On Friday, June 25, the Hudson River Museum will host Looking Up, Looking Forward: A Gala to Benefit the Hudson River Museum with a special outdoor evening event in our bucolic courtyard. This is our most important fundraiser of the year, providing essential resources to the HRM and our community during an especially challenging year.

This year’s gala also celebrates four truly outstanding honorees who have strengthened the community, enriched our lives through their creativity, and shown exemplary leadership and philanthropy: Bonnie Bell-Curran, Marcus C. John, the Martinelli Family, and Richard Haas.

The fist honoree we are spotlighting is Marcus C. John.

In 2021, Marcus was featured on PBS television reading his original poem “Smudges” in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, bringing his work to the national stage. In 2019 he released The Book of John: A Collection of Poem, Prose, and Rhyme and has since traveled the United States with his work. Mr. John has taught workshops and performed at various universities including Utica College, Delaware State University, and Virginia State University; as well as institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Hudson River Museum, and The Masters School.

Marcus has been collaborating with the Hudson River Museum and our community for years, including as the 2015 Teaching Artist-in-Residence, where he led public workshops and mentored our HRM Junior Docents to express themselves through art and the spoken word. His credits at the HRM include developing 2017’s poetry programs during Walks with Artists: The Hudson Valley and Beyond and organizing the HRM’s first Juneteenth event in 2020, a celebration of joy, healing, recognition, and lived experiences.