This guide is sponsored by Rochester Art Center
This spring, Rochester Art Center invites you to explore art in new and interactive ways, both in the galleries and through its new digital guide on Bloomberg Connects. This free app lets you preview current exhibitions, dive into behind-the-scenes videos and audio stories, and plan your visit with accessibility features like translations, transcripts, and adjustable text. It’s an easy way to explore what’s on view before you arrive and stay connected long after your visit.
On view this season, exhibitions invite reflection, creativity, and community connection. From thought-provoking contemporary works to collaborative and historically rooted installations, each exhibition offers a unique lens on art and its role in our lives.
Spring also brings a full lineup of engaging programs for all ages. Families can celebrate creativity and sustainability during Free Family Day: Earth Day Celebration, featuring hands-on art activities, community partnerships, and student artwork on display. For adults, monthly Figure Drawing sessions offer the chance to sketch from a live model in a welcoming, skill-building environment. The SPARK! program provides meaningful, art-centered experiences for individuals experiencing memory loss and their care partners, fostering connection and self-expression through guided gallery visits and creative activities.
Teens can get involved through Work of eARTh, a club that blends art-making with environmental advocacy, creating a space to connect, create, and take action. Visitors can also explore the Rochester Art Center with a Drop In Tour or head to the Creative Studio for self-guided, hands-on projects inspired by current exhibitions.
EXHIBITIONS | ROCHESTER ART CENTER
The Choreography
ARTIST: Alexandra Beaumont
DATES: March 2026 – March 2027
Rochester Art Center presents The Choreography, a new exhibition by Minneapolis-based textile artist and dancer Alexandra Beaumont. Featuring work from her 2024 series Techniques for Ecstasy alongside a large-scale installation created for the museum’s atrium, the exhibition explores dance floors as spaces of joy, connection, and collective resistance.
Beaumont’s work blends textile and movement, capturing silhouettes of friends and community through layered fabrics, painterly textures, and light-responsive materials. These pieces reflect moments of shared energy and identity, where individual stories merge into something larger. In The Choreography, this idea expands into an immersive installation that honors the power of moving together, both in celebration and in response to moments of social urgency.
Rooted in recent events and collective experience, Beaumont uses dance as a metaphor for unity and action. The work points to the rhythms of protest and the ways communities come together to support one another. At its core, the exhibition is a reminder of art’s ability to connect us, inviting viewers not just to observe, but to feel, reflect, and perhaps even move.
Spirit Trees
CO-CURATORS: Valerie DeCora Guimaraes, Zoe Cinel
ARTISTS:Chanelle Gallagher, Lela Pierce, Stephanie Lindquist
DATES: April 29 – November 15, 2026
Rochester Art Center presents Spirit Trees, a group exhibition inspired by the advocacy of Valerie DeCora Guimaraes and her efforts to raise awareness about the cultural and historical significance of local trees. Featuring three contemporary artists working with natural materials, the exhibition explores the deep connections between trees, community, and the land, highlighting their role as both life-giving forces and witnesses to generations of human history.
Rooted in Indigenous perspectives and the principles of Spiritual Ecology, Spirit Trees invites reflection on nature as a living, sacred presence. Through multimedia works, community photography, and participatory elements, the exhibition emphasizes the importance of preserving these natural landmarks, many of which have stood for over a century. Visitors can also engage with audio recordings from Guimaraes’ conversations with Lakȟóta Medicine Man Basil Braveheart, offering insight into the spiritual and healing power of trees.
In a city known for medicine and healing, Spirit Trees expands that conversation to include the natural world, encouraging a deeper sense of reverence, connection, and collective care for the environment.
Hard Copy
ARTIST: Erin Smith
DATES: November 29, 2025 – August 2, 2026
(from left to right) sandstone, printed and assembled earthenware, porcelain, porcelain with glaze skin, 9”x7”x3” (each), 2021. | photo courtesy of Rochester Art Center
Rochester Art Center presents Erin Smith: Hard Copy, a solo exhibition that examines how objects shift as they move between the physical and digital realms. Drawing from her long practice of collecting rocks, Smith begins by scanning natural stones shaped over millennia and bringing them into photogrammetry and CAD environments. She then reinterprets these forms through 3D-printed clay and plastic, creating molds that allow for repetition, experimentation, and a deeper investigation into how each translation alters the original object. Through this process, Smith reveals the subtle distortions and reinterpretations that emerge when ancient materials are filtered through contemporary tools.
The resulting works challenge the idea that digital production is fast or immaterial. Each step introduces a change in fidelity that becomes part of the object’s evolving identity, merging geological history with digital transformation. Some pieces flatten visually in reference to screen-based environments, while others echo early pixel graphics through hand-cast repetition that contrasts sharply with the ease of software duplication. Displayed on mosaic stone bases inspired by Midwestern grotto folk art, the sculptures ultimately reconnect the digital-to-physical loop to place and tradition, grounding Hard Copy in Smith’s Midwestern roots.
Moudhi Alhajri: Qatari Heritage
ARTIST: Moudhi Abusatwa Alhajri (موضي الهاجري)
DATES: December 2024 – March 2026
Rochester Art Center presents an exhibition of photographs by Qatari artist Moudhi Abusatwa Alhajri (موضي الهاجري). Author of the documentary book Yemen, A Passion that Captivates You, Alhajri has spent years documenting cultural landscapes through travel photography and personal reflection. Her work celebrates history, tradition, and the vibrancy of daily life.
This exhibition highlights photographs of Qatari people, animals, and scenery. By layering up to six digital images, Alhajri adds depth and texture, creating a multi-sensory effect. Juxtaposing traditional occupations with contemporary skylines, her images invite viewers into the dynamic culture of a rapidly changing nation.
Ascend
ARTISTS: Alyssa Baguss & Erin Sharkey
DATES: 2024-2034
A Public Art Initiative for Bird Safety
Rochester Art Center presents a public art project at the intersection of creativity and conservation. In 2024, artists Alyssa Baguss and Erin Sharkey collaborated on two 50-foot-tall window installations designed both as powerful works of art and as deterrents to bird collisions, a longstanding challenge for the building since 2004.
Sharkey contributed a poem with themes of sky, flight, and migration, while Baguss created imagery in response. The words appear on the front windows, and the artwork, titled Ascend, fills the rear windows with geometric forms that reference migration, return, and the fragility of glass. Produced with perforated vinyl, the installations allow light to filter through while protecting birds in flight. Together, these works demonstrate how art can spark awareness, protect the natural world, and inspire new solutions.
Extraordinary Elsewhere
FEATURED ARTISTS: Dahn Gim, Ivonne Yáñez, Mayumi Amada, Peng Wu, Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai, Rituparna Rana, Roshan Ganu, Shafrin Islam, and Ziba Rajabi.
CURATOR: Zoe Cinel
DATES: June 7, 2025 – April 26, 2026
Rochester Art Center presents Extraordinary Elsewhere, an exhibition that asks what we carry with us when we leave home and how objects, rituals, and stories help us connect across distance and time. Featuring nine international artists based in Minnesota, the exhibition brings together works that span dance, storytelling, poetry, site-specific installations, mixed media sculpture, expanded painting, and experimental animation.
The exhibition reflects on movement, memory, and the search for belonging in unfamiliar spaces. Both ephemeral and enduring, the works create a dialogue about living between present and past, reconciliation and discovery. An accompanying short documentary by Pawan Sharma, with interviews by Rituparna Rana, further explores how cultural histories and personal journeys shape artistic expression.
Face in Clouds, invisible ink
ARTIST: Ryan Woodring
CURATOR: Zoe Cinel
DATES: September 13, 2025 – April 2026
Rochester Art Center presents Face in Clouds, invisible ink, a solo exhibition by New York–based artist Ryan Woodring. The exhibition brings together recent bodies of work shaped by Woodring’s ongoing reckoning with invisible illness. Drawing from ritualized visualization practices, the works trace cycles of visibility and obscurity, translating internal afflictions into speculative material forms.
Highlights include Today (and Possibly Tomorrow), a series of 3D-printed candies modeled in real time as the artist experienced symptoms, and Sick and Tired at the Met, a drawing series and installation created by rendering every object in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s database tagged with “sick” or “tired.” Across sculpture, drawing, and time-based practices, Woodring explores how pain, language, and legibility intersect in a hyper-classified, post-AI world.
CREATIVE STUDIO | ROCHESTER ART CENTER
Creative Studio
DATES: Fridays & Saturdays, 11 AM – 3:30 PM // September – May 16th (resuming in September 2026)
ADMISSION: FREE for Members, Non-members: $5 at the front desk plus general admission fee
The Creative Studio at Rochester Art Center is a vibrant, hands-on space where visitors of all ages can dive into self-led art activities inspired by the exhibitions on view. Whether you’re visiting with kids, friends, or flying solo, you’ll find everything you need to turn your ideas into expressive, one-of-a-kind creations—no experience needed, and all materials provided.
A friendly Creative Studio Assistant is always nearby to get you started and answer questions. Just bring your curiosity, and we’ll supply the rest.
Come get inspired, get messy, and leave with something you made yourself. Art is for everyone—and so is the Creative Studio.
*The Creative Studio will be closed on the following dates:
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Friday, November 28 & Saturday, November 29, 2025
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Friday, December 26 & Saturday, December 27, 2025
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Friday, January 2 & Saturday, January 3, 2026
SPRING PROGRAMMING | ROCHESTER ART CENTER
Free Family Day
DATES:
- Sunday, April 26, 2026 | 11 AM – 4 PM
- Upcoming Dates: September 27, October 25
Celebrate Earth Day with a day of creativity, connection, and hands-on fun at Free Family Day: Earth Day Celebration on Sunday, April 26, from 11 AM to 4 PM. This free event welcomes all ages to explore the intersection of art, nature, and sustainability through interactive experiences. Throughout the day, artist Lydia Hansen will lead engaging art-making activities, alongside special programming with the Rochester Public Library. From 12 to 2 PM, guests can also visit the Rochester Public Schools Ageless Art Open House, featuring inspiring artwork created by local students. It’s a chance to create, explore, and celebrate together as a community.
Figure Drawing
Traditional Figure Drawing (nude model) on select Tuesdays, 6 – 8 PM | REGISTER
Costumed Figure Drawing on the following Wednesdays, 6 – 8 PM | REGISTER
Join monthly figure drawing sessions with a live model, alternating between traditional nude sessions on select Tuesdays and costumed sessions on Wednesdays, both from 6 to 8 PM. Open to ages 18+ and all skill levels, each session begins with quick gesture sketches and moves into longer poses for deeper study.
Bring your own materials (no oil paint); easels are provided. Doors open at 5:45 PM, and photography is not allowed. Advance registration is required as sessions often sell out.
$15/session | Art Center Members and Mayo Clinic Staff/Students
$25/session | General Public (Join as a member today and get your discount!)
Spark!
DATE: Thursday, May 14, 2026 | 11 AM – 12:30 PM | FREE
REGISTRATION: Advanced Registration is required
Upcoming Dates: July 9 | August 20 | September 10 | October 15 | November 12 | December 17
SPARK! at the Rochester Art Center is a welcoming program for individuals experiencing early to mid-stage memory loss and their care partners, centered around art, conversation, and connection. Through guided gallery visits and creative activities, participants engage in meaningful social experiences that support self-expression and well-being.
Space is limited and advance registration is required. Participants must attend with a caregiver, and care partners are encouraged to fully participate. Developed in partnership with the SPARK! Alliance, the program celebrates the creativity, perspective, and joy that continue to thrive, fostering a supportive and engaging community experience.
Work of eARTh
Teen Art Club @ Rochester Art Center
View Schedule Here | All Meetings are FREE
Work of eARTh is a teen art club at the Rochester Art Center that brings together young artists, creatives, and activists to make a positive impact in the community. Focused on sustainability and environmental issues, the group offers a safe, inclusive, and fun space to create, connect, and take action through art.
In partnership with organizations like the Sierra Club North Star Chapter, members use creativity to support climate awareness and advocacy. Teens looking for a place to make art and stand up for the planet are encouraged to join and invite friends along.
TOURS | ROCHESTER ART CENTER
Drop-In Tours
Saturdays at 1 pm*
$8 for Adults, $5 for Seniors & Military
Free for Ages 21 & Under, Free for Members
No reservations required.
Enjoy a docent-led, guided tour of the Rochester Art Center’s current exhibitions featuring the work of regional, national and international artists in a contemporary architectural setting. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. Tours not available on holiday weekends.
