Greene Block + Studios
A center for the arts in Waterville, connecting the Colby and Waterville communities through vibrant arts programming and events.
About
A center for innovation in the arts, providing a home for vibrant arts programming and creative space for the development of original work in the heart of Waterville, Maine. Greene Block + Studios is the home of both the Lunder Institute’s Residential Fellowship Program for practicing artists as well as the Colby College Arts Office.
- 1st Floor – Multidisciplinary arts programming that is free and open to the public and a book and print makerspace programmed in collaboration with Colby College Libraries and the Arts Office.
- 2nd and 3rd Floors – Artist Studios for Lunder Institute Residential Fellows, Colby Faculty, and the Arts Office
- 4th Floor – Offices and a convening space for Colby College Museum of Art, Lunder Institute, and Arts Office
History
The Greene Block + Studios was made possible by a $3-million gift from Peter H. Lunder ’56, D.F.A. ’98, and Paula Crane Lunder, D.F.A. ’98, through their Lunder Foundation. This new arts space in Waterville, Maine, plays a central role in a comprehensive plan for the arts to inspire, uplift, and revitalize the city’s historic downtown while advancing Colby’s expansive academic mission. This comprehensive restoration of a block dating to the 1830s also recognizes the city’s venerable industrial past.
The Greene Block + Studios inhabits the historic Ticonic Row, named for the nearby Ticonic Falls, which was built in 1836 as one of the first masonry buildings in Waterville. It is best known as the home of Waterville Hardware, a four-story establishment where goods were ordered at a first-floor counter and moved by elevator from inventory housed in the upper stories to the waiting customer. Prior to its restoration, the building’s last renovation occurred in 1924, when a fourth story was added. Etched on tablets on the front of what was once four connected buildings are the names of the four individuals or families who undertook the project—Sarah Levine, Tozier-Dow, Abraham Joseph, and Gabrielle Pomerleau—reflecting Waterville’s diversity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Arts Office
The Arts Office fosters interdisciplinary artistic collaborations that deepen and broaden discussions across classrooms and in local and global communities. Centering the arts as an economic revitalizer of downtown Waterville, the Arts Office is building a culture of creativity that is innovative, bold, and socially conscious. New and newly adapted spaces on campus and in downtown Waterville provide the technical support and flexibility needed for integrated teaching and inclusive arts programming that critically engages the imagination. Within this ecosystem of professional and emerging creatives, cultural thinkers, local organizations, schools and businesses, the Arts Office is reshaping central Maine as a lively arts destination. Colby’s Arts Office plans the programs that take place on the first floor space at Greene Block + Studios.
Lunder Institute Residential Fellowship Program
The Greene Block + Studios is also home to the Lunder Institute for American Art and its residential fellowship program. Established in 2021, the Lunder Institute residential fellowships provide artists with spacious studios as well as opportunities for collaboration with Colby College faculty, students, and the Waterville community. The program encompasses artists at all stages of their careers and working in diverse areas and mediums. Concurrent engagement and studio spaces are provided for Colby faculty and students, ensuring a dynamic environment for creative production and innovation. Resident fellows have access to Colby College campus resources including the libraries, printmaking studio, darkroom facility, and digital photography equipment, as well as to Colby’s academic community. Learn more about the Lunder Institute for American Art.
