New exhibition explores questions of becoming and belonging
August 23–July 19, 2026
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (August 22, 2025) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College presents All These Growing Things, a year-long exhibition of contemporary and historical paintings, prints, textiles, photography, and sculpture from the Tang Museum collection that explores questions of becoming and belonging.
Organized around four central ideas—Ancestries, Masks, Transformations, and Hybrids—the exhibition traces personal, ancestral, and cultural histories; considers masking as both revelation and concealment; explores the transformative possibilities of our lives; and highlights interconnections among humans, plants, and animals. Hybrids functions as a cross-cutting thread that weaves through the other three sections to draw out these interconnections. The exhibition will be on view from August 23 through July 19, 2026.
The exhibition raises compelling questions about how we experience and understand the world—now and in the future. How do individual, familial, cultural, and national ancestries present themselves in our daily lives? When, why, and how do you choose to mask? What transformations are happening around you—for yourself, your community, and the natural world? How can we be more intentional in connecting to all that surrounds us?
“All These Growing Things promises to spark new ideas about the interconnections between all of us,” said Ian Berry, Dayton Director. “As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, this exhibition reflects our mission as a hub of interdisciplinary art and ideas—where exhibitions can catalyze creative thinking.”
Many of the works on view are recent acquisitions that are being exhibited at the museum for the first time, including gifts from Ann and Mel Schaffer, Peter Norton, Jack Shear, Eileen and Michael Cohen, and Dieu Donné, a nonprofit that supports artists and papermaking:
Polly Apfelbaum, Crazy Green, Bruised Orange, 2000
Ruth Asawa, untitled life masks of Joan and Vincent Mastropaul, c. 1980s
Willie Cole, Stowage, 1997
Chitra Ganesh, Dancer, 2012
Brad Kahlhamer, Apache Girl Surrounded by Taxidermy, 2001
Whitfield Lovell, So Soon, 2001
Shirin Neshat, I Am its Secret, 1993, published 1999
Barbara Takenaga, Wheel (Zozma), 2008
William Villalongo, Specimen, 2023
As part of the Museum’s 25th anniversary in 2025, the Tang is re-engaging the Accelerate initiative, which aims to enhance academic excellence, build broader and more diverse audiences for museum exhibitions, and strengthen humanistic inquiry through the museum collection. Beginning with All These Growing Things, the Museum will host three collection exhibitions through 2029, each organized around a distinct theme, offering interdisciplinary teaching and learning opportunities to campus and wider audiences.
The exhibition includes extended labels written by faculty members, underscoring the Tang’s interdisciplinary mission. Contributors include Jason Breves (Biology), John Brueggemann (Sociology), Rachel Cantave (International Affairs), Winston Grady-Willis (Black Studies), Talia Lieber (Art History), Harrison Schmitt (Psychology), and Jessica Somerville-Braun (Education Studies).
All These Growing Things is organized by Rebecca McNamara, The Frances Young Tang ’61 Associate Curator, and is supported by the Friends of the Tang.
Public Programs
- Friday, September 12, 3–8 pm: Open House and public reception for All These Growing Things and other exhibitions. Free admission, no reservations required.
- Thursday, October 16, noon: Curator’s Tour of All These Growing Things. Associate Curator Rebecca McNamara will lead an exhibition tour.
- Saturday, October 18, 4:30 pm: Fall Opening and 25th Anniversary Celebration for all current exhibitions.
For updates and additional programs, visit tang.skidmore.edu.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. The Tang Museum, located on the Skidmore College campus at 815 N. Broadway in Saratoga Springs, New York, is open noon–5 p.m. Tuesday–Sunday, with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. For more information, call the Tang’s Visitor Services Desk at 518-580-8080 or visit tang.skidmore.edu.
About Skidmore College
Founded in 1903, Skidmore College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college of about 2,700 students located in the dynamic town of Saratoga Springs, New York. Consistently ranked as a top liberal arts college by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Forbes, and more, Skidmore has also been recognized for its innovation, value, and sustainability efforts. Skidmore fosters academic and personal excellence—all driven by a belief that Creative Thought Matters. Its comprehensive array of opportunities encompasses more than 40 bachelor’s degree programs, including popular offerings in business, psychology, and the creative and performing arts; competitive NCAA Division III athletics; world-class facilities; and hands-on civic engagement and career development resources.
About the Tang Museum
The Tang Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the Tang’s approach has become a model for college and university art museums across the country—with exhibition programs that bring together visual and performing arts with interdisciplinary ideas from history, economics, biology, dance, and physics, to name just a few. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, and a robust publication and touring exhibition program that extends the museum’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s award-winning building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of art and ideas. The Museum is open to the public Tuesday–Sunday, noon–5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. https://tang.skidmore.edu