From our newsletter archives — Originally published October 24, 2024. Now heavily revised.
Tom Warren, “Portrait Studio: COLAB Artists, 1981–84,” SIGNED digital print, 2016. Size: 16 x 20 inches — Available
Top row, left to right: Julie Harrison; Mitch Corber; Teri Slotkin; Wolfgang Staehle. Second row: Alan W. Moore; Seton Smith; Bobby G; Jane Dickson. Third row: Joseph Nechvatal; Christof Kolhofer; John D. Morton; Robin Winters. Bottom row: Jolie Stahl, Becky Howland & Christy Rupp; Dick Miller; Walter Robinson; Tom Otterness.
When the artist group Colab was founded in 1977 it was conceived more as a mutual aid society than as an art movement. Its premise was simple: create a legal non-profit so that artists can get access to government grants to finance group projects. Colab membership was open to any artist who attended two or three meetings; and money was allocated to projects by democratic vote.
While initially more practical than political, Colab’s emphasis on collectivity encouraged the exchange of ideas, which over time, fostered a greater ideological and aesthetic cohesiveness. Looking back now, Colab can be credited with helping to re-direct artworld priorities towards themes of inclusion and social engagement. Because many women artists were part of Colab, feminist ideas were particularly relevant.
In the early 1980s numerous artists participated in Colab-sponsored theme exhibitions like the “Real Estate Show” and the “Time Square Show,” which were open to anyone. Colab affiliated art spaces like Fashion Moda in the South Bronx, and ABC No Rio in the Lower East Side, provided ongoing venues promoting the group’s priorities. Colab can also be remembered for being the initial peer group for many now well-known artists including Charlie Ahearn, John Ahearn, Beth B, Diego Cortez, Jane Dickson, Jenny Holzer, Joe Lewis, Tom Otterness, Judy Rifka, Christy Rupp, Kiki Smith, and many others.
You can see more in our online exhibition Collecting COLAB: Ephemera, Photography & Multiples, 1978–1985.
Collaborative Projects Inc.
Founded 1977; Active Through the Late 1980s
Colab, Sign in Sheet for Meeting, Early 1980s. Size: 7 x 11 inches — Available
Membership in Colab changed constantly, ranging from a couple dozen members at the start, to over sixty, as word about the group spread. Among those listed on this sign-in sheet for a meeting in the early 1980s, are Tom Otterness, Becky Howland, Alan Moore, Peter Fend, Betsy Sussler, Walter Robinson, Martha Wilson, Kiki Smith, Jane Dickson, Joe Lewis, Stephen Torton, Joseph Nechvatal, Christy Rupp, Ellen Cooper, and others.
X Motion Picture Magazine (1978)
A Collaborative Publication
COLAB, X Motion Picture Magazine, cover image selected by Michael McClard, Vol. 2 Issues 2 & 3, February 1978. Size: 11.5 x 14 inches — Available
Colab, X Magazine, Vol. 2 Number 4, 5 & 6, 1978. Size: 11.5 x 14 inches — Available
X Magazine (originally X Film Magazine) was one of Colab’s first projects. At the time, the group was dominated by filmmakers and the content of X connects with the then current No Wave film movement. Issues of X were assembled by the X Collective coordinated by Jimmy de Sana, Coleen Fitzgibbon, Lindzee Smith, and Betsy Sussler. While each issue had a loose theme, anyone could contribute, and each contributor had complete control of their page.
Fashion Moda in The South Bronx (1978 – 1993)
An Affiliated Art Space
Lisa Kahane, Portrait of Stefan Eins, photograph, c. 1987. Size: 8.5 x 11 inches
Fashion Moda is Jazz: Afrikan American Classical Music, Featuring Performances by Legendary Griots, Concert series organized by Dr. Juma Santos, Poster design by Thom Corn with artwork by Michael Kelly Williams, 1987. Size: 19.5 x 25 inches — Available
Colab helped finance an unusual new venue when one of its members Stefan Eins founded the art space Fashion Moda in the South Bronx, New York’s most blighted neighborhood. Eins rightly anticipated that the unlikely setting would stir the creativity of his downtown peers, and there was also an unexpected bonus: Fashion Moda — in the right place at the right time — became an important connecting point for outer-borough graffiti artists and the downtown art scene.
See more Fashion Moda ephemera.
ABC No Rio in The Lower East Side (Since 1980)
An Affiliated Art Space
ABC No Rio Dinero Book Party and Exhibition at Danceteria, Postcard, 1985. Size: 5.5 x 6.5 inches — Available
ABC No Rio was loosely modeled after Fashion Moda. Here artists interacted with the Lower East Side’s largely Hispanic population. The card above is for the publication party of Alan Moore and Marc Miller’s book ABC No Rio, which provides a detailed history of the first five years of this remarkable art space that against the odds continues to survive today.
See more ABC No Rio ephemera.
The Times Square Show (June, 1980)
A Collaborative Exhibition
The Times Square Show, With Press Contacts Cara Perlman and Christy Rupp, Flyer, 1980. Size: 8.5 x 11 inches — Available
Christof Kohlhofer, 25 Billion Dollars, East Village Eye Centerfold randomly pasted as part of the wallpaper at the Times Square Show, 1980. Size: 18 x 25 inches
Colab’s greatest impact came through its sponsorship of large theme exhibitions located in unusual spaces. The first was the “Real Estate Show,” which took place in a squatted Lower East Side building. A few months later, Colab rented a former massage parlor in Times Square, and mounted the “Times Square Show.” Expanding way beyond Colab’s core, the month-long show brought together hundreds of artists from around the city, and received unprecedented press coverage.
See more Times Square Show ephemera.
A More Stores (1980 – 1983) and Art Direct (1982)
Outlets Run by Artists
Bobby G, Cruise on by The A. More Store, Small Paper Handout, 1980. Size: 4.25 x 5.75 inches — Available
Art Direct: Items for the Home or Office, Cover Art by Tom Otterness; Collaborative Projects & Printed Matter Inc. 40-Page Offset Booklet, 1982. Size: 5 x 8 inches — Available
During a era when young artists had limited opportunities, Colab began sponsoring holiday pop-up stores that aimed to reach broad audiences with low priced art. The first of these “A More Stores” took place in a rented storefront in Soho. Art Direct, was a mail-order art catalogue that Colab created in collaboration with Printed Matter, which sold artist books.
See more A More Store ephemera.
