Pioneer Works Art Foundation

Pioneer Works builds community through the arts and sciences to create an open and inspired world.

How it started: the three-story red brick building we now call Pioneer Works, used to be Pioneer Iron Works. The factory, which manufactured railroad tracks and other large-scale machinery, was a local landmark after which Pioneer Street was named. 

Together, they established Pioneer Works as a 501c3 nonprofit, and transformed the building and parking lot into the multi-disciplinary cultural center and garden they are today.

Pioneer Works has built science studios, a tech lab with 3-D printing, a virtual environment lab for VR and AR production, a recording studio, a media lab for content creation, a darkroom, residency studios, galleries, gardens, a ceramic studio, a press, and a bookshop.

We are dedicated to experimentation, education, and production across the disciplines of Art, Science, Music, Technology, and Narrative Arts—through exhibitions, publications, K-12 STEAM education, public programs, residencies.

We provide a platform for experimentation in new music and sound through performance programming and an on-site month-long residency housed in our custom-built recording studio.

Technology connects to the larger community through a variety of public programs that include social impact hackathons, conferences, classes, and workshops.

Our Tech Lab provides tools and engineering support for artists to develop projects in emerging technologies spanning robotics, AI, mixed reality, and additive manufacturing.

We value the cultural impact of scientific thinking, discovery, and irrepressible curiosity. We believe that science is a part of culture and that the integration of science is essential for the full expression of a cultural organism.

Pioneer Works Press publishes works that foster experimental modes of thought across a wide array of disciplines and mediums. Through our imprint and bookstore, we seek to demonstrate that publishing is essential to accessing the arts & foundation of all creative practice.

With our regional and global audience growing year over year, Pioneer Works maintains a focus on providing programming for our neighborhood of Red Hook.

Exhibitions serve as the foundation of STEAM education with local schools and community partners. Our exhibiting and resident artists create unique, free-of-charge, K-12 workshops.