STUDIOS & HOUSING FACILITIES

Residents receive 24-hour access to private studio space on the MASS MoCA campus, plus lodging in newly renovated, furnished apartments across the street from the museum, right in downtown North Adams. We provide seven communal lunches per week in the company of your fellow residents. When many residents are arriving on the same day, we also host a welcome dinner for the group on that first evening. 

Residents also receive the benefits of temporary MASS MoCA membership: access to the galleries during regular museum hours; invitations to member openings; member discounts on performing arts events; and member discounts at the museum store. 

ACCESSIBILITY

The Studios at MASS MoCA has studios in two buildings. Building 13 has an elevator to the studios on the second floor and Building 34 has a ramp to the first floor entrance. Stairs are not necessary for either space and both have wheelchair accessible, gender-neutral bathrooms with grab bars around the toilet. Neither building currently has a handicap door button for the main entrance. Housing at the Studios at MASS MoCA requires the ability to climb two flights of stairs. If you are not able to use stairs, please contact us immediately upon your acceptance so we can discuss alternate accommodations at a nearby hotel.

Check out this video that shows the layout of our apartments and studios:

HOUSING

Each resident is provided with a private room in one of three newly renovated, four-bedroom apartments. Each bedroom is furnished with a bed and dresser, pillows, bed and bath linens, etc. (No need to bring any bedding unless you prefer to sleep on your favorite pillow, etc.) Each apartment also has its own shared bathroom and kitchen, wifi, and laundry. The kitchen will have some basic cooking equipment and coffee. Residents are responsible for providing their own breakfast, snacks and dinner. The apartments are within easy walking distance of the local grocery.

NOTE: Climbing stairs is required to enter the apartments, which are located on the 3rd floor of a walk-up building. If you are not able to use stairs, please contact us immediately upon your acceptance so we can discuss alternate accommodations at a nearby hotel.

STUDIOS

With our recent residency expansion, we now host studios in two buildings, B13 & B34. Each of the spaces and each of their studios have their own dimensions and provisions. Some studios have 8-foot walls in a 13-foot-high mill space; others are fully partitioned to the ceiling. Some are better for work made on the floor, some for work made on walls. We do our best to pair our residents with a studio that matches their practice. The smallest studio is 120 sq ft and the largest is 280 sq ft. The average size is about 172 sq ft. Wall material ranges from drywall to brick to translucent plastic. Floors in B13 are plywood, while in B34 they’re cement. All studios are wheelchair accessible, lockable and safe to leave equipment and supplies in.

Each studio is minimally furnished with a desk or folding table, a chair, and most have a small shelf. Additional folding tables are available. Lighting is overhead LED troffers (typical commercial office lighting) and we have clamp lights to augment. There are shared slop sinks in both buildings. Easels, additional worktables or alternative seating can likely be provided, but you should consider bringing the essentials to meet the needs of your practice. If you have special pieces of furniture or equipment you would like to request, please make note in your application. Although we cannot guarantee special requests, we’ll do our best to help you find the proper equipment you’ll need for your time here. In addition, each studio building is equipped with a small tool library. A full list of tools available is below. All art materials and most equipment must be provided by the participant.

See photos below.

STUDIO TOOLS & EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE

B13 & B34 are each equipped with basic hand tools and supplies as listed. Artists should plan to bring any additional specialized tools or equipment needed for their projects.

DARKROOM / PHOTOGRAPHY

The Studios does not have a designated darkroom, however with advanced notice we can assign you to a studio with limited light and custom-fitted black-out curtains to turn it into one. This DIY system has worked very well for artists using a variety of developing processes. The Studios does not supply and chemicals or bath containers, so the artist should plan to bring or have shipped everything they’ll need.

WI-FI

Both the studios and the apartments have wi-fi. Do note that recent bandwidth policy changes at MASS MoCA now prevent artists from streaming video while in the studios, but we have gotten special permission for music streaming. Video streaming at the apartments is not restricted (although multiple users streaming simultaneously can still limit the bandwidth).