The Yards Collective

An amazing opening tonight @attheyards for our portfolio, honors, and honors 2 students! It was amazing to celebrate with you all tonight! #arted #arteducationmatters ì

Tonight! Join us for the opening event of the Allendale Columbia- Honors & Portfolio Thesis Exhibition! We’ll be gathering from 6-8pm this evening for a first look and celebration! Help us welcome students from Allendale Columbia’s Portfolio, Honors, and Honors 2 art programs for a special year-end exhibition, and celebrate the work they’ve created throughout this past school year. At The Yards, we love creating opportunities to highlight emerging artists across a wide range of ages and experience levels, and this exhibition is a wonderful reminder of the creativity, experimentation, and dedication happening in young artists’ practices today. This culmination showcase celebrates a year of hard work, growth, and artistic exploration through painting, drawing, mixed media, and more. We invite you to come support these talented students and experience the next generation of artists in our community. On view through the end of the month!

Up Next at The Yards — we’re excited to welcome students from Allendale Columbia’s Portfolio, Honors, and Honors 2 art programs for a special year-end exhibition celebrating the work they’ve created throughout this past school year. Opening THIS Thursday from 6-8pm! 👀 At The Yards, we love creating opportunities to highlight emerging artists across a wide range of ages and experience levels, and this exhibition is a wonderful reminder of the creativity, experimentation, and dedication happening in young artists’ practices today. This culmination showcase celebrates a year of hard work, growth, and artistic exploration through painting, drawing, mixed media, and more. We invite you to come support these talented students and experience the next generation of artists in our community. On view through the end of the month! || @acsrochester

Celebrate World Collage Day with us at The Yards! 🌎🌍🌏 Join us on Saturday, May 9th from 10am–2pm for a free, drop-in collage sesh hosted by collage artist Laurie MacFarlane. Whether you’re a seasoned maker or just curious to try something new, this is a low-pressure space to create, explore, and connect. Bring your own materials or dig into our shared stash—we’ll have plenty to work with. Come by, make something, and spend a little time getting lost in the process. All are welcome—just show up and start cutting ✂️

RED DOT VIRTUAL VISITS THE YARDS COLLECTIVE RedDOTvirtual recently sat down with the Owner & Director of the Yards Collective, Kristina Kaiser and chat about the Yards (4-25-2026) RedDOTvirtual –HOW DID THE YARDS START? –KRISTINA The Yards was founded by Sarah Rutherford and Lea Rizzo. I joined in 2012 as an intern while still in college—the space was only eight months old at the time. During those early years, the space focused on installation-based pop-up events, dance and music performances, and served primarily as studio space for Sarah and Lea. After graduating in 2013, I became Lea and Sarah’s studio assistant and went on to develop The Yards Collaborative Residency Program, which ran for ten years. In 2015, Sarah and Lea’s creative paths began to move in different directions. For a couple of years, a small group of passionate individuals attempted to run The Yards as a board or collective, but that structure ultimately proved unsuccessful. In 2017, I stepped in to take over operations and formed an LLC. I am now the sole proprietor and continues to work two other management positions alongside her work at The Yards. Today, The Yards is supported by a small but mighty team of volunteers, friends, and family. We often appear to be a much larger organization than we actually are. The Yards now has over 120 members and many dedicated community supporters. RedDOTvirtual –WHEN DID YOU GET EXPOSED TO THE YARDS? –KRISTINA I first got involved as an intern in 2012. I was originally supposed to take a paid internship in Miami, but the artist running the program fired everyone two weeks before I was set to leave. Through a chance encounter, I was introduced to Sarah and Lea. I kept working my butt off and never left because I truly believed the space was creating the kind of artistic magic Rochester needed. CONTINUE READING: /blog/the-yards-collective

TOMORROW: our First Friday show in May will be the 2026 RIT Visual Media Capstone, A Common Ground! Join us Friday, May 1st from 6-9pm to celebrate these emerging artists! A Common Ground is the 2026 Visual Media Capstone Exhibition featuring emerging artists graduating this semester within the Visual Media program from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. Through a range of conceptual and technical practices that explore photography, videography, and design, the exhibiting artists highlight themes of identity, storytelling, and connection. Each artist presents a unique perspective, while collectively reflecting a shared dedication to creative exploration and communication. A Common Ground offers a dynamic look at how the next generation of visual creators is shaping the evolving landscape of visual media.

The sweeties, Tina and Kristina. Yes, that is how they refer to each other. At the Yards Collective last month Yashica-D Kentmere Pan 400 exposed at 1600 Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner #yashicad, #tlr, #twinlensreflex,  #ilfordfilm, #kentmere400, #kentmerepan400, #pushedtwostops, #blackandwhite, #shootfilmstaypoor, #ishootfilm, #attheyards, #women, #love, @attheyards @xoxo_kaiser @lilydeletoile

Her majesty, Tina. At the Yards Collective last month Yashica-D Kentmere Pan 400 exposed at 1600 Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner #yashicad, #tlr, #twinlensreflex,  #ilfordfilm, #kentmere400, #kentmerepan400, #pushedtwostops, #blackandwhite, #shootfilmstaypoor, #ishootfilm, #attheyards, #woman, @lilydeletoile @attheyards

So! Here’s how we did it! TBL was a 3 day shoot. I didn’t have ANY studio space for the winter - I asked around a lot, but no one replied or studio space was full so I put that on the back burner… then I was thinking about how Jack and I needed some assistance with the shoot given all the components I had in mind - that’s when I met Maya and she agreed to come on board with 3 weeks left before the shoot. Remember I said I didn’t have any studio space? Well Maya offered hers right away - an angel from above fr! For our shoot, we started with act 1, moved over to act 3 and ended with act 2 - reason being? Lighting. Had to work with what we had. It’s insane because doing so much DIY and creating without all the fancy equipment people rely on really humbles you… but it also makes the process more meaningful. The challenges force creativity, and that kind of magic can’t be replicated… I hope you enjoy ❤️

It’s been a long time coming… but here it is. This short film really means something to me. It was my baby - I sat with it, stressed over it, cried over it (a couple times)… and still found a way to lock in and manage it all. To Be Loved is inspired by my life, but also all of yours. Because we all experience love - whether it’s platonic or romantic, it takes us through the same stages: The spark. Comfort. Descent. & Rebirth. It’s a cycle. One we go through over and over again. Just think about it, when you have a crush, how do you feel? When you’re comfortable with someone, when they become your safe space… how do you feel? And when things fall apart, when you’re arguing, hurting, trying to understand it all… how do you feel? There are so many answers. But what ties it all together is love. It always starts one way… and somehow it changes. And after everything, you’re left with yourself again. It’s inevitable. I could go on and on, but just know - this film is a piece of that. — Quickly want to give a big thank you to God first and foremost, my mom, my pops, my grandma, my siblings, and my amazing team who helped bring my vision to life - but more importantly, brought more love and light into my life. You guys truly rock. This is something I will never forget. 🫂 — Directed, Produced, Edited: @nat.oreus (@nathaleearroyo ) Featuring: @sahxboogie @xo.linay @iammike_harris @iamthefamousak47 @lluv_angelys Photography: @jackfromnova_1 PA & Model Coordinator: @mayagr333n Wardrobe courtesy: @waretowearresale Currently exhibited at @attheyards

ACT III — REBIRTH —— Even after everything, you’re left with yourself. No distractions.. no pretending.. just you sitting with what happened and figuring it out. It doesn’t feel like strength at first. It feels quiet, uncomfortable. But slowly you start again. Not the same, but something new. (The girl can represent a younger version of anyone who can relate - regardless of gender.) Here, she’s not who she was before.. she’s starting over. Rebirthing. Under the cloth that once represented love, she becomes an embryo.. learning herself from the beginning and becoming something even better. TO BE LOVED. ❤️ —— Creative Direction & Post-Production: @nat.oreus (@nathaleearroyo ) Photography: @jackfromnova_1 Production Assistant & Model Coordination: @mayagr333n Models: @lluv_angelys @sahxboogie @xo.linay @iamthefamousak47 @iammike_harris Wardrobe Courtesy: @waretowearresale Currently exhibited at @attheyards #TOBELOVED #ActIII #REBIRTH #EDITORIAL #NATOREUS

ACT II — DESCENT —— At some point, things shift.. you stop seeing eye to eye.. arguments happen - it’s inevitable. Instead of facing the problem together, you start going against each other. (The models are styled to look perfect, like nothing’s wrong.. like everything’s still okay - it’s not.) The cloth reveals the truth: what once connected them now blinds them. —— Creative Direction & Post-Production: @nat.oreus (@nathaleearroyo ) Photography: @jackfromnova_1 Production Assistant & Model Coordination: @mayagr333n Models: @sahxboogie @xo.linay @iamthefamousak47 @iammike_harris @lluv_angelys Wardrobe Courtesy: @waretowearresale Currently exhibited at @attheyards #TOBELOVED #ActII #HEARTBREAK #EDITORIAL #NATOREUS