Bubo Arts Collective

Due to a number of reasons, we are saddened to announce that as of fall 2023 Bubo Arts Collective has been dissolved and is no longer an active nonprofit organization. We wish to thank everyone who showed interest in our residency program and wish you the best of luck in your artistic journeys.

Bubo Arts Collective will be a unique, multi-purposed art center with a focus on its artist-in-residency program, designed to bring together international and local artists in an atmosphere that is welcoming, communal, and exciting.

Bubo Arts Collective, Inc. was established as a Massachusetts non-profit corporation in July 2018, and is certified as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Bubo Arts Collective is the dream project of Executive Director Hilary Emerson Lay, an artist living and working in Western Massachusetts.

In 2012, Hilary decided that she could no longer put her art career on the back burner and decided to change the direction of her life. She left her ten-year-long position as the manager of an independent bookstore and applied for a summer art residency at Elsewhere Studios. The experience had such a profound and lasting effect, she decided she wanted to offer this transforming and magical experience to other artists.

Hilary makes her home in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: an area rich with culture. An area blessed with incredible natural beauty. An area which is home to a vibrant and extraordinary arts scene. In short, an area which would be perfect for an artist-in-residence program.

Every month, Bubo Arts Collective is moving closer to becoming a reality. Along with a small group of creative movers and shakers, Hilary is working towards finding a physical home for Bubo Arts.

To avoid confusion, let us explain that we do not yet exist in physical form. We hope to have a location, and be up and running and ready to accept residents, as soon as possible.

Bubo Arts Collective residency program will be open to visual artists, both emerging and professional. Artists will be free to create their own self-directed residency experience, be it working alone in a private studio space or collaborating with fellow residents or local artists on projects. The hope is that our visiting artists will leave a lasting impression on our community, making our program mutually beneficial to both Bubo Arts and the Pioneer Valley.

We are thrilled to have already received many applications from around the world for our artist-in-residency program. Although we are not yet ready to host artists, receiving applications is extremely helpful for us as we make decisions about what Bubo Arts will look like. To (pre)apply, click here. As soon as we are ready to host artists, we will reach out to you!

What exactly is an art residency?

An art residency, or an artist-in-residency program, is a place that provides artists the time and space to create new work. Some residencies host one artist at a time; some host fifty. Some are in the heart of a bustling metropolis; some are on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. There are roughly 1,500 art residencies around the world, and there really is no one-model-fits-all.

Does Bubo Arts actually exist yet?

On paper, yes. In physical form, not yet. In July 2018, Bubo Arts received non-profit status from the IRS. Our next step is to look for a space for Bubo Arts, which we are actively doing.

Check back here for updates, or join our mailing list at the bottom of this page to be kept up to date.

Why are you accepting applications if you aren’t ready to host artists?

We’ve received upwards of 100 applications from artists around the world. We created a pre-application form to get a sense of what kinds of artists would be interested in coming, how long they would want to stay, what kind of projects they would want to work on, and generally how much interest there is in Bubo Arts. We’re pretty excited to have generated this much interest already.

What does “bubo” mean?

Bubo is a genus of owl (and also the name of the mechanical owl from the original Clash of the Titans). Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, always had a small owl on her shoulder. The exact meaning behind this has been lost over the centuries, but this is believed to be how the owl came to be synonymous with knowledge and wisdom. Also, bubo is just a fun word to say!

email: buboartscollective@gmail.com

postal address:

Hilary Emerson Lay, Executive Director
114 A.P. Newcomb Road
Brewster, Massachusetts 02631
United States of America

phone: 781.346.1777

facebook: Bubo Arts Collective