About Western Avenue Studios

The fifth floor of Western Avenue Studios opened its 31 studio doors to working artists on September 1, 2005. The opening of the 4th and 3rd floor in 2006 and the opening of the A Mill's 2nd floor in August 2007 and 3rd floor in November, brings the total of working studios to 118 and the number of artists at Western Avenue to over 125.

Since opening day, Western Avenue Studios has become an intregal part of the cultural life of the city of Lowell. In addition to participating in the annual citywide Lowell Open Studios and holding monthly First Saturday Open Studios, WAS has provided venues for the 7th Annual International Edible Book Festival, the Lowell Quilt Festival, and the Lowell Photography Weekend. The summer of 2006 marked the inception of the Summer Art Program for Children.

The Western Avenue Studios Artist Association represents many of the artists at Western Avenue Studios. The organization provides outreach and develops partnerships with other cultural institutions in the city.

The artists at Western Avenue Studios are deeply grateful to Karl Frey and Justin Mandelbaum of Vespera Investments, developers of Western Avenue Studios. Without Karl, Justin, Mollie Masten and Carrie Hiltscher, our dream of an affordable artist work space would not be a reality.