Catskill Art Space awarded $92,808 by the New York State Council on the Arts for replacement of the rear roof of its flagship facility.
Catskill Art Space awarded $92,808 by the New York State Council on the Arts for replacement of the rear roof of its flagship facility.
Livingston Manor, NY – Catskill Art Space (CAS) announced today a grant award totaling $92,808 from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to replace the existing rear roof of its flagship facility, a critical infrastructure project essential to protecting the building, safeguarding the health and safety of its users, and ensuring the long-term viability of its artistic and community programming. This grant is part of a capital project funding announcement by NYSCA, which totals over $82 million to 132 arts and culture facilities across New York State.
Catskill Art Space is undertaking a critical infrastructure renewal project at its flagship facility in Livingston Manor, New York: the full replacement of the building's rear roof system. Housed in a historic industrial-era structure adaptively reused as a multidisciplinary contemporary arts center, CAS serves as a cultural anchor for the western Catskills — offering year-round exhibitions, performances, film screenings, artist talks, educational programs, and community gatherings. The existing rear roof, a legacy assembly predating the most recent renovation, has developed persistent leaks resulting in water infiltration, elevated humidity, risks to artworks and equipment, and ongoing concerns about indoor air quality and occupant health. A temporary spray foam application previously used to slow water intrusion has reached the end of its functional life and must be fully removed. The replacement project will strip the roof down to its original planking and install a new, fully adhered membrane roofing system incorporating polyisocyanurate rigid insulation, updated flashing, edge metal, and all required accessory components — delivering a durable, energy-efficient assembly suited to the demands of a contemporary arts facility and ensuring the long-term protection of the building, its users, and the programs it supports.
“New York’s powerful arts and culture sector is a formidable asset,” Governor Hochul said. “Our continued investments in museums, theaters and art centers generate incredible returns — sparking innovation, boosting local economies, driving visitors and making us the global epicenter of arts and culture.”
New York State Council on the Arts Executive Director Erika Mallin said, “We know that when the arts flourish, communities follow — bringing energy, creating jobs, expanding accessibility, and increasing tourism. This grant program is a critical investment in our creative sector, empowering our creative community and inspiring innovation. Congratulations to all the grantees, we look forward to seeing these diverse projects develop all throughout the state.”
About the New York State Council on the Arts
The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture, and creativity for all. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York State, the Council on the Arts will award over $161 million in FY 2027, serving hundreds of arts organizations and artists across all 10 state regions. The Council on the Arts further advances New York's creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit www.arts.ny.gov, and follow NYSCA's Facebook page, on X @NYSCArts and Instagram @NYSCouncilontheArts.
Long-term Installations
Following a major renovation and expansion, Catskill Art Space reopened in October 2022 with a long-term presentation of James Turrell’s Avaar (1982) in a custom-built gallery on the building’s second floor. A room-sized installation, Avaar is an important example of the artist’s early, wall-based “aperture” works, which function by creating two areas within a room. There is a “viewing space,” where one stands to see and experience the work, and a “sensing space,” which is an ambiguously defined area of diffused light. Avaar is one of the rare examples of Turrell’s aperture works to make use of white lighting only; no colors will be present in the installation. This work is in the collection of the Seattle Art Museum, which has granted CAS a special long-term loan to exhibit the work. The presentation at CAS marks the first time the work has been shown since the 1970s, giving audiences from the Catskills and beyond the rare opportunity to experience a major Turrell work that has not been seen in nearly five decades.
On the second floor’s central landing, Sol LeWitt’s vibrant Wall Drawing #992 unfolds in three sections, each consisting of 10,000 straight lines drawn in color marker, to create a mesmerizing arrangement of primary colors. On the fourth wall, presenting LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #991, straight, arced, and organic lines will encompass the wall in black marker and pencil. The conceptual, minimalist artist conceived guidelines for his two-dimensional works to be drawn directly on the wall. Much like Turrell’s Avaar, the LeWitt works were realized for CAS’s space; in this instance, they are generously loaned by the artist’s estate. This work was overseen by a draftsperson, who determines the length and placement of the lines, and executed by five artists local to the area over nearly two weeks.
The performance space on CAS’s second floor hosts British sculptor Francis Cape’s A Gathering of Utopian Benches—an installation of meticulous copies of benches built and used by communal societies. Cape’s installations have always argued that design and craft express belief. Utopian Benches, which has toured extensively throughout the US, was built from poplar grown near Cape’s studio in Narrowsburg, NY. To be considered both as contemporary sculpture as well as furniture that visitors can actively use, the benches reference the societies who first used them, inviting visitors to utilize them for exchange, discourse, and community. The installation, which is meant to be used by visitors both for contemplation and may be used for performance seating, overlooks an expansive wall of windows onto the Willowemoc Creek.
Ellen Brooks activates an intimate gallery space, framed by a partially open staircase, with Hang (2022), an installation suspending over 30 feet of scrolls of film negatives from the ceiling. The artist hangs transparencies and negatives in all formats and from clips attached to the ceiling, mimicking the practice of film photography. Hanging negatives reference the surrounding natural landscaping, evoking a cascading waterfall with coils of film collecting on the ground floor gallery.
About Catskill Art Space
Catskill Art Space (CAS) explores contemporary art practices of emerging and established artists. Through exhibitions, performances, classes, lectures, and screenings, CAS fosters creative community in the Catskills.
Established as Catskill Art Society in 1971, CAS reopened in October 2022 as Catskill Art Space following a major renovation and expansion of its multi-arts center, located in the picturesque hamlet of Livingston Manor in the Western Catskills. CAS presents a rotating slate of exhibitions, performances and other events featuring national and regional talents, alongside long-term installations of works by James Turrell, Sol LeWitt, Francis Cape, and Ellen Brooks. Learn more at catskillartspace.org.
Notes to Editor
Long-term installations on view: Long-term presentation (through 2027) of James Turrell’s light installation Avaar (1982) and two site-specific wall drawings from Sol LeWitt, as well as solo presentations of well-established artists from the local area, Francis Cape (through 2027) and Ellen Brooks (through 2027).
Instagram: @catskillartspace
For media inquiries, please contact:
Sally Wright, Executive Director
646-696-1044