Collar Works is a nonprofit art space dedicated to supporting emerging and underrepresented artists, working in any media, exhibiting challenging and culturally relevant contemporary artworks. Expanding the current art vernacular in New York’s Capital Region, Collar Works provides a venue for community dialogue focused on serious, provocative, and spirited artworks.
Collar Works, 621 River St Location, 2020. SpaceLAB
Collar Works is an artist-driven nonprofit redefining what a contemporary arts organization can be. Through bold artistic programming, equitable support for artists, and investment in permanent cultural infrastructure, Collar Works has become a catalyst for artistic innovation, community revitalization, and national dialogue, positioning the Capital Region as an important center for contemporary art.
Collar Works is committed to artist equity and provides an inclusive space with access for all, regardless of differences of race, age, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, migratory status, disability/abilities, political affiliation, veteran status and/or socioeconomic background.
Collar Works was founded on the belief that artist support is essential and that communities thrive when artists have the freedom to experiment, challenge conventions, and imagine new futures.
Established in 2009 by SUNY Albany MFA graduates seeking to create opportunities that did not yet exist in the Capital Region, Collar Works emerged as an artist-led alternative to traditional arts institutions, one built around collaboration, risk-taking, and access. What started as a grassroots arts collective and non-commission exhibition space, became a 501(c)3 arts nonprofit in 2015 and has since grown into a nationally recognized contemporary arts organization that continues to redefine how artists are supported.
By investing in creative practice as well as presenting finished work, Collar Works has become a model for artist-centered cultural development and a driving force in Upstate New York’s cultural ecosystem.
Launching in 2009 as a collective, Collar Works operated as a transitory gallery, taking advantage of various empty commercial spaces in downtown Troy, New York, a city on the cusp of cultural renewal.
In 2010, Collar Works transformed 2,700 decaying and disheveled square feet of a former textile manufacturing building, located at 444 River Street, into a gorgeous and dynamic gallery space. 2011 brought a surge of what can only be described as grassroots support, proving a viable momentum and structure that appeals to curators, artists, and viewers alike. The exhibition cycle was built in collaboration with guest curators and artists whose investments of time and creativity brought Collar Works to its eminent status as the venue for culturally relevant works in the Capital Region. Collar Works called the third floor of 444 River Street home through 2014. From 2015-2022 Collar Works operated out of 621 River Street - The Van Zandt, Jacobs & Company Collar and Cuff Factory.
