Upstate Art Weekend at KinoSaito
We are excited to share our participation in the seventh edition of Upstate Art Weekend, June 25-29, 2026! The seventh edition Upstate Art Weekend’s flagship annual event brings together 160 artists, organizations, and audiences across the Hudson Valley and Catskills, inviting exploration of exhibitions, programs, and cultural spaces throughout the region.
25-29 Jun. 2025 | 10am-6pm
Expanded Open Hours for Upstate Art Weekend
KinoSaito and the KinoSaito Coffee Bar will be open for additional hours until 6pm on Thursday, June 25, 2026 and Monday, June 29, 2026 for Upstate Art Weekend and the rest of Summer.
Open Studios
Ari Elefterin and Borinquen Gallo
25 Jun. 2026 | 1-4pm | Free
Join us for open studios with our future Artists in Residence Ari Elefterin and Borinquen Gallo. Peak into their studios and chat with them about their practice.
Pratt Institute
A top-ranked college with opportunities in art, design, architecture, liberal arts and sciences, and information studies, Pratt offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and serves 5,140 students. The Institute’s impact expands beyond its 25-acre residential campus in Brooklyn to cutting-edge facilities throughout the borough, a landmark building and public gallery in Manhattan, as well as an extension campus, PrattMWP College of Art and Design in Utica, New York. Since its founding in 1887, Pratt has prioritized diversity and inclusion, welcoming students from all walks of life while developing and sustaining pathways to more equitable workplaces and careers.
Open Studio
Jungle Bliss: Weave, Connect and Protect
with Borinquen Gallo
25 Jun. 2026 | 1-4pm | Free Drop-in
Join our current Artist in Residence Borinquen Gallo in co-creating a woven forest from repurposed materials.
Jungle Bliss is an immersive installation that recreates a lush forest environment using repurposed debris netting, caution tape, reclaimed plastic bags, and found detritus. The work examines the entanglement of consumer waste with natural ecosystems. From a distance, the installation appears verdant and alive; upon closer inspection, it reveals itself to be composed entirely of synthetic refuse.
Through the collaborative weaving and transformation of discarded materials, Jungle Bliss draws attention to pollution, the proliferation of microplastics, and the environmental challenges facing the Hudson Valley’s forests, including climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive plant species, and introduced pests and pathogens. By inviting participants to weave and build alongside the artist, the project encourages reflection on our relationship to waste, the fragility of local ecosystems, and the urgent need to protect and restore our forests.
Prior knitting weaving or chorchetting knowledge welcomed but not required.
Pratt Institute
A top-ranked college with opportunities in art, design, architecture, liberal arts and sciences, and information studies, Pratt offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and serves 5,140 students. The Institute’s impact expands beyond its 25-acre residential campus in Brooklyn to cutting-edge facilities throughout the borough, a landmark building and public gallery in Manhattan, as well as an extension campus, PrattMWP College of Art and Design in Utica, New York. Since its founding in 1887, Pratt has prioritized diversity and inclusion, welcoming students from all walks of life while developing and sustaining pathways to more equitable workplaces and careers.
Workshop
If You Love Chairs So Much…Why Don’t You BE One?
Instructor: Ari Elefterin
25 Jun. 2026 | 4-6:30pm
$15 | Member discounts* | RSVP Required
In this workshop, you will…do exactly what the title says! Through a series of guided movements and somatic ideation exercises, we will examine the act of sitting—exploring questions of balance, gravity, support, and the body’s capacity to hold, adapt, and generate new possibilities for interaction. We will begin with a mind/body warm-up, followed by a series of somatic ideation exercises. Moving through several rounds of exploration, you will work from using only your body toward incorporating architectural props as you gradually move closer to becoming a “chair.” Along the way, we will embrace a spirit of humorous critique, playfully interrogating the design world’s enduring fascination with the chair as we expand, reimagine, and build our own vocabulary for what a “chair” might actually be.
Designed for dancers and non-dancers alike, the workshop requires no prior movement experience and is not discipline specific. All you need is a willingness to engage with your own embodied knowledge and curiosity. Participants will explore exercises involving giving and receiving weight with one another, making it an especially lovely experience to share with a friend.
What to bring/wear: Ari will have all materials and everything necessary for the workshop. While we aren’t dancing, we will be doing movement & alternating from sitting to standing frequently (and rolling around). Wear clothes you feel comfortable moving in. While it won't be strenuous, it is also a good idea to bring water. For any documentation purposes, please refrain from wearing clothing with any big brand labels.
Please reach out with any accessibility questions if you are concerned about participating. It is important to note that most movements can be adapted to match your skills. There will be two yoga mats available for resting under knees if needed, and you are welcome to bring knee pads if that is a concern.
This workshop is part of the ongoing body of research on embodied knowledge, somatic ideation, and touch theory from The (Ari) Always Human Research Group, led by artist, industrial designer, and educator Ari Elefterin.
*Discounts for Supporter level members and above apply.
Pratt Institute
A top-ranked college with opportunities in art, design, architecture, liberal arts and sciences, and information studies, Pratt offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and serves 5,140 students. The Institute’s impact expands beyond its 25-acre residential campus in Brooklyn to cutting-edge facilities throughout the borough, a landmark building and public gallery in Manhattan, as well as an extension campus, PrattMWP College of Art and Design in Utica, New York. Since its founding in 1887, Pratt has prioritized diversity and inclusion, welcoming students from all walks of life while developing and sustaining pathways to more equitable workplaces and careers.
Artist Pop-Up
By Mayumi Nakao
Free Drop In Program
26 Jun. 2026 | 11am-1pm
For the 2026 Upstate Art Weekend, KinoSaito is pleased to present an Artist Pop-up store with artist Mayumi Nakao. Mayumi will also offer free face painting on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that capacity is limited for this special activity.
Mayumi is a Japanese-born visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She began painting seriously in 2018, inspired by her experience of moving from Japan, as well as themes of memory and everyday life.
She focuses on children, family scenes, and quiet everyday moments, combining realism with imagination. Her work is about transforming ordinary scenes into images that invite viewers to pause and take a closer look.
She studied oil painting at the Art Students League in New York and has exhibited in New York, Tokyo, and Paris. She has also participated in residencies in Côte d’Ivoire and Venice, which continue to influence her practice.
Workshop
Drawing Portraits
Instructor: Samantha Palmeri
26 Jun. 2026 | 6-8pm
$30 | Member discounts* | RSVP Required
Delve into both your powers of observation, and imagination. This workshop aims to enrich your observational skills, one of the most essential elements of portraiture. Through fun and thoughtful drawing exercises and prompts, students will learn a variety of drawing techniques. Students will experiment with different drafting tools. We will also explore the different approaches to portraiture, and the power of emotion and expression through line and mark making.
All materials provided.
This class is suitable for all ages and abilities.
*Discounts for Supporter level members and above apply.
Workshop
Watercolor Values
Instructor: Lilly Gummerson
27 Jun. 2026 | 11am-1pm
$25 | Member discounts* | RSVP Required
A beginner watercolor class using still-life to explore the ways that watercolor can be used to create values. Participants will experiment by creating different values using more/less water, as well as experimenting using monochromatic and complementary colors to create values.
All materials provided.
This class is suitable for all ages and abilities.
*Discounts for Supporter level members and above apply.
Kikuo Saito, Dime Lake, 2015, Oil on Canvas, 56 x 78 in
Garden Party
2026 Summer Opening Reception
27 Jun. 2026 | 4-7pm
Free | RSVP Required
We have shifted our second exhibition of the season to June—a move that perfectly aligns with Upstate Art Weekend, which has also moved to June this year. This timing makes our upcoming opening reception one of the most significant summer events in our history.
We invite you to join us for the opening of three exceptional exhibitions:
All Day Long
A comprehensive exploration of landscape curated by Katrin Lewinsky and Sarah Greenberg Morse, featuring 12 artists throughout our gallery spaces.Kikuo Saito: Dime Lake
Curated by the Kikuo Saito Studio and Kristin Larkin LoGerfo.Jongil Ma: The Hidden Crown Between Twin Hills, Tiptoeing ……, A Brief Leap
Outdoor Installation
Join our Garden Party with Music Performance: Cello Echoes with Helen Gillet & My Pal Foot Foot.
Music Performance
Cello Echoes with Helen Gillet & My Pal Foot Foot
27 Jun. 2026 | 5pm
Free | RSVP required
Helen Gillet is a singer-songwriter and surrealist-archeologist exploring synthesized sounds, texture, and rhythm using an acoustic cello and her right foot nicknamed My Pal Foot Foot as live looping producer.
Gillet was raised in Belgium, Singapore, Chicago, Wisconsin and has lived in New Orleans for 23 years and counting. Her prolific career has won her awards of Offbeat Best of the Beat, Gambit Big Easy Awards, featured artist at the New Orleans Jazz Museum and has been nominated three times as a rising star in Downbeat Magazine's Critics Poll. She has played, recorded with many musicians over the past 20 years, including members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, AACM (Chicago), ICP (Holland), Members of Morphine, Kidd Jordan, Marianne Faithful, Cassandra Wilson, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, Steve Earle, Iron & Wine (North America Tour 2018), Zachary Richard, opened up as a solo artist for Les Claypool at the Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans in 2003 and Jeff Tweedy at Lincoln Center in 2019. She has performed at a variety of festivals and venues worldwide including the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Dark MOFO Festival in Tasmania, Darwin World Music Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival, New Direction Cello Society Festival at Berkeley College of Music, Kennedy Center and at The Big Ears Music Festival in 2024.
Postcard Landscape Workshop
Instructor: Lilly Gummerson
Free Drop In Program
28 Jun. 2026 | 1-4pm
Join us at KinoSaito on Sundays in June for our Postcard Landscape Workshop! Inspired by the works of Kikuo Saito, Kristin Larkin Logerfo, and Dr. Paul Logerfo on display, participants are invited to paint an outdoor scene from imagination, memory, or observation to send to someone they love.
All materials provided.
Kids and families of all abilities are welcome.