The Lake George Arts Project was established in 1977 to offer comprehensive programs in the arts. Its mission is to provide exposure and income opportunities to professional and emerging artists, and to provide quality arts programming for the residents and visitors of the Lake George region.
Most of our concerts, programs, and gallery shows are FREE and OPEN TO ALL thanks to the generous support of our members, sponsors and partners. We also couldn’t exist without the help of our many volunteers. Please join the LGAP family.
Our Staff
Tanya Tobias-Tomis, Executive Director
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Tanya is the newest member of the team, but has close to two decades of non-profit experience, including 6 years at the Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, and 12 years at Saratoga Arts. Tanya has a BFA in Art History from U Albany, and a Masters degree in Arts Administration and Museum Education from Skidmore College. Tanya is a past Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader Scholarship Award Winner and has been an Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader Award Panelist, as well as an exhibition juror and guest speaker for many local and regional arts organizations. Since 2011, Tanya has worked with the Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council’s Latino Advocacy Program. Tanya currently sits on the steering committee for the Saratoga County EOC’s Latino Advocacy Program’s Estamos Aqui fundraiser, the Board of Directors of the Hudson River Mill Museum and is on the Board of Directors for the Adirondack Folk School. Tanya lives in Hadley with her husband, their four year old daughter, a feisty Akita mix, Odin, and the sweetest cat in the blueline, Meepers. Before she had a toddler, Tanya enjoyed doing doing yard work, woodworking and gardening. When she has time again, she would love to take up furniture making as a hobby and plans on asking Laura for gardening advice.
Laura Von Rosk, Gallery Director
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Laura has been with LGAP for 21 years, overseeing and curating exhibitions at the Courthouse Gallery, and assisting with LGAP’s many fundraising events. Her efforts to increase the visibility of LGAP’s visual art programing has lead to strong partnerships and unique collaborations with regional nonprofits, as well as increased state, foundation and businesses support. Laura is also a practicing artist (www.lauravonrosk.com). Her awards include a NYFA Painting Fellowship; a Pollack-Krasner Grant; and artist residencies throughout the country, including Yaddo, Millay and VCCA. She currently lives in Schroon Lake with her husband and their two rescue mutt mix dogs. When not at LGAP, or in the studio, she is busy keeping bees and striving to be a better gardener.
Daniel Kelly, Jazz Weekend Artistic Director and Curator
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Daniel Kelly is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Connection Works, an artist-run non-profit organization based in Brooklyn that, since 2007, has presented workshops for young people and produced over 250 concerts, featuring artists such as Grammy award-winner Joe Lovano, NEA Jazz Masters Dave Liebman & Shelia Jordan and MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipients Dafnis Prieto & Steve Coleman.
Kelly’s music has been declared “powerfully moving” by Time Out New York, and he has brought his unique talent to performances with Grammy award-winning jazz legends Michael Brecker and Joe Lovano, hip-hop star Lauryn Hill, and modern classical giants the Bang on a Can All-Stars, to name a few. Learn more about his work at https://www.danielkellymusic.com.
John Strong, Executive Director (retired Jan 2020)
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John Strong served as Executive Director from 1981-2020. He’s a member of the (in)famous Stony Creek Band www.stonycreekband.com and has a day (Dec 16) named in honor of him in Lake George Village. John was instrumental in starting the Courthouse Gallery Exhibition Series; curating the Summer Concert Series in Shepard Park; and co-founding the Lake George Jazz Weekend. He was also a ring-leader with many of the Arts Project’s notable fundraisers, including Bands ‘n Beans, Solstice Cruise, and the Black Velvet Art Party.
Our Board of Directors
President, Todd Rehm
Vice President, Jeff Garry
Treasurer, William Green
Secretary, Sandra Culver
Steve Babson
Sam Bowser
Mollie Christianson
Bob Flacke, Jr.
Alexander Garry
Nathan Hall
Glenda Howland
Brett Lange
Gary McCoola
Margaret Wallace
A Bit of History
Originally a Comprehensive Employment Training Act project, the Arts Project’s early years produced the Prospect Mountain Sculpture Show (1979), a major exhibition that attracted national media acclaim; the Summer Concert Series (which continues in Shepard Park during July and August); and numerous community arts workshops, presentations, school programs, and fairs. The end of CETA in 1981 (and the consequent loss of six of the then seven employees) heralded a period of rethinking and rebuilding of programs. A second major outdoor visual arts exhibition, Ice and Air Show, was held in 1983.
In 1984, the Arts Project produced its first annual Jazz Weekend, and moved to a location capable of housing a gallery. The Courthouse Gallery opened in 1985, and marked the Arts Project’s return to year-round arts programming. In 1986, the Arts Project recommenced literary programming with an annual three-month writer-in-residence. Special visual art events have included Riverrun Yes (1988, Dan George); Cross-Wind Tunnel (1991, George Peters), and Birdwatching in Lake George (1999, Jane Ingram Allen). A new Shepard Park stage, with input and fundraising by LGAP was commemorated in 1990. Off-season jazz concerts held at the Hyde Collection’s new facility began in 1991.
The Collectors’ Club subscription to limited edition works of art began in 1992, as did a yearly residency for young visual artists. The Arts Project’s biannual literary review, The Lake George Arts Project Literary Review, was published in late 1993; the second volume came out in the fall of 1995, and a third in 1997. From 1997 Through 2008, jazz patrons John and Marilyn Breyo donated over $200,000 toward performance fees for the Lake George Jazz Weekend. Beginning in 2009 Kenneth and Susan Gruskin have become major supporters of the Jazz Weekend.
