Page 43 - BusinessWest February 20, 2023

One Pay It Forward recipient, Amherst-based musician Kim Chin-Gibbons, brought her band, Sunset Mission, to CitySpace for a three-day intensive to practice, hone their sound, create a video, and play for a crowd, followed by an audience talk-back session.
“We discovered things about our tech and performances I don’t think we would have for months or maybe years,” Chin- Gibbons said. “It was the perfect place to control all our variables and grow as musicians and people.”
The next phases of the Old Town Hall revival include the restoration of a 350-seat space on the second floor (likely
double that capacity for standing-room shows). But that takes fundraising, and Maxey and her board continue that effort, seeing the impact a broadened arts culture has already had on the town’s vitality, and understanding how the completed project will multiply that impact.
“I believe everyone has a place to live and thrive in Western Massachusetts, and now we have a great opportunity to plan smartly to create both affordability and economic flourishing,” she told BusinessWest. “I believe CitySpace is a partial solution to concerns like gentrification by creating long-term affordability to creative space on Main Street, right in the middle of the region.”
By fostering the arts and community she added, “we can make a destination where people want to be, and this, in turn, has economic reverberations. It’s that cycle of reciprocity that will allow this region to fully lift itself up to its potential.”
One Step at a Time
While touring Old Town Hall with BusinessWest, Maxey stopped by Big Red Frame, a business owned by Jean-Pierre Pasche that moved into the building around 2007, a few years after the municipal offices moved out.
“I fell in love with this place 17 years ago when I heard that it was going to be transformed into an arts center,” Pasche said. “I approached the people submitting RFPs to the town, and I said, ‘if you need a tenant on the project, I’ll go in. And I’m still here.”
Maxey credits town officials at the time for having the foresight
Burns Maxey stands in the Blue Room, which hosted about 100 events in its first year.
Leah Martin Photography
to envision an arts and culture hub in the building, and recognize the impact that could have on economic development in town.
“I could see the potential for this building,” she added. “And when they showed me the second floor, I was like, ‘oh yeah, I’m really interested in this project.’”
The first floor, which includes a number of art spaces and
“I could see the potential for this building. And when they showed me the second floor,
I was like, ‘oh yeah, I’m really interested in” this project.’
Congratulations Burns Maxey
CitySpace Easthampton Board President Extraordinaire
Your leadership, energy, and 24/7 commitment have taken us a long way. We are hopeful to start Phase 2 of our restoration project if we raise 175K by March 15th, it would be a wonderful tribute
to Burns and her years of work for CitySpace to make this happen.
www.CitySpaceeasthampton.org to see all that is happening with this project.
BusinessWest
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