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
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.
September 2 – October 11, 2025
FRI Sept. 12, 2025, 6-9pm: Exhibition reception in conjunction with our Pop-Up Beer Garden
SAT Sept. 13 11am Talk: Albany History in Maps, City Historian Tony Opalka. Map scavenger hunt to follow.
THURS Sept. 25 6pm- 8pm Online Talk: Hear from Compass Roses artists & curators Renee Piechocki and Nadine Wasserman. Register in advance here.
SAT Sept. 27, 1pm Kids’ Art Workshop led by RSC MAT Art Education students. Free but please register in advance.
FRI Oct. 3, FIRST FRIDAY: 6:30pm to 8pm, Music from Arch Stanton Quartet, free but register in advance to reserve seats.
THURS Oct. 9 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.
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.
The 46th PhotoRegional
Keeping with tradition, Opalka hosts a curated PhotoRegional exhibition which focuses on more work from a select group of regional photographers, invited this year by curators Corinne Botz and Sarah Sweeney. To keep this exhibition truly regional, the region was defined by counties rather than radius. Invited artists either live or have a studio in one of the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington Counties; or Berkshire County.
Sweeney and Botz chose an intriguining mix of artists using photography in our region: Jordanna Kalman, Julia Weist, Qiana Mestrich, Daesha Devón Harris, Sayler/Morris, Sarah J Winston, Bob and Shana ParkeHarrison, and Susan Wides.
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.
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Thank you to our 2024 – 2025 Exhibition Season Sponsors
Opalka Gallery 2024-2025 season sponsors include:
- Russell Sage College
- Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library
- In-Kind Support from GNH Lumber
- Founding and ongoing support from Chet and Karen Opalka