Join The Olana Partnership for an engaging afternoon exploring the intersections of art and landscape, and architecture at Olana State Historic Site (or Frederic Church’s Olana). Celebrate the completion of the Frederic Church Center for Art & Landscape and the opening of the summer outdoor art exhibition What’s Missing? Artworks in the Olana Landscape. Mark Strieter of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and Kim Yao and Adam Yarinsky of Architecture Research Office join the What’s Missing? artists Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar for a presentation and lively discussion. A reception will follow featuring Neverstill Wines and Churchtown Dairy.

$35 per person/$20 for members of The Olana Partnership. LACES credits provided by NY Upstate ASLA and Victor Stanley. $20 for ASLA members with promo code (email Diane Tirinato and Emily Timber for promo code). Credits are available for non-members for $35 as well. AIA CEU credits have been approved through AIANY.

Support has been generously provided by

Stop by for a chance to learn more about Juneteenth, a federal holiday which celebrates the ending of slavery in the United States. Drop in and explore kid-friendly resources and reflection activities with The Olana Partnership educators all afternoon.

FREE for all ages at the Wagon House Education Center.

Celebrate the beginning of summer by bringing back a bit of winter with a special artist workshop led by the experimental collective Hilma’s Ghost. During this free evening of artist-led ritual and celebration, reflect on the changing of the seasons and explore Ellen Harvey’s Winter in the Summer House, an immersive artwork in Olana’s designed landscape that is on view as part of What’s Missing? Artworks in the Olana Landscape by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar on view through fall 2025. All materials will be provided. FREE; meet outside the Historic House at the top of the site.

Get creative in the kitchen and art studio at Olana State Historic Site! Join The Sylvia Center Chefs and The Olana Partnership educators for a fun, family-friendly program focused on cooking food and making art inspired by Olana’s landscape and history. Try new foods and test new art materials together during this FREE family program! This class focuses on making seasonal Summer Rolls using crunchy veggies and exploring outdoor sculpture in Olana’s historic farm complex. 

For families with children 18 and under (children must be accompanied by an adult). This is the first in a series of three classes – register for one or all three! This program is FREE (suggested donation $12). Registration includes art-making supplies and all ingredients to make lunch. Advance registration required. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 567-2170.

Experience learning, looking closely, and conversation as a family during this series of special museum gallery program at Olana State Historic Site. Each month, The Olana Partnership educators will lead an exploration of two to three works of art on the second floor galleries through family-friendly dialogue and other hands-on activities. Extend your day at OLANA and head down to the Wagon House Education Center for a free drop-in program, Artmaking in the Afternoon from 1-4 PM.

Designed for families with children ages 3 and up. FREE. Advanced registration required. Please contact education@olana.org to learn more.

Inspired by your time at Olana or looking for family-friendly fun? Participate in free, drop-in artmaking  in the Wagon House Education Center from 1-4 PM and learn more about Frederic Church’s artist-designed home and studio on the Hudson. 

This drop-in artmaking program is open to all ages and skill levels; all materials provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.

Join well known regional geologist Dr. Robert Titus for a walk through Olana’s picturesque landscape and explore the ice age history of the Hudson River Valley. Travel back through time and learn how glaciers sculpted Olana’s striking views. Enjoy Robert’s storytelling approach as he explains the origins of Frederic Church’s landscape art and architecture. The two hour walk will cover about 1 1/4 miles of carriage roads. $10 per person/$5 for members. Meet at the main entrance to the Historic House.

During this series of walking tours with outside experts, visitors will explore unseen aspects of Olana’s landscape such as the geologic history of Olana’s landscape, 19th-century land use histories, and the connections between indigenous knowledge and Church’s beloved scenic views. Each walking tour will take place outside in Olana’s landscape for around 45 minutes to one hour and connect to What’s Missing?, an exhibition of site-specific outdoor artworks by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar that respond to missing pieces of Olana’s landscape history. You can learn more about the exhibition here.

Enjoy vibrant mariachi music with Mariachi Citlalli! Experience the sounds of Mexico, a country frequently visited by artist Frederic Church, all against the backdrop of Olana’s breathtaking views. FREE; the performance takes place outside the Historic House. Check in at the Visitor Center for details.

Join Misty Cook, M. S. of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, for a walk through Olana’s landscape to learn more about plant medicines and indigenous knowledge. During this landscape walk, participants will learn from Misty about the history of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans medicines, highlighting the unseen histories contemporary possibilities within Olana’s landscape. $10 per person/$5 for members.

During this series of walking tours with outside experts, visitors will explore unseen aspects of Olana’s landscape such as the geologic history of Olana’s landscape, 19th-century land use histories, and the connections between indigenous knowledge and Church’s beloved scenic views. Each walking tour will take place outside in Olana’s landscape for around 45 minutes to one hour and connect to What’s Missing?, an exhibition of site-specific outdoor artworks by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar that respond to missing pieces of Olana’s landscape history. You can learn more about the exhibition here.

Experience learning, looking closely, and conversation as a family during this series of special museum gallery program at Olana State Historic Site. Each month, The Olana Partnership educators will lead an exploration of two to three works of art on the second floor galleries through family-friendly dialogue and other hands-on activities. Extend your day at OLANA and head down to the Wagon House Education Center for a free drop-in program, Artmaking in the Afternoon from 1-4 PM.

Designed for families with children ages 3 and up. FREE. Advanced registration required. Please contact education@olana.org to learn more.

Inspired by your time at Olana or looking for family-friendly fun? Participate in free, drop-in artmaking  in the Wagon House Education Center from 1-4 PM and learn more about Frederic Church’s artist-designed home and studio on the Hudson. 

This drop-in artmaking program is open to all ages and skill levels; all materials provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.

Join contemporary artist Gabriela Salazar for a walk and conversation around her current installation in Olana’s artist-designed landscape and learn how she was inspired by the site’s historic farm complex. This one-hour walk will take place outdoors near Salazar’s project, A Measure of Comfort (Cake and Cord), which activates the foundations that remain of Olana’s woodshed and icehouse. During this walk, participants will learn more about the artist’s motivation and will walk around 1 mile. $10 per person/$5 for members. Meet at the Wagon House Education Center. 

During this series of walking tours with outside experts, visitors will explore unseen aspects of Olana’s landscape such as the geologic history of Olana’s landscape, 19th-century land use histories, and the connections between indigenous knowledge and Church’s beloved scenic views. Each walking tour will take place outside in Olana’s landscape for around 45 minutes to one hour and connect to What’s Missing?, an exhibition of site-specific outdoor artworks by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar that respond to missing pieces of Olana’s landscape history. You can learn more about the exhibition here.

Join The Olana Partnership and Hudson Area Library at Story Screen Cinema to celebrate the Hudson Film Festival with a free screening of Encanto! 

Encanto tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift from super strength to the power to heal every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family’s last hope.

Get ready to groove! Heard World brings the vibrant sounds of West Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, and beyond to Olana. Enjoy irresistible rhythms from this collective of world music and jazz musicians, all against the backdrop of Olana’s breathtaking views. FREE; the performance takes place outside the Historic House. Check in at the Visitor Center for details.

Experience the energy of Bollywood dancing at Olana State Historic Site with instructor, Arobi Hanif! Learn moves to trendy and iconic Bollywood songs during this fun, beginner-friendly outdoor class at Olana and stick around for a special performance on the East Lawn outside the Historic House. For ages 12 and up; space is limited. Email education@olana.org to learn more.

Join The Olana Partnership and Upstate Films at Olana State Historic Site for a movie night under the stars. Clue (1985) is a comedic mystery and cult classic based on the board game of the same name. When six guests are invited to a mansion for dinner, an unexpected murder leads to a series of twists and turns as they try to solve a madcap mystery! 

This film is presented as part of Upstate Films’ 2025 Hudson Valley Picture Show and in conjunction with What’s Missing? Artworks in the Olana Landscape by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar on view at Olana State Historic Site until November 2.

Doors open 7 PM; Film begins at 8 PM. $7 general admission/FREE for kids 12 and under.

Experience learning, looking closely, and conversation as a family during this series of special museum gallery program at Olana State Historic Site. Each month, The Olana Partnership educators will lead an exploration of two to three works of art on the second floor galleries through family-friendly dialogue and other hands-on activities. Extend your day at OLANA and head down to the Wagon House Education Center for a free drop-in program, Artmaking in the Afternoon from 1-4 PM.

Designed for families with children ages 3 and up. FREE. Advanced registration required. Please contact education@olana.org to learn more.

Inspired by your time at Olana or looking for family-friendly fun? Participate in free, drop-in artmaking  in the Wagon House Education Center from 1-4 PM and learn more about Frederic Church’s artist-designed home and studio on the Hudson. 

This drop-in artmaking program is open to all ages and skill levels; all materials provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.

Join us on Labor Day for an exploration through Olana’s artist-designed landscape while keeping eyes and ears open for local birds. Learn more about local bird species, habitats, and behaviors with Dr. William Cook, Professor Emeritus at Columbia-Greene Community College and the Curator of C-GCC’s Natural History Museum and local birder/student, Autumn Hopkins.

FREE. Advanced registration required. For more information, please contact education@olana.org or call (518) 567-2170.

Image credit: Suzy Allman

Take in OLANA’s breathtaking views and learn more about approaching landscape painting en plein air or “outside,” getting inspiration from artist Frederic Church in the process. During this three-part workshop, observe how contemporary painters use plein air techniques developed in the 19th century and experiment with the same approach to create your own finished works of art. Each day, expert art educator Shawn Dell Joyce will teach from a new view at Olana State Historic Site, using Church’s paintings and sketches as points of reference. This workshop will focus on making sketches, matching color to values, and painting finished plein air painting of the observed outdoor scenes.

Shawn Dell Joyce is a Florida-based plein air painter and founder of the Wallkill River School of Art based in Orange County, NY. As a skilled teacher, she has had a tremendous impact on the art community nationwide, teaching workshops in pastel and plein air techniques across the country. Her work has been featured in publications from the Tampa Bay Magazine to The New York Times, is represented in galleries across the country, and has been widely collected by corporations and families around the world including the Georges Pompidou Museum in France and the Museum of Modern Art in NY.

Participants can sign up for one day of painting or all three workshop days and should bring their own usual paints (any medium) and brushes; additional special tools will be supplied. Advanced registration required; $100 per workshop/$75 for members ($300 for all three sessions/$225 for members).

Please contact education@olana.org or 518-567-2170 to learn more.

Experience the vibrant sounds of South America with Andes Manta! Enjoy live music on traditional instruments like panpipes and Andean flutes, along with captivating dance performances, all against the backdrop of Olana’s breathtaking views. FREE; takes place outside the Historic House. Check in at the Visitor Center for more details.

Join this special free evening performance with The Camphill Hudson Players, Hudson’s own inclusive theater company that creates original productions. During this special performance designed by Jody Brookes, the players will showcase Olana’s landscape, highlighting Olana’s spectacular views and the beauty of the Hudson River. This performance will take place at the recently opened Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape.

Join Greene County Historian Jonathan Palmer for a walk through Olana’s landscape to explore the unseen industrial history of the Hudson River Valley. Learn how families living in and around Olana harvested ice along the Hudson and take in Olana’s striking views with the unique perspective of a regional historian. This walk and conversation will cover about 1 1/4 miles of carriage roads and discuss land use history and industrial impacts on our experience of Olana today. $10 per person/$5 for members. Meet at the main entrance to the Historic House.

During this series of walking tours with outside experts, visitors will explore unseen aspects of Olana’s landscape such as the geologic history of Olana’s landscape, 19th-century land use histories, and the connections between indigenous knowledge and Church’s beloved scenic views. Each walking tour will take place outside in Olana’s landscape for around 45 minutes to one hour and connect to What’s Missing?, an exhibition of site-specific outdoor artworks by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar that respond to missing pieces of Olana’s landscape history. You can learn more about the exhibition here.

Experience learning, looking closely, and conversation as a family during this series of special museum gallery program at Olana State Historic Site. Each month, The Olana Partnership educators will lead an exploration of two to three works of art on the second floor galleries through family-friendly dialogue and other hands-on activities. Extend your day at OLANA and head down to the Wagon House Education Center for a free drop-in program, Artmaking in the Afternoon from 1-4 PM.

Designed for families with children ages 3 and up. FREE. Advanced registration required. Please contact education@olana.org to learn more.

Inspired by your time at Olana or looking for family-friendly fun? Participate in free, drop-in artmaking  in the Wagon House Education Center from 1-4 PM and learn more about Frederic Church’s artist-designed home and studio on the Hudson. 

This drop-in artmaking program is open to all ages and skill levels; all materials provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.

Explore Olana’s landscape in bloom and join famed botanical artist Wendy Hollender for an afternoon drawing workshop. Explore Frederic Church’s designed landscape at Olana State Historic Site and use pencil and watercolor pencils to create realistic drawings of the flora growing in late September. During the class, participants will learn more about botanical illustration, the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, and draw inspiration from the botanical drawings of Church’s daughter Isabel “Downie” Church. $30 per person/$15 for members.

Wendy Hollender is a botanical artist, illustrator, instructor, and author whose internationally recognized career has spanned decades. She is a leading expert in using colored pencils and watercolor pencils to create detailed botanical drawings and paintings.

This program is part of a day of joint programming between The Olana Partnership and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in connection with EMILY COLE: Ceramics, Flora & Contemporary Responses on view at the Thomas Cole Site through November 2. Start your day exploring the exhibition and Emily Cole by purchasing tickets for a special exhibition tour at this link.

Nestled in the rose-red sandstone cliffs and surrounded by the deserts of what is today southern Jordan, the archaeological site of Petra is one of humanities greatest wonders. Hewn from canyon walls, the rock-cut city thrived for centuries as the capital of the ancient Nabataean people. Most often recognized by The Treasury, an enigmatic but stunning structure Frederic Church captured in his 1874 painting, El Khasné, Petra, the city sprawled for miles.

Join Professor Pearce Paul Creasman for a discussion of the ancient travelers who helped bring this enigmatic site to the contemporary world’s attention and an exploration of the recent archaeological work shaping an understanding of Petra’s history and impact. This onsite lecture takes place in the Frederic Church Center for Art & Landscape; refreshments to follow.

Professor Pearce Paul Creasman serves as executive director of the American Center of Research in Amman, Jordan. His research focuses on the heritage, archaeology, and environment of the Middle East and North Africa. With more than 100 publications to his credit, Dr. Creasman has been recognized for his work by several institutions including: the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, as a fellow of The Explorer’s Club, and he was honored as a “Genius” in National Geographic’s 2021 almanac. His most recent excavations are of the Treasury in Petra (Jordan) and the pyramids of Nuri (Sudan), both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Inspired by your time at Olana or looking for family-friendly fun? Participate in free, drop-in artmaking  in the Wagon House Education Center from 1-4 PM and learn more about Frederic Church’s artist-designed home and studio on the Hudson. 

This drop-in artmaking program is open to all ages and skill levels; all materials provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.

Inspired by your time at Olana or looking for family-friendly fun? Participate in free, drop-in artmaking  in the Wagon House Education Center from 1-4 PM and learn more about Frederic Church’s artist-designed home and studio on the Hudson. 

This drop-in artmaking program is open to all ages and skill levels; all materials provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.