Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Inc.

Name

Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Inc.

Legal name

Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Inc.

Website

https://rochestercontemporary.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees providing access to exhibitions, special events, and a community of over 1,100 members. Various membership tiers available.
2. Admissions and Shop Sales: Suggested admission fees ($2 general, $5 for 6x6), artwork sales through the shop, and RoCo Thredz merchandise.
3. Foundation and Corporate Grants: Support from New York State Council on the Arts, Farash Foundation, County of Monroe, Havens, Crest-Financial Partners, RACF, Schwartz, and members.
4. Individual Donations and Fundraising Events: Direct donations, endowment contributions, Art of the Mix cocktail fundraiser, and special project support from individuals.
5. Studio Rentals: Rental income from artist studio spaces with exclusive access, large windows, and communal areas for meetings or collaborative work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo) operates a contemporary art venue presenting rotating exhibitions across multiple gallery spaces, including its signature annual 6x6 small-art fundraiser. The organization supports artists through the COMP Studios residency program, public art installations in the East Avenue neighborhood, affordable studio spaces, and a membership program serving more than 1,100 members.

Product overview

Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) venue for contemporary art founded in 1977. Its product portfolio centers on rotating curated exhibitions displayed across multiple venues (Main Gallery, Lab Space, Video space, and Public Art locations). Key programs include the signature 6×6 small art fundraiser, the COMP Studios Artist Residency providing temporary studio space to artists, and a Public Art Program featuring temporary street-level installations. Additional offerings include a Shop for artworks and merchandise, Studio Spaces for artists, Membership Program, and Calls for Art for temporary public installations. The organization serves as a platform for emerging and established artists to exhibit work and engage with the Rochester community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COMP Studios: Creative Opportunities Made Public - artist residency program providing temporary studio space for artists. Previously located offsite at Chashama-supported office building, returned to 2nd Floor of RoCo's main facility at 137 East Avenue in 2025.
• 6×6

Products and services

• 6×6 Annual Exhibition and Fundraiser RoCo's signature small art fundraiser and exhibition featuring thousands of original artworks measuring 6x6 inches, submitted by artists worldwide and available for purchase at accessible prices to benefit RoCo.
• Rotating Contemporary Art Exhibitions Rotating curated exhibitions featuring local, regional, and national contemporary artists across multiple venues including Main Gallery, Lab Space, and Video space at RoCo's 137 East Avenue facility.
• COMP Studios Artist Residency Creative Opportunities Made Public - an artist residency program providing temporary studio space for artists to advance their practice and engage the public, located on the 2nd floor of RoCo's main facility.
• Public Art Program Temporary public art installations enlivening the East Avenue neighborhood, featuring site-specific sculptures and projects displayed 24/7 at street level, including the Paintings & Poems series with BOA Editions.
• Annual Membership Program Annual membership offering free admission, exclusive events, and support for RoCo's exhibitions and programs, with multiple tiers available to individuals and households.
• Online Shop (Artworks and RoCo Thredz) Online shop offering artworks, RoCo Thredz merchandise, and other art-related products accessible to the public through RoCo's website.
• Artist Studio Spaces Rental studio spaces available to artists and designers with exclusive secure access, large windows, wall space for exhibiting artwork, and communal meeting areas.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6x6 exhibitions regularly sell hundreds of artworks to benefit the organization
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Susan B. Anthony Museum & HousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 January 2020Joint public art RFP for site-specific project celebrating Susan B. Anthony's 200th birthday and 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, focused on voting and civic engagement
• BOA EditionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with BOA Editions (poetry publisher) for Paintings & Poems public art installation series, combining fine art and literary arts in public space. Launched with Cordell Cordaro's painting and Chen Chen's poetry.
• Christ ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in public art program, bringing together paintings and poems to the East Avenue neighborhood
• Just PoetsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization for Creative Voices live poetry events, combining spoken and visual art at RoCo
• Monroe County Community Action Coalition Committed to Uprooting Stigma (CACTUS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProgram within Monroe County Department of Public Health's Addiction Services division, partnered for Under the Influence event to provide information about addiction services and resources
• ChashamaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported COMP Studios in 2024 by providing offsite studio space at a nearby office building
• Gallery r and VSWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venues in the New Rochester Biennial (RBNL), a collaborative initiative dedicated to expanding dialogue around contemporary art and supporting cooperation between Rochester's mid-sized venues
• The Rochester Advertising FederationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnered to exhibit 70 artworks by Rochester's designers, photographers, and graphic artists in On The Side exhibition
• The Print Club of RochesterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint exhibition partnership for Under Pressure: Redefining the Multiple, featuring national and regional printmakers

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Kitchen: NYC-based nonprofit that presents contemporary art across visual, performing, and media art. Highly comparable mission and operational model to RoCo, though operating in a much larger urban market.
• Memorial Art Gallery: Rochester's primary art museum with a permanent collection and rotating exhibitions. Operates in the same city and audience as RoCo, making it the most directly comparable visual-arts institution in the local market.
• George Eastman Museum: Rochester-based museum combining photography, film, and decorative arts collections with exhibitions and programming. Another local cultural institution competing for the same audience, donors, and grant pool as RoCo.
• The Drawing Center: New York's only nonprofit dedicated to drawing, presenting exhibitions and artist programs. Comparable in being a non-collecting, exhibition-driven contemporary-arts nonprofit.
• SculptureCenter: New York nonprofit dedicated to commissioning and presenting innovative contemporary sculpture. Shares RoCo's artist-support, residency, and exhibition-driven nonprofit model focused on experimental contemporary art.

Broad incumbents

• Wexner Center for the Arts: University-based multidisciplinary contemporary arts center presenting exhibitions, performances, and film. Operates as a larger, more established version of RoCo's mixed-program contemporary-arts model.
• MASS MoCA: One of the largest contemporary art museums in the U.S., with a multi-building campus, large-scale commissions, and performance programming. A larger, established peer in the contemporary-arts-presenting space where RoCo operates.
• Institute of Contemporary Art Boston: Contemporary art museum in Boston that emphasizes new work and artist-driven programming. A larger, more established peer in the same exhibition-led, artist-supporting nonprofit category as RoCo.
• Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati): Cincinnati-based contemporary art center founded in 1939, presenting rotating exhibitions and education programs. A longstanding peer institution that closely mirrors RoCo's mission, programming mix, and nonprofit operating model.

Regional players

• Buffalo AKG Art Museum: Major Western New York art museum with a strong contemporary collection. Comparable to RoCo as a regional contemporary-arts presenter but operates at significantly larger scale and draws from a different metropolitan area.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rochester-contemporary-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Inc.