The HVVACC organizations—the Center for Photography at Woodstock, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, Women’s Studio Workshop, Woodstock Artists Association & Museum, and the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild—are developing an online visual database, a series of events and publications, and a regional collection study and exhibition center. Together, the collections of these five partner organizations are a significant regional resource, and the Linking Collections, Building Connections exhibition is part of a long-range project to make these collections available to scholars and the public.

KaKe Art, Mr. Apples, from the series Scene Around Rosendale, 2008, Collection Women's Studio Workshop

Linking Collections, Building Connections celebrates the artistic legacy of the Mid-Hudson Valley and provides viewers with multiple perspectives on the region’s art and artists. An introductory section includes iconic works from all the five collections. Subsequent sections of the exhibition bring works from the five collections together in a range of different ways. One area uses a strictly chronological approach; another gathers works donated to different collections by a single patron. One area includes works depicting similar locations, and another includes works depicting identical sitters or models. Another includes only works by one artist; another documents a community of artists; still another includes examples of repetition, overlap, and redundancy in the collections. An interactive version of the HVVACC database allows visitors to explore information about exhibited and other works and build their own connections between them. A final section—the last, large wall of the exhibition—will feature a new project by a Hudson Valley artist, envisioned as a densely-hung wall filled from floor to ceiling with works from all five of the collections.