This is the Everson
A Museum
of Firsts.

Opening March 8: Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art Awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious educational initiative supporting student achievement in the arts. Every year, students across the country in grades 7-12 are invited to enter original works of art in regional competitions. This year, thousands of students representing 14 counties in Central New York submitted 4,555 works of art, which were then judged by professional artists and educators. The judges awarded first place (Gold Key), second place (Silver Key), and honorable mentions to nearly 1,300 works in 17 different categories. Gold Key winners move on to compete at the national level, and a small selection of the Silver Key winners and honorable mentions are displayed at the Everson....

This exhibition explores new narratives of the history of American art, embracing stories about women artists, LGBTQ+ artists, and artists of color within a visual and thematic structure that also features iconic works traditionally associated with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts....

Courtney Rile is a lens-based artist and co-founder of Daylight Blue Media, a video production company in Syracuse, New York. She holds a BFA in Art Video from Syracuse University and an AA in Communications from Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania. Rile’s photographs, documentary films, and experimental videos have been shown widely regionally and internationally. Rile has been commissioned as a video artist by the Society for New Music. Rile previously served in communications and curatorial roles at Delavan Art Gallery, CNY Arts, Salt Market, and many other initiatives, alongside work as a journalist, adjunct professor, and guest speaker....

2025 marks 200 years since the Erie Canal’s completion—a transformative milestone for New York State. Today, most upstate residents live near the canal, yet its role often feels stuck in the past. The 2024 Erie Canal Artists-in-Residence—Alon Koppel, Judit German-Heins, and Clara Riedlinger—spent a year capturing the canal’s present condition and cultural impact. At Water’s Edge showcases their work, reimagining this iconic waterway for today....