ART AFFAIR
OCNY ART AFFAIR
An inventive soiree designed to bring awareness to the community and key stakeholders of the current state of the arts in our county. Featuring a coalition of selected artists commissioned to create unique work performed, presented, and developed for this event. This event also features the annual Orange County Art Awards and serves as the primary fundraiser for the Arts Council.
ENCORE
CELEBRATING THE ENDURING POWER OF THE ARTS
Saturday, November 7th | 6PM
Sugarloaf Performing Arts Center, Chester, NY
The Art Affair is designed to showcase Orange County's art scene by creating an immersive event where guests can interact and experience art in many forms through installations and performances while enjoying curated food and themed beverages. This event also serves as the Orange County NY Arts Council’s primary fundraiser. Proceeds from The Art Affair directly support programs and cultural events such as Creative Impact, the Arts Build Confidence Student Showcase, OC Live!, Arts Outreach initiatives, and Community Arts Grants. The OCNY Arts Council can only provide these programs and cultural events with your generosity.
This year’s theme, ENCORE, invites us to celebrate the enduring power of the arts and the many ways creativity continues to inspire, connect, and transform our community. An encore is more than a final moment - it is a call to continue, to return, to celebrate what moves us, and to experience something meaningful once again.
Through this theme, we explore the ongoing story of the arts in Orange County - the artists, performers, traditions, and creative voices that have shaped our region and continue to build its future. ENCORE honors the moments that leave a lasting impression while inviting new interpretations, new perspectives, and new expressions of creativity.
ENCORE is an invitation to celebrate the arts not as a single moment, but as an ongoing performance - one that continues to inspire, engage, and bring our community together.
Congrats to the 2026 OCNY Art Award Honorees
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Congrats to the 2026 OCNY Art Award Honorees •
Amanda Dana is the Tourism & Film Director for Orange County and Executive Director of the Orange County Film Office. With more than 25 years of sales and marketing experience in the Hudson Valley, Amanda has held leadership roles in tourism, economic development, executive recruiting, and real estate. She previously led Business Retention & Expansion at the Orange County Partnership and served as President of Hudson Valley Tourism, Inc. Amanda was named a Hudson Valley Magazine Women in Business Award Winner in 2022.
Choice Films is a full-service production company that has been producing film, television, regional and Off-Broadway theatre, multi-media/web projects and live events since 2001. Based in Newburgh, NY (in the mid-Hudson Valley) at Choice Stages, a multi-stage, state of the art production soundstage facility, #TeamChoice works from development thru delivery for a variety of clients on many budget levels.
Susan Hillary is a polymath - a mid-career artist, award winning filmmaker, farmer, and environmental attorney. As an artivist her work often reflects current issues and has been featured in national campaigns to protect the environment. She owns and operates Goshen Green Farm, a permaculture art farm which exhibits established and emerging artists throughout its trails and gardens, and in its historic barn gallery. The farm hosts concerts, workshops, and community events. It has participated in Upstate Art Weekend since 2022.
Kelly Schroer is the Founder and Executive Director of STRONGROOM, a Newburgh-based nonprofit producing site-specific and public art installations. Since 2015, STRONGROOM has presented 15 ambitious projects throughout the city, collaborating with artists, city officials, landlords, and community organizations to transform unexpected spaces. Kelly also founded KS Art Advisory and previously spent a decade in commercial galleries, including eight years at David Zwirner.
Congrats to the 2026 OCNYAC Featured Artist Coalition
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Congrats to the 2026 OCNYAC Featured Artist Coalition •
Karen E. Gersch grew up in a then largely rural Rockland County: all forests and fruit orchards. She moved to Brooklyn at sixteen on scholarship to Pratt Institute, where she earned a BFA with Honors. A Russian-trained acrobat, she has traveled the world performing and painting. For 38 years, a NYC loft on the Bowery served as her studio. Relocating to Orange County in 2013, her artwork now embraces scenics, her continuing studies of nature and the human figure. She exhibits and curates regularly in museums, universities and galleries, and has received multiple cultural grants.
The brand The Silver Lining is a passion project of sewn confidence. Sustainability and uniqueness radiate from the designs that utilize thrifted, secondhand & eco-friendly materials.
The Silver Lining takes pride in one-of-a-kind creations made exclusively by Sterling A. Grant.
Jenny Torino is an interdisciplinary artist that uses wool, fabric and paper to create sculptures, textiles and interactive spaces. Her work has been shown at Goshen Green Farm and All One One All Farm, where she was a 2024 Artist-in-Residence. Jenny was part of the OCNYAC’s 2026 Sustainable Arts Program Cohort and is a member of the Super Secret Projects Gallery. Jenny enjoys sharing her craft with others, teaching classes for adults and kids throughout the Hudson Valley. She received her BA in Theater from James Madison University and is interested in bridging theater and performance conventions with fiber art.
The X Ensemble is a contemporary chamber ensemble formed in 2016. The ensemble is directed by composer, pianist and synthesist Neil Alexander and features Neil’s compositions. Additionally, the X Ensemble performs works of living composers and arrangements of classic orchestral and chamber music works. Their unique approach is based on a strong foundation in traditional styles combined with a commitment to explore new and diverse musical landscapes which includes, baroque, romantic, minimalist jazz and electronic styles. Their debut performance took place on October 15th, 2016, at The Ritz Theater in Newburgh NY to a sold-out audience.
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
Lead Sponsors:
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Sponsorship Levels
Join us for ‘26 Art Affair ENCORE: Celebrating the Enduring Power of the Arts. Sponsorship offers a unique opportunity to showcase your organization while supporting the creative economy in Orange County.
