GREENFIELD — A community clay studio is coming to Greenfield.

Artspace Community Arts Center has raised $112,905 – exceeding a $100,000 goal – to build a clay studio at its Mill Street location. Renovations are set to begin in June with a grand opening planned for September.

“We are blown away by the community’s generosity and enthusiasm for this project,” Artspace Director Madeline Miller said. “Local support for new arts projects is especially essential given federal cutbacks. We’re especially grateful to supporters like Greenfield Savings Bank for pledging multi-year support.”

Artspace has been dreaming of building a clay studio for years, and in 2023 began the planning process. The studio kicked off its fundraising campaign last fall, and earlier this month learned it had received a $28,000 Cultural Facilities grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, meeting and exceeding the fundraising goal. Artspace saw over nearly 200 private donors, in addition to support from local businesses, organizations and the city of Greenfield.

With funding secured, Artspace immediately began cleaning up the first-floor workroom and back closet which will serve as the clay studio and kiln room. Walls have been knocked down and supplies and equipment packed up and moved into a storage space across the hall.

“Previously this was our primary visual arts space, so all of our workshops and things were held down here,” Artspace Operations Manager Jillian Henry said. “We’re in the midst of getting our clay catch sink and all those parts and pieces ...”

Henry said with the new clay studio will have plenty of shelving for ceramics to dry on, pottery wheels and one or two kilns. Paints, pencils, charcoals and other materials for non-ceramic arts will be brought upstairs to a backroom, which will be converted into the visual arts workshop.

She said the backroom had been used for storage for the past few years, but after the lighting is wired, shelves are installed and the workshop is set up, Artspace will be able to begin teaching classes again.

“It’s exciting there will be life in here again,” Henry said.

Renovations will be quick, wrapping up mid-summer to allow for the studio to open in the fall, less than a year after fundraising efforts began.

“We expect that this upstairs visual arts room will be ready sometime the middle of next month and the downstairs studio is not going to take much longer, we’re expected to have that done by the end of July,” Henry said. “And then we’ll be getting ready, hiring instructors and coming up with the class schedule, and all of the classes will start off in September.

In addition to raising money to build the studio, Artspace raised $17,500 for future youth ceramics programming.

For more information about Artspace, the clay studio and other art themed workshops and summer camps, visit artspacegreenfield.org.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com