The Dia Art Foundation owns several museums across New York, Dia Beacon being one of them. The Dia Art Foundation is known to exhibit art collections from the 1960s to the present. Dia Beacon is located in Beacon, New York, near the banks of the Hudson River. The Dia Beacon premises, known as the Reggio Galleries, formerly used to be a facility for box printing. Dia entirely renovated it with the artist Robert Irwin and several other architects such as Linda Taalman and Alan Koch. This museum presents Dia’s permanent collections as well as temporary exhibitions. Special public programs are also held at the premises designed to complement displayed exhibitions and collections. Special programs include Gallery Talks every month, education programs for children of different ages, and Community Free Days for counties in the neighborhood. The Dua Beacon is one of the country’s largest exhibition spaces that display contemporary art.
About the Dia Foundation
The Dia Foundation was established in 1974. The purpose of creating this organization was to give artists more freedom of expression within the art space. It supported artists to remain uncurbed by limitations imposed by more traditional galleries. The foundation’s name is a Greek term that means ‘through.’ The Dia Foundations museums, such as Dia Beacon, Dia Chelsea, and Dia Bridgehampton, are all maintained by the Dia Foundation.
Today the Dia Foundation has eight permanent locations throughout the United States and Germany. The foundation also has three other changing exhibition locations. These include the Dia Beacon in Hudson Valley, the Dia Bridgehampton on Long Island, and the Dia Chelsea in New York City.
The Dia Beacon offers one of the country’s largest exhibition spaces for modern and contemporary art. It spans 160,000 sq. feet. The museum exhibits several permanent and temporary collections and many public programs linked to the exhibitions.
Dia Beacon Timings
The Dia Art Foundation welcomes all to the Dia Beacon. However, no tickets are sold on-site. Tickets have to be reserved online ahead of time to enter the facility.
Recently, capacity within the measure is also limited to cater to social distancing (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Also, upon entering, you must follow the protocol and procedures set in place. This is to ensure the health and safety of both the visitors and the staff. These regulations include adhering to a new and more interactive floor plan and scanning QR codes to read artist information.
Dia Beacon’s entry hours vary according to season. From March to October, entry is permitted from Monday to Friday, 10 am to 5 pm. From November to February, access is allowed from Friday to Monday from 10 am to 4 pm.
Dia Beacon Design
The Dia Beacon is one of the many exhibits of the Dia Foundation. This museum is one of the largest spaces showcasing modern and contemporary art. Dia Beacons’ expansive space suits the needs of the museum. It is suitable to place paintings, sculptures, and large-scale art installations. The galleries within Dia Beacon were specifically designed for the kind of art they contain. This is also to uphold Dia’s history and showcase a single artist at a time. Visiting the Dia Museum is quite an experience. The museum was designed through Dia’s collaboration with Artist Robert Irwin. Together they created the museum’s plan and exterior setting. The museum’s ground includes an entrance court and a parking lot. These spaces include a beautifully designed formal garden and a grove of flowering fruit trees.
Exhibition Schedules and Public Programs
As stated above, the Dia Beacon also hosts different programs linked to the exhibits it showcases. Let’s look at some scheduled programs that are to take place at the Dia Beacon.
Jessica Vaughn’s Conversation About Charlotte Posenenske
Conversation to Take place with Stephen Kwok and Alexis Lowry
This event will take place on the 8th, October 2022, Saturday at 2 pm at the Dia Beacon. You can attend this program for free, along with museum entry. However, space is limited and allotted on a first come, first serve basis.
Artist Jessica Vaughn resides in Brooklyn, New York. She has worked in fields such as photography, sculpture, and video. Her work explores questions about architecture, race, and labor. Vaughn’s book ‘Depreciating Assets’ got published in 2021. The artist has completed her BHA from Carnegie Mellon University and MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Vaughn also teaches art at Temple University and is an associate professor there. Her work was displayed in several exhibitions in the US and also has a forthcoming exhibition in 2023 in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Both Stephen Kwok and Alexis Lowry are curators at Dia Museum. Kwok is a curator of public engagement. Kwok has facilitated the Posenenske Sessions, which were programs held at Dia Beacon linked to the artist’s work being displayed. Lowry was also responsible for organizing the Charlotte Posenenske: Work in Progress in 2019 and showcasing the artist’s work.
Artists Jack Whitten’s Work
Jack Whitten’s work will be displayed at Dia Beacon from 18th November 2022 to 10th July 2023.
Jack Whitten’s show will be displayed at Dia Beacon in the first-ever exhibition devoted to the ‘Greek Alphabet Series.’ This was created from 1975 to 1978 by Jack Whitten. Dia Beacon will bring together the forty paintings in the series. The paintings will be derived from institutional and private lenders.
The 1979’s mark an important part of Jack Whitten’s career as a painter. During this decade, Whitten aborted the gestural brushstrokes defining abstract expressionism. Instead, he started leaning more towards experimenting with different materials and processes. This display of Whitten’s work will provide unique insight into his practices’ prominent moments.
Concluding Thoughts
Visiting the Dia Beacon is a must-visit, especially if you are an art enthusiast. This museum showcases many inspiring artists and their outstanding works. Special events and carefully designed programs are also related to the artist and their work. Many programs are free to attend after the museum entry cost. However, seats fill up fast and are allotted on a first come, first serve basis.