Visual Studies Workshop Reveals New Location

Visual Studies Workshop has announced relocation plans. After 46 years at 31 Prince Street in Rochester's Neighborhood of the Arts, Visual Studies Workshop will move to a new building at 36 King Street in the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood.

"We have been considering the future and mission of Visual Studies Workshop since we celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2019." shared VSW Executive Director Jessica Johnston. "Through strategic planning, our staff team and board of directors decided to right-size our building to match the needs of our organization, the way we support artists, and the way we engage with the Rochester community. Our refreshed mission has roots in our history and hope for the future: to nurture experimental and expansive approaches to photography and media arts, and to build community among artists and the public through exhibitions, publications and residencies. Our new physical home is an excellent fit for our arts programming, historical archives, and artist residencies. We are thrilled to join our new neighbors in the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood and can't wait to invite the community in."

Visual Studies Workshop purchased its new home at 36 King Street in Rochester, an 8,000 square foot, accessible building. After renovations, the building will include a new gallery for exhibitions of photography and media arts, a theater for public film presentations, artist studios, artist workspace, archival collections storage and research library, and office space. The move will occur over Fall and Winter 2024; VSW will continue its Salon programming virtually, and will open to the public in their new location in Spring 2025.

"Visual Studies Workshop has been an integral part of Rochester's arts community for over five decades," said Mayor Malik D. Evans. "Their move to the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood represents not just a new chapter for the organization, but a significant boost to the city's cultural landscape. This relocation aligns with our vision for a thriving, inclusive community where art and history intersect and inspire in every neighborhood."

"Visual Studies Workshop, one of the nation's first artist spaces, is thrilled to continue its 55-year tenure in the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood. This proximity to Rochester's rich cultural heritage can only enrich our core programming, in which VSW"s extensive visual archives of historical and contemporary materials are reinterpreted by visiting artists and community collaborators in the creation of new work. We look forward to bringing our exhibitions, public programs, and publishing activities to the West Side community," comments Joan Lyons, VSW Board President and Founder of VSW Press.

Visual Studies Workshop was founded in 1969 in Rochester, NY by photographer and curator Nathan Lyons (1930-2016), and became one of the earliest independent, not-for-profit, artist-run spaces in the United States. More than 50 years later, the organization's mission is reflected in its core programs: VSW Salon screenings and exhibitions, Project Space Artist Residencies, and VSW Press. In support of VSW programs, the organization holds extensive photography and moving image research collections, an artist book collection of over 6,000 titles, and an art library for artists, critics and the general public to explore, research and reuse.

The Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood, named for legendary suffragist and abolitionist Susan Brownell Anthony, includes historic homes, the National Historic Landmark Susan B. Anthony House Museum and Visitor's Center, and Susan B. Anthony Square Park.

The Visual Studies Workshop team includes Nilson Carroll (Assistant Curator and Preservation Specialist), Trevor Clement (Digital Printing Lab Technician), Hernease Davis (Assistant Curator and Residency Coordinator), Jessica Johnston (Executive Director), Mary Lewandowski (Collections Manager), Tara Merenda Nelson (Curator; Managing Editor VSW Press), and Tate Shaw (Consulting Editor, VSW Press).

Photos, left to right: Visual Studies Workshop current location (31 Prince Street) and new location (36 King Street); photos courtesy of VSW.