Arts Wayland is preparing to open a new gallery space in the Wayland Town Center, marking an important milestone.
“Our mission in Wayland is no different than our mission throughout the entire community here,” Arts Wayland President Steve Robb said. “We want to promote the arts and culture through classes, through events and through exposure to different artwork.”
While Arts Wayland’s efforts are rooted in Wayland, the organization’s reach and membership extend far beyond the town’s borders.
“A lot of our member artists are from the surrounding towns and our board is primarily composed of people that live in Wayland, but we have two people on the board that also live in other towns,” Arts Wayland Treasurer and Director of PR Robyn Gray said. “Our goal is more broad — to promote creative expression more broadly.”
“It’s evolved enormously,” Robb said of Arts Wayland. “I don’t think there were nearly the amount of markets and classes and events and things that happen now.”
Despite losing a prior space in the town center, the group persisted by hosting events at venues like the First Parish Church, the Wayland Free Public Library, and the Vokes Theatre. These partnerships are vital to keeping the organization going.
“As much as it stunk to lose our space, we’ve developed so many great relationships with other organizations in town,” Gray said. “It just took a little bit of creative thinking. They were really essential in keeping us going.”
Now the organization is getting ready to return to a physical space of its own. After maintaining a relationship with the property owner, Zurich, and months of negotiation, the board secured a new spot in the Town Center. With the opening scheduled for this fall, Arts Wayland has already begun booking classes, including a silk painting workshop on September 13 and a songwriting master class with singer-songwriter Mark Erelli.
Still, the organization also sees the new space as temporary. “We can’t rely on that being our permanent home,” Gray said. “One of our major goals has been to raise enough money or find some sort of a donor or a way to have a permanent home.”
To sustain their work, Arts Wayland depends on grants, ticket sales, memberships, and donations. Members receive perks like free access to master classes. “If you sign up for a $50 membership, you can attend four master classes in the year that would otherwise be $25 apiece,” Robb said.
Despite the locational challenges, the board remains committed to their mission. “We do this because we’re all passionate about wanting to make the community a better place,” Gray said. “We want to make Wayland cool. We want to be a place where the arts thrive and where people can connect to each other through artistic experiences.”
For more information on upcoming events or to get involved, visit
artswayland.com.
