 This coincided with the beginning of an effort to make the collections more accessible to the public.Those outreach programs, such as tours, school trips and performances, continued through the Great Depression of the next decade, helping establish the institute as a regional museum.It started the Print Club of Albany, bringing nationally known printmakers to the city for lectures and demonstrations, and hosted an exhibit of contemporary regional art in honor of the 250th anniversary of the city charter in 1936.