Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art (SDMA)

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The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz (The Dorsky) is located at the center of the SUNY New Paltz campus. It is one of the largest museums in the SUNY system, with more than 9,000 square feet of exhibition space distributed over six galleries. Through its collections, exhibitions, and public programs, the Dorsky supports and enriches the academic programs at the college, presents a broad range of world art for study and enjoyment, and serves as a center for Hudson Valley arts and culture. The Dorsky's permanent collection comprises more than 5,000 works of art, with areas of focus that include American Art, with an emphasis on the Hudson Valley and Catskill Regions, 19th, 20th and 21st century photography and metals. A small but excellent "world collection" of art and artifacts dating back to ancient times and representing diverse cultures enhances the museum's exhibitions and educational programs. The Dorsky's temporary exhibition program includes exhibitions drawn from the museum's collection as well as exhibitions, installations, and projects by nationally and internationally recognized artists. Each summer the Museum sponsors thematic exhibitions of work by Hudson Valley artists, featuring works by artists living in the mid-Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountain regions.

BOOKS AS ART AND ARTIST BOOKS 📚How can a book become a work of art?On Sunday, October 18, 2–3:30 p.m., artists Michael O...
10/12/2026

BOOKS AS ART AND ARTIST BOOKS 📚

How can a book become a work of art?

On Sunday, October 18, 2–3:30 p.m., artists Michael Oatman and Buzz Spector, whose practices engage with books as both subject and medium, join Reva Wolf, curator of In Our Time: R. B. Kitaj and Books, for a conversation about Kitaj’s work and Tom Phillips’ A Humument.

📍 Elting Memorial Library
📅 Sunday, October 18
⏰ 2–3:30 p.m.

Presented by Elting Memorial Library in collaboration with The Dorsky Museum and Unison Arts Center.

Registration required/encouraged → link in bio

MUSEUM MIXER 🎨Join us Saturday, October 17 for a guided tour of Jean-Marc Superville Sovak: Open for Unfinished Business...
10/08/2026

MUSEUM MIXER 🎨

Join us Saturday, October 17 for a guided tour of Jean-Marc Superville Sovak: Open for Unfinished Business with artist Jean-Marc Superville Sovak and Esi Lewis, Executive Director of the Margaret Wade-Lewis Center.

The tour will bring the exhibition into conversation with artifacts from the Margaret Wade-Lewis Center collection and overlooked histories of New Paltz.

Free and open to all. No advance registration required.

Presented in partnership with the Margaret Wade-Lewis Center.
📍 The Dorsky Museum
📅 Saturday, October 17
⏰ 3:30–5 p.m.

CURATOR TOUR | October 8, 12–1 pmJoin guest curator Sofia Thiệu D’Amico for a closer look at Jean-Marc Superville Sovak:...
10/01/2026

CURATOR TOUR | October 8, 12–1 pm

Join guest curator Sofia Thiệu D’Amico for a closer look at Jean-Marc Superville Sovak: Open for Unfinished Business.

Explore the ideas and processes behind organizing the exhibition, and discover how the artworks come together to tell a story about Superville Sovak’s practice.

Thursday, October 8
12–1 pm
The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art
SUNY New Paltz

Free and open to the public.

Thank you to the artists, curators, students, supporters, colleagues, friends, and neighbors who joined us Saturday for ...
09/24/2026

Thank you to the artists, curators, students, supporters, colleagues, friends, and neighbors who joined us Saturday for our 25th anniversary celebration and fall opening party.

We’re grateful to everyone who has been part of The Dorsky’s story and excited for what comes next.

CALL FOR ART — DEADLINE EXTENDEDThank you to everyone who submitted to Art at the Edge of Empire: Hudson Valley Artists ...
09/18/2026

CALL FOR ART — DEADLINE EXTENDED

Thank you to everyone who submitted to Art at the Edge of Empire: Hudson Valley Artists 2027. We received an overwhelming response to this year's call!

Due to the volume of submissions, we experienced technical difficulties with our submission platform during the final hours of the original deadline, preventing some artists from completing their applications.

To ensure that everyone who intended to submit has an opportunity to do so, we have extended the deadline to 11:59 p.m. Friday, September 25.

Artists who were unable to complete their submission through the original platform can now submit by email. Updated submission instructions and the application form are available via the link in our bio.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We look forward to seeing your work.

🎉 Join us for The Dorsky’s 25th Anniversary Opening Party!Celebrate 25 years of The Dorsky and the opening of our fall e...
09/15/2026

🎉 Join us for The Dorsky’s 25th Anniversary Opening Party!

Celebrate 25 years of The Dorsky and the opening of our fall exhibitions, including Jean-Marc Superville Sovak: Open for Unfinished Business.

The exhibition brings together more than two decades of Superville Sovak’s work, exploring the intersections of landscape, history, race, and memory.

The evening also celebrates the opening of In Our Time: R. B. Kitaj and Books, featuring Kitaj’s complete 1969–70 portfolio of fifty screenprints.

Saturday, September 19
4–6 pm
The Dorsky Museum of Art
Free and open to all

Come celebrate 25 years of The Dorsky with us.

The deadline is this Friday.Hudson Valley artists: don’t miss your chance to be considered for Hudson Valley Artists 202...
09/08/2026

The deadline is this Friday.

Hudson Valley artists: don’t miss your chance to be considered for Hudson Valley Artists 2027: Art at the Edge of Empire, curated by Kate Steciw.

Submissions are due by midnight, September 11.

See the full call and submission guidelines at the link in our bio.

Jean-Marc Superville Sovak: Open for Unfinished Business opens September 9 at The Dorsky Museum.Bringing newly commissio...
08/13/2026

Jean-Marc Superville Sovak: Open for Unfinished Business opens September 9 at The Dorsky Museum.

Bringing newly commissioned installations and site-specific works into conversation with historical materials and rarely seen loans, the exhibition reconsiders the histories of freedom, labor, and place-making among the Hudson Valley’s early Black communities.

Drawing on more than two decades of practice, Superville Sovak combines contemporary art with archival research, oral histories, and community collaboration to reconsider how the region’s history is told.

On view September 9–December 6, 2026
Opening Reception: September 19, 4–6 pm
The Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz
Free and open to the public

Guest curated by Sofia Thiệu D’Amico.

Image: Jean-Marc Superville Sovak, a-Historical Landscape: Table Rock (Niagara Falls)/Uncle Tom’s Almanack, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.

Call for Art: Hudson Valley Artists 2027Now accepting submissions for Art at the Edge of Empire, the Samuel Dorsky Museu...
08/06/2026

Call for Art: Hudson Valley Artists 2027

Now accepting submissions for Art at the Edge of Empire, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art's annual exhibition of contemporary art by Hudson Valley artists.

Guest curated by Kate Steciw, this year's exhibition invites artists whose work explores what art looks like and how it functions amid rapid technological change, environmental uncertainty, and political upheaval.

🗓️ Deadline: September 11, 2026, at midnight

Apply through the link in our bio:
https://linktr.ee/thedorsky

Final week to see Watts per Lumen.As an object of study, light is hard to see. It fills vast space yet often appears onl...
07/06/2026

Final week to see Watts per Lumen.

As an object of study, light is hard to see. It fills vast space yet often appears only as surface, shadow, or glare. Through painting, photography, neon, sculpture, installation, and mixed media, Watts per Lumen explores the ways we orient ourselves through an interpretation of the energy that light carries.

On view through Sunday, July 12.

📍 The Dorsky Museum of Art, SUNY New Paltz
🕚 Free admission · Wednesday–Sunday · 11 am–5 pm

Address

1 Hawk Drive
New Paltz, NY
12561

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+18452573844

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