Local Arts Organizations

Here's a list of Tompkins County Organizations! Visual Arts, Music Performance, Theatres, Literary Happenings, Museums and more! Please visit their websites to see their current offerings. Local online community calendars include IthacaEvents.com and Ithaca.com

CLICK TO GO TO:
VISUAL ARTS  (stores, galleries)
LOCAL MUSIC not for profit ORGANIZATIONS
LOCAL MUSIC ORGANIZATIIONS for community members to join!
PERFORMING ARTS and MEDIA 
LITERARY HAPPENINGS
LOCAL MUSEUMS
 

Visual Art Organizations (or organizations that have galleries)

MONTHLY EVENT: First Friday Gallery Night
simultenous gallery openings in downtown Ithaca
ithacagallerynight.com

GALLERY: CAP Artspace, Downtown Ithaca 
features monthly exhibits - a program of the Community Arts Partnership 
artspartner.org/content/view/artspace.html

GALLERY: Cherry Gallery, Ithaca 
part of the Cherry Arts.
thecherry.org/cherry-gallery/

CLASSES, MEMBERSHIP: Clay School, Ithaca's South Hill 
classes and art happenings- not just clay! 
clayschoolithaca.com

CLASSES; GALLERY: Community School of Music and Arts,  Downtown Ithaca.
instruction in music, dance, visual arts, theater, and language arts . Their gallery features monthly exhibits. 
csma-ithaca.org

GALLERY/STORE: Corners Gallery, Ithaca 
a contemporary art gallery and framing studio.
cornersgallery.com

STORE & GALLERY: Danby Gathery Art Works (DBAW), Danby
features local artisans creating fine art and craftwork. 
danbygatheryartworks.com

GALLERY: EYEVEE (Inlet Valley Arts Center), Ithaca  
exhibits, audio/visual performances and events, workshops.
Eyevee.org

STORE:  The Frame Shop on Buffalo Street, Downtown Ithaca
Quality service, extensive product line and ease of location. 
theframeshopithaca.com

GALLERY: Gallery at South Hill, Ithaca   
thegalleryatsouthhill.com

STORE and ATTRACTION: Gourdlandia, Ithaca - West Hill 
Come and visit... there's a lot to see and do at Gourdlandia. It's the perfect Finger Lakes activity destination for all ages. 
gourdlandia.com / facebook.com/Gourdlandia

OCTOBER OPEN STUDIOS, MONTHLY OPEN STUDIOS, and BY APPOINTMENT: Greater Ithaca Art Trail
The Greater Ithaca Art Trail is a guide to over 50 Tompkins County visual artists with annual events and October Open Studio Weekends.  
ArtTrail.com

GALLERY: Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College
Enhance the academic offerings of Ithaca College with a diverse range of scholarly exhibitions, lectures, colloquia and events.
ithaca.edu/handwerker-gallery

MUSEUM: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell
Located on Cornell University campus, the Museum’s permanent collection numbers more than 35,000 works
museum.cornell.edu

GALLERY: Ink Shop Printmaking Center & Olive Branch Press, Downtown Ithaca. 
exhibitions, classes, workshops, and is a year-round studio facility for printmakers and bookmakers.
ink-shop.org

STORE: Handwork, Downtown Ithaca 
a Cooperative Craft Store
handwork.coop

K-House Karaoke & Arts Hub, Downtown Ithaca 
Sing, host parties, workshops, and vibe at K-House!
khousekaraoke.com

Latino Civic Association
Check out their resources and events
lcatompkins.org

PRODUCER Mix Art Gallery
Year round exhibit at Tompkins Airport. Producer of events 
mixartgallery.com

Ithaca Murals
a network of people transforming gray walls into beautiful, meaningful works of art that tell the stories of the diverse people who live here. ​
Ithaca Murals.com

Opus School of Music, Ithaca 
Classes! Scholarships available!
opusithaca.org

RESIDENCY: Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, Town of Dryden  
serves NYS artists and writers.  Open House events,  yearly exhibitions and readings featuring residency alumni.
saltonstall.org

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY: Soil Factory, Ithaca 
A vibrant community space where art, science and sustainability come together to create new collaborations, new experiences and new ideas. 
thesoilfactory.org

GALLERY: State of the Art Gallery, Downtown Ithaca 
a cooperative fine art gallery showing new creative work by area artists.
soagithaca.org

 

Local Music Groups - Attend Events
(scroll down for those you can join!) 

Ageless Jazz Band
an 18-piece Big Band playing Swing to Bebop to Latin to Rock to Contemporary jazz. 
agelessjazz.org/wordpress/

Cayuga Chamber Orchestra
professional 35 member orchestra: orchestral concert season, chamber music series, annual Holiday Concert and youth concerts.
ccoithaca.org

Cayuga Vocal Ensemble
performing broad selections of choral music 
cayuga-vocal.org

Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series at Cornell University
hosting musicians and ensembles of international stature since 1903. 
cornellconcertseries.com

Ithaca College Music
ensemble concerts, student recitals, guest artist series, and more, - free and open to the public.
ithaca.edu/academics/school-music-theatre-and-dance/music-concerts-and-events

Ithaca Underground
national touring, regional, and local bands - hardcore, punk, math-rock, hiphop, noise-rock, grindcore, progressive and experimental genres.
ithacaunderground.com

Lansing Performing Arts Center
hosts ree performance series, such as the Jazz Star series and the Poetry Meets Music series.
savageclubofithaca.com

NYS Baroque
performs music of the Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical periods on period instruments.
nysbaroque.com

State Theatre of Ithaca, Downtown Ithaca 
The historic and restored State Theater is a venue for national, international and community performances and programming.
stateofithaca.com

Triphammer Arts, Lansing
consistently bring together dancers and musicians from the area to resent high quality, audience-friendly music and dance productions both outdoors and indoors.
triphammer.org

Local Music Organizations for Community Members to Join!

Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers
Anyone can join - Dedicated to the preservation of Negro Spirituals and the legacy of Dorothy Cotton. 
dorothycottonjubileesingers.org

Affiliated Choruses of Ithaca (four groups) 
acithaca.org

Ithaca Community Chorus & Chamber Singers (ICC&CS)
over 100 Tompkins County residents finding commonality in the dedication to learning and performing history’s best choral offerings. The Chamber Singers is a select sub-group of the Chorus.

VOICES Multicultural Chorus
a multicultural group of singers interested in learning, sharing, and singing songs from diverse ethnic choral traditions.

Transpose: Ithaca Queer Singers Alliance
a non-auditioned community chorus that celebrates queer, trans, and non-binary identities through the joy of singing. 

SummerSing
a summer choral project - everyone is welcome. You do not have to know how to read music and there are no auditions.

Harmony Falls Chorus, Trumnsburg
a women's a capella chorus
harmonyfallschorus.com

Ithaca Community Orchestra
supports community musical education - ehearsal and performance of the classical orchestral repertoire, as well as music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
ithacacommunityorchestra.org

Ithaca Concert Band
Ithaca's official community band, celebrating music-making for all ages. ICB offers free concerts throughout the year, including an outdoor summer concert series.
ithacaconcertband.org

 

Performing Arts & Media Organizations

Canaan Institute, Brooktondale
Traditional Music - year round concerts.  
canaaninstitute.org

Cinemapolis, Downtown Ithaca 
a first-run movie theater specializing in independent, foreign, and locally-produced films.
cinemapolis.org

The Cherry, Ithaca 
an evolving ensemble of Ithaca's most talented and dynamic professional theatre artists that is Radically local, Radically international, and Formally innovative.
thecherry.org

Comedy on The Commons, Downtown Ithaca
comedyonthecommons.com

CLASSES: Circus Culture, Downtown Ithaca 
circusculture.org

Civic Ensemble, , Downtown Ithaca
creates theater that explores and explodes the social, political, and cultural issues of our time - bringing audiences of different races, classes, and experiences together.
civicensemble.org

CLASSES and GALLERY: Community School of Music and Arts, Downtown Ithaca 
instruction in music, dance, visual arts, theater, and language arts. 
csma-ithaca.org

Cornell Cinema
classic Hollywood and foreign films, independent titles, documentaries, experimental work, recent international cinema, silent films, cult classics and arthouse hits, in addition to guest appearances by visiting film and videomakers.
cinema.cornell.edu

Cornell Department of Performing and Media Arts
performances and events including a mixture of new work, film screenings, and dance festivals.
pma.cornell.edu

Encore Players Community Theatre, Trumansburg
a venue for children, youth, and adults to participate in the rewarding experience of theater.
encoreplayers.org

Fitz&Startz Productions
Theatre for All Ages!
fitzandstartzproductions.org

Hangar Theatre, Ithaca 
a professional regional theatre presenting full-scale musicals, classics, comedies, dramas, cabaret, and world premieres, along withplays and musicals for kids of all ages and year-round education programs.
hangartheatre.org

House of Ithaqua
dark theatre and film to entertain, unsettle, inspire and promote thought-provoking dialogues in our community. houseofithaqua.com

Ithaca Ballet, Downtown Ithaca 
Upstate New York’s only repertory company and is the resident ballet company at the State Theatre in downtown Ithaca.
IthacaBallet.org

Ithaca City of Asylum
COA provides refuge in Ithaca for writers and artists whose works are suppressed, whose lives are threatened, whose cultures are vanishing, and whose languages are endangered. Annual programming. 
ithacacityofasylum.com

Ithaca College Main Stage Theater
 by the Ithaca College Theater Department for the general public. 
ithaca.edu/academics/school-music-theatre-and-dance/concerts-performances-and-events

Ithaca Shakespeare Company
ithacashakespeare.org

Lilpad Puppet Theatre
performances and workshops and so much more. 
lilypadpuppettheatre.org/

Kitchen Theatre, Downtown Ithaca
professional theater that challenges the intellect, excites the imagination, informs and entertains. 
kitchentheatre.org

Pandoluci Studios
"Cultivating the art of play" through theatre, dance, music and storytelling. 
Pandoluci.com

Running to Places Theatre Company
youth community theatre company engaged in youth development..helping to raise our community's children and making excellent theatre in the process. 
www.runningtoplaces.org

Story House Ithaca
share, study, create, and enjoy stories in all their forms - workshops, presentations, participatory projects, performances, and other activities.
storyhouseithaca.org/

State Theatre, Downtwon Ithaca 
75 events each year - concerts, theater, comedy, classic movies, dance. readings, and community performances.
StateofIthaca.org

Theatre Incognita
theatreincognita.org

Triphammer Arts, Town of Lansing 
brings together dancers and musicians from the area - music and dance productions both outdoors and indoors
Triphammer.org

Walking on Water Productions
engaging, entertaining, and elevating theatre
wakingonwaterproductions.org

 

Literary Locations & Happenings

STORE: Buffalo Street Books, Downtown Ithaca
has author readings, performances, a bookclub and more.
buffalostreetbooks.com

Cornell Reading Series
During the academic year, the Creative Writing Program sponsors poetry and fiction readings by guest writers and writers in residence.
english.cornell.edu/zalaznick

Groton Public Library
grotonpubliclibrary.net

Ithaca is Books Festival, Downtown Ithaca
a celebration of books and learning.
www.ithacaisbooks.org/

Lansing Library
lansinglibrary.org

Lansing Performing Arts Center
performance series - Jazz Star and Poetry Meets Music.
savageclubofithaca.com/

New Voices Literary Festival
a collaborative effort of the Writing and English Departments of Ithaca College,  he schools of Humanities and Sciences, Theater, and the Park School of Communications. 
ithaca.edu/academics/school-humanities-and-sciences/writing/new-voices-festival

Newfield Public Library
newfieldpubliclibrary.org

Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts & Saltonstall Arts Colony, Town of Dryden
serves New York State artists and writers - subsidized residencies, retreats. Open House events and yearly exhibitions and readings featuring residency alumni.  
saltonstall.org

Southworth Library, Village of Dryden
southworthlibrary.org

Spring Writes Literary Festival, Downtown Ithaca
an annual festival (live and Zoom) of combined workshops, panels, performances, and public events for writers and readers. 
www.springwrites.org

Story House Ithaca
share, study, create, and enjoy stories in all their forms - workshops, presentations, participatory projects, performances, and other activities.
storyhouseithaca.org/

Tompkins County Public Library, Downtown Ithaca
See events! tcpl.org

Ulysses Library,  Village of Trumansburg 
trumansburglibrary.org

Local Museums

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell 
On Cornell University campus, the Museum’s permanent collection numbers more than 35,000 works
museum.cornell.edu

The History Center, Downtown Ithaca
Exhibit Hall - -preserving and encouraging access to unique collections, learning experiences and services.
www.thehistorycenter.net

Museum of the Earth, Route 96 north
Learn about Earth in a fun and engaging way - permanent and temporary exhibits and rotating events.
museumoftheearth.org

Sciencenter, Downtown Ithaca 
The hands-on museum offers guests of all ages more than 250 exhibits, educational programs, a gift shop, and seasonal outdoor science playground and 18-hole mini-golf course. 
sciencenter.org

Wharton Studio Museum
to preserve and celebrate the role Ithaca and the region played in the history of American filmmaking/ See events, and plans to develop the Wharton Studio Museum and Park Center. fingerlakesfilmtrail.org
whartonstudiomuseum.org