History & Legacy

Newburgh Open Studios was founded in 2011 by Gerardo Castro and Michael Gabor

The annual event is a direct manifestation of their mission to foster artistic expression, civic participation and the economic growth of Newburgh’s diverse community by supporting, promoting and advocating for arts and culture by celebrating the livelihoods of working artists in our region.

The tour begins at Newburgh Art Supply, which is located in a historic building at 5 Grand Street, north of Washington’s Headquarters. The store keeps dependable hours and is focused on a curated inventory of art supplies, specializing in custom cradled birch wood panels and traditional Japanese papers.

Newburgh Open Studios is dedicated to co-founder and organizer extraordinaire, the late Gerardo Castro.

Ruedi Hofmann Group Portraits

For eight consecutive years, Ruedi Hofmann photographed open studio participants in elaborate group photos that documented and honored the vibrant arts community in Newburgh.

"Each year I am excited to photograph the artists that have elected to be part of Newburgh OPEN Studios. Artists of all caliber participate and allow us a peek into their lives and themselves for the purpose of building community. I feel a responsibility to each individual artist and to the final group photo with everyone that signed up, to capture a meaningful portrait that might provide an insight, a glimpse, of these valuable people that are the resource that is helping to bring quality change.  My wish with the photography is to strengthen our friendships and to be able to share the photos with those outside of our city, to promote good relations and plant the seed of opportunity for those looking for a community." - Ruedi Hofmann