Dear Friends of the HRM,

One year ago this month, everything shut down as COVID-19 ravaged the world. We sheltered in place, and adjusted to working and learning remotely. And our brave frontline workers—from healthcare professionals to teachers to police and firefighters to transit and food workers—kept us going.

In May 2020, the Hudson River Museum invited teachers and students to submit images or writing that reflected this new reality: what they could see outside their window. We were moved and overwhelmed by the response from near and far, and how the art works creatively and beautifully expressed their individual experiences and our common humanity.

The result is the virtual exhibition, Outside My Window: Students Reflect on Life During COVID-19, which launches today in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of when the world went into lockdown. It features outstanding art works from 93 talented young artists, Pre-K–Grade 12, from 11 schools from nearby Yonkers to as far away as Mexico, each one capturing their unique perspectives on life spent inside the confines of their homes during the pandemic. Together, the works chronicle the historic time we have been living, and connect us by capturing moments that have been challenging or uplifting, dark or beautiful.

As the pandemic continues to affect our everyday lives, the distribution of vaccines gives us hope that soon we will be outside our windows, together. We dedicate this virtual exhibition to all those we lost in the past year. May their memory continue to inspire the next generation.

And we are grateful to the resilient young people who help us to look toward the future with imagination, vision, and optimism.

Warmest regards,

Masha Turchinsky
Director and CEO

Saralinda Lichtblau
Assistant Director, Education