photo courtesy of Visit Greeley

Madison & Main Gallery is a highly celebrated, artist-owned cooperative fine art gallery located in Greeley, Colorado. Established in 1987, the collective has spent nearly four decades serving as a vibrant creative cornerstone for Northern Colorado. The gallery showcases original work from over 20 member-artists alongside rotating regional guest artists. The gallery operates entirely as a cooperative, there are no traditional employees; the artists themselves volunteer to staff the shop, manage the register, and run daily operations.

During a period of economic difficulty in the 1980s, downtown Greeley was struggling with several vacant storefronts. A close-knit group of local potters and ceramic artists—including Rodney Barnes, Jim Klingman, and Jennifer Neff—decided to set up temporary holiday pop-up sales in one of the empty spaces.

Though the gallery currently resides on 16th Street, its original name is deeply tied to Greeley's historical layout. Its first location was at the modern-day intersection of 8th Avenue and 8th Street. To ground the new space in the heritage of the city, the founders named it after the original historical names of those two crossroads: Madison Avenue and Main Street.

By remaining strictly true to its cooperative roots—where artists share all shopkeeper duties, expenses, and curation—the collective has expanded from its pottery origins to support thousands of diverse Northern Colorado artists. This continuous dedication culminated in its induction into the Greeley Arts Legacy Hall of Fame.

photo courtesy of Becca Vaclavik for My Greeley / Visit Greeley published on September 20, 2022.