History
SAA Collective, a division of the Springfield Art Association, is a commercial sales gallery and a professional hub for artists based in Central Illinois. SAA Collective began as the Prairie Art Alliance in 1979 as an artists' support group called the Women's Art Alliance. Its purpose was to encourage and promote local women artists by providing exhibition opportunities, workshops, and artistic development. The Alliance incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1985 and changed its name in 1995 to reflect the admission of male artists. In 1996, it opened a gallery and classroom on the grounds of the SAA, just north of downtown. In 2004, the PAA moved to downtown Springfield as a resident of the Hoogland Center for the Arts, where it resided until October 2020. The gallery is now run out of a storefront location in the historic Broadwell Pharmacy Building. In January 2016, the Prairie Art Alliance merged with the Springfield Art Association.