Join us this First Friday in June for an evening celebrating the region's moviemaking history!

The Cayuga Museum is part of the Finger Lakes Film Trail, a coalition of historic film sites, and through 2025 we are featuring an exhibit in partnership with our friends at the Wharton Studio Museum in Ithaca. The Wharton Studio Museum is preserving  and celebrating the legacy of one of the most influential studios during the Silent Era. Join us Friday, June 6, to explore the history of the Wharton Studio in the exhibit on display on the Cayuga Museum’s second floor.

The evening will include a brief talk by Wharton Studio Museum Co-Founder & Executive Director, Diana Riesman, at 6 PM and a tour of the Case Research Laboratory beginning at 6:30 PM.

First Friday will be held on Friday, June 6 from 5 – 7:30 PM. Admission to the Museum is free during this time. Parking is available in the lot behind the Museum off of Orchard Ave, and in the Schweinfurth Art Center lot next door. Street parking is available on Washington & Genesee St.

ITINERARY

5:00 PM – Exhibits Open to Explore
6:00 – 6:30 PM – Diana Riesman Talk
6:30 – 7:00 PM – Case Research Laboratory Tour
7:30 PM – First Friday Ends

About the Speaker

Diana Riesman manages day-to-day operations of Wharton Studio Museum, overseeing the organization’s programming, exhibits and events, as well as fundraising and community outreach. She is leading the effort to develop the historic Wharton Studio building in partnership with Friends of Stewart Park.

A former production assistant for ABC Afterschool Specials, and assistant to the late director Frank Perry (The Swimmer, David and Lisa) in the early 80s in NYC, Riesman moved to Los Angeles in 1985, working at Writers & Artists Agency, Tri-Star Pictures, and Film and General Productions before venturing out on her own to write and produce. Riesman most recently served as co-producer of award-winning radio programs To The Point, Which Way, LA?, Good Food, and Hollywood Wrap for NPR affiliate KCRW in Santa Monica.

Riesman is a member of New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) and its upstate counterpart UPWIFT. In the summer of 2023, she joined the Board of Trustees of WSKG public tv and radio.