ART BAR? 4 UPSTATE BARS WHERE ART IS THE DRAW
*Updated July 2026
With people staying at home more often + drinking less in bars, could arts + crafts be the answer? The owners of these 4 bars think so.
Maybe you’ve been to an art gallery reception and enjoyed a glass of wine while perusing the art on show. In Troy, you might have been to Arts Bar, a moveable bar-on-wheels, inside the Arts Center of the Capital Region + wheeled out for evening events like the popular monthly Troy Night Out. Lately, Instagram has been awash with bars across the U.S. hosting curated art nights, some offering painting or sketching supplies with still life arrangements or even live figure drawing with models (fully clothed.)
It was only a matter of time before we saw the trend upstate and here we are with three—now four—area bars: The Hereafter and Merkin both in Hudson, Whiskey Pickle in Troy, and Toni’s Wine Bar in Schenectady, all putting pencils + paint on the menu.
We checked in + asked the owners about the art nights in their bars.
TONI’S WINE BAR — WEDNESDAY FIGURE DRAWING
“We began by participating in Schenectady’s Art Night by hosting figure drawing. Although it was great, due to space limitations we decided to move our event to Wednesdays and instead participate in Art Night by offering drink specials and encouraging people to stop in along their travels. So we decided to have a reoccurring figure drawing class on the first Wednesday of every month starting in April. It will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and the cost is $10 that goes directly to our model, Krissy, who also bartends for us.
Art Night is a Schenectady-wide event hosted on the third Friday of every month. It was started by Craig Petreikis, a local artist. Establishments throughout the city house local artists’ work and he puts out a map each month of participating businesses. It’s mostly shops but we’ve been trying to encourage food/drink establishments to find a way to participate. Businesses on Jay Street have also been working on ideas to drum up interest. In my perfect world, we could get Art Night to be busy for Schenectady the way Troy Night Out is.”
— Toni Riggi, owner, Toni’s Wine Bar. [Art photo, provided.]
WHISKEY PICKLE — THE PICKLE ARTS AND CRAFTS CLUB!
“Ours is a show up and an open format to draw, paint and craft. It started as me just getting back into painting as a therapeutic practice.
We offer materials to use for $5, but people are free to just bring their own. I’m doing it every other Sunday starting in April. Sundays from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. — or basically until we close, midnight.”
— Jamel Mosely, owner, Whiskey Pickle
[Pickle knight by Tim Irwin.]
THE HEREAFTER — SIP + SKETCH
Hosted in collaboration with Hudson Open Studios, The Hereafter is offering live model sketching on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. with 15 spots. No need to sign up, just first come, first served. Artists should to bring their own materials, pen and pencil only, and a max sketch pad size of 11” x 14” — which makes sense given the diminutive proportions of the bar. Artist and educator Pauline Decarmo is on hand to guide the group, while owners Jeremy Dubroff and Isi Laborde offer their usual happy hour specials: $10 classic cocktails, $12 wines and $5 Von Trapp Pilsner.
“We’ve organized Sip & Sketch happy hour with Hudson Open Studios, a community center for local artists. Pauline Decarmo, one of their organizers, used to host a sketch club that fizzled out in COVID. Jeremy and I thought it would be cool to pick it back up as a community meet up as events in Hudson have died down a little. We opened this bar with a vision of it being a hangout for artists, so we really wanted to support something in that vein.” — Isi Laborde, co-owner
“Sipping on a $10 martini or Hemingway daiquiri feels very à propos for a little afternoon sketching!” And with no cover, it sounds like a pocket-friendly, artsy, happy hour to brighten your midweek.
*NEW ADDITION* MERKIN, HUDSON
A mutually beneficial collaboration is afoot between LLD // QLD, who offers “a Life Drawing class for self-identifying women and queer people” in Brooklyn & Upstate,” + Merkin, the casual eatery brought to life by Chef Shaina Loew-Banayan, owner of the adjoining, acclaimed Cafe Mutton.
The first life drawing event will be Weds. 8/5 from 6-8pm at Merkin, 45 8th St, Hudson. Two models will be provided, but participants should bring their own paper and pencils. Per Chef Shaina’s Instagram, “Beverages to loosen the hand and food will be on offer!” And, via text, Chef tells us the plan right now is to offer these life drawing classes monthly.
Check their Instagram for future dates.
DM @merkinhudson to sign up.