Thursday, May 7, 5:30-8:30: Open Studios at NY Academy of Art

This is the last chance to meet the 2026 thesis students before they pack up and depart their studios. Explore over 80 MFA studios, meet the artists, and preview the MFA 2026 Thesis Exhibition. Works can be seen now at nyaa.edu/shop. RSVP required for open studio visits

Save the date: May 14, 4-6pm: Reception for 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition. Info

New York Academy of Art, 111 Franklin Street, New York, NY 

May 9, 19, 24, & 26, 12-5 pm: How to Riso Workshops at Pioneer Works

Create your own risograph print in the Media Lab. Join the waitlist for this popular instructional course from Shandaken Projects, where master printmaker Patrick Costello offers in-person, onsite training in risography. Designed especially for artists, How to Riso will teach participants how to work independently on a Risograph 9450—a contemporary model that easily prints high-quality, high-volume reproductions. This is a free course, with 10 participants in each class. 

Participants are welcome to bring an upcoming Riso project or design file to get expert advice and hands-on support throughout the course. How to Riso is best suited for artists with a basic knowledge of Photoshop. Please inquire with any questions about course content or suggested background skills. Sign up here

Pioneer Works, 159 Piioneer Street, Brooklyn, NY Info

Thursday, May 7-Sunday, May 10: Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair

The 2026 LA Art Book Fair begins this week with an Opening Night celebration on Thursday, May 7 from 6–9 PM. The first 500 ticketed guests will receive a limited ticket edition by LA-based artist Amia Yokoyama, along with weekend-long access to the Fair. 

Initiated in 2013, the LA Art Book Fair is a celebration and international gathering for artists’ book publishers to distribute their work, connect with broad audiences, and nurture new and longstanding relationships with publishers and artists. LAABF 2026 returns to ArtCenter with a shared commitment to the educational possibilities of this community event. Signature programs such as the discussion series, The Classroom, and music programming on The Stage, will be accompanied by recent programmatic features like the Reading Room and expanded presentations of books, prints, and ephemera in our Project Spaces.

LA Art Book Fair, ArtCenter College of Design, South Campus, 950 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA Info

Friday, May 8-Sunday, May 10: Ridgewood 2026 Open Studios

The weekend kicks off Friday night, May 8, at Lorimoto Gallery, where an opening exhibition features a single work from each participating artist—a perfect primer for the diverse practices you'll encounter over the next two days. Afterward, the crowd usually migrates to DADA on Myrtle Avenue for beats and cocktails to keep the momentum going.  Art Above by Frank Webster; Art Below by Catherine Lepp

This year, 91 artists are throwing open their doors across the neighborhood. Expect to see everything from sunny abstractions to meticulous woodwork, often in the intimate setting of the artists' own workspaces—where you might even be invited for a beer with the artist. There is too much happening in Bushwick to list here, but following, a few that caught my eye—click for all events: 

Friday, May 8, 10pm-late: Opening Party at DADA, 60-47 Myrtle Avenue

Saturday, May 9, Noon – 4pm at Rosemary’s Playground: Printing Press for the People

Saturday and Sunday, Noon-6pm: Scratch Ceramics Members and Students sale.

Click for a list of artists who are opening their doors. Click for a list of places to eat and drink. Art Above by Frank Webster; Art Below by Catherine Lepp

Continuing through June 21: Hans Rosenström | Out of Silence at Four Freedoms Park

There are not many places left in New York where you can hear yourself think. FDR Four Freedoms State Park on Roosevelt Island is one of them—four acres of granite and grass at the southern tip of the island, where 120 Linden trees stand in two allées that narrow toward an open room overlooking the East River. Louis Kahn designed it in 1973 as a monument to Franklin D. Roosevelt and the four freedoms he laid before Congress in 1941—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. It is also a monument to silence—the kind of silence that is luxury in this city.

The installation, which features 14 speakers among the Linden trees, is inspired by the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and the architecture of the park designed by Louis Kahn, who was also born in Estonia. "I realized that's there's a lot of similarity and overlap in terms of how they approach each of their disciplines; so how Arvo Pärt talks about music, it's very similar to how Louis Kahn talks about architecture," said curator Alina Girshovich. "To be able to just walk into a piece and to enjoy it is what we're trying to do here," she added.

The piece, voiced by  the Estonian vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis, runs around 14 minutes, and it's played on the hour from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day except Tuesday, when the park is closed. Plan your visit by clicking here. The installation continues through June 21. 

Four Freedoms Park, South Point, Roosevelt Island, New York Info/Directions

Save the Date: Friday, May 15, 11am-12:30pm: Plein Air Painting at Mount Vernon Hotel

Peggy will lead another watercolor workshops at the historic Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Built in 1799 as a carriage house, then converted into a "day hotel" in 1826, the Museum transports visitors back to a 19th-century country resort for New Yorkers escaping the hustle and bustle of -the city below 14^th Street.

One of the New York’s great treasures, this stone building sits on land originally owned by Colonel William Stephens Smith, and his wife Abigail Adams Smith, daughter of Founding Father and second President of the United States, John Adams. The garden now has a gorgeous spectrum of greens, along with the azaleas and rhododendrons in bloom, potted flowers, and maybe even the first roses of the season by next week.  

In addition to my watercolor workshops, there is a full menu of events, including wine tastings inside the Hotel and a photo tour of the Garden. This natural light photo tour is designed to highlight the authentic textures of MCHMG’s Federal-period interiors and the peak bloom of its 19th-century-style walled garden, which was the recipient of a 2025 Garden Club of America Zone Historic Preservation Commendation for Zone III. You can see the current lineup of MVHMG events, and sign up for my workshop on Eventbrite

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden, 421 East 61^st Street, between First and York Avenues, New York, NY Info You can see photos of the Hotel and Garden on the MVHMG Instagram @mvhmuseum

Just in from the Home Office

A must for just $35. To have and to hold. Get the American Photography 41 hardcover book celebrating the year's best editorial, advertising, book, promotional, personal and fine art photography at the deep discount of just $35 before they're gone – or before the price goes up. An object of beautiful with the power of the industry's finest. Order here.

Book design by Michael Houtz, Art Director at GQ Magazine.
Front cover photograph by Joe Pugliese.
Back cover photograph by Jen Guyton for National Geographic.
With 369 jury-selected images by over 200 photographers.