The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

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Important Update

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A group of students in the Museum's Sculpture Garden by a green lawn chair.

Learn

As an artist-centered institution, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is guided by the belief that artists are innovative thinkers, who offer unique perspectives on our world. Learning at The Aldrich engages visitors of all ages with artworks and ideas from these artists, fostering a public space for critical discourse.

Our programs take place in person at the Museum when possible but currently most stream remotely through our website during the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These include:

  • Public Programs—talks, tours, performances, workshops, community events, and more that invite new interpretations of the art on view, exchanging perspectives of our complex society and world
  • Family Programs—intergenerational virtual tours, at-home activities, and birthday parties give children and families new ways to learn together through contemporary art
  • Teen Programs—individual internships, group fellowships, and other opportunities to access the world of contemporary art by working directly with artists and Museum staff
  • Educational Programs—virtual tours and learning opportunities that provide direct access to exhibitions through unique and unexpected experiences for schools, universities, clubs, homeschool groups, cultural institutions, learning pods, and more by bridging art with multidisciplinary subjects to meet various learning goals

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Two dancers in colorful dresses dancing in the gallery

Public Programs

Participate in a broad range of programs designed to deepen understanding and engagement with the works of art on view, focused on interactive experiences around contemporary culture.

Two young children work on an art project

The Studio

The Studio is a dedicated space for learning and making for visitors of all ages to explore ideas, questions, and develop meaning around contemporary art and culture.

Young student creates a work of art in The Aldrich's Studio

Children and Family Programs

The Aldrich offers a variety of virtual engagement opportunities for families, inviting peer-to-peer learning and intergenerational exchange.

A group of Aldrich Teen Fellows pose with artist Zoë Sheehan Saldaña

Teen Programs

We are invested in the artists, leaders, and thinkers of tomorrow by providing opportunities for teens to engage with contemporary art and museum careers through our Aldrich Teen Fellows, Internships, and annual Portfolio Day.

Four students look at Sara Cwynar's work

Educational Programs

The Aldrich partners with preschools, elementary, middle, and high schools, universities, community groups, and home-schooled individuals to collaborate on virtual programs and offer digital resources.

Young visitors engage with a work of art on view

Accessibility Programs
The Aldrich supports access to our exhibitions for individuals with a range of abilities through multiple partnerships with regional organizations, reciprocal Museum memberships, scholarship opportunities, and free admission for SNAP/EBT card holders and veterans.
Group of people standing around a large scale sculpture of a white tailed deer in the Sculpture Garden.

Group Tours

If you are interested in our virtual guided visit options or if you are a teacher interested in virtual school tours please email us at aldrichedu@thealdrich.org.

Selected Upcoming Events

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Green quilt-patterned book cover titled "They She He Me, Free to Be!" by Maya and Matthew
January 22, 2022 at 10:30 am | Third Weekend, Free Admission, Children and Family Programs

Story Time for Little Ones: They She He Me, Free to Be! - AT CAPACITY

Explore the paintings of Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski in the Museum’s lobby on color, gender, and identity with a family-friendly reading of They She He Me: Free to Be! by Maya Gonzalez and Matthew SG. Then, move to The Studio to create personal identity collages.

Three walls of a gallery with one painting hung on both the left and right walls and three paintings hung on the center wall.
January 22, 2022 at 12:00 pm | Public Programs, Children and Family Programs

Explore! Studio Activity: Karla Knight

Inspired by Karla Knight: Navigator, stop by the Museum's Studio to create your own art, through a self-guided activity with materials and prompts.

The back of a group receiving a tour of an art exhibit.
January 22, 2022 at 1:00 pm | Third Weekend, Free Admission, Children and Family Programs, Group Tours

Family Tour of Karla Knight: Navigator

Join us at the Museum for a family-friendly, participatory tour of Karla Knight: Navigator, guided by Aldrich Educators!

Two artworks side-by-side.
January 29, 2022 at 1:00 pm | Public Programs

EYES FULL OF WORDS: An Ekphrastic Writing Workshop

Join Ridgefield Poet Laureate and Aldrich Educator Barb Jennes in this poetry workshop as she guides a group in observing select works in the newest exhibitions by artists Milano Chow and Duane Slick.

Movie poster for "A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks" featuring a black and white photo of Gordon Parks holding a film camera.
February 6, 2022 at 2:00 pm | Public Programs

Virtual ARTalk - Screening of Film, "A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks" and a Talkback with Richard Klein and Panelists

Join us virtually with the Ridgefield Library for a screening of the film A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks with a talkback immediately afterward with moderator Richard Klein, Exhibitions Director at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum about the many ways renowned photographer Gordon Parks (1912-2006) documented his narrative as a Black American in the 20th century and beyond.

Book cover with an image of a coyote running titled "Coyote: A Trickster Tail from the American Southwest" by Gerald McDermott
February 19, 2022 | Third Weekend, Free Admission, Children and Family Programs

Story Time for Little Ones: Coyote, A Trickster Tale

Explore Indigenous storytelling in Duane Slick: The Coyote Makes the Sunset Better with a family-friendly reading of Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest by Gerald McDermott in the Museum’s galleries.

Greyscale drawing of a loggia with a checkered floor.
February 19, 2022 at 1:00 pm | Third Weekend, Public Programs, Children and Family Programs, Group Tours

Family Tour of Milano Chow: Prima Facie

Join us for a family-friendly, participatory tour of Milano Chow: Prima Facie, guided by Aldrich Educators! Explore Chow’s ornamented mise-en-scènes that seem frozen in time and loaded with disquieting effects, influenced by Surrealism, fashion photography, shop window design, and Hollywood film noir from Chow’s native Los Angeles.

Abstract lavender shape with colored dots linked by colored bars peppering the surface.
March 31, 2022 at 7:00 pm | Public Programs

Virtual ARTalk - 52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone with Amy Smith-Stewart and Alexandra Schwartz

This ARTalk will focus on an exciting upcoming exhibition at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone. This exhibition celebrates the fifty-first anniversary of the historic exhibition Twenty-Six Contemporary Women Artists, curated by acclaimed art critic Lucy R. Lippard which was presented at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in 1971.