Paterson: Art & the Mills- F. Duignan & Neighbors
On May 11th, 2026, the Paterson Museum will open a new exhibition, Paterson: Art & the Mills- F. Duignan & Neighbors. On view through July 31st, 2026, this exhibit will explore the creative atmosphere of the Essex and Phoenix Mills and celebrate the artwork of several of its residents.
In 1983, Paterson initiated subsidized housing for artists in two old abandoned mills in the newly designated Great Falls / SUM Historic District. These two, former silk mills were among many empty factory buildings in the district that had once manufactured a variety of products including locomotives, guns, silk and machinery. In the 1980s all types of artists were invited to apply to live in the new housing—painters, musicians, poets, photographers, and arts workers with the hopes of establishing a creative community and a shop and gallery center.
Paterson: Art & the Mills- F. Duignan & Neighbors focuses on the visual artists who lived in the refurbished mills from the 1980s to the early 2000s and some who still live there today. This heterogenous group of art makers shared this housing, the neighborhood, and engaged in a noisy, creative interaction.
Please join us for a special reception on Saturday, May 16th, from 1pm-4pm. Informal conversation with the Guest Curator, Sara Lynn Henry at 2:30pm. Sara Lynn Henry is an independent curator, art writer, and Emerita Professor of Art History and N.E.H. Distinguished Teaching Professor of Humanities, Emerita, Drew University.
