Arts and Letters

Please join the American Academy of Arts and Letters to celebrate the opening of our galleries for year-round contemporary art programming. 

The fall season will feature a solo exhibition of Christine Kozlov, one of Conceptual art's first practitioners, across four galleries in Arts and Letters’s South and East Buildings and a commissioned sound installation by artist and composer Raven Chacon in the North Gallery. On the occasion of Chacon’s exhibition, composer Wadada Leo Smith, an Arts and Letters member and Chacon’s former teacher, will exhibit his scores in the Hassam Gallery and perform in a joint concert with Chacon on Saturday, September 28, during opening weekend. In October, Arts and Letters will premiere a performance by choreographer Jonathan González in our library and members’ room.

The opening of our 10,000 square-foot Beaux Arts-style galleries follows a significant renovation to the Arts and Letters buildings, with further capital improvements planned over the next three years. Founded in 1898 and located in landmark buildings in Washington Heights, Arts and Letters is an honor society of artists, architects, composers, and writers who foster and sustain interest in the arts. Arts and Letters members honor and support creative individuals, notably through over seventy annual awards and prizes. Championing experimentation and speaking to the breadth of contemporary art today, the new program will give artists space, time, and resources to realize ambitious projects. The program is led by Chief Curator Jenny Jaskey, in consultation with a committee of Arts and Letters artist members including: Mel Chin, Charles Gaines, Ann Hamilton, Joan Jonas, and Amy Sillman.

Arts and Letters will host writers, architects, composers, and artists for concerts, talks, and additional public events throughout the year and offer tours of our historic buildings on Audubon Terrace.