The Dia:Beacon is a phenomenal space to spend time thinking, observing, and marveling in an abstract world of contemporary art. Originally built in 1929 as a Nabisco box printing factory, the space has now been reconstructed into a minimalist, custom space that maximizes natural light and the exhibitions that live in it. With dozens of unique works, it is clear to see why Dia:Beacon is one of the top arts and culture hotspots in the Hudson Valley.
The Dia Arts Foundation is comprised of a variety of sites all across the world. Dia:Beacon is the largest of the bunch — both in exhibition space and in collection volume. The museum opened in 2003 and has quickly attributed to the gentrification of the city of Beacon. Maria Celi, Director of Visitor Experience today, said, “I came to the opening in 2003. Basically the town of Beacon was as dangerous as the Lower East Side was the 70s. It was filled with drugs, boarded up buildings, you wouldn’t go into town. You came on the train and you left on the train.” Since the opening of the museum, there has been a massive growth in vistorship as well as growth within the city. Since Celi left her former position at The Guggenheim, “attendance has grown from 70,000 in 2014 to over 100,000 today.”
With an influx of artists leaving New York City due to expensive living costs and the growing reputation of Dia:Beacon, the museum has been able to help grow the city in more ways than one. They partner with local restaurants, hotels and art programs. Celi says that Dia:Beacon is now one of Dutchess County’s top 10 contributors to hiring — behind the prisons and colleges, she notes.
Gaile Carol Griffiths, a gallery attendant at Dia:Beacon helped to explain what lives inside the vast space. With a traditional background in painting, the works found in Dia:Beacon we foriegn to Griffiths when she first began working for Dia. She explains that, “A lot of the visitors who come here are not familiar with this kind of art. This isn’t the kind of work I studied in art school, so it has really opened my eyes to this world of art. It’s very nice to have a place where you can go and really explore and live with it.”
And live with it, she has. Celi explains, “The thing about Dia that makes it special is that we dedicate specific sites or galleries to one artist. We also do very long term exhibitions, as opposed to galleries or even museums that do a 3 month — we do 2 years, 9 months, 5 years — for one artist.” Visitors can not just spend an hour walking through the space. It will take them hours, and multiple trips to, “make their own decisions about the artwork.” Griffiths says, “When people come to me and are puzzled and feel like this is something they can’t understand, I say you need to give it some time, spend time with it, look at it for a while, and come back. You know, it’s not hard to understand at all. It’s probably one of the least difficult art forms to understand. It’s not paint, it’s not sculpture, for the most part; it is what it is — usually built by materials.”
While this is the biggest location of work, the Dia Art Foundation offers similarly breathtaking experiences around the globe. Celi say, “Think of it as a constellation, a cluster, Dia Art Foundation is the main hub, and then we have all these sites which are the constellations.”
Dia Art Foundation started in New York City in the 1970s. They had built exhibition space in Soho, which ultimately moved to Chelsea, where there main headquarters now live. A few years after Dia:Beacon opened, the Chelsea exhibition space closed down. Since then, they have reopened to offer a variety of experiences within the city.
New York City
Dia:Chelsea
535 West 22nd Street: Public Programs & Administrative Offices
541 West 22nd Street: Rita McBride — Particulates
545 West 22nd Street: Fraçois Morellet
Times Square: Max Neuhaus
393 West Broadway: The Broken Kilometer — Walter De Maria
See all national and global Dia experiences at https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit
A great amount of Dia:Beacon’s visitors come from New York City and Brooklyn or surrounding areas in New Jersey or Connecticut. With Dia’s bundle tickets, visitors are able to visit all locations with an admission fee with one ticket. The Dia Art Foundation also hold two annual fundraising events. They have their annual benefit each May which is a seated lunch for 500 people. Their November Fall Night, which occured recently on November 5, is a larger event for about 600–700 people. People can purchase seats or individual tables and the money raised goes towards operating costs. Celi says, “There aren’t that many grants out there and there are going to be less and less with this government, so we need to fundraise. That is why we charge admission.”
General admission is $15 per person and is lowered to $12 for students and seniors. All Dia members and children under the age of 12 are admitted for free. Free admission is also offered to all city of Beacon residents on Saturdays and Sundays. Dia visitors are also offered the option of joint admission (Dia:Beacon & Dia:Chelsea) at $20 per person or $16 for students and seniors. For more information on transportation and seasonal hours, please visit diaart.org.
