Fueled by community and donor support, Greenfield’s Artspace Community Arts Center is undergoing substantial transformations that are set to be completed in 2025.

In 2023, Artspace received a $14,000 matching grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural Facilities Fund, as well as help from multiple private donors and consultants, to conduct a feasibility study to explore whether there is enough demand in Greenfield for ceramics education. Considering the closest clay studio is a 25-minute drive from Greenfield, as well as the fact that a studio at Artspace would be accessible for people with disabilities, it was determined a clay studio would be a welcome addition to the community.

More recently, Artspace Executive Director Madeline Miller and her team partnered with the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Arts Extension Service to conduct more community research, with Miller personally interviewing around 40 potters and studio owners in the region to learn different ways to approach running a successful studio. Following a long and arduous planning process, the clay studio is expected to open in the fall of 2025.

The studio, on top of being Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant by being on the first floor, will take over three rooms at the Mill Street building, requiring electrical upgrades, the addition of pottery wheels and a kiln, and the installation of a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

To share these plans with the public, Artspace held an open house in November that attracted more than 300 visitors — more than Miller could have anticipated.

“We were blown away,” Miller said about the open house. “We had an exhibit of clay and ceramics with local artists’ work on display, as well as educational materials. We also had architectural designs for plans of the buildings, and four ceramic artists demonstrating with music, snacks and a make-a-pot activity on our second floor.”

A small family foundation matches all donations from the community, meaning that every dollar raised is doubled, Miller noted. By the end of the open house weekend, nearly $13,000 had been raised, a number that has since grown to $26,000.

“People were really excited to learn about, participate in and support a new good thing in Greenfield,” Miller said. “We just had no idea that that many people were going to come, and we had no idea we were going to get our campaign off to such a great start, and to have this boost at the beginning is very valuable and very encouraging.”

Miller describes ceramics as an empowering art form that allows its creators to leave with a functional piece of artwork such as a mug or a bowl. This act of creating is also an act of accomplishing, which is a feeling that Artspace wants to provide for the community at large.

“We have the belief that art is really necessary to the human soul and that giving people the opportunity to engage in this very tactile art form that they can then use reminds them that they’re an artist and that they learned and produced something of value,” Miller said, adding that pottery can also feel more accessible to those who hesitate to engage with art or those who fail to see its usefulness in their daily lives.

With all staff members being fairly new, Miller said it’s exciting to build on Artspace’s legacy, which dates back more than half a century.

“We all started between 2022 and 2023, and we feel incredibly lucky to focus this very longstanding and trusted organization in a new, exciting direction,” said Miller, who has been in her part-time position since January 2023.

Funds to make the community clay studio a reality will continue to be raised over the next few months, with $100,000 being the end goal. Miller is applying for more grants to cover the cost of renovations, with the community donations mostly going toward durable equipment and supplies. An application is in for a National Endowment for the Arts grant that would support clay programming, and the Charles H. Hall Foundation has already contributed $7,500.

If you’re interested in volunteering with Artspace, you can email info@artspacegreenfield.org to get in touch directly, especially if you have experience in clay. However, the best way to support the studio is by donating at tinyurl.com/ArtspaceClay.