The Flywheel Arts Collective, after being forced to close the doors to its original space three years ago, has reopened at 43 Main Street in downtown Easthampton, Massachusetts. The grassroots community arts center and music venue has taken residence in Easthampton's historic Old Town Hall and former police station.
"The renovations took longer than we expected, but the results are worth it," said Jeremy Smith, who was a core member of the collective that opened Flywheel in 1998. "We demoed out the old police station, rewired it, refinished the floors, added bathrooms, and improved accessibility and safety. It’s beautiful." The Old Town Hall location has more than double the previous space's capacity and features an updated sound system. To do this work, the group raised nearly $50,000 and relied heavily on volunteer and pro-bono professional labor.
The new Flywheel, like the old, will feature a performance space, gallery, zine library, and later this year, a cafe. Smith hopes that being located in Easthampton's downtown will make the center attractive to individuals and groups who want to get involved as members, rent the space, or simply attend events, which will include workshops, children's programs, theater, and film and video, as well as Flywheel's mainstay, music shows by a range of local, national, and international artists. As before, the programming will be driven by volunteer community members who produce their own events at the space. "Flywheel is what you make of it," added Smith.
Flywheel, a collectively run, not-for-profit space, aims to build community and give artists of all types the opportunity to craft, practice, and perform their work in an environment where creativity is valued over profit. Volunteer-run and governed by consensus, Flywheel believes that art and information should be equally accessible and affordable to all people.
To learn more about Flywheel, or to see how you can get involved, visit the Flywheel Arts Collective Website.