student; register at Woodstock School of Art.
Bring a family heirloom, gift from a loved one, or any memorable object to this workshop where students will prepare to express meaning through still-life drawing. Participants will use charcoal to draw on newsprint and Strathmore papers, participating in demos as they work from the objects.
This program is offered in collaboration with The Olana Partnership at Olana State Historic Site on occasion of the exhibition Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory. To learn more, visit Olana.org/afterglow.
Workshop registrants who are interested in joining an add-on FREE tour of the exhibition Afterglow Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory can email education@olana.org to learn more!
$74 per student; register at Woodstock School of Art.
The Art of Impermanence Walk & Workshop
How can nature teach us the art of “letting go” and help us understand impermanence? This nature-based walk and workshop led by ‘Snowy’ Andrea Lajoie will explore growing through grief and loss. Through a series of creative therapeutic practices including mindful nature walking, participants will discover different ways they can leave impressions in an impermanent world. This program will include making cyanotypes with natural materials as a way to more deeply engage with the natural landscape and the art of letting go. This program is offered in conjunction with After Glow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory. All materials provided.
‘Snowy’ Andrea Lajoie (LCSW-R, KMOG) is a practicing therapist who graduated with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Wheelock College at Boston University in 2010. She is a level I certified Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guide (KMOG) and a registered climate-aware therapist with the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America, and runs Wolf Tree Therapy wilderness therapy, working with humans of all ages in diverse settings.
$15 general; $10 Members; $5 Columbia & Greene County Residents.
The Olana Partnership programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
