About Arts Collaborative Medford
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive space to create, enjoy, and engage with a diversity of arts and culture experiences.
ACM encompasses 10,000 square feet of space on two floors at 162 Mystic Avenue. Our building includes artist studios, two spacious classrooms, and a beautiful open gallery and event space on the main level. Through this collaborative community space, we aim to celebrate Medford as a destination and generator for arts and culture.
Arts Collaborative Medford resides on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Pawtucket, Naumkeag, and Massachusett people, past and present, which were appropriated by this Commonwealth, We name, recognize, and offer respect to the Pawtucket, Naumkeag, and Massachusett people as the original and traditional stewards of this land, whose history has been largely erased for the past four hundred years, and we acknowledge the enduring relationship that still exists between their descendants and their traditional territories.
The History Behind ACM
Medford has a large and dynamic arts community. And yet, before now our arts community did not have a physical home, along with a significant lack of space in the city for holding smaller-scale arts-related events and displaying the work of our artists; instead, organizations and individuals relied on temporary and borrowed spaces, which drastically constrained what can be done to reach diverse audiences year-round.
Thus, visionary individuals in Medford have been trying for decades to develop such a space in Medford, back as far as the Swann School around 25 years ago. Some years ago the Hegner Center, an unused building near Medford Square, came to the attention of Louise Musto-Choate and Laurel Siegel, who assembled a committee of arts organization representatives to pursue the goal of opening an arts center there. Although that location didn’t pan out, the team continued to work with City officials and many others when Theory Wellness, a licensed cannabis brand, began communicating with them about a space on Mystic Avenue, which was eventually approved by the City’s Cannabis Commission. ACM’s ability to occupy this building was made possible with Theory’s strong commitment and support, as well as the work of many individuals and entities.
Land Acknowledgment
Meet Our Team
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Regina Parkinson is a professional arts administrator. Prior to joining ACM she was the Curation and Exhibitions Manager at Artists for Humanity in Boston for two years. Her work there included curating exhibitions featuring teen artists, alumni artists, and nonprofit partners to engage community stakeholders.
Before moving to Boston, Regina lived in New Orleans, where her work included cofounding a large-scale contemporary public event called the Lucky Art Fair, which showcased 30+ visual artists and had more than 2,000 visitors over two weekends. While in the South, she also honed her arts administrative skills at the Art Klub and the Brand New Orleans Art Gallery.
Regina has an M.A. in Nonprofit Leadership and a Certificate in Arts and Culture Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her B.A. in Art History from UMass Amherst, she completed coursework on starting a successful art business from NYU’s School of Professional Studies.
Regina is passionate about creating and strengthening community partnerships and advancing the missions of social impact organizations.
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Susan is a mosaic artist, and has organized and helped facilitate many community projects and events, including MARV the Medford Arts Resource Vehicle, Making Art Together workshops for families, two retail art spaces, and a large mosaic mural in the Roberts Elementary School.
She served on the board of directors of ArtsMedford from 2014 to 2021. She also served on the boards of the Medford Farmers Market, Medford Health Matters, Harvest Cooperative Supermarket, and the Mystic River Watershed Association. She was a member of the Medford Energy Committee, and from 2011 to 2024 was the Managing Editor of Global Environmental Politics, an academic journal published by The MIT Press.
Susan is delighted to be affiliated with Medford's first multipurpose community arts and culture space. She sees ACM as a hub for creative innovation that welcomes everyone who is part of our exciting city at this very exciting time.
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Celia Lee makes jewelry, quilts, and–for extra fun–programs robots. Celia has served on the ArtsMedford board since 2016, currently serves as their treasurer, and is a core member of the Mystic Makerspace steering committee. Celia is also the senior director of technical product management with PTC.
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Gary Roberts served on the Medford Arts Council for six years, including five years as their chair, leading the Arts Council in administering their duties as a Local Cultural Council. He also worked on public art projects and other community initiatives, including the Medford Arts and Culture Summit in 2015. Gary also served on the Transition Team Committee on Cultural Affairs and Recreation for Medford Mayor Stephanie Muccini-Burke. Gary directed faculty and research services at MIT’s Sloan School of Management through 2021. Gary is also an accomplished poet.
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Brenda Leong serves as the Director of Curatorial Affairs at Artists For Humanity (AFH), with over 10 years of experience in arts administration, sales, and design. AFH, is a nonprofit in South Boston, dedicated to employing and empowering teens to explore and express their creative abilities through work for hire. Brenda’s journey at AFH began as an Executive Assistant and Board Clerk, providing her with valuable insights into organizational structure, polices, and arts administration. Her passion for the arts, coupled with her background in interior design, facilitated her transition to heading AFH's fine art sales and exhibition program. Throughout her tenure, Brenda has provided art consultation to individuals, business, and community partners on AFH’s teen art collection, commission, and art leasing programs. She has experience in curation, designing exhibit collaterals, art handling, installation, and managing staffing structures and transactional processes for art sales at fundraising events. Passionate about fostering artistic expression and community engagement, Brenda views exhibitions as a powerful tool for expressing the stories of our time, fostering learning, engagement, understanding, and connection within the community. She is eager to leverage her passion and expertise collaboratively to further Arts Collaborative Medford’s mission of providing a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive space for the creation and enjoyment of diverse arts and cultural experiences.
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Pamela Shanley Daube is the operations manager of the Arlington Center for the Arts, which includes organizing and installing exhibits, being one of the camp directors for the ACA summer camp program, directing Arlington Open Studios, and other operational projects for this community art center. Pam has been a CACHE board member since 2019, and production designer with Deborah Abel for over 25 years, working on sets and costumes for both her professional dance company and School of Dance. Additional set, mural, and puppet work includes the Underground Railway Theater, Cambridge, MA; the Little Theater for the Deaf; O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT; and the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, CA. Commissions for community mural work, funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her paintings and drawings have been exhibited and collected in private collections in California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
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Matt Wilson was the founding Executive Director of MASSCreative, the statewide advocacy voice for Massachusetts’ arts, cultural, and creative community. Under his direction MASSCreative grew to more than 400 organizational members with 25,000 individuals taking part in public education and advocacy actions. In his tenure, arts funding in the Commonwealth doubled and his advocacy work helped implement state policies to increase access and participation to quality arts education.
Matt is the Executive Director of Discovering Justice, which provides civic education programs for students in Grades K-12. Discovering Justice works with students to explore the workings of the justice system, explore the ideals of justice and prepare students to engage in our democracy runs programs.
Matt is excited to join the ACM Board to help build and promote a culture of arts and creativity throughout the Medford community.