Exhibitions

The gallery is now closed for the summer but will reopen September 2, 2025.

To see a current Opalka-curated exhibition, please check out our partnership with Albany Public Library here.

Compass Roses: Maps by Artists

September 2 – October 11, 2025

FRI Sept. 12, 2025, 6-9pm: Opening reception in conjunction with our Pop-Up Beer Garden

SAT Sept. 13 11am Talk: Albany History in Maps,  City Historian Tony Opalka

THURS Sept. 25 6pm- 8pm Talk: Compass Roses Artists on Zoom. Register in advance at:

SAT Sept. 27, 1pm Kids’ Art Workshop led by RSC MAT Art Education students. Free but please register in advance.

THURS Oct. 2 6pm- 7pm, Yoga: Led by Carrie Will of Yoga Care. All levels welcome. Pay what you can. Walk-ins welcome but register in advance to reserve a spot.

FRI Oct. 3, FIRST FRIDAY: 6:30pm to 8pm, Music from Arch Stanton Quartet, free but register in advance to reserve seats. 

Read more about events here.

Compass Roses: Maps by Artists is a national artwork co-curated by Nadine Wasserman and Renee Piechocki. The project offers a selection of maps created by visual, literary, and performing artists. They have curated similar exhibitions in Pittsburgh and Albuquerque before focusing on Albany.

For this exhibition, 30 artists were asked to consider and interpret their city in any way they wished. The content of each map is therefore unique and might contain readily recognizable places or imaginary ones, as well as those that have been forgotten or are unfamiliar.

Artists: Marcus Kwame Anderson, Alexis Bhagat, Box Party Collective, Leona Christie, D. Colin, Alex Goss, Amy Halloran, Lori Hansen, Quill Harrison, Maura Jasper, Stephanie Loveless, Jack Magai, Jillian McDonald, Catherine McTague, Diana Morales, Alex Morrison, Daniel Nester, Michael Oatman, Eugene O’Neill, Ken Ragsdale, Sonia Sandoval (DJ RVMBA), Mercedes Soriano,  Sarah Michelle Sherman, Zenzele Spencer, Karley Sullivan, Barbara Todd, Aiesha Turman, Typhoid Mary, Allie E.S. Wist, Elizabeth Zunon, Learn more about past Compass Roses projects in Pittsburgh and Albuquerque here.

Partial funding for Compass Roses comes from an Arts Thrive and Grow grant administered by the Arts Center of the Capital Region. Arts Thrive & Grow is funded by New York State & the New York State Council on the Arts, with support from Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, and local elected officials, including Senators Jake Ashby and Patricia Fahy and Assemblymembers Scott H. Bendett, John T. McDonald III, Angelo Santabarbara, Phil Steck, and Mary Beth Walsh.

 

PhotoRegional

November 1- December 7, 2025   

THU Oct. 30, 7pm Stage & Stanza, hosted by poet Carol Durant and David Baecker of the Theater Institute at RSC. 

FRI Nov. 7,  FIRST FRIDAY, 5:30 to 7:30pm, Reception for PhotoRegional Exhibition

THU Nov. 14, PechaKucha, 6:30 snacks, 7pm talks. Snacks from Druthers and Honest Weight Food Co-Op.

FRI Dec. 5,  FIRST FRIDAY, Gallery open until 8pm. 

SAT Dec. 6, 2pm, Curator tour and closing reception of the PhotoRegional.

Read more about events here.

 

Keeping with tradition, Opalka hosts a curated PhotoRegional exhibition which focuses on more work from a select group of regional photographers, invited by curators Corinne Botz and Sarah Sweeney. To keep this exhibition truly regional, the region is defined by counties rather than radius. Artists must live or work in one of the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington Counties; or Berkshire County.

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Thank you to our 2024 – 2025 Exhibition Season Sponsors

Opalka Gallery 2024-2025 season sponsors include: