Downtown Syracuse
Calendar of Events

Realities Within

Realities Within presents four enduring genres of artmaking to explore how artists shape, frame, and inhabit the world. Whether a landscape, cityscape, still life, or representation of the human body, these works show how each artist’s reality is impacted by their lived experience. Separated by genre and installed “salon-style”—a term inspired by the eighteenth and nineteenth century Paris Salons, where paintings were hung from floor to ceiling, covering every inch of wall space—the dense arrangement invites close looking and visual comparison, encouraging viewers to find connections across time, style, and subject matter.

The landscape section explores artists’ responses to the natural world, from expansive vistas to intimate views. In contrast, the cityscape section examines the built environment, capturing rhythms of urban life and the evolving character of towns and cities across America. The still life section turns inward, focusing on interior spaces and objects arranged and captured with deliberation. The section with representations of the body centers on the human presence, revealing varied approaches to capturing likeness, identity, and expression.

Featuring old favorites alongside new acquisitions, Realities Within offers a dynamic survey of artistic observation, highlighting how artists have continually returned to these genres to interpret the visible world.

Julia Kunin: Electric Dream Machines

With their lustrous surfaces and evocative shapes, the ceramic works of Brooklyn-based artist Julia Kunin aim for maximum sensory overload. Kunin forges disparate influences like Art Deco, Surrealism, and queer abstraction into shimmering ceramic sculptures. For Kunin, discovery and free association reign supreme. Kunin’s mental process echoes her physical process, ping-ponging from one concept to the next. An allusion to a surrealist artist might lead to a rabbit hole about geopolitics or queer identity. Although her stream of consciousness can seem like a firehose, Kunin follows her trail of breadcrumbs with rigorous research—she has even learned entire languages to facilitate her work. 
About the Artist: Julia Kunin lives and works in Brooklyn, New York and Pecs, Hungary where she conducts research and develops new work. She received her BA from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and an MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. She has exhibited extensively in Europe as well as the United States. Kunin was a Fulbright Scholar to Hungary in 2013. She is the recipient of a 2010 Trust for Mutual Understanding Grant to Hungary. In 2008 she received the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and had a residency at Art Omi. In 2007 she received the John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry Artist Residency. Fellowships have included: MacDowell Colony, New Hampshire; Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, New York; Vermont Studio Center, Vermont; Core Program at the Glassell School of Art, Houston, Texas; and Skowhegan Residency, Maine. Her work has been featured in ARTnews, House and Garden, the Brooklyn Rail, and in Harmony Hammond’s book Lesbian Art in America (Rizzoli, 2000). Kunin’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; Museum of Applied Art and Design, Frankfurt, Germany; Sculpture Center, New York; and Brattleboro Museum, Vermont. Her work is part of the permanent collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; German Leather Museum, Offenbach, Germany; the Margulies Collection, Miami, Florida; and the Museum of Art and Design, New York.

Downtown Syracuse Farmers Market

The Downtown Syracuse Farmers Market, organized by the Downtown Committee of Syracuse and presented by Community Bank, Inc., will feature fresh produce, seasonal vegetables, fruits, baked goods, flowers, plants, and more from local vendors and visitors enjoyed entertainment during the “Lunchtime Live Music Series” from 11:30am - 1:30pm each week.

The "Lunchtime Live Music Series" was made possible with funding from the Tier Three Project Support program, a regrant program from the County of Onondaga, with the support of the County Executive and administered by CNY Arts. Additionally, this project receives support through grant funding from Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today.

Brewer Harris Projects Presents “Mosaic Narratives” Exhibition

Mosaic Narratives

September 11 - October 24, 2026

Ellen M. Blalock, Tina Williams Brewer, Isis Davis Marks, Beverly Y. Smith

Rooted in one of America’s oldest and most enduring art traditions, Mosaic Narratives brings quilting, textiles, and fiber-based practices into the art gallery through an exhibition centering Black women artists and their vital contributions to the evolution of these forms.

The gallery is free to the public and we are open Thursdays - Saturdays, 12 PM - 6:00 PM, and also by appointment.

Arc of Onondaga and Redhouse - Fall Acting Workshop

Students, both experienced and new to Theatre, participate in acting exercises and games while being mentored by professional performers. The workshop culminates in an original sketch show celebrating the actors strengths and hard work.
For: Children of all abilities, ages 12 – 18Dates: Saturdays September 26 – November 21Times: 12pm – 4pmLocations: Sept-October at OneGroup, 706 N Clinton St, Syracuse, NY 13204November at Redhouse, 400 S Salina St, Syracuse, NY 13202

To register, reach out to Sarah ClarkEmail: sarah.clark@arcon.orgPhone: 315-476-7441

Babelfest 2026

Returning after a high-energy inaugural year, Babelfest showcases new and developing plays as part of a 4-day festival that centers bold voices and fearless experimentation.

Staged Readings:The United States of Us book and lyrics by Alan Gordon, music by Joy Son Thursday, October 8 at 7:00 PMSaturday, October 10 at 2:00 PM
Harry, Bess, and Alonzo, An Imagined History by Fred Grandy Friday, October 9 at 8:00 PMSaturday, October 10 at 6:00 PMSunday, October 11 at 2:00 PM
So What If You Love Me? by Blondean Young Friday, October 9 at 6:00 PMSaturday, October 10 at 4:00 PM
Short Play Festival:Someone Enters by Binaifer DabuSpring Again by Jacob LutskyNo Honor Among Squirrels by Len FonteSing It Again by Gemma Cooper-Novack
Saturday, October 10 at 8:00 PMSunday, October 11 at 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM
And a "Developing Your Process" seminar with Temar Underwood Friday, October 9 at 4:00 PM

Abstract & Semi-Abstract Carving Workshop

This workshop introduces participants to subtractive sculpture—the process of creating a form by removing material rather than building it up. Working with either a bar of soap or a block of floral foam, participants will explore how carving can transform a simple block into an expressive three-dimensional sculpture.

Discover form through observation and experimentation. Rather than forcing the material into a predetermined shape, participants will learn to respond to its qualities, allowing curves, planes, openings, and textures to emerge as they carve. Inspiration will be drawn from the work of modern sculptors such as Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, whose simplified organic forms demonstrate how abstraction can express movement, balance, and emotion.

No previous sculpting experience is necessary—only patience, curiosity, and a willingness to experiment. All tools and materials provided.

This workshop is taught by Everson Teaching Artist Greg Lendeck.