EYE-CATCHING, EDUCATIONAL AND HANDS-ON ARTS AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCES ABOUND IN NEW YORK STATE THIS SUMMER

NEW YORK, July 14, 2009 – Travelers seeking artistic and cultural experiences often look to Manhattan as a hub for the latest in the art world.  However, New York State tourism () is reminding art enthusiasts and travelers of all kinds that there is artistic beauty to behold beyond the city limits in New York State this summer.
            From the over-sized exhibits at Dia: Beacon that simply wouldn’t fit in New York City, to “the best of the west in the east” at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning or the ArtPark festival in Lewiston featuring vocal artists such as Ani DiFranco and Peter Frampton, the Empire State is ripe with arts and cultural destinations.  Below is a roundup of exhibitions, presentations and collections currently available throughout the state of New York:

Art Park – Lewiston, NY
Celebrating its 35^th anniversary season in 2009, ArtPark’s summer lineup includes headlining acts such as Ani DiFranco, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Chris Isaak, Railroad Earth and Peter Frampton.  Tickets are available by calling 716-754-4375.  For more information, visit www.artpark.net.

The Bridge Music Project – Poughkeepsie, NY
Joseph Bertolozzi’s Bridge Music project recorded the sounds of the Mid Hudson Bridge, a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie. With various mallets to strike the bridge's surfaces, Bertolozzi sampled the sounds into a computer, categorizing them by location and note/sound value and then digitally linking them to music notation software.  As the music was composed, these notation files were used to trigger the sampled sounds upon playback, turning the bridge into a virtual instrument.

Combining elements of music and art, architecture science, engineering and history, The Bridge Music Project provides listening stations on the bridge and in the parks below so visitors can hear the selections on demand.  For more information, visit www.josephbertolozzi.com. 

Corning Museum of Glass – Corning, NY
A survey of one of the largest and finest collections of contemporary studio glass in the United States, Voices of Contemporary Glass (through January 3, 2010) showcases, for the first time, the 21 year collection donated to the Museum in 2006 by Ben W. Heineman, Sr. and his wife, Natalie G. Heineman.  The exhibition displays 240 objects by 87 international artists, and documents the chronology of the American Studio Glass movement, with objects dating from 1969 to 2005. Voices of Contemporary Glass presents the work of several artists over the course of their careers.
For more information, visit www.cmog.org.

Dia: Beacon – Beacon, NY
Dia and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, will inaugurate a series of institutional exchanges with a presentation of works by Antoni Tàpies at Dia: Beacon. This exhibition examines the contribution of this venerable Spanish artist by recontextualizing his work in relation to Dia’s collection of American and German art of the Sixties and Seventies.  For more information, visit www.diabeacon.org.

The Fenimore Arts Center - Cooperstown, NY
Visitors to the Fenimore Art Museum have long enjoyed the extraordinary collections of fine art, folk art, and American Indian Art held by the New York State Historical Association (NYSHA). Less well known are the thousands of historical artifacts in the collections’ storage areas. Bits of Home (through December, 2009) is a new exhibition that is intended to acquaint visitors with these historical collections by featuring a selection of more than 100 artifacts from NYSHA and The Farmers’ Museum’s extensive collections.  As a theme-based gallery, this exhibition allows visitors to explore the design of everything from household textiles to toys and games in a setting evocative of the environment for which they were originally made.  For more information, visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org.

The Gaffer District – Corning, NY

SHINDIG! An “Artrageous” Celebration, July 25-26, 2009

The tree-lined city has over 100 shops, outlets, galleries, museums, restaurants and hot glass studios as well as a collection of remarkably intact late 19th century commercial architecture.  Since 1992, Historic Market Street in Corning has served as a unique backdrop for a juried two-day summer celebration of the arts.  SHINDIG! features a fine arts and crafts show, culinary demonstrations featuring chefs from the Gaffer District, and a local student art contest.  Every Thursday throughout July and August from 7:00-9:00 p.m., a free community concert series is held in Centerway Square featuring the music of local artists.  For more information, visit www.gafferdistrict.com.

Lake Placid Center for the Arts – Lake Placid, NY
Occurring on select Wednesdays in the Lake Placid Center for the Arts Theatre, the 2009 Mirror Lake Inn Young & Fun Arts Series is a mix of free events from comedy and magic to “Behind the Scenes” at the Ballet with a special dance program taking place on Friday, July 31, 2009.  All events are at 10:30 a.m. and are free of charge.  For more information, visit www.lakeplacidarts.org.

The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College – Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Bard Music Festival 2009, August 14-23, 2009
This year, the 20th annual Bard Music Festival takes stock of “Wagner and His World,” with concerts, panels, and other programs exploring the life and times of Richard Wagner. Leon Botstein leads the American Symphony Orchestra and a stellar assemblage of domestic and international musicians in Wagner’s piano, chamber, orchestral and operatic works.  The festival features works by Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Bruckner, and les
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