Dear Friends of the HRM,

The events of recent days and weeks have defined new challenges throughout our community and the world at large, as we face the global impact of the novel coronavirus.

In keeping with the government’s directives for social distancing, the Hudson River Museum’s doors will remain temporarily closed to the public and our on-site programs postponed until we can welcome you back safely to our beloved Hudson Valley campus. We recognize there are serious challenges ahead, and we must remain connected and face them together.

Beyond our walls, the Museum leadership and staff are hard at work, steadfast and committed to our mission to engage, inspire, and connect diverse communities through the power of the arts, sciences, and history. We are:

• Developing fascinating nimble and creative ways to respond to your needs and interests and to support the community’s wellbeing

• Actively advocating by making calls, sending letters, and related efforts to seek relief aid for all

• Doing our part to help local hospitals and patients by donating our supply of nitrile gloves and masks to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers

We encourage you to stay connected to us through #MuseumFromHome. We have set up collaborative networks with other museums and partner organizations across the US so that we can offer you access to our HRM treasures and programs and keep you informed and engaged with new content on our website and social media channels. We are extending invitations for you to join our efforts, respond to works of art, explore scientific phenomena, share a personal memory to add to our collective history, and more.

A fitting example of our mission in action is our current exhibition, Derrick Adams: Buoyant. Derrick Adams is an internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist who depicts a world where Black joy, love, leisure, and even prosaic normalcy play central roles. His work powerfully reshapes social structures, and challenges inequalities of the status quo in society. Let me ask you to ponder this as you explore this collection of jubilant images online: even in troubled times, where do YOU find much-needed joy? Who brings a smile to your face? We want to know.

This unprecedented moment in our history requires that we adjust to many new realities quickly and come together—relating and connecting in new ways—and that we demonstrate our care for one another. We are part of the network that will help our society survive and recover.

We are immensely grateful to you, our visitors, members, and donors. We value your loyalty more than ever, as we all work toward the moment when we can again meet in person. For now, we will bring the Museum to you, safely and compellingly.

Social distancing will not stand between us. We enjoy and admire you all far too much. Thank you for your ongoing and much needed support.

Stay connected and be well,

Masha Turchinsky
Director