Colab

Colab is the commonly used abbreviation of the New York City artists' group Collaborative Projects, which was formed after a series of open meetings between artists of various disciplines.

Colab came together as a collective in 1977, first using the name Green Corporation, and initially received an NEA Workshop Grant through Center for New Art Activities, Inc., a small not-for-profit formed in 1974.

In 1978, Collaborative Projects was incorporated as a not-for-profit and later received its tax-exempt status from the IRS, so that it could apply for grants from the NEA and other sources independently. Colab was active for about 10 years and became distinguished by the raw energy of its members and sometimes politically engaged open membership. By raising its own sources of funding, Colab was in control of its own exhibitions and cable TV shows.

Advocating a form of cultural activism that was purely artist driven, the group created artworks, negotiated venues, curated shows, crafted their own PR, and engaged in discourse that responded to the political themes and predicaments of their time, among them the recessions of the 1970s, the Reagan era of budget cuts and nuclear armament, the housing crisis and gentrification in New York City, and other pressing social issues.

From November 1978, different artist members organized and installed original one-off group shows in their own studios or other temporary sites, such as "The Batman Show," (591 Broadway 1979), "Income and Wealth Show" (5 Bleecker Store 1979), "Doctors & Dentists Show" (591 Broadway 1979), The Manifesto Show (5 Bleecker Store 1979), "The Dog Show" (591 Broadway 1979), "Just Another Asshole Show" (5 Bleecker Store), The Real Estate Show (Delancey Street, Jan. 1980), Jay St film shows 1979, Exhibit A (93 Grand Street, 1979) and, notably, The Times Square Show (201 W 41st, June 1980), a large open exhibition near the center of New York's entertainment (and pornography) district (Times Square) put on with Bronx-based Fashion Moda. Seed money from the first Colab (Green Corp.) workshop grant through Center for New Art Inc. led to the creation of Colab artists' TV series on Manhattan Cable (1978–1984) "All Color News," "Potato Wolf" and "Red Curtain", New Cinema, a screening room on St. Mark's Place for narrative Super 8 films transferred to video and projected on an Advent screen; the continued publication of X Motion Picture Magazine(1979), whose first issue preceded the formation of Colab ; support and inspiration for the ABC No Rio cultural center (1980-82 (ongoing) created from the Real Estate Show; support of the Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine (1984), NightShift Theater 1979, Spanner Magazine (3 issues 1979), MWF Video Club (established in 1986) and Bomb Magazine (1981). Members of the original group are presently highly active making art, and the membership has shifted and evolved. ABC No Rio was recently awarded a $1.6 million capital construction grant from the City of New York.

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