The Beat

Saturday, January 31, 2-3pm

Staatsburg, N.Y.  (1/15/26) — Not only a fashionable “Queen of Gilded Age High Society,” Ruth Livingston Mills, who lived at Staatsburgh, was also rather athletic and loved to ice skate!  And she was in good company, as her family, friends and servants also enjoyed gliding across the Hudson River near the mansion. Staatsburgh State Historic Site invites children to a Victorian skating party craft program, to make a diorama of their own imagined skating event. …

Hurleyville, NY – The Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre (HPAC) is thrilled to unveil its 2026 Senior Cinema lineup, featuring a curated selection of beloved films and a new, convenient showtime of 1:00 PM. This cherished program, held on the second Thursday of each month, continues to provide seniors in the community with an opportunity to connect, engage, and enjoy a welcoming space for entertainment and socialization.

In Recognition of its Historic 60^th Anniversary Celebrating Art, Nature & Community

Saratoga Springs, NY (January 15, 2026) – Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) launches its 60^th anniversary year with the unveiling of its official 2026 season artwork, marking a milestone moment in the organization’s history and setting the tone for a year of reflection, celebration and forward momentum. Honoring six decades of shared cultural experiences while embracing the vitality of the present day, the artwork will be featured throughout SPAC’s anniversary season across digital platforms, print materials, and campus signage as programming announcements roll out in the months ahead.

To Celebrate Chinese American Historymakers at the Semiquincentennial

New York, N.Y. (January 14, 2026) – In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, MOCA will dedicate 2026 to celebrating the enduring contributions of Chinese Americans. Through special exhibitions, public programs, performances, and storytelling, MOCA will be honoring Chinese American historymakers not included on the official list created for the National Garden of American Heroes in Washington, D.C. The MOCA Luminaries for America250 span historical eras and pursuits, but they are all individuals who are deserving of recognition for upholding and embodying American ideals of equality, fairness, inclusivity, hard work, civility and creativity.

Utica, N.Y. – Don’t miss an exclusive screening of Hidden History Unlocked at the Oneida County History Center, Saturday, January 24, at 2:00 p.m. This captivating new film unveils a rare and haunting glimpse into one of America’s oldest asylums, nestled in the historic town of Utica. Established in 1843, this facility was the first in New York State devoted to the care of the mentally ill during a time when understanding mental health was still in its infancy. The imposing structure, known as "Old Main," stood as a silent witness to countless stories until its doors closed in 1978.

New York, N.Y. (January 14, 2026) — New York City-based new music collective Wet Ink Ensemble presents The Sam Pluta Big Band, a unique grouping of the Wet Ink Ensemble plus an all-star cast of guest performers/improvisers on Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music.

Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes

Major exhibition surveys three decades of artist’s radical ceramics

February 14–July 26, 2026

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (January 13, 2026) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College presents Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes, a major exhibition of approximately fifty works by one of the most influential and inventive sculptors working in ceramics today. On view from February 14 through July 26, 2026, the exhibition spans more than thirty years of Butterly’s practice, from early sculptures dating to the mid-1990s to recent works, offering a rare opportunity to trace the evolution of an artist who has transformed the language of contemporary ceramics.

New exhibition interrogates the implications of being able to see inside the body with works by Barbara Hammer, Ana Mendieta, and more

Astoria, New York (January 13, 2026) — Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) announces Overexposed: Art, Technology, and the Body, a major exhibition organized by Sonia Shechet Epstein, opening to the public on March 14, 2026. Taking its title from a Sylvia Plath poem, Overexposed examines how medical imaging technologies—from X-rays and ultrasounds to MRI, CT scans, and endoscopy—have reshaped how we look at, understand, and control the human body.

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. - The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is honored to take part in a family-friendly community celebration this Friday, January 16, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend. The event will feature student artwork and poetry inspired by this year’s theme: “Love is the greatest force in the universe; it is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos.”…