Hudson River Museum Receives Award of Distinction from Museum Association of New York
YONKERS, NY, March 5, 2025—The Hudson River Museum is proud to announce it has been selected as a winner of Museum Association of New York’s 2025 Award of Distinction. The HRM is one of 14 museums and museum professionals across New York State honored this year. The Museum was recognized for its Free First Fridays initiative in the Engaging Communities category, which celebrates organizations that use exceptional and resourceful methods to engage their communities and build new audiences.
Free First Fridays offers free admission to the Hudson River Museum on the first Friday of each month from 5–8pm. Responding to the community’s need for hours and programming at times that were accessible, and based on longitudinal audience surveys, the HRM comes alive with a dynamic and diverse array of programs, including dance performances, live music, DJs, theater productions, and music and technical productions in our planetarium. The program features numerous collaborations with community-based arts groups from throughout our region, as well as monthly sketching workshops in the galleries (in English and Spanish).
This project is made possible with generous support from Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program. The HRM was selected by the national arts nonprofit, founded by philanthropist Alice Walton, as one of 64 museums nationwide whose values matched those of the foundation to launch the initiative. This series has been an unequivocal success for the HRM, attracting more than 1,900 visitors, including many first-time visitors, from 139 zip codes across the region since its inception.
“It’s a genuine honor to receive this Award of Distinction from the Museum Association of New York,” said Director and CEO Masha Turchinsky. “Our Free First Fridays initiative is a shining example of how we bring the best in the country to Westchester County. We share this award with Art Bridges Foundation and their Access for All initiative, without which Free First Fridays would not be possible.”
Anne Kraybill, CEO, Art Bridges, stated, “We are thrilled to celebrate the Hudson River Museum’s Award of Distinction from the Museum Association of New York for its Free First Fridays programming. We are honored to support this program through our Access for All initiative, which aims to increase access to museums across America and foster engagement with local audiences. The success of Free First Fridays, and acknowledgement from Museum Association of New York, demonstrates how impactful programs like this one successfully break down barriers to access.”
The Museum Association of New York is the only statewide museum service organization with more than 700 member museums, historical societies, zoos, botanical gardens, and aquariums. MANY helps shape a better future for museums and museum professionals by uplifting best practices and building organizational capacity through advocacy, training, and networking opportunities. The awards will be presented at the 2025 Annual Conference “Cultivating Community: Looking In, Reaching Out” in Ithaca from April 5–8.
Press contacts:
Jeana Wunderlich
jwunderlich@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x240
Samantha Hoover
shoover@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x216
Image: Thunderbird American Indian Dancers. Photo by Jason Green.
###
The Hudson River Museum is a preeminent cultural institution in Westchester County and the New York metropolitan area. The Museum is situated on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, New York, with a mission to engage, inspire, and connect diverse communities through the power of the arts, sciences, and history.
The HRM offers engaging experiences for every age and interest, with an ever-evolving collection of American art and dynamic exhibitions that range from notable nineteenth-century paintings to contemporary art installations. The campus, which recently expanded to include a West Wing with exhibition galleries and sweeping views of the Hudson River, features Glenview, an 1877 house on the National Register of Historic Places; a state-of-the-art planetarium; an environmental teaching gallery; and an outdoor amphitheater. The Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting these multidisciplinary offerings, which are complemented by an array of public programs that encourage creative expression, collaboration, and artistic and scientific discovery. The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM), an honor awarded to only 3% of museums nationwide.
Hours and Admission: The Hudson River Museum is open to the public Wednesday–Friday, from 12–5pm, and Saturday–Sunday, from 11am–5pm. On Free First Fridays, the Museum is open and free of charge on the first Friday of the month, from 5–8pm. Learn more and purchase tickets at hrm.org/visit.
General Admission: Adults $13; Youth (3–18) $8; Seniors (65+) $9; Students (with valid ID) $9; Veterans $9; Children (under 3) FREE; Members FREE; Museums for All* $2, *SNAP/EBT card with photo ID (up to 4 people). Planetarium tickets: Adults $7; Youth (3–18) $5; Seniors (65+) $6; Students (with valid ID) $6; Veterans $6; Children (under 3) Free. Glenview tours: Adults $7; Youth (3–18) $5; Seniors (65+) $6; Students (with valid ID) $6; Veterans $6; Children (under 3) Free. The Museum is accessible by Metro-North (Hudson Line—Yonkers and Glenview stations), by Bee-Line Bus Route #1, by car, and by bike. If you plan on taking Metro-North Railroad to Glenwood Station and want to leave your car behind, you can save on discounted round-trip rail fare and discounted admission by getting an MTA Away package. Learn more here.
