The Albany Institute of History and Art is offering free and discounted admission on Fridays and Saturdays through the end of August, and there are plenty of new things for visitors to see.
Opening Saturday, July 30, is A Gather of Glass: Selections from the Museum’s Collection. Nycole Kinns, the institute’s marketing coordinator, said the exhibit showcases decorative and functional glassware found in American households over three centuries. Since the exhibit is from the museum’s collection, the pieces all have regional ties, she said.
For example, flasks from Albany Glass Works will be on display, along with Corning cut-glass tableware. Many of the pieces were manufactured in the Northeast, Kinn said.
Slated to run through June of next year, the glass exhibit, which includes a showcase of colored glass, will be in the black cases in the Lansing Gallery.
Also new is the 75th Exhibition by Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region. As the name implies, the exhibition isn’t exactly new, but the works included are. Kinns explained that the institute introduced the exhibition 75 years ago, inviting artists from throughout the region to submit pieces for inclusion. In recent years, the institute has teamed with the museum at the University at Albany and the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, with each hosting the exhibition every three years. This year was the institute’s turn, and it received more than 1,000 entries from artists living within roughly 100 miles of the institute.
`It’s a pretty big thing,` Kinn said.
Holly Hughes, juror and curator of this year’s exhibition, selected 160 works by 85 artists to be included in the show. Kinn said there’s a `very good variety,` including paintings and sculptures. The exhibition opened July 9 and will be displayed until Sept. 11.
In the Rice House Drawing Room, visitors can see `From the Page’s Edge: Water in Literature and Art.` Nineteen paintings hang next to literary excerpts and include statements from the artists, putting a visual twist on literary depictions of water. Virginia Creighton curated the exhibit, which has an accompanying catalogue that’s being sold in the Museum Shop. `From the Page’s Edge` runs through Aug. 28.
The free admission program is being offered to all visitors during regular museum hours, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on July 29 and: Aug. 5, 12, 19 and 26. Buy-one-get-one-free admissions will be offered on the following Saturdays: July 30, Aug. 6, 13, 20 and 27.
`We understand, especially in difficult economic times like these, that not everyone is able to include a visit to the Albany Institute in their entertainment and education budgets,` Executive Director Christine Miles said in a release. `However, economic ability should never be a barrier to learning. That’s why we’re thrilled to offer this opportunity for people who might not otherwise be able to see all that the institute has to offer.`
For more information, call 463-4478 or visit www.albanyinstitute.org.“