The Catskills have inspired countless generations of artists and continue to be a cultural haven for creative souls to this day – and there are numerous reasons for that.
Whether it’s the region’s awe-inspiring scenery or its reputation as the host to a music festival that ultimately helped to form the counterculture movement of the 1960s, there’s no denying it: art and culture play an important role in the Catskills’ way of life.
The Legacy of Catskills Arts
Today, the artistic legacies left behind by renowned artists of the Hudson River School and the rock and roll behemoths who performed at the 1964 Woodstock Festival have inspired a new generation of Catskills artists, performers, and creative souls. Here, the relationship between art and place is harmonious, and it’s because of this that you’ll find artistic creations in the most surprising of places, including…- Annual events like the Stagecoach Run Art Festival, during which the region’s artists welcome visitors into their homes and private studios.
- Modern Day General Stores + Farm-to-Fork Restaurants, that display and sell art by local Catskills artists on the shelves and walls of their establishments.
- Farmers’ Market, where you’ll find not only food items from local farmers, but wares from craftsmen like wood carvings, paintings, jewelry, and sculptures.
- Unique Venues like Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and West Kortright Centre, the first of which was the site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival and the other, a remodeled 19th-century country church situated in the region’s lush rolling hillsides.
