Join experts for a series of dialogues on paintings from OLANA’s collection that are worth a closer look. During this program, Dr. Rosanna Flouty will lead a discussion centered on two of Church’s Catskill paintings illuminating dynamics of territorial power. Using deep looking and a short, hands-on activity, participants will examine how Church’s works serve as lenses for interrogating colonial histories and the reclamation of landscape. This conversation will catalyze discussions on the power of land as a contested site of identity, ownership, and cultural memory.

Dr. Rosanna Flouty is the Director of the Program in Museum Studies at New York University. She has worked in and with museums for three decades, including at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Her work and teaching lie at the intersection of museums, technology, and education.

This program is $15 per person or $10 for members or Columbia/Greene County residents. To become a member, visit OLANA.org/membership. Advanced registration required. Please contact education@olana.org to learn more.

Spend your evening looking up at the cosmos in the spirit of Frederic Church’s celestial-inspired paintings! During this free, drop-in program, learn more about the night sky and when viewable planets and deep-sky objects are visible from Olana State Historic Site. Members of the Mid-Hudson Astronomical Association will project real-time astro-images of galaxies and nebulae inside while Saturn, Jupiter, and other objects will be visible with the aid of additional powerful telescopes outdoors. Special star-tours will be held at 7 PM and 9 PM, where an expert guide will point out the evening’s visible constellations. This program is offered in conjunction with A Closer Look.

Program will be held indoors and outdoors with space available to warm up between outdoor viewing. Light refreshments will be served. FREE; drop-in anytime during the duration of the program. Pre-registration is encouraged to ensure up to date info on viewing conditions. Rain and/or cloud date will be on Saturday, February 1.

Email education@olana.org for more information.

During this virtual conversation, author Debra Bruno will detail her experience unearthing her own family’s connection to an often overlooked and violent part of New York history. When Debra realized that her Dutch ancestors had been some of the most entrenched enslavers during 200 years of slavery in New York, she began the process of telling this story, resulting in a deeply personal and nuanced account of the ways America’s complicated history affects us all. During this program, she will be joined in conversation by Lisa Fludd-Smith of the African American Archive of Columbia County.

Debra Bruno is the author of A Hudson Valley Reckoning: Discovering the Forgotten History of Slaveholding in My Dutch American Family and a lifelong journalist, based in Washington, D.C. Lisa Fludd-Smith is the Deputy Executive Director of the African American Archive of Columbia County which was founded in 2021 to forge a deeper understanding of the lived historical experience of Black people in the Hudson Valley for the benefit of both their descendants and the world at large.

Start your day looking mindfully at works of art in the Sharp Family Gallery. This hour-long morning session will be led by Shirin Mazdeyasna (MA, ATR-BC, LCAT), an Iranian artist and board certified and registered Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, and will include mindfulness practices to deepen your experience of the two artworks on view.

FREE as part of OLANA Third Thursday/Tercer Jueves in connection with A Closer Look. Day-of, please meet outside the front door of the historic house to check-in and register. Space is limited, participation is available on a first-come first-served basis. Email education@olana.org for more information.

Stop by the Wagon House Education Center for free drop-in drawing led by The Olana Partnership teaching artists and educators. Each session focuses on a different artist-quality art material! Use inspiration from your visit to Olana State Historic Site to create your own works of art. 

All materials, refreshments, and drinks will be provided. FREE. Email education@olana.org for more information.

Experience learning, looking closely, and conversation as a family during this series of special museum gallery tours 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. After your tour, extend your day at OLANA and head down to the Wagon House Education Center for a free drop-in program, Art Making in the Afternoon from 1-4 PM.

Designed for families with children ages 3 and up. $15 adults; children under 16 are 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 and warm beverages (coffee, tea, and hot chocolate) provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.

Join experts for a series of dialogues on paintings from OLANA’s collection that are worth a closer look. During each gallery conversation, experts working in fields of science, art education, ecology, and indigenous history will share what they discover within a picture’s frame. During this talk, Justin Wexler of Wild Hudson Valley will lead a discussion focusing on what we can learn by looking more closely at featured elements of cultural exchange. By investigating two works of art, this conversation will probe what we can learn about the relationship between 19th century outdoorsmen and Indigenous Peoples within the paintings’ frames.

Justin Wexler is a life-long resident of the Hudson Valley and has devoted his life to sharing his love for the natural world and for the region’s original inhabitants. He has studied regional Algonquian languages, history and folklore for over two decades, sharing discoveries with scholars and with tribal language departments. He has a BA in History and Anthropology from Marlboro College in Marlboro, VT; a Professional Certificate in Environmental Policy from Bard College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Bard College.

This program is $15 per person or $10 for members or Columbia/Greene County residents. To become a member, visit OLANA.org/membership. Advanced registration required. Please contact education@olana.org to learn more.

Start your day looking mindfully at works of art in the Sharp Family Gallery. This hour-long morning session will be led by three local art therapists and will include mindfulness practices to deepen your experience of one to three artworks on view.

FREE as part of OLANA Third Thursday/Tercer Jueves in connection with A Closer Look. Day-of, please meet outside the front door of the historic house to check-in and register. Space is limited, participation is available on a first-come first-served basis. Email education@olana.org for more information.

Stop by the Wagon House Education Center for free drop-in drawing led by The Olana Partnership teaching artists and educators. Each session focuses on a different artist-quality art material! Use inspiration from your visit to Olana State Historic Site to create your own works of art. 

All materials, refreshments, and drinks will be provided. FREE. Email education@olana.org for more information.

Experience learning, looking closely, and conversation as a family during this series of special museum gallery tours 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. After your tour, extend your day at OLANA and head down to the Wagon House Education Center for a free drop-in program, Art Making in the Afternoon from 1-4 PM.

Designed for families with children ages 3 and up. $15 adults; children under 16 are 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 and warm beverages (coffee, tea, and hot chocolate) provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.

Join experts for a series of dialogues on paintings from OLANA’s collection that are worth a closer look. During each gallery conversation, experts working in fields of science, art education, ecology, and indigenous history will share what they discover within a picture’s frame. Investigate Church’s intimate forest paintings with Marc Wolf, Director of Horticulture and Environmental Stewardship at Mountain Top Arboretum in the Catskills. During this conversation, Marc will explore Church’s ecological eye in three different forest scenes, illuminating the artist’s observations of humanity’s environmental impact.

Marc Wolf is Director of Horticulture and Environmental Stewardship at Mountain Top Arboretum in Tannersville, NY. Marc received his BA from Williams College, is a graduate of New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture and interned at Chanticleer Garden. Marc studied with the noted landscape architect Darrel Morrison and worked as his field assistant on projects at New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and for private clients. As a writer and performer working in theatre, film and television, Marc received OBIE and National Endowment for the Arts Awards, among others.

This program is $15 per person or $10 for members or Columbia/Greene County residents. To become a member, visit OLANA.org/membership. 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 and warm beverages (coffee, tea, and hot chocolate) provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.

The Olana Partnership established the Frederic Church Award to honor individuals who, through their vision, commitment and grasp of creative trends, make extraordinary contributions to American art and culture.

Get your binoculars ready for this special spring migration bird walk at Olana State Historic Site! Join the Alan Devoe Bird Club and The Olana Partnership on an exploration of Olana’s artist-designed landscape and learn more about visiting birds and the species that call this region home during the peak of spring migration. Open to birders of all levels. This program will take place in the landscape along Olana’s historic carriage roads.

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

Image credit: Suzy Allman

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 and warm beverages (coffee, tea, and hot chocolate) provided. FREE. No advanced registration required. Contact education@olana.org or call (518) 751-6938 for more info.