2 00:00:00,667 --> 00:00:03,069 Collar Works is a contemporary arts organization based in Troy, New York.

We are a nationally recognized organization, I like to say with a global impact.

Our mission is to support emerging and underrepresented artists in the creation and presentation of their works.

And we have multiple programs from exhibition opportunities to artist residencies, studio-based fellowships, all sorts of things.

- All things great.

- [Elizabeth] Yeah.

- All things that artists love.

- [Elizabeth] Yes.

- Well I know Collar Works is going through a major growth phase right now.

So what's happening and why is this a big moment for your organization?

- We are undertaking a big capital project in South Central Troy.

We've partnered with sequence development to purchase and renovate the historic Neemes Iron Foundry and transform it into a hub of innovation and creativity.

It's going to be Collar Works's new headquarters with expanded gallery space, artist studios, presentation space.

Really a community hub for world-class contemporary art and placemaking right in South Central Troy.

- It's amazing.

- [Elizabeth] Yes.

- Especially in South Central Troy.

You know, that area's slowly becoming a hub for community, art, and just all around awesomeness, in my opinion.

So how do you think this new project or this current project is gonna have a positive influence on artists, community, and Collar Works itself?

- We've been around for 15 years and ever since we began, our focus has been trying to provide opportunities for artists to sort of overcome adversity and sort of breakthrough barriers to achieve sort of success.

And so for us, this opportunity is to sort of create a foundation for Collar Works and for Troy that kind of embeds this sustainability model around the arts, allows for us to provide greater accessibility, greater financial resources to artists and other arts organizations, other community groups to have access to space, access to shared resources, and especially to reach artists at critical points in their careers and be a true springboard for them so that they can be well on their way to having a career in the arts.

And so for us, this is a moment where we needed to take that leap.

We had been operating our programs in various locations throughout the capital region for many years and there's such high demand for the services that we provide that we needed expanded space and we needed to take this opportunity to bring everything under one roof, so to speak, and increase our services to artists and increase our impact.

- Now what are some of the services that may be new that comes with this new building and everything?

Is there anything new that's gonna happen based off of this?

- Yes.

So largely the affordable artist studios, that's a big part of the building.

And so there's going to be 11 affordable artist studios in the space.

And that's something that we've been working towards for a couple of years as an organization.

It's a huge void in the capital region.

There's so many artists in this area that need access to affordable space, as you know.

- Yep.

I do know.

(laughs) - And that's a big part of this sort of new expansion of Collar Works, is to provide the affordable artist studios to artists of the capital region.

- That's a big deal.

Grassroots to global, you know?

- Yes.

(both laugh) - So how are you staying true to your values with this big growing moment?

Seems like you're growing triple your size, you know?

So how is Collar Works being still intentional about keeping that grassroots feel, that very "by artists for artists" feel with this big growth spurt?

- I like to say that it's a large, you know, philanthropic moment for us with sustainability and longevity in mind.

And it's not necessarily to make us a huge organization long-term.

It's a moment for us to sort of rightsize the organization so that we have sustainability kind of baked into the DNA of the organization to stay small to midsize and high impact for the long-term.

- [Jade] Hmm.

- So for us, that sort of ethos of and culture of grassroots, of "for artists by artists," centering care, centering wellness, centering artist equity, fair pay.

You know, always centering sort of the artist's need, making sure that that is a part of all of our decision making, is not gonna change sort of at the core.

I think it's only going to amplify in this moment where we're growing and evolving.

- I love that.

- [Elizabeth] Yeah.

- And that's very important, very important for artists.

Very important for me personally too.

So big transitions need big support.

The community.

How is the community and efforts such as the Future Fund been helping make this transition or this dream a reality?

And then how can other people get involved?

- It really comes down to relationships and resources.

(Elizabeth laughs) - [Jade] Mhm.

- And community and that kind of connectivity that we need in building those relationships and bringing people into the fold to just support our organization and our programs and our efforts kind of across the board.

So there's no denying that when we are undertaking, you know, such a expansion effort as we are, we need financial resources and support and our organization relies on philanthropy and the generosity of our community.

And so we are very thankful for individual contributions, but we also are a volunteer-based organization and we look for people to volunteer their time in helping us share their expertise to help us with our programs and events and other aspects of our organization.

Serving on our Board of Directors, helping, you know, at events or with our programs.

So there's many ways to get involved with Collar Works.

Yes.

- It's a community endeavor and a lot of people have been out there supporting, whether through the Future Fund, again, whether through serving on the board, there's so many ways that you can help uplift organizations for the greater good.

- Yes.

- So I know the doors will most likely open in 2026.

So what do you want people to feel when they go into the space?

What do you want them to feel, what do you want them to see, and what do you want them to, like...

I don't know, like, when they leave that space, what are they left with?

- Overall, we want them to feel invigorated and inspired.

Like they've walked in and experienced something fresh and exciting that they haven't seen before.

You know, we want that sort of high class, high quality artistic integrity to really shine, like they've walked in, you know, to kind of a major city and they've experienced something that they wouldn't have seen anywhere else.

You know?

Questioning life and society and dreaming a little bit, you know, too, and that they are eager to come back and see more, experience more.

- Man, that's all we can ask for, right?

Well, thank you, Elizabeth, for stopping by to tell us about this amazing new project and I can't wait to visit the new space.

- Thank you, Jade.