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We Bought The Big Yellow House!

In 2026, Follow Your Art Community Studios met its goal to raise enough money for a down payment to purchase The Big Yellow House! In 2025 and 2026, our community came together and raised over $200,000, which was 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 in the future of The Big Yellow House! 

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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

June 30, 2026

It’s official! Follow Your Art Community Studios owns The Big Yellow House!

We could not have done this without the support of our wonderful creative community. Because of you, in less than a year we raised $200,000 that was matched by a Cultural Facilities Fund grant from the Mass Cultural Council. Because of you, FYACS has its forever home, where our creative community can gather and grow. Look at the tremendous things we can do together! We are grateful beyond words.

Huge shoutout to Lou Izzi of Bell&Izzi for donating his time and expertise, and to Martha Grover, founding and current Board Treasurer at FYACS, for the hard work put in to finalizing the purchase!

So what’s next? We are excited to be stewards of this space that means so much to the community. One of the next big projects will be to spruce up the outside of the building. Don’t worry, it’ll always be yellow!

May 27, 2026

Follow Your Art is getting so close to owning The Big Yellow House! The matching grant has been received and closing will be in June!

Save the date for a community celebration on Friday, September 11th from 6:30-8:30 pm! There will be an opening of the Art at the Market gallery show, a reveal of the capital campaign donor artwork, and cake!

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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.
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