The Lehigh Valley art scene could blossom even more when new, subsidized studios for artists open next year in Allentown.

The ArtsQuest Artist Studios will open in March 2026 at 930 Hamilton St., an ArtsQuest news release announced, adjacent to the murals artists painted last year for “The Path” pedestrian alley.

The project will offer 21 subsidized studios, ranging 200 to 900 square feet; opportunities for exhibitions and paid teaching; and amenities like spray booths, slop sinks and a lounge to display work.

“With the Banana Factory not open and the Creative Factory in construction, we were looking for opportunities to help out local artists in a way that we did with the Banana Factory,” ArtsQuest Public Relations Coordinator Bryn Keeney told The Morning Call.

The Banana Factory, a longtime south Bethlehem hub for visual arts programming, closed in December to make way for a new, $32 million cultural center. While the new building is being constructed, ArtsQuest has partnered with other organizations and looked for different spaces to continue its work.

Lisa Harms, the senior director of visual arts and education for ArtsQuest, said the Allentown studios would rent at around $1.60 per square foot, per month.

She added that while the Allentown studios won’t have hours open to the public like the new Creative Factory will, artists can still invite people inside to see their work.

“We have seen the need for more studio spaces just based on the waiting list we had when we had to close the Banana Factory,” Harms said. “So not only are we going to be expanding by 20% in the new Creative Factory, we now have an additional 21 studios in Allentown. So there’s no shortage of need.

“The artistic community in the Lehigh Valley continues to grow. Artists continue to flock to this area, and the more we can engage with them and work with them, the entire community benefits from that.”

Harms can be contacted for questions about the Allentown studios at visualarts@artsquest.org.

A committee that includes ArtsQuest staff and local artists will review applications for the studios, which potential tenants can submit on the ArtsQuest website. Applicants can also remain on a waitlist until studios become available.

The studios will join recent Hamilton Street developments such as Archer Music Hall, the Moxy Allentown Downtown hotel, and the Rosa Blanca rum bar and cafe.

Other upcoming Hamilton Street projects include the Japanese restaurant Okatshe and turning the former Merchants National Bank into a mixed-use office and retail building.

Joseph Colasuonno, the landlord and property owner for 930 Hamilton St., said the building was built in 1930 and previously hosted Applied Separations over the last 30 years.

It will have the studios in the basement and first floor as well as 16 apartments across the second, third and fourth floors.

The apartments would open next summer, he added.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/08/29/new-subsidized-studios-to-open-for-artists-next-year-in-allentown/