Key Dates

Doors at 5:00pm, programming 6:00-8:00pm at Kingston City Hall, 420 Broadway. 

Programming will begin at 6:00pm in Council Chambers, and includes actress Aixa Kendrick portraying Sojourner Truth,  dancers and drummers from the Center for Creative Education, Ulster County Poet Laureate Kate Hymes, and more. Light refreshments will be provided by Tilda’s Kitchen and Market. The event is free and open to all.

During the opening reception, the New York State Archives will display original court documents from the New York State Archives that outline the story of Sojourner Truth returning to Ulster County to secure the return of her 5-year-old son, Peter, who had been illegally sold to a plantation in Alabama. With the help of local attorneys, she filed a Habeas Corpus Petition in the Ulster County Courthouse in March of 1828.  She ultimately prevailed on the petition for her son’s freedom, marking the first time in American history that a Black woman sued a white man and won. 

Mayor Steven T. Noble and the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs are pleased to announce that the City of Kingston will be accepting artwork submissions for an exhibition at City Hall entitled, FREEDOM.

The concept of the exhibition was developed as a part of the major installation of sculptor Trina Greene’s Sojourner Truth: First Step to Freedom statue, which will be on display in City Hall from September 28, 2024 through August 2025. For the FREEDOM exhibition, artists are invited to submit work that celebrates and visually represents Sojourner Truth’s legacy as a champion for freedom, justice, and women’s rights.

Selected works will be displayed in the ground floor gallery space at City Hall from December 2024 to August 2025. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024.  

Artists are invited to submit an artwork in response to the theme FREEDOM via the online application or in person/by mail to the Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs, 420 Broadway, Kingston, NY, 12401 by October 25, 2024 at 4:30pm.

Submissions should include the following to be considered:

• Image of the work
• A short bio and contact information
• A brief description of the work and how the work reflects the theme FREEDOM

Works will be selected by a review panel comprised of members of the Kingston Arts Commission and the Kingston arts community. Additional information on submission requirements is available at https://www.kingston-ny.gov/exhibitions.

‘FREEDOM!’ Exhibition Opens at City Hall on December 7

Mayor Steven T. Noble, and the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs are pleased to announce that a landmark intergenerational art exhibition, FREEDOM! will be displayed from December 7, 2024 through August, 2025 at the Ground Floor Gallery of City Hall.

 The FREEDOM! exhibition will open with a reception on Saturday, October 7 from 2:00 to 5:00pm, which will feature performances by the the Boys and Girls Club of Ulster County Chorus, Center for Creative Education Dancers and Drummers, My Kingston Kids’ Virtual Reality and Photo Booth, Ulster County Poet Laureate Kate Hymes, Rev Deborah Zuill as Sojourner Truth, vocalist Evelyn Clarke and pianist Peter Tomlinson. The reception is free and open to the public.

FREEDOM! celebrates Trina Greene’s Sojourner Truth: First Step to Freedom statue on exhibit on the 1^st floor floyer in City Hall, and Sojourner’s legacy as a champion for freedom, justice and women’s rights. The exhibition includes a wide spectrum of artistic mediums such as quilts (fiber art, cotton patchwork), metals, mixed media textiles, oil on linen, etching, acrylic, pencil, tintype, photography, more.

The exhibition will feature artwork by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Ulster County, Jean Campbell, D.R.A.W., Mary Elwyn, Amy Fenton, Judit German-Heins, Tracy Hurley, Sikena Khadija, Carmen Lizardo, My Kingston Kids, Shani Richards, Pablo Shine, Kay Stuntz, Tafari the Artist, Ben Wigfall, Rochleigh Wholfe, Carol Wood, and Susan York. 

Members of the FREEDOM! Selection Committee included Ruth Ann Devitt Frank, Maggie Inge, Jessieca McNabb, Ward Mintz, Mayor Noble, Bartek Starodaj, Monique Tinsley, Sue Cahill, Summer Smith, Gloria Waslyn.

 For further information, visit www.kingston-ny.gov/exhibitions or contact Kitt Potter, Director of Arts and Cultural Affairs at kpotter@kingston-ny.gov. 

All Was Done By Hand: Home Production of the Nineteenth Century

City Hall on Saturday, March 29, 2025, from 11:00am to 4:00pm. FREE and open to the public.

Highlighting the role of textile work in the 19th century and its evolution into modern craft practices, All Was Done By Hand will feature demonstrations of various textile techniques and a “Fleece to Shawl” showcase illustrating the transformation of raw wool into a woven shawl through carding, spinning, and weaving.

Demonstrations from Woodstock Weavers, Elmendorph Hand Spinners, Wiltwyck Quilters Group, DCSWGA Rug Hooking Group, Ulster Hand Spinners, and independent artisans from throughout the Hudson Valley will include weaving on a variety of looms, spinning yarn and wool processing, basket making, embroidery, quilting, rug hooking, and lacemaking. Spinning bees, which were used as protest in American history, and quilting bees will also be represented.

The event will also feature educational materials that detail the history and significance of in-home textile production and the role it played in women’s work, especially during the period of Sojourner Truth’s life.

The event is part of the City of Kingston’s Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs exhibition programming for

Sojourner Truth: First Step to Freedom. On loan from SUNY New Paltz, the bronze statue by sculptor Trina Greene depicting Sojourner Truth is on display on the first floor and the FREEDOM! exhibition featuring local artists is on display on the ground floor.

For more information about Sojourner Truth: First Step to Freedom exhibition and programming, please visit https://engagekingston.com/sojourner-truth-first-step-to-freedom. and kpotter@kingston-ny.gov

Special thanks to event sponsors Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Growers Association, Elmendorph Hand Spinners Guild, Ulster Savings, Woodstock Weavers, and Yarn Farm Kingston.

Woodstock Weavers  woodstockweavers.org

 Arts Society of Kingston askforarts.org