The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Inc

Public and school programs:january 2024:chiffon thomas presented his work alongside a virtual conversation with dr. Alyssa collins, exploring their shared interest in octavia e. Butler's literary works. The discussion delved into themes of embodiment, the built environment, and speculative modes within both butler's writing and thomas's art.february 2024:chiffon thomas premiered polish, a performance created over the past year, inside his sculptures in the south gallery. The event, which featured an introduction by amy smith-stewart, explored healing and regeneration through choreographed movements, percussive sound, and synchronized lighting. The museum also hosted a virtual conversation between artist yvette mayorga and dr. Meredith martin, focusing on mayorga's maximalist aesthetic and its connection to neo-rococo influences.march 2024:the aldrich hosted its first aldrich after hours, with a curator-led highlights tour of loie hollowell's exhibition, followed by a musical performance by xondra. We also worked with mercy learning center, hosting 30 students for gallery tours and activities related to yvette mayorga and loie hollowell's work. Additionally, we held a sold-out screening and talk-back with artist helena hernmarck, discussing her monumental tapestries for 35 hudson yards.may 2024:loie hollowell returned for a virtual conversation on her current exhibition, joined by amy smith-stewart.june 2024:the second aldrich after hours included a collage workshop with michael cunningham and flat vernacular, a curator-led exhibition tour, and original cocktails inspired by layo bright and elizabeth englander's work. On june 22nd, we presented gossip, a dance performance by alexa west, commissioned by the museum and inspired by loie hollowell's exhibition, with two showings followed by a reception for both alexa west and artist esther ruiz. We also hosted a virtual conversation with layo bright and aindrea emelife, curator at the museum of west african art.july 2024:camp aldrich 2024 ran for three weeks, with 63 students participating, including 23 campers in each of the first two weeks. Teaching artist robert berbst led gallery visits and art-making sessions, and campers created multiple projects inspired by the exhibitions. The program culminated in an art show for family and friends at the end of each week. Additionally, we revived our "getting" contemporary art series, where 20 adult participants analyzed and discussed contemporary works on view. We concluded july with a hybrid artist talk featuring elizabeth englander and eduardo andres alfonso, streamed live from the museum.september 2024:a meditation series inspired by elizabeth englander's sculptures took place in the galleries, with kristen davis, head of brooklyn zen center's boundless mind temple, guiding participants through seated zazen postures.october 2024:we continued our five-year partnership with the ridgefield symphony orchestra, presenting the rso quartet in a sold-out performance inspired by layo bright's exhibition. On october 20th, we hosted a glass mosaic workshop with artist courtney mccloskey and layo bright, where 30 participants learned the basics of mosaic techniques inspired by bright's work.november 2024:fritz horstman, education director at the albers foundation, led a sold-out hands-on workshop exploring color relativity and transparency, connected to josef albers's interaction of color. The opening of the sculpture garden and current exhibitions was celebrated with a free community day, attracting about 500 visitors for tours, family workshops, and a special look at the campus renovation.december 2024:the aldrich co-hosted a book launch for martha diamond's catalogue at skowhegan's nyc office, featuring a conversation with artists nicole wittenberg and ann craven moderated by art critic and curator rob storr. We also offered a curator tour of martha diamond: deep time with amy smith-stewart.ongoing programs:over 1,200 students visited the museum for school tours, including local preschools, scouts, and homeschool groups. The common ground residency continued with artist amanda martinez working with 7th-grade students at side-by-side charter school for a week-long engagement beginning with a museum tour and then in classroom sessions guiding students through an in-depth exploration of her work and process, which led to personalized art projects. On average 115 families join us on third saturdays each month for programming in the studio for storytime and art-making and in the galleries for an all-ages tour. In march, we hosted our first bilingual spanish/english storytime, featuring this house is made of mud - esta casa est hecha de lodo by ken buchanan.the aldrich teen fellows program met for two sessions, focusing on loie hollowell's exhibition and culminating in a field trip to nyc and a final project inspired by hollowell's work. In the fall, teen fellows visited dia beacon and met with their teen program and created a final project inspired by martha diamond: deep time and the a garden of promise and dissent exhibitions, which included a video piece and wall art exploring personal, inner landscapes.access programs:throughout the year, the museum ran monthly accessibility programs for seniors, adults, and children with special needs, including collaboration with the alzheimer's association, ridgefield station, ridgefield housing authority, ridgefield transition program, and waterstone westchester. New programs were developed in partnership with building one community and rvnahealth, supporting immigrant integration and individuals with parkinson's disease.

Museum operations: exhibition and public and school programs require a well-maintained, high-functioning facility to house the exhibitions and provide a place for programs. To accomplish this, funds are used for maintenance, security, capital projects, utilities, depreciation, and operations staffing. The aldrich completed a major capital project in 2024 - the redevelopment of the campus and sculpture garden. The greatly improved outdoor area provides additional opportunity for outdoor exhibitions and a beautiful community space that is open to the public.