About Rocky Neck Art Colony
For over 170 years, Rocky Neck has been a thriving creative community where artists work, teach, and connect on Gloucester's historic waterfront. We nurture excellence in the arts through exhibitions, residencies, and educational programs—while fostering a spirit of inclusiveness, innovation, and collaboration that keeps this special place alive.
Our Mission & Vision
Mission
The Mission of the Rocky Neck Art Colony, Inc. is to nurture excellence in the arts and to celebrate the artistic history and culture of Rocky Neck.
Encouraging free expression and open mindedness, we provide opportunities for educational and professional development in the arts, including lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and residencies.
Rocky Neck Art Colony proudly works in partnership with other arts institutions, funding agencies, neighbors, and businesses.
Vision
The Rocky Neck Art Colony's vision is to be a preeminent center for creative achievement and inspiration, sustained by a rich cultural history and the commitment of its community.
Values
The essential values underlying our vision and mission include high standards of creative achievement, community, professional development, innovation, and volunteerism, all within a spirit of inclusiveness.
Experience Rocky Neck
Dozens of working artists maintain studios and galleries throughout Rocky Neck, from painters and potters to textile designers, photographers, and jewelry makers. Step into their studios and you'll find artists at work, happy to share their process and passion.
Our three exhibition spaces—the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, Cove Gallery, and Salted Cod Arthouse—showcase rotating shows that celebrate both established art colony members and emerging talents.
Beyond the art, Rocky Neck pulses with the authentic energy of a working waterfront neighborhood. Waterfront restaurants serve fresh local seafood with harbor views, live music fills weekend evenings, and the peninsula's winding paths invite exploration. As part of Gloucester's Rocky Neck Cultural District, the colony offers a vibrant blend of creativity, community, and coastal beauty—a place where visitors don't just observe art, they experience it being made.
Exhibition Locations
Cultural Center at Rocky Neck
The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck is a vibrant hub for art and community. Open to all, it hosts exhibitions, art talks, workshops, live musical performances, pop-up shows, poetry readings, yoga, and more. A historic gathering place, it welcomes visitors from February to mid-December.
Open weekends, May through mid-October. The Cove Gallery has changing exhibitions of contemporary work by Rocky Neck member artists. This space generously provided by Mark Goetemann in honor of his artist parents, Gordon and Judith Goetemann.
Cove Gallery
Where art meets atmosphere, at the Salted Cod Arthouse you can enjoy coffee/tea, wines, beers, cocktails, and great food while viewing work by local artists in what has become one of the best vibe places in Gloucester.
Salted Cod Arthouse
Discover More
Explore Our History
Walk in the footsteps of Winslow Homer and discover 150+ years of artistic legacy.
Meet Our People
Get to know the staff, board members, and committees who keep Rocky Neck thriving.
Plan Your Visit
Find directions, parking, and everything you need to experience Rocky Neck.
Get Involved
Support Rocky Neck through membership, volunteering, donations, or engagement.
For organizational documents and policies, visit our Governance page.
A History of Rocky Neck Art Colony, Inc.
Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC) is one of the oldest continuously operating art colonies in the United States, located on the historic waterfront peninsula of Rocky Neck in Gloucester. The colony’s artistic roots date back to the mid-1800s, when painters such as Fitz Henry Lane, Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, and Edward Hopper were drawn to the area’s unique coastal light, working harbor, and vibrant maritime culture. Over time, Rocky Neck became a nationally recognized center for American Impressionism and contemporary art.
Founded as a nonprofit organization to preserve and advance this artistic legacy, RNAC today supports artists, cultural programming, and community engagement through exhibitions, residencies, workshops, performances, lectures, and public events. In 2014, RNAC completed the purchase of the historic Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, creating a permanent year-round home for arts and cultural programming.
Core RNAC programs include:
Rotating exhibitions featuring emerging and established artists.
The Goetemann Artist Residency, which brings nationally and internationally recognized artists to Gloucester for community-based residencies.
Educational workshops, lectures, demonstrations, and youth-focused opportunities
The Ward Mann Scholarship for graduating Gloucester High School students pursuing visual arts.
The Rocky Neck Historic Art Trail, celebrating the area’s nationally significant artistic heritage.
Community cultural programming including music, poetry, wellness events, and multidisciplinary arts programming.
RNAC serves a broad and diverse population including professional and emerging artists, students, local residents, visitors and tourists, older adults, creative entrepreneurs, and underserved community members across Cape Ann and greater Massachusetts. Its programs are designed to foster creativity, cultural tourism, arts education, economic vitality, and community connection while preserving the historic and cultural identity of Rocky Neck.