Bridging the Gap: Greenport’s Home for Artists Connects and Sustains East End Creatives

A new art exhibition this summer, “The Bloom Room,” will showcase the breathtaking landscapes of the East End, from the whispering beach grass to the salt marsh meadows and shifting dunes that knit the East End together. These nature-inspired works from artists from across the forks are the latest to get the spotlight at the nascent North Fork Art Collective in Greenport. Like how the array of artworks represent the East End, the bevy of artists behind these vital settings represents the area’s art world.

“It’s really about preserving the heart of this place,” artist and North Fork Art Collective founder Kara Hoblin said about the collective.

The exhibition features artists like Kate Gerstner, Ellen Weiner, Verona Penalba, Melissa Gabrielsen and Scott Bluedorn, but that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of artists who’ve joined the group since its inception in 2017. With more than 120 East End artists, ranging in media and ages, from 22 to 96, the group has found a solid footing in Greenport with a permanent gallery and shop at the historic Fiedler Gallery building at 207 Main Street. The two-story space features curated shows on the top floor while the bottom floor acts as a sort of “Exit Through the Gift Shop” retail store that’s akin to the MoMA Design Store circa 2016 with a curated mix of art supplies, unique gifts, and unexpected finds, according to Hoblin.

“You might come across a ‘Butter’ baseball cap, a ‘Totoro’ sketchbook, or something entirely one-of-a-kind,” she said. “We don’t carry large quantities of anything so it’s great to keep exploring throughout the summer.”

Even better, merchandise is created by many of the collective’s members, including Bluedorn’s driftwood pencils and tea towels, Amy Zerner’s zodiac necklaces and tarot decks, Carol Hound’s wine stoppers and ornaments, and Hoblin’s children’s book and art-inspired goods. Other local makers also sell handmade bags, jewelry and pottery, like NOFO Style, Sasha Samuel and Brian Burgess ceramics, respectively. The collective also just launched its own artist T-shirt line. “My dream is to eventually create a shirt for each member of the collective, so you can collect them all,” Hoblin added.

The collective has been a breath of fresh air for the area’s arts community — there’s currently only one contemporary gallery, one art studio, one personal studio and one design shop in the village.

“The collective tries to fill a void at a time when Greenport in general doesn’t have any galleries left,” Hoblin explained.

The organization provides a physical space for artists to gather, share ideas, and most importantly, make a living and keep creating on the East End.

“Artists are fighting this battle to stay alive, to stay creating in this place we love, and so the question is ‘how do we stay?’” Hoblin said.

“It can be challenging to live and work as an artist out here,” added artist and collective member Georgia Suter. “The collective has sort of closed this geographical gap and in doing so has tightened and strengthened the arts community of the East End. We’re more connected now but we’re also more resilient.”

Suter, a painter based in Sag Harbor, described the group as a bridge between the art communities of the North and South forks. “Growing up on the South Fork of the East End, the North Fork always felt so far away. But you look at a map and in the bigger picture we’re so close — the two forks almost look like they’re reaching towards each other like fingers of one hand,” she said. “To be part of a collective like this, where there is a real feeling of belonging and purpose but also shared appreciation for this magical place — it’s invaluable.”

It’s especially priceless for younger artists who might not have ever had a chance of connecting with other creators or getting their work in front of eyes, according to Bluedorn, who is known for his maritime-themed designs.

“It’s also enabled many very talented and creative people to pool their resources to exhibit and create opportunities across fields,” he said. “Artist-run spaces are the best spaces!”

Hoblin, who works as the director of guest culture at Soundview Greenport and oversees its Uncommon Art Residency, had been professionally working as an artist doing intricate chalk designs but pivoted to painting in 2021. She said she felt a calling to gather the area’s artists in Greenport after realizing that there was nowhere for artists, especially younger artists, to connect on the North Fork.

“I longed for a place where fellow creatives and I could come together to make art, share our work, and foster a true sense of community,” she said.

She put out feelers during her first “Chalk Art of Letting Go” installation at Port of Egypt in 2016, when she mentioned the idea to an audience of 300 to see there was a mutual desire for an art space in Greenport, and it was a “resounding ‘yes,’” she recalled.

The North Fork Art Collective started popping up in several different Greenport storefronts in 2017 until it found a more permanent space in Greenpoint in 2018 and 2019 with both emerging and established artists. That storefront eventually closed since many of its members found personal success in their artistic journeys, Ms. Hoblin said.

It wasn’t until December 2023 that she found a brick-and-mortar home for the collective at the Fiedler Gallery building.

Now with over a year under its belt, the group is seeking nonprofit status, which would allow it to fundraise for an art center and museum that would offer community space, artist studios, workshops, classes, lectures, and more.

“Artists are looked at as a luxury but we are a necessity for growth and culture,” Hoblin said. “As artists, we’re not going to stop creating, so we need to think outside the box. Yes, we have a shop, but once you see the gallery, you’ll see that it was breathtaking and beautiful and that you needed that reprieve — to sit and look and appreciate that there’s still beauty in the world.”

The North Fork Art Collective is open on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. (and by appointment other days) at the historic Fiedler Gallery building at 207 Main Street in Greenport.

On view this summer at the North Fork Art Collective (through August):

The Bloom Room: A group exhibition of artists including Kate Gerstner, Ellen Weiner, Verona Penalba, Melissa Gabrielsen and Scott Bluedorn that celebrates the wild beauty of local flora and fauna of the East End through the textures, colors and forms that shape our unique ecosystems, from wildflowers to wetlands and from pollinators to native species.

The Gardener’s Daughter: A solo show by collective founder and artist Kara Hoblin that presents her latest body of work for the first time in over a year. Curated by artist Scott Bluedorn, the show invites viewers into a world where art, memory, and nature collide. Known for Ms. Hoblin’s distinctive style rooted in environmental advocacy and impermanence, the series promises to inspire and engage.