About the Galleries

The Galleries @ WORK_SPACE make up 1/3 of WORK_SPACE, the Town of Manchester’s Coworking, Meeting & Gallery space in the heart of Downtown. The Galleries consist of the Main Street Gallery (a traditional gallery space), the Loop Gallery (the space connecting the offices and meeting rooms on the first floor), the Creative Commons (a community space for members and guests with private offices, open spaces, kitchen, multi-purpose meeting rooms and a digital story studio) and a Gallery Shop.

Prior to 2019, the art spaces were overseen by Manchester Community College, now as part WORK_SPACE which sees art and innovation as tools for social change, the mission of the Galleries is to:

• explore and celebrate diversity,
• promote and foster inclusion,
• showcase and inspire creativity,
• provoke and challenge thought,
• highlight and expand perspectives, and
• create a network of creative people that would not otherwise share ideas, outlooks, resources and relationships. 

WORK_SPACE is a flexible and multi-purpose space with multiple venues that can be used for creative workshops, live performances, digital recordings, and artisan pop-ups.

The Gallery Shop

An idea that started during the pandemic in 2020, the Galleries wanted a place for artists to not only share works in our exhibits but also share merchandise related to their work and style. The shop features many handcrafted goods from mugs, magnets, books, earrings, cards and more. 

Hours of Operation

Monday – Friday    10am-4pm
2nd Saturdays       10am-2pm

*Closed on Federal Holidays

Click here to see a full list of events.

Click here for list of CT Arts Resources and Organizations

Inspiration: Blank Canvas Show 2022

The idea of a blank canvas show started last year, as a way to stimulate people’s creativity while they were stuck at home during the pandemic. Individual artists and entire families created fun, unique and thought provoking work representing Fresh Starts and New Beginnings.

artwork by: Sharon Quaglia

Perspectives of Home

The Galleries @ WORK_SPACE in partnership with EPOCH (Engaged, Public, Oral and Community Histories in the History Department at UConn) are coordinating an Art Exhibit with companion programs that explore how where we live impacts who we are, our feelings of belonging and our sense of place. Through archival research, in-depth interviews, community conversations and an art exhibit with didactic wall panels, Perspectives of Home will highlight the many threads woven into the story of Manchester, CT’s historic evolution from a mill town to a vibrant, diverse and thriving community including the inequitable opportunities that exist for its citizens.

artwork by: Naomi Nevo Ben Ari (https://www.naominba.art/)

ARTISTS SUBMISSIONS

The Gallery Shop Submission Form

OCTOBER SYNCHRONICITY

October 1 – 22, 2021

Connecticut artists Hunter Pedane and Phillip LeBlanc combine their talent and blend their different mediums to harness the earth’s natural beauty, texture, movement and energy to bring us this unique exhibit.

Staycation

We often neglect to be tourists in our own backyard, missing experiences that others seek out. There aren’t many silver-linings to quarantine, but one could be our enhanced appreciation of all things local. Local businesses, local parks, local walking trails, local Instagram-worthy sights. This exhibit will feature all types of art that features the activities, landscapes and moods of our recent staycations when we entertained ourselves within and close to our homes.

ART IN ACTION

August 13, – Sept. 24, 2021

A diverse array of images created by young CT artists ages 13-19 about their experiences and emotions in 2020. This exhibit was produced by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. To see the virtual exhibit on their website, click here.

JUNETEENTH

fresh stART

Perspectives of a Pandemic

We enjoy building relationships with local artists and displaying their work on a rotating basis in the meeting spaces on the 1st & 2nd floors and throughout The CREATIVE COMMONS that hosts our collaborative coworking spaces. When not being used for a themed show, this space is reserved to display the work of our Creative Community Members. If you are interested in learning more about our Galleries and membership, please call: 860.647.3168, email: info@workspacemanchester.com and/or scroll down.

Currently we are featuring:

• Ed Hicks

• Jean Sanchez

• Kimberly Heil

• Norm Greenstein

• Allie Lunetti Glazier

• Chris Todd

• SAIN’t Phifer