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Let's Buy The Big Yellow House!

Follow Your Art Community Studios currently rents The Big Yellow House. The owners want to sell, and we want to buy!

Our goal is to raise $500,000 for the Big Yellow House. In January 2026, we reached a major milestone of over $200,000 raised from our community, which will be matched by a Cultural Facilities Fund Grant from Mass Cultural Council and Mass Development. Read below to learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved! 

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The “Big Yellow House” is Follow Your Art’s indisputable home and essential to the local creative community. Investing in the purchase of 647 Main Street ensures that Follow Your Art remains your community arts center.

Beyond creative classes, the space is a springboard to partnerships and creative engagement in the broader community, including:

  • Free public events that build community
  • Individualized adaptive support and subsidized programming to remove barriers to participation
  • Free storytelling events that have led to the creation of a new disability-focused storytelling group
  • Studio space for three dozen local writers and artists in residence with opportunities to share their work
  • Mentorship and employment for high school youth
  • Opportunities for young adults with disabilities to access creative experiences both at the Big Yellow House and off-site
  • A venue for live music featuring local and nationally-renowned performers

Latest News

February 1, 2026

Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of donors and volunteers, FYACS successfully raised the $200,000 matching funds required to claim its Cultural Facilities Fund grant. January 2025 donations were supplemented by a raffle of a handmade quilt by Penelope Young, won by Peggy S., and a side table made by Dan Weissman, won by Rachel G. The raffle raised over $6,000 for The Big Yellow House.

Follow Your Art will move forward with the purchase of the Big Yellow House in Spring 2026, after submitting for the matching funds. Watch this space or our social media for updates!

Donor Recognition Update

Custom artwork featuring our capital campaign donors is being created by Chiara Pieri for the FYACS foyer. If you donated to the capital campaign, please check that we have your preferred name(s) listed. Changes can be requested by email before March 1, 2026. 

It’s not too late to donate

Funds raised beyond the match will also be applied to the purchase and stewardship of 647 Main Street. Any capital campaign funds raised that are not applied to the down payment will go to the next big improvement of The Big Yellow House – a new paint job! Don’t worry, she’ll always be yellow. 

Online Giving

Cash or Check Donations

Donations by cash or check are also gratefully accepted. Please send checks to Follow Your Art Community Studios, 647 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176. 

DAFs and QCDs

Follow Your Art also accepts contributions from Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs).

Workplace Giving

Does your employer have a charitable program or match your donations? Please consider submitting for employer matching to make an even greater impact!

Donate Stock

If you are interested in donating stock, please contact our Communications and Development Coordinator or call 781-665-4140 for further details. 

Other questions about donations, the matching grant, or general campaign questions, click here!

What People Are Saying...

FYA is such an integral part of what makes our Melrose community so vibrant, warm and welcoming. I am thankful that we have a creative space embedded in our community and my kids absolutely LOVE the programming at FYA!
Helena W.
Watching FYACS grow from an empty house on Main Street to a thriving arts center has been a gift to the City of Melrose! The dedication and hard work of the staff and board got FYACS up and running, and it continues to offer a community for artists and writers to discover their creative side, nurture it, and watch it grow. FYACS's commitment to extending art experiences for all is inspiring, and their vision for the future is exciting. I can't wait to see more!
Jane Foley
“The growth we've seen in our child since beginning class at Follow Your Art has been astounding. He comes out of art class visibly lighter. We can tell how respected, cared for, and understood he feels... He looks forward to class every week and feels such a sense of pride… watching him blossom as a member of your special community is quite literally a dream come true for us.”
Mom of FYArtist
I began taking an adult class to work on my own art with the guidance of Kris in the space upstairs next to Hugo's. Since, moving into the Big Yellow House, I have gained friendships, artful experiences of all kinds, and support in my own art endeavors. I have been teaching a class or two, here and there, over the years making my dream of becoming an Art Teacher come true!
Sally Gordon
To me, FYACS represents a safe and sacred place, where all are welcome, young people of all ages are celebrated and creativity is sparked and sustained. Just walking into the space for painting or ceramics or anything is like taking a deep breath of fresh air. And in these times, it is a place of hope.
Michele Maure
I belong to the writers' studio and I love having dedicated space to work in away from home, and I love the bustle of the creative activity happening in the house.
Nancy Werlin
FYACS is an increasingly important community hub where children and families can find ways to develop and follow an array of artistic interests and receive instruction, support, and encouragement, whatever their abilities and strengths; there is truly room at the table for everyone.
Judy Rosenbaum
Having walked the space with Kris when it was a realistic fantasy, it has grown into a fantastic reality!!! I am honored to be a part of the initial transformation and am thrilled to see how FYA has grown to be an integral creative partner in the Melrose community.
Janis Mamayek
The Teen Coffeehouse at Follow Your Art Community Studios was maybe one of the best community events I have ever been to...and I have been to a lot in Melrose! So much teen talent in Melrose!
Manjula Karamcheti
The FYA theater program has been transformational for our son. Thanks to a dynamic and inclusive teacher (or whatever is the right word) and the welcoming community of FYA, we’ve watched his creativity and self confidence flourish. He looks forward to class every week and loves getting to be on stage with his peers for the final performance.
Jennifer Grigoraitis and Bill Kreamer
You've created something really special here. This place is a gift to the community.
Anonymous participant
Kris and her staff have always been so friendly and helpful to our family. And we know it's not just us. This is who they are as people. We wanted to make the donation to show our appreciation for the way they always made us feel at home and valued and to help with future goals. What Follow Your Art has become, what they've done to make a community, and what they hope to achieve in the future is something wonderful to see.
Tisha S.
More about our impact on the community

Frequently Asked Questions

Overview

Follow Your Art Community Studios’ home is the Big Yellow House at 647 Main Street in downtown Melrose, Massachusetts. We have rented the space since 2019 with the intent of purchasing the property once we were firmly established in the community. Our initial purchase timeline was slowed due to COVID, but the owners need to sell now, and we want to buy! Owning the building means we’re not going anywhere and can continue to grow as a community resource.

In 2024, FYACS celebrated its first five years of building creative community. Our small staff invites more than 1,000 adults and youth from the greater Boston area into the “Big Yellow House” each year for classes, gallery shows, performances, and special events. Our signature Arts for All program has provided financial and adaptive assistance to dozens of individuals, and our collaborations with local partners enrich the broader community. Owning our own space will allow us to do even more to make creative experiences available to everyone.

 

647 Main Street is currently owned by Art Ventures, LLC, which was created by a group of founding supporters with the intent to one day sell the property to FYACS. Art Ventures has leased the space to FYACS since it was incorporated as a nonprofit community arts center in 2019. Thanks to the generosity of these early supporters, FYACS has been able to establish itself in the community and grow into the Big Yellow House, which has become the art center’s indisputable home.

Owning the property will be transformational for FYACS and how it makes creative experiences accessible to all. With this significant capital investment, FYACS will purchase the property we currently inhabit and make much needed improvements, including envelope maintenance and an expanded ceramics studio. These additions mean more special events and more classes for YOU! 

By purchasing the property, FYACS can save more than $9,000 a year in taxes that we currently pay on the property. This added financial flexibility means funds could be reallocated to support creative projects in the community, also overcoming the challenges of currently limited city, state, and national funds for arts and culture.

Giving to the Capital Campaign

FYACS is raising $500,000 toward the purchase of the Big Yellow House between 2024-2026. Given the accelerated timeline on which the owners want to sell, we are raising funds for a significant down payment at this time rather than the full amount to buy the building outright. With $500,000, we can make a significant down payment toward the purchase of the property to secure a more favorable mortgage, as well as create a maintenance and renovation fund to make much needed improvements to the property. 

There are multiple ways you can contribute:

  • One-time gifts online or by check
  • Employer matching
  • Contributions from Donor Advised Funds and Qualified Charitable Contributions
  • Stock donations 
  • If you would like to spread your donation over multiple years or make other arrangements, please contact our Communications and Development Coordinator.

 

Gifts of all amounts are vital to helping us reach our goal, and we hope that members of our community will make donations in amounts meaningful to them. All donors will be recognized on our campaign website, and on entryway signage at FYACS.

  • Creative Champions: $10,000+
  • Community Builders: $5,000 – $9,999
  • Patron: $2,500 – $4999
  • Advocate: $1,000 – $2,499
  • Supporter: $500 – $999
  • Friend: $250 – $499
  • Community Level: up to $249

If you have questions about making a leadership donation or would like to discuss naming opportunities, contact our Communications and Development Coordinator or call 781-665-4140

Yes! We would be happy to work out a donation plan that works for you. Please call 781-665-4140 to learn more. 

Yes, to the extent allowed by law. Follow Your Art Community Studios is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Tax ID 83-1372132 

Yes, gifts of all amounts made by March 1, 2026 will be recognized on a digital donor wall on our website unless a donor prefers to remain anonymous. Artwork will be created in the entryway of Follow Your Art with special recognition on the house for donors over $250. Donations below $250 will be recognized in the garden of the artwork.

Additional Questions

Follow Your Art met its matching goal of $200,000 for the Cultural Facilities Fund grant in January 2026 and will move forward with the purchase of The Big Yellow House in Spring 2026. 

YOU are our biggest champion. We would be grateful if you can spread the word about FYACS and the capital campaign to your friends and family. A few ideas:

  • Hold a house party: Invite some friends for an informal summer get-together and our Executive Director can share our vision of a permanent creative community center at The Big Yellow House! We have materials to help you get started.
  • Hand out postcards in your neighborhood.
  • Share details with your connections – we have digital and print flyers you can use!
  • Can you think of anyone who should know about FYACS and what we do? Let us know and we’ll reach out to them!
Please contact us to volunteer or coordinate pick up of info materials.
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