Free Arts Day

Thank you to everyone that made Free Arts Day 2012 a huge success. Check back in the Fall for information on Free Arts Day 2013.

To view photos from Free Arts Day 2012 click here.

Free Arts Day is a Westchester holiday season tradition. Each year in early December, arts lovers of all ages are welcomed at cultural sites throughout the county as arts organizations offer free admissions to their museums, arts centers and historical sites while hosting music and dance performances, storytelling performances, and workshops for every taste.

21 Locations | 50 Events | One Day | All Free

Free Arts Day Sponsors:

Community Partners:

Bo ys & Girls Club of
Northern Westchester

City of White Plains
Youth Bureau

El Centro Hispano, Inc.

Family Services of
Westchester

Neighbors Link, Inc.

The Port Chester
Carver Center

Thomas H. Slater
Community Center, Inc.

View all participating locations in our interactive map.

Win an Ipad! Fill out a survey to be eligible to win.

Any Free Arts Day visitor who completes a Free Arts Day site survey will be entered into a drawing for an iPad! Visit many Free Arts Day sites, submit your surveys at each location and increase your chances of winning! The winner will be selected on Monday, December 17.

For a complete list of rules >>> click here

To download a copy of the brochure:

English Version >>> click here Version en Espanol >>> marque aqui

Presenters
	ArtsWestchester Downtown White Plains has a new arts and culture hub! ArtsWestchester houses two beautifully-restored gallery spaces, where each year, up-and-coming local visual and performing artists showcase their talent in exhibitions and performances. Join us for a day of family art workshops! > Family Art Workshop. Jewelry Making with Jill Parry > Family Art Workshop. Bead Making with David Licata > Celebrities: We Remember Them Well > Annual Holiday Boutique
	Blue Door Gallery The Blue Door Artist Association is a non-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing the arts to local communities throughout the tri-state area that are currently undeserved by art programs and exhibitions. We do this through exhibitions, public art projects, workshops, mentoring programs and special events. > Blue Door Gallery Annual Holiday Exhibition > Paper Snowflake Workshop
	Caramoor Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts–a unique Westchester County setting of Italianate architecture and gardens–enriches the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality, mentors young professional musicians, and engages young children through interactive, educational experiences that deepen their relationship to and understanding of music. > Play a Theremin – Visit the Rosen House at Caramoor
	Castle Gallery (College of New Rochelle) Exhibits, lectures, and programs offered by Castle Gallery cut across a variety of interests, including contemporary fine art, applied design, fine craft, and material culture. Castle Gallery is situated in the historic Leland Castle on the main campus of The College of New Rochelle. > Exhibition: Selections from the CNR Kate Canty Creche Collection
	Clay Art Center The Clay Art Center in Port Chester has been putting idle hands to (artistic) work for over 50 years. Sculpting, handbuilding and wheel throwing classes and workshops are just a few ways the center can keep you busy. Check out live demonstrations or take a stab at creating your own handmade pottery on this day! > Clay-Holiday: Annual Holiday Sale > Empty Bowls Workshop. Create a handmade bowl for the a soup kitchens fundraiser > Collaborative Sculpture and Tile Painting
	Eastchester Arts Council with Downtown Music at Grace The Eastchester Arts Council presents classical music & Jazz concerts, Annual Summer Band Concerts, choral music, children’s and family programs, visual arts exhibitions, opera performances, informative lectures, book discussions, and various other cultural arts programs. Downtown Music delights audiences with its beautiful setting and professional weekday and weekend performances consisting of a wide spectrum of musical genres from classical to ethnic music. The mission of Downtown Music is to provide an oasis of art and culture in the heart of White Plains. > Piano Concert featuring Robert DeGaetano
	Greenburgh Arts and Culture Committee Activities include displaying visual art by adults and children in five Town venues; sponsoring an annual intergenerational poetry contest with an annual anthology of winners; the Poetry Caravan, which sends poets into community facilities for readings and workshops; performing arts programs, and a series of Saturday workshops for children who love to write. > Workshop for children: The Poet in You (ages 9-12) > Workshop for Teens: The Poet in You (ages 13-18) > Fantasy and Magic (ages 13-18)
	Historic Hudson Valley History comes alive at four of Historic Hudson Valley’s museum sites this Free Arts Day. Visit the home of Legend of Sleepy Hollow author Washington Irving; help milk a cow at the working farm at Phillipsburg Manor; learn the art of weaving at Van Cortlandt Manor; and more. Visit these beautifully preserved historic sites located in our own backyard! > Union Church of Pocantico Hills, featuring stained glass windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall
	Hudson River Museum Westchester’s oldest and largest museum offers more than a spectacular view overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades. Melding art, history and science, the Hudson River Museum features art galleries, a permanent environmental gallery, year-round public art and science programs and even a planetarium! > Witness: The Arts of Jerry Pinkney Exhibition > Art-Making Workshop:Dollhouse Room > Art-Making Workshop: Origami Projects > Spinning Tops: spinning and swirling dozens of Victorian Tops > Story Circle: Storytelling and reading > Nybelwyck Hall:tour of our eight and a half feet long by five feet high Victorian Dollhouse
	Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art No need to trek into the city for a visit to MoMA when Westchester has its own contemporary art center! View artwork from well-known, as well as emerging artists in the contemporary art world. Check out the latest exhibition, and learn about the New York art scene of the 1980s. > Peekskill Project V: The New Hudson River School > Interactive Art Workshop inspired by Peekskill Project V > Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child Film Screening
	Hudson Valley Writers’ Center Are you are writer? Looking to get your creative juices flowing? Stop by the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center for classes in memoir writing, poetry workshops, readings by established writers and more literary programs. > unFRAMED by Award-winning poet & painter Iyaba Ibo Mandingo
	Jacob Burns Film Center This state-of-the-art theater complex, renovated and expanded in 2001 houses three theaters, each unique in design and perfect for the foreign, independent and documentaries screenings. Are you more interested in creating movies than watching them? Take a class at the center’s fully-equipped Media Arts Lab. > Screening A Christmas Story
	Katonah Museum of Art Take a trip to the northern corner of Westchester and check out one of the most celebrated small museums in the country. The Katonah Museum of Art hosts a variety of shows, lectures, and workshops. It also features the only interactive space in the community where children can explore, interpret, and create art: the Children’s Learning Center. > Exhibition Ice Age to the Digital Age: The 3D Animation of Blue Sky Studios
	Mount Vernon Arts & Culture, Inc. We bring leadership and energy to every part of Mount Vernon’s arts scene supporting and connecting it all. It doesn’t matter where you fit into the arts – Artist, Audience Member, Participant, Venue, Educator or Supporter – we want you to create and experience the arts in every neighborhood in Mount Vernon. > Holiday Gospel Concert
	Neuberger Museum of Art You will find exhibitions from fresh “neu” artists, as well as an amazing collection of African art at the Neuberger Museum at Purchase College. This teaching museum strives to promote arts education and offers several public programs such as Art Sandwiched-In lunchtime art discussions; Family First Saturdays free events; and much more. > Lecture: “Donna Dennis: Coney Night Maze”
	Pelham Art Center Serving not only southern Westchester but also the Bronx, the Pelham Arts Center focuses on providing an arts experience in a community setting. With free visual art exhibitions, performances, readings and more, there is something for every art-lover to enjoy! > Craft-Tastic. Annual Holiday Studio Tour and Sale, featuring fine functional pottery and ceramic sculpture by 35 CAC artists > Diwali, Hindu Festival of Lights: Festival featuring classical Indian dance, henna tattoo application and more
	The Picture House Film fans in Pelham rejoice! The recently restored state-of-the-art film center re-opened to the public earlier this year and will continue to screen independent, international, documentary, and classic cinema for years to come. > The Marriage of Figaro: Mozart’s Eternal Opera Masterpiece on Film
	The Play Group Theatre The Play Group Theatre (PGT) is a nonprofit, educational theatre organization dedicated to providing process-oriented theatre training and diverse performance opportunities to children and teenagers. > Theatre workshop
	The Rye Arts Center The Rye Arts Center is a community-based, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to inspire interest and maximum participation in the arts in Westchester and the surrounding region. We are committed to offering programs that are characterized by artistic tradition, educational value, and a spirit of innovation. > Exhibition: From Where I Stand: Twelve Contemporary Abstract Artists > Docent Tour: From Where I Stand > Family Art Workshop: Abstract Art >”Give Me A Try” Instrument Workshop > Sounds of the Season
	Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College provides a variety of opportunities for members of our local communities to participate in the arts and enjoy the creative work of visiting artists, students and faculty. > My World: Photographs by Lee MacCormick Edwards > Lecture Lee Edwards: Citizen of the World > Figure and Portrait Drawing (children 5-10) > Illustrate a Story (children 12-17) > Creative Thinking: Exploring the Surreal (children 10-17)
	Steffi Nossen School of Dance The Steffi Nossen School of Dance, managed by Dance in Education Fund, offers a wide variety of dance programs for preschoolers through pre-professionals throughout the county. Choreography showcases bring together emerging and established choreographers and local audiences. > Interactive Dance Demonstration
	Westchester Fashion Academy for Children The next Vera Wang or Alexander McQueen may be sketching their first work of art on 6^thfloor of ArtsWestchester’s building in White Plains. The Westchester Fashion Academy for Children features unique programs to train and educate children in various areas of the fashion industry. > Fashion Sketching through Art
	Westchester Ridge Hill Creatively designed to be gracious and magnificent, yet comfortable and charming, Westchester’s Ridge Hill is the ideal environment for shopping, dining, strolling, lounging and enjoying. A captivating village green sets the stage for evening entertainment. Comfortable outdoor furniture and lively fountains offer a sense of both engagement and tranquility to nurture the spirit and prolong the visit. > Holiday Stories: Storytelling with Stuart Nager > Holiday Lights: Art with Kathleen Yacoe Skura
	YCP TheaterWorks & M&M Productions Acting Company, Inc. YCP TheaterWorks’ mission is to provide our audience with diverse, quality theatrical entertainment that nurtures and challenges our actors, directors and production personnel. > Love, Loss and What I Wore