Featured Mohawk Valley Nonprofit Organization: The Art Thing Collaborative

So… what is The Art Thing?

It’s a lot of things, actually; all rooted in the belief that art belongs everywhere, to everyone. Sprung from a mutual desire to help connect people to their communities The Art Thing (TAT) Collaborative Inc. was founded by artists Nick Stag & Carly Proulx back in July of 2024. They believed that art was that THING that could connect us all to each other and to our communities.

In pursuit of an acting career, Stag, a native of Herkimer, NY, had spent some time in NYC after attending college in Oneonta where he’d studied theatre. Realizing his passion for immersive and participatory art projects he slowly began to alter the path he was on. It was this change of heart combined with the pandemic that eventually led him back to the valley where he’d meet his future partner in art, Carly Proulx. Proulx, creative writer and visual artist, had randomly landed herself in the valley 12 years ago. “I’d moved around a lot growing up, and I always thought I needed to move back to a big city to really grow as an artist. I spent the first 10 years trying to flee the valley, but because of this or that I was pulled to stay. Now it feels like a blessing I stuck around.”

The Art Thing Collaborative is a social arts organization on a mission to bring people together by bringing art to the people!

On street corners, in schools, at festivals, in parks, and yes…even on random Tuesdays. Wherever art is needed most, that’s where they show up. Once they received their official 501(c)(3) status back in December 2024 they hit the ground running. Proulx says “We just look straight ahead and keep moving forward. Starting a not-for-profit from scratch was a lot of hard work. There was a lot of trial and error in the beginning, but that’s how we learned. And we learned a lot in a short amount of time. And there’s always more to learn! Luckily, a lot of really amazing people have had our backs along the way.”

Together, with the help of their board, volunteers, artists, community members, friends and family The Art Thing has found a lot of quick success.

We had our first successful Mohawk Valley Gives fundraising campaign this past September! We reached our goal of $50,000 thanks to the generosity of the community along with the 3:1 match we received from the Up Mobility Foundation.

“We had a vision to set out and make community art experiences happen in the valley, to connect artists and community members to their shared spaces, and we’ve been doing just that.” Stag says “The Art Thing is about the community as a whole, and everybody who makes up that community. We create Art in a collaborative experience, Art that is grounded in the place where it lives. We always want to be offering up what we’re doing to the community as theirs. Art that is about them, for them, and because of them. Our mission is all about artists supporting their community, and communities supporting their artists.”

Proulx says “We devise and share all kinds of Art Things, from high-energy live art shows and immersive installations to accessible programs and interactive happenings that turn ordinary places everywhere into shared experiences.” The very first Art Thing, Art War took place at Herkimer Community College (HCC) back in April. A fast-paced, interactive social art event where creativity takes center stage, Art War set the tone for The Art Thing’s journey ahead. Art War is teams of artists going head-to-head in a series of timed improv-style artistic challenges, using audience prompts and on-the-spot inspiration to create some Thing bold, unexpected, and fun. Assistant Professor in Studio Art at HCC, Justin Como got some of his students involved.

“The participants were a great mix of college students and some local community artists. It was a blast,” Stag says. The TAT team had their shot at running a Mini Art War to kick off Mohawk Valley Gives (MVG) University, a MVG training event at MVCC this past July.

“Our Art War star and emcee, Little Falls native Mike Cecconi is a brilliant artist, gifted with a natural flair for the spotlight. He really brings that hype energy to the participants and the audience.”

The Art Thing also collaborates with local schools, libraries, businesses, and other community partners

The Art Thing collaborations co-create murals, sculptures, community-driven exhibits and all sorts of creative works shaped by and for the people. A fun upcoming Art Thing you can be a part of is the For the Love of Pets (FTLOP) exhibit. FTLOP is a free, ongoing, community-powered cell-phone-photo exhibit for animal lovers everywhere! It’s all about bonding over something really simple many of us do every day—taking pictures of our furry, feathered, and scaly best friends—and turning it into a real art community exhibit anyone can be part of. The live exhibit will go up at the Little Falls Public Library on November 1st, and they’ll hold the reception on December 6th from 1pm-3pm. Check out their website to see how you can submit your photo of your animal friend, and get a chance to win a really cool gift basket donated by one of Little Falls lovely, local businesses!

Back in May TAT received a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation for their program Positive Space. Positive Space is a traveling, super fun, hands-on art experience where large inflatable spheres fill the room and turn empty “negative space” into something you can play with! With glowing lights and a silent headphone sound system, this is a fully immersive, sensory-rich adventure made for kids of all ages and abilities. Positive Space is a program that creates awareness through play, serving as a reminder that showing up matters, and that your presence always has an impact. It’s an Art Thing way to explore how we shape the spaces we share, and how being present, in a real and positive way, can change everything! Positive Space is designed to pop up in libraries, schools, parks, community centers, and anywhere people come together so stay tuned to see where Positive Space will pop up next.

The Art Thing’s Projects creates connections throughout the Mohawk Valley

Many of The Art Thing’s projects travel from neighborhood to neighborhood, where they use art things to build bridges between our towns, creating connections that help the Mohawk Valley feel a little more like one big community. On deck, The Art Thing teams up with Johnson Park Center in Utica, where they’ll be doing an indoor mural in honor of the center’s 30th anniversary.

“We’re really excited to be working with these amazing women. This is the kind of project that is in alignment with The Art Thing’s mission, and we consider it a privilege to be given the opportunity to help tell their story so they can keep on celebrating the work they’ve done in their community for years to come.”

And when the weather turns again they’re looking forward to finishing the Sculpture up at Buttermilk Falls in Little Falls. Proulx said “A beautiful, giant piece of chert stone was donated by Little Falls Diamond Co., and we’re beyond thrilled to continue our sculpture collaboration with them come Spring. We want this piece to be something that can speak to all of this special place where it lives, in this little nature sanctuary at the center of a labyrinth.”

The main goal of TAT is to connect everyone in the art things they do.

“From the young to the young at heart, and in all the places we share space in our community we will keep making our art things as accessible as possible, even to those who don’t consider themselves artsy or art-minded. No one should get left behind or feel left out in a TAT thing!” says Stag. Like TAT’s motto says “art for everyone, everywhere.”