The Saratoga Film Forum

The film forum has finished for the season. We will be back with more in the fall!

The Film Forum is back and dedicated to bringing independent films to audiences in downtown Saratoga! Every Thursday night for twelve weeks we'll screen in the Dee Sarno Theater at 7:00pm, with a special emphasis on recent indie, foreign, and documentary work. The Film Forum aims to bring the community together through cinema, and offer opportunities to engage with the medium in a more meaningful way. 

Improv Spaces Music Festival

Sunday, September 6th, 2026 11:00 AM-9:00 PM

From experimental electronics and percussion to percussive tap dancing, contemporary classical and new music, free improvisation, electric harp, piano, modular synth, Indigenous flute and drum, and improvised video projection, this day-long festival brings together artists from the Capital Region, NYC, and beyond.

Featured artists include Next Jazz Legacy artist and tap dancer Melissa Almaguer, presenting a solo set combining tap, percussion, and electronics; acclaimed percussionist and improviser Andrew Drury with veteran improvising pianist Alexis Marcelo; and adventurous new-music quartet Hypercube (Andrea Lodge, piano; Jay Sorce, electric guitar; Erin Rogers, saxophones; and Chris Graham, percussion) performing contemporary works across electric and acoustic worlds.

NYC synthesist and composer-improviser Matthew Ryals will present Rotational Motifs – An Improvisation for Solo Modular Synthesizer and lead a workshop, Developing an Improvisational Language with the Modular Synthesizer. Percussionist and composer Matt Weston will perform his original work For Arthur Brooks and discuss his innovative practice.

Improv Spaces resident Rock City Falls Trio (Alex Chang, electric harp; Jason Handron, bass; and Adam Forman, drums) will collaborate with multidisciplinary artist Carlin Ma on a new experimental work exploring the Earth, environment, music, video, and audience experience.

Joseph and Jesse Bruchac will open the festival with storytelling and improvisational music with Native flute and drum. The Improv Spaces Ensemble will close the performance program with a collaboratively composed, site-responsive work featuring Adam Tinkle, Chuck Ver Straeten, Bernadette Speach, Jeffrey Schanzer, Christian Cocco, and Alex Chang, with improvised video projection by Derick Noetzel.

Throughout the day, audiences can also experience A Place by the Name of Hell, a multimedia installation by Athens-based artist Adrianos Efthymiadis with improvised music by Capital Region musician djdrummernk, alongside local artists, independent labels, music organizations, vendors, merchandise, and more.

Community vendors will include Paper Moon, Roust Records, Matthew Klane, The Silver Factory, Mt. Ida Preservation Hall, and The Sanctuary for Independent Media.

Special Thanks to sponsor Yesfolk Tonics.

ISMF + TOPOS: Every ISMF ticket purchase includes access to a 30% discount for EMPAC's TOPOS 2026 Music Festival, taking place during the days leading up to ISMF. TOPOS will also feature two Improv Spaces-curated sets on September 5 by Rock City Falls Trio and Sun Dogs.

Tickets

$20 Advance

$25 Standard
$35 Ticket + Festival Shirt Bundle
$15 Seniors/Students
FREE for children under 12

Get tickets here!

Opening Reception 

Saturday, September 12th, 2026 6:00-8:00 PM

Disquiet featuring Sara Alonge and Kevin Mosca

Disquiet features the work of Sara Alonge and Kevin Mosca. The two bring unsettling visual poetics to ideas of home and the familiarity of routine. Alonge explores the transitory nature of home and Mosca creates a fictionalized town, the two come together asking: what happens when the places we inhabit are more imagined than real?

Machine Notes: Jennifer Maher Coleman Solo Exhibition

As a painter and musician, it’s been exciting to merge two parallel passions in my current series of “portraits” of classic, iconic music gear. These paintings honor the machines that bring the sounds conjured in our minds into the world for all to hear. The project has evolved out of my ongoing interest in painting vintage and classic toys, expanding the definition of “toy” to include a range of tools that facilitate creative catharsis. I depict these shining, architectural objects at a larger-than-life scale, to reflect their revered status in their particular realm.

Opening Reception 

Saturday, September 12th, 2026 6:00-8:00 PM

Youngworld: The Mantis Shrimp Matrix

Immersive multimedia installation by Sarah Pedinotti — U.S. debut

On view September 12–24, 2026

An immersive, surround-sound multimedia installation by artist and musician Sarah Pedinotti, built from recycled and ocean-bound materials sourced in the Capital Region. The U.S. debut of an evolving project presented in Bangkok and Tokyo, reimagined entirely for Saratoga Springs.

More Info:@liptalkliptalkon Instagram |liptalk.space

Prof Dev NYSCA/NYFA Artist as Entrepreneur

Apply by September 13th by 11:59 pm

Program dates: October 22-25, 2026

Artists of all disciplines based in Saratoga, Fulton, and Montgomery Counties in New York State are encouraged to apply to participate in this FREE entrepreneurial program to be presented in Saratoga Springs, NY by Saratoga Arts.

Apply and more info here

2026 Fall Art in the Park

Saturday, September 26th, 2026, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM

Original works of fine art or artisanal wares only.

Booth fee: $75 member/$100 non-member

Artist Talk

Saturday, October 10th, 2026 12:00-2:00 PM

with a short film screening by Kevin Mosca

This event is free and open to the public!

You'll learn about their processes, inspiration, and ideas, with a chance to ask questions regarding their artwork. Our juried exhibitions highlight artists from the Capital Region, this is a great opportunity to both hear about their practices, meet and connect with the exhibiting artists.

The talk will take place in the Main and Atrium Galleries at 320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY.

Saratoga Arts Annual Fundraiser Celebrating its 40th Anniversary and Honoring Dee Sarno

Thursday, October 15th, 2026  6:00-9:00 PM

The Night Owl, 17 Maple Ave, Saratoga Springs, NY

Get tickets here!

Join the honorary committee here!

NYSCA/NYFA Artist Resources and Services Presentation

Friday, October 23rd, 2026 5:00-6:00 PM

Free and open to the public.

NYSCA/NYFA Arts Administrators Meetup 

Saturday, October 24th, 2026 5:00-6:00 PM

Free and open to the public.