Galleries at WORK_SPACE

Supporting and Showcasing Local Artists

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
  • 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

Become A Gallery Member Today!

Gallery Member Art & Merch Submission

Call To Artists

Perspectives on Our World Call

2023 is Manchester’s Bicentennial Year, and to celebrate our town’s artistic talent, the Galleries @ WORK_SPACE invite all Manchester Art Teachers and Members of Manchester Art Organizations to submit 1 or 2 pieces of work of any size, subject and medium to be part of a collective art exhibit.

Submissions are due June 1st via https://bit.ly/Themeless2023

Perspectives on Our World Call

2023 is Manchester’s Bicentennial and WORK_SPACE is excited to showcase ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS with a connection to Manchester. We are seeking excerpts of text and illustrations from published work where either the author or illustrator has a connection to Manchester. We are partnering with the Manchester Public Library to host a number of programs related to the craft of writing, the art of illustration and the challenges and opportunities in publishing.

Submit here: https://bit.ly/AuthorAndIllustrator

Submission deadline: September 25th

Perspectives on Our World Call
Our annual Perspectives exhibit explores the way we view, spend, relate to and attempt to outwit time. We invite all artists of all disciplines and mediums to explore the ever-elusive concept and how we all are reflections of our time in our art and in our day to day.
 
 
Submissions Due November 27, 2023.
 
Submit your work here: https://bit.ly/PerspOfTime
 
 
 
 
“Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864, American novelist)

CURRENT EXHIBITS

300 YEARS OF MANCHESTER: THE FUTURE

In honor of Manchester’s Bicentennial year, we’ve asked artists to envision what life could be like in the next century. This exhibit also includes some visions of Manchester created by the Departments of Planning and Economic Development & Department of Leisure, Family and Recreation. We also recommend you visit the companion exhibits at Manchester Historical Society (THE PAST) & Lutz Children’s Museum (THE PRESENT). On Saturday, May 13th from 10a-4p, there will be a free open-air trolley to transport you between the 3 venues as well as other stops along the way hosting bicentennial festivities. 

Free and open to the public: Weekdays 10a-4p (except holidays), and every 2nd Saturday of the month

Contact: 860.647.3168, galleries@workspacemanchester.com

CREATIVE COMMONS

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

 

In Our Loop Gallery:

In Our Creative Commons

 

 

 

PAST EXHIBITS & VIRTUAL GALLERIES

Art of Pride

Art of Pride

EXHIBIT DATES: May 6 – June 30, 2022 in the Main Street Gallery
OPEN HOUSES: Saturday, May 14 and Saturday, June 11

Showcasing artwork that reflects LGBTQ+ pride and resilience and what it means to live as authentic and uncompromised selves. To see some samples of the work, go to: https://bit.ly/Pride2022promoshttps://bit.ly/Pride2022promos

Perspectives of Home

EXHIBIT DATES: December 3 – February 22, 2022 in the Main Street Gallery
OPEN HOUSES: Saturday, December 11 ; Saturday, January 8 ; Saturday, February 12 (10a-2p)

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/)

OCTOBER SYNCHRONICITY

October 1 – 22, 2021

WEEKDAY HOURS: Monday – Friday (10a-4pm and by appointment)
2nd SATURDAY OPEN HOUSES: October 9 (10a-2p)
Special After Party: October 9 (6:30p-8p) no RSVP required

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

EXHIBIT DATES: Aug 1 – Nov 27 in the Loop Gallery
OPEN HOUSES: Sunday, August 1 ; Saturday, August 14 ; Saturday, September 11 (10a-2p)

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.

Inspiration: Blank Canvas Show 2022

WORK_SPACE gave out 14″x14″ Blank Canvases to 45 local artists, asking them to bring them back with images that represented INSPIRATION. Now we invite you to see the 66 fun and diverse works of art that fill the Main Street Gallery. We think that you too will be inspired.
 
EXHIBIT DATES: Friday, March 4 – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 – Come on in or call to make an appointment.
OPEN HOUSES: Saturday, April 9 and March 12 (10a-2p) – Every month we host our 2nd Saturday events and encourage folks to explore the wonderful local business on Main Street.
ART & ALE: Friday, March 25 (5-8p) – View the exhibit, enjoy dinner downtown, and then join us at Urban Lodging Brewing at 8p.

ART IN ACTION

August 13, – Sept. 24, 2021

WEEKDAY HOURS: Monday – Friday (10a-4pm and by appointment)
2nd SATURDAY OPEN HOUSES: August 14 and September 11 (10a-2p)

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.

 

Art of Recovery

More than 30 New England artists submitted close to 100 pieces that illustrate the toll that addiction takes on our physical, mental and behavioral health as well as our familial relationships and communal well-being. Although this exhibit does not aspire to solve the systemic failures and public stigma associated with addictive behaviors, we aim to create a hospitable space for those in the midst of its trauma or having already come through the other side, to share their story through art and conversation.

Please join us at one of our Gallery events or during our regular hours to view this free exhibit. Contact us to arrange group tours or to host events in the Gallery. Contact galleries@workspacemanchester.com or 860.647.3168 for more info.

JUNETEENTH

EXHIBIT DATES: Monday, June 7 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
Featuring art that honors independence, resiliency and Black lives and celebrates our nation’s second Independence Day, we invite artists to contribute to a dynamic exhibit and to join us and our cultural partners across CT for an array of programs and events.
 
 
 

fresh stART

EXHIBIT DATES: Friday, April 9 – Friday, May 28, 2021
Celebrating new beginnings, positive change and the possibilities of a blank canvas, the Galleries @ WORK_SPACE provide an 18” x 24” canvas and artists of all levels of experience and forms of expression fill it with their imagination and the medium of their choice

Perspectives of a Pandemic

EXHIBIT DATES: November 2020 – March 2021
Showcasing 150 pieces of art created between March – November 2020 by 45 ‘local’ artists between Brooklyn and Boston utilized photography, fiber art, painting, poetry, and other mediums to comment on Covid-19, respond to the injustice of structural racism, react to the contentiousness of politics, and to fill time in quarantine.

Gallery Members

Tom Andrea     Evan Seide     Lou Sorrentino     Linda Blakesley     Doreen Stern     Kathleen Telesco     Nakeia Herbert    

Carolyn Brooks-Burton     Yolanda Creal     Lisa Ducharme     John Hoffman     Tosha Jenkins     Julianna Kristoff   

Basia Salek     Robert Thiesfield     Melanie Askew     Mary Ann Francis         Lori Barker     Kasey Quaglia     

Daniel Nichols     Kevin Michael Olsen     Mark Tegtmeier     Carol Gould     Sharon Quaglia     Jeffery Balzejovsky     

Donnamarie Nakos     Olusanya Bey     Donna Faust      Ren Pu      Maria Dillon     Crystal Valladares     Fuad Khaligov     

           Adis Halilovic      Bethany Terzi      Chris Todd      Deb Bates      Athira Sanal      Bina Nair      Jose Marcos      Abby Dijon

    Claudine Purdue      Ashley Hyatt

Get Started

Contact WORK_SPACE to get started with a free day pass and tour, coworking, hosting a meeting, hosting an event, and much more.

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