The Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute in Utica changed its name to Munson in 2023.
The Fine Arts Center is dedicated to serving diverse audiences by advancing the appreciation, understanding, and enjoyment of the arts.
Founded in 1919, the building was constructed in a Victorian style and serves as a place of education and world-renowned artwork.
The institute is named after three different generations of the Munson family, prolific art collectors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum formally opened in 1936 in the family’s home.
The School of Art opened in 1941. In 2000 the Pratt College of Art and Design had its first class attend through a partnership with the Munson Williams Proctor Institute. Students who attend the program can study either the museum itself or the performing arts.
Featured artwork at the Institute includes the work of Georgia O’Keefe, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Jackson Pollock. Their work is scattered among the eighteen collections that can be found in the museum.
The Institute offers workshops to the community.
There is no entry fee to get into Munson, but there are some things inside that guests might have to pay for such as performing arts season events. Memberships are also available, starting at $25. The Institute is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Mondays.
2024 Performing Arts Season
Between Worlds: Stories of Artists and Migration
Saturday, February 17 – Sunday, May 5, 2024
This exhibition showcases painters, photographers, printmakers, jewelers, sculptors, and textile artists whose art reflects the experiences and unfamiliar surroundings they faced when leaving their homelands and traveling to somewhere new to start a new life.
Free Admission
The Secret Agency
Saturday, April 25, 2024, 10:00 am
The Secret Agency is one of Munson’s Art Alive! Programs featured on family days. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is a Grammy-winning family funk phenomenon. He creates incredible hip-hop-inspired music while telling stories in the fashion of science fiction.
Free Admission
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel: Three Great Romantics: Tchaikovsky, Brahams, and Grieg
Saturday, May 4, 2024, 7:30 pm
Acclaimed concert pianist, Jeffrey Siegel will bring the audience through the masterpieces of three iconic composers and delve into January 1, 1888 – the first and only time these three were together.
$23 Members; $28 General Public; $15 Students
Concerts in the Court: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Saturday, May 18, 2024, 7:30 pm
Hailing from New Orleans, the Grammy-winning Dirty Dozen Brass Band is celebrating over 45 years since its founding. They blend together a variety of genres including funk, R&B, soul, and bebop jazz.
$23 Members; $28 General Public; $10 Students
American Landscapes: From the New-York Historical Society
Thursday, June 13, 2024; 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Works from artists part of the Hudson River School, a group of American artists inspired by the Hudson River Valley and adjacent areas, will be on display These artists including Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand focused on the details of each landscape by also the area’s mood and atmosphere.
Free for Members; $15.00 General Public
The area’s longest-running summertime celebration of arts and community; it includes the Munson Car Show, Sidewalk Art Show, Steamrollin’ Prints, outdoor concerts by local and regional musicians every evening, and the special summer exhibition at the Museum of Art.
The Sidewalk Art Show is a juried week-long outdoor art exhibition that is a hallmark of the Arts Festival. Artworks are displayed outside the Museum of Art and voted on by a jury as well as the public in five categories: watercolor; works on paper; photography; sculpture; oil, acrylic, and mixed media. Artworks are for sale throughout the Arts Festival.
The Munson Car Show is one of the most popular car shows in Central New York. Collectors can register to show their cars during the first day of the Arts Festival and have the option for their vehicles to be judged in different class categories. Attendees can also see cars of collectors who have been specially invited to exhibit outside of Fountain Elms.
Steamrollin’ Prints is an all-day print-making extravaganza featuring 25 artists who make large relief prints under the drum of a nine-ton construction roller from the Oneida County Department of Public Works. Munson partners with a different area art gallery each year to display prints after the Arts Festival. Steamrollin’ Prints is usually the Thursday of Arts Festival week but is subject to change.
Usually taking place in the summer, be sure to check out Munson’s website to find out this year’s dates!
“Here is another special Utica place! You would not think that the Mohawk valley as such a prestigious art museum, but here it is.”
—William JM, Trip Advisor
Take Amtrak to the Munson Williams Proctor Institute
Experience this unforgettable attraction via Amtrak to Utica Union Station in Central New York—Don’t forget to use the See New York & Save 15% discount!
