We look forward to welcoming you to Dia’s locations and sites! Please review our visitor guidelines before your visit.  

• Advance ticket reservations are suggested for Dia Beacon.
• Gallery attendants are available to assist you; please respect their guidance.
• Please keep a safe distance and do not touch the artwork.
• Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
• Food and drinks (including water bottles) are not permitted in the galleries.
• Large bags and backpacks are not permitted in the galleries; a coat-and-bag check is available for visitor use. 
• Please note certain galleries may be closed or have limited access due to the nature of the work. 
• Groups of 10 or more should schedule their visit here.

Group visits
Learning at Dia Art Foundation is founded on the idea that art is an active, self-determined experience.

Advance reservations are required for all adult and student groups. To schedule a group visit or guided tour, please visit our group visits page.

Dia Art Foundation strives to provide group tours to educational or other nonprofit groups regardless of means. Please ask for details when making a reservation. 

Public tours
Dia Beacon provides public tours every Saturday and Sunday at 12 pm and 1:30 pm. Tours are free with admission; no reservation required.

Guided walk-throughs of artworks
Walk-throughs of Michael Heizer’s North, East, South, West (1967/2002) or Lawrence Weiner’s CADMIUM & MUD & TITANIUM & LEAD & FERROUS OXIDE & SO ON . . . (1991) are offered at 9:30 am on museum open days. Walk-throughs are up to 30 minutes long and are limited to a maximum of 10 guests at a time. Requirements and conditions vary as outlined below.

Due to the nature of Michael Heizer’s artwork, guests must be 18 or older and are asked to refrain from photography.

Walk-throughs of Lawrence Weiner’s artwork take place outdoors and are offered weather permitting. Appropriate footwear is recommended, and guests under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Reservations are encouraged but not required. To reserve a spot, please provide your name, the number of guests, the day of your visit, and the artwork of interest via email to [email protected].

Please note Dia Beacon reserves the right to cancel walk-throughs for any reason. For questions or additional information, please call 845 231 0811.

Morning walkthroughs are included in the cost of admission.

Hudson Valley residents receive free admission to Dia Beacon on the last Sunday of each month. The Hudson Valley encompasses the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Sullivan, Ulster, Washington, and Westchester.

Additionally, City of Beacon and Newburgh residents receive free admission to Dia Beacon every day.

To get tickets in advance for Hudson Valley Free Day please fill out our Free Admission Request.

Hudson Valley Free Days at Dia Beacon are made possible by Kiki McMillan, Charlie Pohlad, and the Pohlad family.

Dia Beacon has undergone a major landscaping project designed by landscape architect firm Studio Zewde. The South Garden will open an additional eight acres of Dia’s thirty-two-acre campus to the public. 

Construction began in summer 2024, with the South Garden opening to the public in 2027. More information on the project will be continually updated on our blog.

• Unless otherwise noted, still and video photography for personal use is allowed at Dia sites, with a limit of 5 minutes in a given space; flash photography is not permitted.
• Wedding, engagement, or event photography is not allowed on Dia property.
• Commercial photography and the use of professional film or equipment (including tripods and extension poles) is not allowed without prior arrangement with Dia. 
• If you are uncertain about photography or filming at a Dia site, please ask Visitor Services staff.
• Use of the shared space must not be disruptive to other visitors; please respect Dia property and do not move, climb on, or damage furniture.
• Use of drones is not allowed on Dia property.

Dia Art Foundation reserves the right to prohibit still and video photography in any area at any time. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in visitors being asked to cease activities and/or leave the premises.

Images for educational use may be requested by contacting Dia’s Rights and Reproduction department at [email protected]. For images for press, contact Dia’s Press department at [email protected]. Enquire about professional/commercial photography at [email protected].

Dia Beacon has accessible parking, galleries, and bathrooms, as well as elevators to all levels.

Wheelchairs are available for visitor use; reservations are not required.

ADA service dogs are welcome. Pets, including therapy or emotional-support animals, are not permitted in the galleries.

Certain galleries may be closed or have limited access due to the nature of the work. For questions about accessibility, please contact 845 231 0811 or [email protected].

Dia Art Foundation is pleased to partner with libraries to offer local communities unlimited access to our groundbreaking exhibitions and projects. Our Library membership program provides patrons of participating libraries a membership pass that grants free admission for up to six guests and for children ages 18 and under. Please visit our Libraries page for more information about our Library membership program. For further questions or assistance with enrollment, please contact 212 293 5520 or [email protected].

Family programs at Dia invite people of all ages to exercise their creative agency through intergenerational, participatory, and playful artist-led engagements, both in the studio and in the galleries.

Saturday Studio
Join practicing artists for free workshops of art-making, material experimentation, and play. Designed for all ages, Saturday Studio is a family-friendly program that is most suitable for children ages five and up. All families participating in the Saturday Studio program receive free admission to Dia Beacon for the day.

Play Sets
Explore the galleries through in-depth engagements with a single artist or artwork. Each program will include hands-on exercises that invite participants to see, think, and imagine in new ways. Recommended for families with children ages five and up.

Dia Beacon is located adjacent to the Beacon train station, which is served by Metro-North Railroad trains from Grand Central Terminal and Poughkeepsie. Trains run hourly in either direction during museum operating hours. For train information, visit www.mta.info. New York residents dial 511, all others dial toll-free 877 690 5114.

For train travel from north of Poughkeepsie, take an Amtrak train to Poughkeepsie and transfer to a Metro-North train. Beacon is the second stop.

Dia Beacon is an 8-10 minute walk (1/2 mile) from the Metro-North Beacon Station. Also, the Beacon Free Loop bus runs Monday through Saturday from the Metro-North Beacon train station to Dia Beacon, Main Street, and Mount Beacon, before returning to the train station. Passengers may hail the bus at any Beacon Free Loop sign along the route.

From New York:
Take Upper Level of George Washington Bridge New Jersey bound. Take first right off Bridge to Palisades Parkway North. Take Palisades Parkway North to end. At rotary, take 6 East/202 across Bear Mountain Bridge. Take the first left onto Route 9D North. Continue 16.5 miles north on 9D into the city of Beacon. At the fourth traffic light in Beacon (just past Beacon City Hall), make a left turn onto Beekman Street. Continue on Beekman Street 5 miles. Dia Beacon’s entrance is on the right, marked by a gray sign. (Travel time: approximately 80 minutes.)

From New Jersey and points south (and by bus from New York):
Take the Garden State Parkway North until it merges with the New York State Throughway 87/287. Take I-87 North to Exit 17, I-84. Follow local signs to I-84 East and continue on I-84 East across Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. Immediately after the toll booths, take exit 41. Turn right at the top of the ramp onto Route 9D south. Turn right at the second light - Beekman Street. Continue on Beekman Street 5 miles. Dia Beacon’s entrance is on the right, marked by a gray sign

From Westchester and points southeast:
Take either 287 West until it merges with I-87 and continue to Exit 9, Route 9. Travel north on Route 9 to Fishkill. Take I-84 West two exits to Exit 41: Route 9D. Make a left turn onto Route 9D South. After traveling approximately one mile, make a right turn onto Beekman Street. Continue on Beekman Street 5 miles. Dia Beacon’s entrance is on the right, marked by a gray sign.

    or

Take 287 West to Exit 9A, Route 684 and proceed on 684 to Exit 9W, I-84 West. Take I-84 West to Exit 41: Route 9D. Make a left turn onto Route 9D South. After traveling approximately one mile, make a right turn onto Beekman Street. Continue on Beekman Street 5 miles. Dia Beacon’s entrance is on the right, marked by a gray sign.

From points north:
Take I-87 South to Exit 17, I-84. Follow local signs to I-84 East and continue on I-84 East across Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. Immediately after the toll booths, take exit 41. Turn right at the top of the ramp onto Route 9D south. Turn right at the second light - Beekman Street. Continue on Beekman Street 5 miles. Dia Beacon’s entrance is on the right, marked by a gray sign.

From points west:
Take I-87 South to Exit 17, I-84. Take I-84 East across the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. Immediately after the toll booths, take exit 41. Turn right at the top of the ramp onto Route 9D south. Turn right at the second light - Beekman Street. Continue on Beekman Street 5 miles. Dia Beacon’s entrance is on the right, marked by a gray sign

Dia Beacon has limited onsite parking. On busy weekends and holidays, drivers may be asked to park at the Metro-North Beacon Station, located 1/2 mile (approximately an 8-10 minute walk) away. 

Occupying a former Nabisco box-printing factory on the banks of the Hudson River, Dia Beacon presents the majority of Dia’s collection of art from the 1960s to the present as well as special exhibitions, new commissions, and public and education programs. Since its opening in May 2003, Dia Beacon has helped transform the city of Beacon into a vibrant arts destination for visitors from the region, New York City, and beyond. 

Architecture
Built in 1929 by Nabisco, the nearly 300,000-square-foot factory building is composed of brick, steel, concrete, and glass and is considered a landmark of early-twentieth-century industrial architecture. It stands as a symbol of Beacon’s past as a major industrial and manufacturing city.

The original building had many key design elements that made it an appealing site for contemporary art, including broad spans between supporting columns and more than 34,000-square-feet of skylights. Today these skylights provide natural light in the galleries and have uniquely established Dia Beacon as a “daylight museum.”

Dia invited artist Robert Irwin to conceive the master plan for a twenty-first-century museum that retained the original character of the factory’s interior spaces. Irwin also designed seasonally changing gardens throughout the surrounding landscape. Following the renovation, Dia Beacon was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Art and Programs
In keeping with Dia’s history of single-artist, site-related presentations, each gallery was designed specifically for the installation of one artist’s work. This attentiveness to the work becomes tangible when traversing the spaces at Dia Beacon, which were renovated to display, for example, Dan Flavin’s “monuments” for V. Tatlin(1964–90), Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses (1996–2000), and Michael Heizer’s North, East, South, West (1967/2002).

Dia’s collections and special presentations are supplemented by public programs, tours, and an arts education partnership with the City of Beacon, underway since 2001.

Dia Beacon interactive floor plan