About Us

The Community Access Art Collective is a studio program for artists with the  experience of living with mental health conditions and a commitment to pursuing their artistic practice. Our members work individually and collaboratively, share responsibilities in the studio, lead and assist with workshops, help plan events and cultivate a mutually supportive creative community.

In the studio, our focus is on pursuing individual vision , art techniques, and building skills through art to develop as artists. Members pursue entrepreneurial and professional skills through promoting, exhibiting, and selling artwork and engagement in collective projects. Artists receive 60% of the profit from sales of their artwork, and 40% support the purchase of supplies for the collective.

The collective is a program of Community Access, a non-profit founded in 1974, which has grown to become one of NYC's leading housing, mental health, and advocacy organizations for individuals living with mental health concerns and families who have experienced homelessness.

Community Access expands opportunities for people living with mental health concerns to recover from trauma and discrimination through affordable housing, training, advocacy and healing-focused services. We are built upon the simple truth that people are experts in their own lives.

Community Access, Inc., is a 501(c) (3) non-profit.
For more information or to make a financial contribution: contact Art Collective Director Amy Sharp at asharp@communityaccess.org or Development and Communications Director John Williams jwilliams@communityaccess.org
 www.communityaccess.org

Community Access Art Collective is a part of PASA (Progressive Art Studio Alliance), a membership organization of progressive art studios, independent professionals in the field, and allies that advocate for resources and policies to improve the outcomes of progressive art studio programs across the United States and abroad. As the only organization focusing on progressive art studios, the Alliance works to provide shared opportunities for advocacy, collaboration, education, research, and public policy.

 Drawings by Samantha Tennessee, Lillian Harrison, and Susan Zelin