Opening Reception: First Friday, March 6

Hours

Open Studios: Saturday March 7, 12-5pm & Saturday March 14, 12-5pm
*contact artists directly to arrange studio visits at other times

Current Artists

Sabrina Nichols
During the residency, the artist will create an immersive installation combining looping animations, sound design, and projection-mapped sculpture. The work will use dark humor and surreal imagery, centered on the recurring image of a muzzled dog, to explore themes of silenced voices, abuse, and complicity in the face of injustice.

About the Artists

Sabrina Nichols (she/her)
Sabrina is a visual artist based in Rochester, NY. Her practice blends digital media, sculptural form, and offbeat humor to explore the absurd, the uncanny, and the strangely familiar. She earned her BFA in 3D Digital Design from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2018. After graduating, Sabrina interned with [adult swim] in fall 2018, where her interest in surreal and boundary-pushing animation deepened. In 2019, she was an artist-in-residence at UUU Gallery, where she developed immersive works that merged video, performance, and physical installation. Her role as an animator and video editor—aka “video kid”—at Beggars Group in 2020 brought her sensibility to indie music visuals, helping craft content for groundbreaking and already prominent artists. In 2024, she embraced the title of "freelance absurdist monster," a nod to her ever-evolving identity as a creator of strange, playful, and occasionally grotesque visual worlds. Sabrina’s work continues to challenge norms and delight viewers with its irreverent spirit and layered weirdness. @sabrinanichols

About COMP Studios

COMP Studios provides artists with inexpensive and free, temporary space to advance their practice and engage the public. This initiative expands RoCo's work to support artists, advances the ecosystem for contemporary art in Downtown Rochester; and builds upon grassroots efforts like First Friday, Rochester’s Citywide Gallery Night, and 2019's Current Seen. In addition to providing work space, this initiative will boost an artist's access to audiences and expose the public to an artist’s latest artwork. COMP Studios is Creative Opportunities Made Public. In 2024 COMP was located offsite at a nearby office building and supported by Chashama and The New York State Council for the Arts. In 2025 we moved this program back to the 2nd Floor of RoCo's main facility at 137 East Avenue.

How to Apply

Artists: Do you need temporary studio space to complete a project and engage the public? Apply here
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

New York State Council on the Arts
Farash Foundation
County of Monroe
Gouvernet Arts Fund
Richard Schwartz
Anne Havens
Mary S Mulligan Charitable Trust
and over 1,000 Members!