Participants will be able to get hands on experience with artistic forms ranging from pottery to improv comedy when the Kingston Midtown Arts District hosts its ninth annual Arts Expo at the Kingston Center of SUNY Ulster. The free, family-friendly event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 8.

The day-long expo will offer workshops and demonstrations that will be presented in one hour “bursts,” allowing attendees to sample offerings from a range of Kingston artists. Guests can try their hand at pottery in a “clay room” hosted by Bailey Potter and Cornell Creative Arts Center. The PUGG Youth Workforce Team will host a printmaking room, while the Center for Photography Woodstock (Which recently made Midtown Kingston home) will run photography workshops. Guests with a literary bent can explore zine making and flash fiction courtesy of the Kingston Library. Other workshops will cover the performing arts, including hip-hop dance, world music, acting, and improv comedy. Registration and other information about the event is available at madkingston.org.

"MAD's goal is to uplift art in Midtown Kingston and encourage community-building. This event is truly what we are about!" said Executive Director Lisa Kelley of the event.

MAD was founded in 2016 to bring together an arts community that had been quietly blossoming in studios and small artisan’s workshops that flourished in a neighborhood where rents were still affordable and — like SoHo in the 1960s — former factory buildings offered ideal “live/work” spaces. Since then, the city has, to a large extent, staked its future on the arts. Since taking office in 2016, Mayor Steve Noble has established an office of arts and culture at City Hall, while a grant-funded arts and culture master plan seeks to integrate the arts with all aspects of city government.

KMAD, meanwhile, has evolved from a loose association of artists and arts-based businesses into a multi-faceted nonprofit whose mission includes education and the nurturing of an arts workforce through internships and other programs.