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The LAVA Center

a community arts space in Greenfield, MA

  • About LAVA
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    • About our Event Pricing
  • Cafe
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    • Playwrights Circle
    • Holiday Salon
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  • About LAVA
  • Events Calendar
  • Press
  • Get Involved
  • Email List
  • Contact
  • now open: LAVA Cafe
  • current art: Dave Madeloni
  • current exhibit: Black Families of Greenfield
  • this weekend: LAVA Film Festival
  • get involved: Playwrights Circle
  • submit to: Community Art Show
  • upcoming art: Gerard McGovern
  • upcoming events: Holiday Salon

Where ideas erupt, and creativity flows, community grows.

The LAVA Center
community arts space • arts incubator • black box theater
324 Main Street in Greenfield, Massachusetts


Upcoming Events

Check out our events calendar for a schedule and details on all our upcoming events.

View Events

A Community Arts Center & Venue in Greenfield, MA

Our mission is to create opportunities and build community in and through the arts and humanities. We are a space where all artists, including marginalized communities and individuals, can have their voices heard. Patrons are welcomed into our community and discover thought-provoking, entertaining, and inspiring works of art.

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Email List

The best way to stay updated on all we’re doing! Get weekly emails about upcoming events and other news.

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Community Art Show 2023
Call for Submissions

CALL FOR ARTISTS!
LAVA’s 4th Annual Community Art Show
Submit an art piece of your doing and your choice of medium, to art@thelavacenter.org with the title of your piece, your full name, and an image (JPEG or PNG file formats only please) of the piece.
THEME: RECLAMATION
(use of reclaimed materials, reclaimed words or emotions, etc.)
DUE DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13th
Pieces will be chosen by October 19th and artists will be informed if piece was chosen by then as well.
Exhibit will be on display at The LAVA Center November and December
(opening reception: Saturday, 11/4, 12-3pm)
*please no sculptures for liability reasons. (Wall hanging pieces are accepted, please reach out for specific details on this request.)



Join our Playwrights’ Circle

Playwrights are invited to gather to share short samples of their work, request readings of short pieces of work by others in the group, discuss topics of interest and importance to the playwriting community in general.

Click here for details and to sign up.


Local Film Screenings this Summer and Fall


Local Filmmaker Series

Thursdays at 6pm: July 13, August 10, August 31, September 14

Valley filmmakers share and discuss their work in this series leading up to the film festival.

3rd Annual
LAVA Film Festival

September 22-23, 2023

a showcase of MA filmmaking talent, from students to professionals and everyone in between



Current Gallery Exhibits

Dave Madeloni: “The Poetry of Puddles”

Dave finds beauty all around, not where we ordinarily look, but right in front of us, reflected in the thousands of puddles, canals, and ponds that we tend to ignore. Many of the images, all taken since the Covid pandemic began, are both alluring as well as a warning that our environment is in peril. (on display in September)

Black Families of Greenfield

Researched and designed by Carol Aleman, president of the Board of the Historical Society of Greenfield, this exhibit will serve as an introduction to some of the history of African-American families in Greenfield in areas such as music, sports, business, and military service. (on display through October.)

Interested in displaying your work on our walls? Click here for details!


Come hang out in our cozy new cafe!


Mondays, 11am-2pm
Wednesdays, 11am-2pm
Thursdays, 5-8pm
Saturdays, noon-3pm

self-serve, donation-based coffee and tea… library full of artsy stuff… awesome music… chat with friends… make new friends!… work, write, doodle, daydream…



Upcoming Special Events

Puppetry Percolator

Puppetry Percolator

Thursday, Sep 28, 2023    
5:00pm—8:00pm
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA
  • Special Events
LAVA's Puppetry Percolator, on the 4th Thursday of each month, is an informal exploration of the worldwide art of puppetry. Drop in to examine puppetry's [...]
More Info
Beautiful Disasters: A Storytelling Open Mic

Beautiful Disasters: A Storytelling Open Mic

Thursday, Oct 5, 2023    
7:00pm—9:00pm
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA
  • Special Events
Join us the first Thursday of every month to share true, personal stories! Trouble Mandeson and Nisse Greenberg host a storytelling open mic about finding [...]
More Info
11 Oct

Writers Read

Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023    
7:00pm—8:30pm
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA
  • Special Events
The LAVA Center hosts a monthly series, Writers Read, on the second Wednesday every month. Coordinated by Lindy Whiton, the series brings in local writers [...]
More Info
Gerard McGovern: “Portraits: A Lyrical Eye” - opening reception

Gerard McGovern: “Portraits: A Lyrical Eye” - opening reception

Saturday, Oct 14, 2023    
12:00pm—3:00pm
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA
  • Special Events
artist statement: When our son was 5 years old, he commented, without hubris, “Daddy, I have smart eyes.” He was correct, and comes by it [...]
More Info
Third Tuesday Greenfield Word

Third Tuesday Greenfield Word

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023    
7:00pm—10:00pm
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA
  • Special Events
Paul Richmond and Human Error Publishing's long-running literary series. Doors at 7, open mic at 7:30, and featured authors 8:30. If you would like to [...]
More Info

View More Events Here


Our new project indiVISIBLE is part of MassHumanities’ Expand Massachusetts Stories program. Guided by Lindy Whiton and Alfonso Neal, indiVISIBLE will document—in images and stories—lives of indispensable, yet too-often-invisible, agricultural workers in Franklin County.

Go to the indiVISIBLE website

a statement from
Franklin County Arts Being the Change/ Black Lives Matter



The LAVA Center is located on the unceded, stolen land of the Pocumtuck, who are still present in the area. We encourage people to learn more at the Nolumbeka Project. Also, if you are from elsewhere, we encourage you to learn about the indigenous past and present of your homelands.

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The LAVA Center

The LAVA Center is a community arts space, arts incubator, and black box theater in downtown Greenfield, MA. We are focused on making The LAVA Center a space where all artists, including marginalized communities and individuals, can have their voices heard.

Visit Us

324 Main Street
Greenfield, MA

(btwn TD Bank & Pushkin)

Mondays: 11am-2pm
Wednesdays: 11am-2pm
Thursdays: 5-8pm
Saturdays: noon-3pm
+ special events

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Join our Email List

  • now open: LAVA Cafe
  • current art: Dave Madeloni
  • current exhibit: Black Families of Greenfield
  • this weekend: LAVA Film Festival
  • get involved: Playwrights Circle
  • submit to: Community Art Show
  • upcoming art: Gerard McGovern
  • upcoming events: Holiday Salon

Copyright © 2023 Local Access to Valley Arts: The LAVA Center · 324 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301 · ‪413-376-8118‬ · Contact Us