Puppet Making for Stop-Motion Animation
2025-08-03 10:00 - 16:00 UTC | Kleinert-James Gallery, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Register here
Ever wanted to bring a creature to life? Take a Sunday and learn how to build a fully-poseable character that you can bring to life through stop-motion animation in this extensive course!
We’ll generate ideas (feel free to show up with one!), make a bendable wire skeleton, add hardware so it can stand on its own, bulk out the body with foam and clay, and give it some character by needle felting on fur and, of course, adding eyes and a mouth
This course uses the products Propoxy 20 and Barge All-Purpose Cement, gloves will be provided and encouraged to be used!
All materials are provided and covered in the cost of the class
JOHN QUINN is a current Byrdcliffe Artist-in-Residence, graduate of Pratt Institute’s 2D Animation program, and a presenting animator in this past year’s Woodstock Film Festival. His work is often experimental and analog – a mix of stop motion and various mediums on paper. A goal outside of his personal practice is to make animation more accessible, which is the idea behind this workshop series. Lately he’s been drawing inspiration from programs like The Electric Company and Schoolhouse Rock and animators Sally Cruikshank and Vince Collins. “‘The magic of animation’ I think turns a lot of people away from the medium, and even though it is kind of magic, anybody can do it – even people that can’t draw”.
Workshop fee: $140 WBG members, $150 not-yet members
Register here
Workshop limited to 6.

Fail Better, a reading of a new play by Bay Zisman
2025-08-10 15:00 - 17:00 | Byrdcliffe Theatre, 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Purchase tickets
Directed by Beth Ryan Troxell
In a modern take of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Fail Better follows a conversation between two stoned buddies as they wait for their endlessly late drug dealer. Throughout their intimate back and forth, the two friends share laughs and secrets as they contemplate the meaning of a life well lived.
Baila Eve ‘Bay’ Zisman was born and raised in the Hudson Valley and has known she wanted to be a writer since before she was capable of the act. A graduate of NYU Tisch’s dramatic writing program, her absurdist work often explores life’s subtleties, magnifying their importance day-to-day. In the summer of 2023, she assisted Sydnie Grosberg Ronga in staging The Lifespan of a Fact, at Rosendale Theatre and is delighted to now work with Round The Bend Theatre.
Tickets: $10 members, $15 not-yet members
Purchase tickets
This performance will take place at the Byrdcliffe Theatre at 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd in Woodstock, NY.

Part of the Round the Bend Theater Company script reading series. The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to collaborate with Round the Bend Theatre Company in presenting a series of new plays. Each selected play will be read by professional actors in front of a live audience with the playwright engaging with the audience at the conclusion of the performance.

Flow: David Van Tiegham Acoustic Collaboration with sculptor Ian Laughlin
2025-08-10 17:00 - 18:00 | Woodstock Spa, 62 Ricks Road, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Join us for a special sonic collaboration with renowned musician David Van Tieghem, together with FLOW, an acoustic sculpture by Ian Laughlin, on Sunday, August 10th at 5 pm (rain date August 17th at 5 pm) at the Woodstock Spa located at 62 Ricks Road, Woodstock, NY 12498. David Van Tieghem is an American composer, percussionist, and sound designer, best known for his philosophy of utilizing any available object as a percussion instrument. Ian Laughlin is an artist whose work is dedicated to exploring injustices and finding solutions to the many challenges facing the planet.
More about past collaborations between these two artists can be viewed here.
This special event is part of S.C.A.P E., the 2025 outdoor biennial sculpture park sponsored by the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild on the meadows and woodlands of the Woodstock Spa. This concert is free and open to the public.
ABOUT DAVID VAN TIEGHEM
David Van Tieghem is an American composer and sound designer known for his philosophy of utilizing any available object as a percussion instrument. In his long career, Van Tieghem has performed and composed for numerous films and productions, as well as collaborating with Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, David Byrne, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, Adrian Belew, Jerry Marotta, John Zorn, Sylvia Bullett, and Happy Traum. Along with many other awards, Van Tieghem was the recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship for Music Composition (2007).
ABOUT IAN LAUGHLIN
Originally from New Zealand, Ian Laughlin is a multi-media eco-artist who was active in New York City’s Lower East Side in the 80s. A resident of the Hudson Valley since 1990, Laughlin has been dedicated to exploring injustices and finding solutions to the many challenges facing the planet through his art installations and acoustic sculptures.
ABOUT S.C.A.P.E.
S.C.A.P.E. – (Sculpture, Community, Arts, Peace, Environment) is an Exhibition of Contemporary Outdoor Sculpture in Woodstock, NY. Curated by Linda Dubilier and Jen Dragon, the 2025 outdoor sculpture installation presents contemporary sculpture set in the Catskill Mountain landscape. The Woodstock Spa, adjacent to the historic Byrdcliffe Colony, hosts this year’s exhibition. S.C.A.P.E. features fourteen artists’ sculptures that explore The Woodstock Spa’s surrounding meadows and woodlands. Participating artists include: Erika deVries, Stuart Farmery, William Greenwood, Wendy Klemperer, Bernard Klevickas, Pascal Knapp, Alex Kveton, Ian Laughlin, Alison McNulty, Eva Melas, Lowell Miller, Portia Munson, Eileen M. Power, Gregory Steel, Suzy Sureck, Stephen Whisler
About the Woodstock Spa
The Woodstock Spa is a day spa that neighbors the historic Byrdcliffe Art Colony in the heart of the Catskill Mountains. With trained practitioners, modern amenities, and beautiful surroundings, the Spa is inspired by nature and art to heal, support, and improve the lives of the community.

"Don Barry: A Quixotic Exploration" free film screening
2025-08-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Byrdcliffe Theatre, 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
DON BARRY is a 94 minute cinematic exploration (in English and Spanish, with subtitles) that seeks to place the first great modern narrative, Don Quixote, into the lives of real people in a real place.
The film introduces the experimental filmmaker Barry Gerson, now in his eighties, as Don Barry, who mixes his own thoughts into the character’s speech, much as Miguel de Cervantes’ hero mingled chivalric quotes with his own ideas. Genda Monter, a young animator, is the Don’s assistant Sanchia. The setting is the Mexican city of Guanajuato during its high season.
Don Barry‘s themes are the same as those in Cervantes’ great novel: mortality, dreams versus accomplishment, and the means by which one retains sanity in a mad world. In addition, dives into the beauty of Gerson’s experimental cinema and his work at taking what he’s learned about light as an inspiration for healing. As well as the beauty of allowing one’s life work to become transformative, and to allow the landscapes we inhabit to provide catharsis for inner growth.
Music is by Karen y Los Remedios and Jiony, two contemporary existential Cumbia artists; the GTO Imp Symph and its talented composers Michael Severens and Alex Applegate; and the late folk-jazz genius John Martyn.
written directed and produced by Paul Smart
Q&A with filmmakers after the screening
Free, donations accepted

The Fugs: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary Year of Their First Concert
2025-08-22 20:00 - 22:00 | Byrdcliffe Barn, 485 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Ed Sanders came up with the idea that became the Fugs in late 1964. He has led the Fugs in the years since, through 58 years of albums and performances. The Fugs have had their current line-up since 1985.
Byrdcliffe is excited to welcome back The Fugs for two performances in celebration of the 60th anniversary of their first concert.

purchase tickets for Friday’s performance
purchase tickets for Saturday’s performance

About the band:
Steven Taylor collaborated on poetry and music works with Allen Ginsberg for 20 years. Other long-time collaborators include Kenward Elmslie, Anne Waldman, Ed Sanders, and Tuli Kupferberg, as well as choreographer Douglas Dunn (Bessie Award nomination for best sound design 2015). He joined the Fugs in 1984. His poems, essays, reviews, and songs have been published via magazines, anthologies, and albums. He holds a PhD in music from Brown University. His book False Prophet: Field Notes from the Punk Underground was published by Welseyan UP in 2003. His most recent publications are Don’t Hide the Madness: William S. Burroughs in Conversation with Allen Ginsberg (Three Rooms Press), and William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Ace Records).
Ed Sanders — founder and singer-songwriter — invents musical instruments such as the Talking Tie and the microtonal Microlyre. One of Sanders recent books, illustrated by Rick Veitch, is Broken Glory, the Final Years of Robert F. Kennedy. Sanders is primarily a poet whose collected poems, Thirsting for Peace in a Raging Century won an American Book Award in 1988. He has written biographies in verse of Charles Olson, Allen Ginsberg, and Anton Chekhov. He is the author of a 9-volume America, a History in Verse, and a investigative history of the Manson group, The Family, which is in print in a number of countries.
Steve Taylor— vocals and guitars — his beautiful voice gives the Fugs outstanding vocal qualities on tunes set to the poems of William Blake and classics such as “Crystal Liaison,” “Slum Goddess,” and “Morning Morning.” Taylor is a professor of writing at Naropa University in Boulder Colorado, and a noted composer who performed with Allen Ginsberg for many years. His string quartet setting to Allen Ginsberg’s poem “White Shroud” is an important 20th century poetry composition.
Coby Batty— drums, percussion and vocals. Coby is a well known musician and song- writer with his own band in Richmond, Virginia. Batty has performed with Don Cherry, John Zorn, Eugene Chadbourne and many others. He has a powerful singing voice, and is a renowned actor in movie and television productions
Scott Petito — bass and keyboards — is a well-known record producer who operates NRS Recording studios in Catskill, NY, where many groups have recorded such as The Band, The Fugs, and a number of others. Petito performs with the singer Leslie Ritter, and with numerous other important musicians. He has developed an outstanding career as a recording artist, producing a sequence of acclaimed records.

The Story of The Fugs First Concert

Right around the time that Tuli and I decided to form a singing group of poets, an idea had formed in my noggin— open a bookstore! I could place my mimeograph machine there, and great poet Allen Ginsberg and I had been discussing forming a Committee to Legalize Marijuana, which I thought could be run from the bookstore. I started looking for a storefront to rent in the Lower East Side. I intended to call it the Peace Eye Bookstore.
I was a new father, had family obligations, and needed to have a source of income beyond weekends at the Times Square cigar store where I worked the late-night shift. I could put my mimeograph machine there, and create a cultural facility and the world’s first mimeo print center as well.
I signed a two-year lease for Peace Eye on November 10, 1964. The first year was $50 a month; which went to $60 for the second year.
There was much group singing among my friends from the peace and Civil Rights movements, and many an acquaintance had a guitar at the ready in their apartments.
I had been inspired by a benefit for the General Strike for Peace at which an unknown singer with a harmonica wired to his face named Bob Dylan had wowed the crowd at the Living Theater on 6th Avenue.
We began rehearsing at the Peace Eye Bookstore. Our afternoon rehearsals at Peace Eye became packed with our friends who wanted to savor our songs. Tuli and I added the musical duo of Steve Weber and Peter Stampfel (also performed The Holy Modal Rounders), so we now had a five-man ensemble.
Our first concert was at the March ’65 opening of Israel Young’s famous Folklore Center at its new location on 6th Avenue and West Third Street in NYC. The night before our first concert, Ken Weaver’s buffalo hide drum was stolen during a break-in at Peace Eye, so for our World Premiere Ken performed with a drum made out of a cardboard Krasdale peach box!!!
– Ed Sanders

The Fugs – Celebrating the 60th Anniversary Year of their First Concert
Byrdcliffe Barn | 485 Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY.
Friday, August 22nd
Saturday, August 23rd
Doors open at 7:30 pm, concert at 8 pm.

TICKETS:
$30/person WBG members
$35/person not-yet-members
$35/person at door
purchase tickets for Friday’s performance
purchase tickets for Saturday’s performance
Questions: 845.679.2079

Byrdcliffe Artists-in-Residence Open Studios - Session 3
2025-08-23 13:00 - 17:00 | Villetta Inn @ Byrdcliffe Colony, 3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
The Artists-in-Residence at the Byrdcliffe welcomes the public to the third of four Summer Open Studios for 2025.
Come celebrate the creative work of our artists-in-residence. With map in hand, meet the artists, see their studios, and experience work in painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, writing, sound, and more, all amidst Byrdcliffe’s historic campus nestled in the Catskill mountains.
For a map of participating artists, location of studios, and performance line up – Go to Villetta Inn (3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way, Woodstock, NY.)
Studios open 1 – 4 pm; readings and performances 4 – 5 pm at Byrdcliffe Theatre. This event is free and open to all!
Come early and step inside White Pines, the original home of Byrdcliffe’s founders Ralph and Jane Whitehead, with Byrdcliffe Historian Henry T. Ford and discover how this 1902 utopian arts and crafts colony began.
Meet on the front porch of White Pines (454 Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY) at noon; suggested donation, $10.

Home

The Fugs: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary Year of Their First Concert
2025-08-23 20:00 - 22:00 | Byrdcliffe Barn, 485 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
The Fugs was one of the leaders of the underground scene of the 1960s and became an important part of the American counterculture of that decade. The group is known for its comedic, even lewd, nature but also earned fame through its persistent anti-Vietnam War sentiment during the 1960s.
Ed Sanders came up with the idea that became the Fugs in late 1964.He has led the Fugs in the years since, through 58 years of albums and performances. The Fugs have had their current line-up since 1985.

Byrdcliffe is excited to welcome back The Fugs for two performances in celebration of the 60th anniversary of their first concert.
purchase tickets for Friday’s performance
purchase tickets for Saturday’s performance

About the band:
Steven Taylor collaborated on poetry and music works with Allen Ginsberg for 20 years. Other long-time collaborators include Kenward Elmslie, Anne Waldman, Ed Sanders, and Tuli Kupferberg, as well as choreographer Douglas Dunn (Bessie Award nomination for best sound design 2015). He joined the Fugs in 1984. His poems, essays, reviews, and songs have been published via magazines, anthologies, and albums. He holds a PhD in music from Brown University. His book False Prophet: Field Notes from the Punk Underground was published by Welseyan UP in 2003. His most recent publications are Don’t Hide the Madness: William S. Burroughs in Conversation with Allen Ginsberg (Three Rooms Press), and William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Ace Records).
Ed Sanders — founder and singer-songwriter — invents musical instruments such as the Talking Tie and the microtonal Microlyre. One of Sanders recent books, illustrated by Rick Veitch, is Broken Glory, the Final Years of Robert F. Kennedy. Sanders is primarily a poet whose collected poems, Thirsting for Peace in a Raging Century won an American Book Award in 1988. He has written biographies in verse of Charles Olson, Allen Ginsberg, and Anton Chekhov. He is the author of a 9-volume America, a History in Verse, and a investigative history of the Manson group, The Family, which is in print in a number of countries.
Steve Taylor— vocals and guitars — his beautiful voice gives the Fugs outstanding vocal qualities on tunes set to the poems of William Blake and classics such as “Crystal Liaison,” “Slum Goddess,” and “Morning Morning.” Taylor is a professor of writing at Naropa University in Boulder Colorado, and a noted composer who performed with Allen Ginsberg for many years. His string quartet setting to Allen Ginsberg’s poem “White Shroud” is an important 20th century poetry composition.
Coby Batty— drums, percussion and vocals. Coby is a well known musician and song- writer with his own band in Richmond, Virginia. Batty has performed with Don Cherry, John Zorn, Eugene Chadbourne and many others. He has a powerful singing voice, and is a renowned actor in movie and television productions
Scott Petito — bass and keyboards — is a well-known record producer who operates NRS Recording studios in Catskill, NY, where many groups have recorded such as The Band, The Fugs, and a number of others. Petito performs with the singer Leslie Ritter, and with numerous other important musicians. He has developed an outstanding career as a recording artist, producing a sequence of acclaimed records.

The Story of The Fugs First Concert

Right around the time that Tuli and I decided to form a singing group of poets, an idea had formed in my noggin— open a bookstore! I could place my mimeograph machine there, and great poet Allen Ginsberg and I had been discussing forming a Committee to Legalize Marijuana, which I thought could be run from the bookstore. I started looking for a storefront to rent in the Lower East Side. I intended to call it the Peace Eye Bookstore.
I was a new father, had family obligations, and needed to have a source of income beyond weekends at the Times Square cigar store where I worked the late-night shift. I could put my mimeograph machine there, and create a cultural facility and the world’s first mimeo print center as well.
I signed a two-year lease for Peace Eye on November 10, 1964. The first year was $50 a month; which went to $60 for the second year.
There was much group singing among my friends from the peace and Civil Rights movements, and many an acquaintance had a guitar at the ready in their apartments.
I had been inspired by a benefit for the General Strike for Peace at which an unknown singer with a harmonica wired to his face named Bob Dylan had wowed the crowd at the Living Theater on 6th Avenue.
We began rehearsing at the Peace Eye Bookstore. Our afternoon rehearsals at Peace Eye became packed with our friends who wanted to savor our songs. Tuli and I added the musical duo of Steve Weber and Peter Stampfel (also performed The Holy Modal Rounders), so we now had a five-man ensemble.
Our first concert was at the March ’65 opening of Israel Young’s famous Folklore Center at its new location on 6th Avenue and West Third Street in NYC. The night before our first concert, Ken Weaver’s buffalo hide drum was stolen during a break-in at Peace Eye, so for our World Premiere Ken performed with a drum made out of a cardboard Krasdale peach box!!!
– Ed Sanders

The Fugs – Celebrating the 60th Anniversary Year of their First Concert
Byrdcliffe Barn | 485 Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY.
Friday, August 22nd
Saturday, August 23rd
Doors open at 7:30 pm, concert at 8 pm.

TICKETS:
$30/person WBG members
$35/person not-yet-members
$35/person at doorpurchase tickets for Friday’s performance
purchase tickets for Saturday’s performance
Questions: 845.679.2079

Nanna, a reading of a new play by David Simpatico
2025-08-24 15:00 - 17:00 | Byrdcliffe Theatre, 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Purchase tickets
Directed by Sydnie Grosberg Ronga
Nanna, an 88 year-old woman comes back from the dead to settle some unresolved issues with her grandson, but along the way, examines her own history of child abuse and her role in the intergenerational pathology of incest. Part sex comedy, part Greek tragedy, Nanna uses black comedy to examine the intimate turmoil of intergenerational incest, and to find a potential escape from the cyclical prison of abuse.
David Simpatico
Career highlights include: the book/stage adaptation of Disney’s High School Musical; The Screams of Kitty Genovese (Jonathan Larson Award; music by Will Todd); Garden of Light, libretto for choral symphony, with composer Aaron Jay Kernis. His musical adaptation of Twelve Angry Men, music and lyrics by Michael Holland, received its world premiere production in June, 2022 at Theater Latte Da in Minneapolis, directed by Peter Rothstein. His grand opera, The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing, with music by Justine F. Chen, received its world premiere at Chicago Opera Theater in March, 2023, also directed by Peter Rothstein. He is currently adapting Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone, with co-bookwriter Darrah Cloud, and composer/lyricist, Michael Holland. He is also working on That Hellbound Train, a new jazz opera with composer Lisa DeSpain, based on the short story by Robert Bloch. His oratorio adaptation of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, with score by Will Todd, received its first production with Opera Holland Park in London, Dec, 2024.
Tickets: $10 members, $15 not-yet members
Purchase tickets
This performance will take place at the Byrdcliffe Theatre at 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd in Woodstock, NY.

Part of the Round the Bend Theater Company script reading series. The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to collaborate with Round the Bend Theatre Company in presenting a series of new plays. Each selected play will be read by professional actors in front of a live audience with the playwright engaging with the audience at the conclusion of the performance.

Women Sculpture Group Walkthrough of SALVAGE STORIES exhibition
2025-08-31 14:00 - 16:00 | Kleinert-James Gallery, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Join us for a gallery walkthrough hosted by the Women Sculptor Group (WSG) in collaboration with the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, of the current exhibition, Salvage Stories: Seven Sculptors, co-curated by Alice Zinnes and Carol Diamond. This special sculpture show features artworks by Eric Banks, Ken Butler, Carol Diamond, Bonny Leibowitz, Shari Mendelson, Shivani Patel, and Mark Van Wagner.
Exhibiting artists Carol Diamond, Shivani Patel, Shari Mendelson, and Eric Banks, will be present to speak about their work, together with co-curator Alice Zinnes as moderator.
Panel Artists: Carol Diamond, Shari Mendelson, Shivani Patel, Eric Banks in conversation with co-curator Alice Zinnes

About Salvage Stories: Seven Sculptors: Seven artists transform the mundane detritus of contemporary society into sculpture that takes on new life from upcycled materials. Curated by Alice Zinnes and Carol Diamond. Exhibition Catalogue.

About the Women Sculptor Group: The Women Sculptor Group is a NY-based organization that supports women sculptors by attending shows, doing walk-throughs, and sponsoring open calls and exhibition events.

Celebrate Byrdcliffe
2025-09-06 16:00 - 18:30 | Byrdcliffe Barn, 485 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Join us for Woodstock Byrdcliffe’s annual celebration and fundraiser, Celebrate Byrdcliffe! Gather with others in the community for a fun-filled afternoon of food, libations, a silent auction, and a live performance by Brian Mitchell.
This year we are honoring Arts Executive, Historic Preservationist and Architectural Enthusiast Benjamin Prosky and artists Portia Munson and Jared Handelsman.

This event will be held at the Byrdcliffe Barn, 485 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY

PRICING –
– Tickets $150 each. ($105 is tax deductible)
Purchase tickets
Your support of Celebrate Byrdcliffe helps ensure that Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild continues to inspire artists, preserves a unique historic arts setting, and contributes to the arts in the Hudson Valley, nationally, and internationally. To pledge additional support:
– SPONSORSHIP –
1). $250 (1 ticket to the event) — $205 is tax deductible
2). $500 (2 tickets to the event) — $410 is tax deductible
3). $1000 (a reserved table for 4) — $820 is tax deductible
Sponsorships of $500+ will have their name or business logos listed on our website and other materials
Unable to attend Celebrate Byrdcliffe? DONATE WHAT YOU WISH
Sponsor an Artist: ARTIST RESIDENCY FELLOWSHIPS

2025 HONOREES

BENJAMIN PROSKY grew up between Brooklyn and Woodstock. A third generation Woodstocker, his family established roots in the village in 1942, drawn then as now to Woodstock’s beauty, culture, and diverse artistic community, which owes so much to the legacy of Byrdcliffe. About 15 years ago Ben had the pleasure of joining the Byrdcliffe board, on which he served for nine years. His time on the board was formative and enriching; further instilling a life-long love of Byrdcliffe and the Woodstock Community. In his professional life, Ben has been fortunate to serve in several leadership roles at prestigious institutions. With a degree in Urban Studies from Vassar College, followed by graduate work in Urban Planning at Columbia University, Prosky has devoted his career to a range of projects dedicated to the promotion and interpretation of architecture and urbanism.
In 2023 Ben was named President of the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation whose mission is to advance education, stewardship and innovation in historic preservation through the support of scholars, educators, curators and crafts people. He has held prior leadership roles at several institutions, serving as Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects New York and the Center for Architecture; as Assistant Dean for Communications at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and Director of Special Events and External Affairs at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. In earlier roles at international museums and cultural institutions, such as the Canadian Center for Architecture in Montreal, Canada, and the Institute français d’architecture in Paris, France, his work focused on developing public educational programs and exhibitions. Like previous generations of his family, Ben divides his time between Woodstock and Brooklyn, along with his husband, Jozef and daughter, Maeve.

PORTIA MUNSON creates maximal installations, sculptures, paintings, and digital prints using a vast accumulation of ready-made products to decipher the latent cultural codes embedded in mass-produced items. The resulting works emphasize the role of consumerism on the formation of identity and the resulting connection between the ongoing struggle for gender equality, reproductive rights, and the dire ecological crisis.
Munson lives and works in Catskill, NY. She holds a BFA from Cooper Union, an MFA from Rutgers University, and studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Her work has been the subject of over twenty solo exhibitions at the Museum of Sex, New York, NY; P·P·O·W, New York, NY; White Columns, New York, NY; MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY; and Art Omi, Ghent, NY, among others. Her public works include Pink Projects with the Art Production Fund, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY; Art in the Terminal, the Albany International Airport, Albany, NY; MTA Arts for Transit, Bryant Park MTA Station, New York, NY; and a permanent Metropolitan Transit Authority installation in Brooklyn, NY. Portia Munson is represented by PPOW gallery in NYC.

JARED HANDELSMAN is a visual artist based in Catskill, New York whose artistic practice of over thirty years includes land based site specific works, found object sculptures, landscape photograms and videos and photographs that explore the nature of light. Jared has made sculptures suspending boulders and slabs of rock over their place in the forest, video and photographs made inside a treehouse camera obscura, photograms with flashlights, car headlights and moonlight and videos and photographs documenting interior solar landscape projections.
Jared was educated at Vassar College, where he received a BA in Philosophy and at Rutgers University, Mason Gross school of Art, receiving an MFA. He also attended Cranbrook Academy of Art. Jared has received fellowships from Yaddo and MacDowell Colonies, from The Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown and from Vassar College.

ABOUT BRIAN MITCHELL

BRIAN MITCHELL has worked with artists such as Levon Helm & The Midnight Ramble Band, Bob Dylan, BB King, Al Green, Dolly Parton, Buster Poindexter, and Allen Toussaint. Mitchell has appeared on five Grammy Award-winning recordings, three with Levon Helm, and one each with BB King and with Les Paul. In 2015, Brian was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. He is known to have versatility on piano, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion, various vintage keyboards and harmonica, plus his distinct vocal stylings. Mitchell believed that music is life music can heal people
Mitchell is a native New Yorker and is a part of Manhattan’s competitive live music scene. Known for kicking out high-energy performances, Mitchell’s music “features a unique blend of gutbucket blues, funky New Orleans style R&B, quirky Latin rhythms, and occasional visits into outer space.”

CELEBRATE BYRDCLIFFE 2025 SPONSORS

The Badner – Falcon Family
Kerrie Buitrago and Oscar Buitrago
Henry T. Ford and Michael Knauth
Sam Freed and Dee Hoty
Douglas C. James Charitable Trust
Suzannah Kellner
Floyd Lattin and Ward Mintz
Katharine L. McKenna
Catherine McNeal
The Prosky Family
Benjamin Prosky and Jozef Sulik
Alice Tisch
Melissa Cowley Wolf of MCW Projects LLC

Sylvia Bullett: Art Songs
2025-09-07 15:00 - 17:00 | Kleinert-James Gallery, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Composer/pianist Sylvia Bullett performs a song cycle of original art songs
purchase tickets for “Sylvia Bullett: Art Songs”
The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to welcome the Hudson Valley’s Sylvia Bullett for an evening of art songs at the Kleinert/James Center for the Arts.
Raised in the Catskills, Sylvia moved to NYC in the 80’s and formed bands playing at CBGB, The Continental Divide, and the Pyramid opening for the Tom Tom Club and the B-52’s. She returned to Woodstock, NY, working at Dreamland Recording Studios and had a running gig at the Joyous Lake while she worked extensively on recording in her home studio.
Over the years, Sylvia has worked and recorded with two members of iconic band “Television” – Fred Smith and Richard Lloyd; Adam Widoff; Dan Hickey; David Van Tieghem; and Cindy Cashdollar among others. She has released five studio albums and is currently working on her sixth. Her latest single, “Love Strong,” was released in June 2025.
Tickets: $20 WBG members | $25 not-yet-members | $25 at door
purchase tickets for “Sylvia Bullett: Art Songs”

"Salvage Stories" Closing reception and Ken Bulter music performance
2025-09-14 14:00 - 17:00 | Kleinert-James Gallery, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
The exhibition,”Salvage Stories | Seven Sculptors”, closes with a reception for the artists and a special musical performance by Ken Butler at the Kleinert/James Center for the Arts on Sunday, September 14, 2025 from 2:00 – 5:00 PM with music from 3:00 – 4:00 PM. This event is free and open to the public.

ABOUT KEN BUTLER
Ken Butler is a musician-artist. Recombining disassociated found objects, he constructs – and often performs on innovative musical instruments, transforming our useless waste into objects of whimsy, joy, and rhythmic musicality.

ABOUT SALVAGE STORIES
Curated by Alice Zinnes and Carol Diamond, Salvage Stories | Seven Sculptors features work by Eric Banks, Ken Butler, Carol Diamond, Bonny Leibowitz, Shari Mendelson, Shivani Patel, and Mark Van Wagner. Each artist transforms the mundane trash of contemporary society into sculpture that brings the long-forgotten stories of human refuse into the poignant personal stories of the artist, and in the process, turns the ashes of our manmade world into poignant works of art.

Opening reception for "Crossing Over | Nancy Azara"
2025-09-20 16:00 - 18:00 | Kleinert-James Gallery, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
CROSSING OVER – an exhibition featuring the sculptures, paintings, and prints of the late feminist artist Nancy Azara (1930-2024), and encaustic paintings by her widow, Darla Bjork. Based in New York City and Woodstock, NY, both artists’ works have been characterized by expressive, gestural use of materials and iconic imagery. Nancy Azara curated numerous exhibitions for Byrdcliffe, including Lily: Loosely Seen (2003), Paths: Real and Imagined (2007), Eccentric Portraits (2011), and HAND/MADE: The Digital Age and The Industrial Revolution (2015). Work will be on exhibit Saturday, September 20, 2025 thru Sunday, October 13, 2025. A public reception will be held on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 4-6 PM.

New Director Welcome and screening of "Worst Possible Illusion: The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz"
2025-09-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Byrdcliffe Theatre, 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
* RSVP for the September 25th event here
* please note that this is a free event, but you must RSVP to attend
If you can’t make the event please consider a donation
For additional information about Vik Muniz click here

Worst Possible Illusion: The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz

Brazilian-born artist Vik Muniz’ work lives at the intersection of Sesame Street and Andy Warhol’s factory. Muniz uses charm, bulldozers, chocolate sauce, and chartered planes to create and explain his celebrated conceptual art.
“…this is the best possible film about a process that is part magic, part laughter…” – Joan Juliet Buck, Vogue Magazine

Byrdcliffe is marking a defining moment as we welcome Anne-Marie Russell as our new Executive Director following a national search. Anne-Marie is widely respected for her dynamic and inclusive arts leadership serving artists, art history and historic preservation, often re-animating historic properties with cultural programming.
We’re thrilled Anne-Marie is joining us at a time of real momentum. Her experience building arts organizations and championing artists is precisely what Byrdcliffe needs as we approach our 125th anniversary.
Please join us as we welcome Anne-Marie to our community on Thursday September 25th where she will present a brief talk and film that shares her experience supporting artists and creative communities.

About Anne-Marie Russell
Anne-Marie has spent the last 20 years in and around the artworld and describes her primary role as “support staff for artists”. As the Inaugural Executive Director of the Sarasota Art Museum in Florida, she led the transformation of a dormant 1926 school into a thriving center for contemporary art, spearheading a $30 million creative campus and building broad community engagement. In Arizona, Russell reimagined MOCA Tucson as its Director and Curator, transforming a landmark William Wilde building into a dynamic cultural space, fostering national recognition for vibrant contemporary art programming.
Her background includes documentary filmmaking, leading arts-technology initiatives, and pioneering graduate art market education. She has produced and directed films on prominent artists including Vik Muniz and Salvatore Scarpitta, co-founded an arts technology company and developed Christie’s M.A. program in connoisseurship. She has curated projects with major artists such as Odili Donald Odita, Sheila Hicks, Daniel Lind Ramos, Carlos Bunga, Janaina Tschäpe, Olivier Mosset, Alex Hay, and Jean Shin—often championing early-career talent. Renowned for her interdisciplinary public programs, she connects artists and thought leaders to inspire communities with fresh perspectives. She is delighted and honored to be joining the Byrdcliffe community.

Open house at Byrdcliffe Colony - Tour Historic White Pines
2025-09-27 12:00 - 13:00 | White Pines @ Byrdcliffe Colony, 454 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Step inside White Pines, the original home of Byrdcliffe’s founders Ralph and Jane Whitehead, with Byrdcliffe Historian Henry T. Ford and discover how this 1902 utopian arts and crafts colony began.
Meet on the front porch of White Pines (454 Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY) at noon; suggested donation, $10.
Afterwards, the Artists-in-Residence at the Byrdcliffe welcomes the public to the fourth of four Summer Open Studios.
Come celebrate the creative work of our artists-in-residence. With map in hand, meet the artists, see their studios, and experience work in painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, writing, sound, and more, all amidst Byrdcliffe’s historic campus nestled in the Catskill mountains.
For a map of participating artists, location of studios, and performance line up – Go to Villetta Inn (3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way, Woodstock, NY.)
Studios open, 1 – 4 pm; readings and performances, 4 – 5 pm at Byrdcliffe Theatre. This event is free and open to all!

Byrdcliffe Artists-in-Residence Open Studios - Session 4
2025-09-27 13:00 - 17:00 | Villetta Inn @ Byrdcliffe Colony, 3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
The Artists-in-Residence at the Byrdcliffe welcomes the public to the fourth of four Summer Open Studios for 2025.
Come celebrate the creative work of our artists-in-residence. With map in hand, meet the artists, see their studios, and experience work in painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, writing, sound, and more, all amidst Byrdcliffe’s historic campus nestled in the Catskill mountains.
For a map of participating artists, location of studios, and performance line up – Go to Villetta Inn (3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way, Woodstock, NY.)
Studios open 1 – 4 pm; readings and performances 4 – 5 pm at Byrdcliffe Theatre. This event is free and open to all!
Come early and step inside White Pines, the original home of Byrdcliffe’s founders Ralph and Jane Whitehead, with Byrdcliffe Historian Henry T. Ford and discover how this 1902 utopian arts and crafts colony began.
Meet on the front porch of White Pines (454 Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY) at noon; suggested donation, $10.

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"Sharing the Space" opening reception
2025-10-25 16:00 - 18:00 | Kleinert-James Gallery, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Hudson Valley contemporary photographers in dialogue with historic Byrdcliffe artists.
Additional information.

Bowls! Bowls! Bowls! – Byrdcliffe Ceramics Studio Pottery Sale
2025-11-08 09:30 - 2025-11-09 15:00 | Byrdcliffe Theatre, 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Mark your calendars today and make plans to join us for the Byrdcliffe Ceramics Studio Pottery sale at the historic Byrdcliffe Theatre in Woodstock, NY.
First Dibs Party: Friday November 7, 2025, 4:30 -8:30
Music, food, drinks and shopping ahead of the sale on Saturday and Sunday
Tickets $40 includes food, drinks and live music
Tickets $15 after 7:00 includes music and drinks
Purchase tickets to the First Dibs Party here
Saturday, November 8, 2025, and Sunday, November 9, 2025, 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Admission to Saturday and Sunday’s event is free
Sponsor our event
Become an event Hero, Angel or sponsor and play an essential role in helping us reach our goal of expanding ceramics classes and workshops at Byrdcliffe. Plus receive priority tickets and early entry to our First Dibs party on Friday.
Hero $500 6 Tickets and priority first dibs entry at 4:00
Angel $250 4 Tickets and priority first dibs entry at 4:00
Patron $150 2 Tickets and priority first dibs entry at 4:00
Become a sponsor of Bowls Bowls Bowls today

Curator Tour: Sharing the Space
2025-11-22 15:00 - 16:00 | Kleinert-James Gallery, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Sharing the Space
Hudson Valley contemporary photographers in dialogue with historic Byrdcliffe artists
Join Guest Curator Anne Arden McDonald and Byrdcliffe Resident Historian Henry T. Ford as they lead a Walk & Talk tour of our latest exhibition.

The Walk & Talk is free, but there is limited space, so please reserve a spot by emailing info@woodstockguild.org with Curator Tour in the subject line.

Since the artist-founders of Byrdcliffe landed in Woodstock in1902, artists have sought refuge in the natural beauty of the Hudson Valley. This exhibition brings together historic landscape paintings from the Byrdcliffe collection, in a dialogue across time with landscape photographs from contemporary photographers, all sharing the space of the Hudson Valley.

"26th Annual 5 by 7 Show"
2025-12-05 17:00 - 19:00 | Kleinert-James Gallery, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Friday 5 December
26th Annual Fundraising Exhibition
Opening reception and preview sale
Be the first to preview and purchase artwork

First Dibs: 4-5 PM entry to sale
Preview: 5-7 PM entry to sale
Purchase advance tickets
Works available to general public at gallery and on-line
Saturday 6 December 12 PM

Join us for a First Dibs and Preview sale in advance of the show’s opening to the general public.
Advance tickets available here. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

The Byrdcliffe 5 by 7 Show is one of Woodstock’s premier events showcasing artists from the Hudson Valley and beyond. 5″ x 7″ sized artworks – of various styles and media – are exhibited anonymously and sold for $150 each. The artist is revealed when the work is purchased.

Jules Shear at the Byrdcliffe Theater
2025-12-06 20:00 - 22:00 | Byrdcliffe Theatre, 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Rd, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Experience an unforgettable evening with Jules Shear at the historic Byrdcliffe Theater!
TICKETS: Purchase tickets
World renowned singer–songwriter, Jules Shear, will take the stage for one night only at the historic Byrdcliffe Theater in Woodstock, NY on Saturday December 6, 2024 at 8:00 pm. From iconic hits such as Cyndi Lauper’s “All Through the Night,” The Bangles’ “If She Knew What She Wants,” to Jules’ own pop hit, “Steady,” Jules Shear’s songwriting has left an indelible mark on the world of music.
In addition to his songwriting and performing, Jules Shear holds a special place in music history as the original host of the groundbreaking series, MTV Unplugged. For the first 13 episodes, Jules set the stage for intimate and raw performances that became a cultural phenomenon.
The historic Byrdcliffe Theater provides the perfect backdrop for this extraordinary evening. Nestled amidst the majestic surroundings of the Byrdcliffe Art Colony, the theater exudes an ambiance that transports you to a bygone era, amplifying the magic of Jules Shear’s music.
photo by Dion Ogust

Concert at the Byrdcliffe Theater
380 Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY
Doors open at 7:30 pm, concert at 8 pm with first-come seating.TICKETS: Purchase tickets
