Connections and creativity on display

As Adam Eaton puts it, the Rochester Artist Collaborative’s First Friday show tonight is a celebration of relatively unknown local artists.

“On two levels, this is an opportunity for the community to come appreciate their work and for the artists to showcase their work in a gallery setting,” says Eaton, RAC’s creative director.

Since its inception in 2019, the nonprofit has sought to support up-and-coming artists by displaying their work in shows, boosting artistic events on its social network, connecting creators with useful links in RAC’s artist information hub, and featuring them in its online directory.

Many of the artists RAC supports are just getting established or come from marginalized backgrounds. In Eaton’s perspective, both can be extremely difficult barriers to succeeding toward greater heights in the Rochester art world.

“We have over 250 artist members,” Eaton says. “There are so many different artistic styles and diverse backgrounds and cultures in that number.

“That connection between artist and community is so important but so difficult sometimes. Because artists are so focused on creating, they can have difficulty connecting with others,” he continues. “For a lot who are dealing with mental health issues or social anxiety, we can really be a bridge for them.”

Much of this support comes down to providing connections, Eaton says, which is sometimes hard for artists to do on their own. This show and similar events are avenues for connections to occur.

The opening night for the members’ show—which continues throughout February—will also be part of RAC’s fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $1 million. That sum is required to become self–sustainable, Eaton says, adding it is still considered small in the arts-supporting world. RAC has raised roughly $100,000 so far.

Eaton also notes that the city of Rochester’s budget for direct arts funding is about $900,000. He explains this is smaller than other cities of similar size, which spend about 1 percent of their budget toward the arts. 

“If they actually used 1 percent of the total budget toward the arts, that would be $6 to $7 million,” he says. “Building a local arts scene can help the local economy grow and help bring people to these cities. Rochester, as a city, is lacking in that area.”

In RAC’s view, that burden then falls on arts organizations themselves, with Rochester Contemporary Art Center or the Memorial Art Gallery having to support individuals.

“We are holding ourselves up, doing it on our own without support. Which is very difficult,” says Eaton. “People say, ‘There are so many events in Rochester, so many art galleries’; it’s because we’re trying our best to create those opportunities ourselves.” 

The public can help artists in nonfinancial ways too, he says. Attending artists’ shows, following and boosting their presence on social media, or even simply “word-of-mouth” support can be extremely powerful for these local artists.

The First Friday RAC Members Show opening reception will be held at the Yards Collective from 6 to 9 p.m. Attendance is free and open to the public.

Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. 

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