Main Street Arts is a nonprofit arts organization and art gallery specializing in showcasing contemporary art and fine craft from emerging and established Upstate New York artists. Located in the historic, picturesque village of Clifton Springs, NY, the 3,600-square-foot space has two floors offering art exhibitions, an art resource library, workshops, and youth programs.
Our exhibition calendar is set by executive director Bradley Butler and includes thematic invitationals, national juried competitions, and solo exhibitions. In addition to the rotating exhibitions, we also have a gallery shop featuring jewelry, ceramics, prints, and more by a variety of local and regional artists.
Workshops, demonstrations, documentary film screenings, and other events are offered on a monthly basis. Check our upcoming event calendar and social media for details.
In addition to visual arts, Main Street Arts also focuses on literary arts and literacy through our bookstore, Sulfur Books. You’ll find new and used books for all ages—adults, young adults, middle readers, and children.
Mission
To promote the work of artists with ties to our region; to foster art education and encourage the creation of art; and to develop community awareness regarding the arts through community outreach and relationship building.
Bradley Butler
Bradley Butler is an artist who makes atmospheric, abstract paintings. He has an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology and is a native of the Finger Lakes region. Bradley has been with Main Street Arts before the renovations to the building were completed. He selects, curates, and hangs all of the exhibitions at Main Street Arts and is working to continually expand our program offerings.
Sarah Butler
Sarah Butler is a graphic designer with a BFA in graphic design from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MPS in the business of art and design from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Sarah runs the business-side of things at Main Street Arts and does all of the graphic design work for the organization. She also manages our bookstore, Sulfur Books.
Kaele Mulberry
Kaele Mulberry is an artist who makes small works, often dabbling in ink, graphite, gouache, watercolor, and sometimes tiny books. She received her BFA from Alfred University with a focus in painting and printmaking. Kaele was an artist in residence at Main Street Arts in April 2018 and was included in two previous exhibition—the Residency Alumni Exhibition in 2019 and Living Land in 2021.
Board of Directors
Charlotte Cooper
Joshua E. Gewolb
Robert Woodhouse, treasurer and secretary
Anne Mancilla, vice president
Leopoldo Mancilla, president
History
In the early 2010s, Main Street Arts founder Marjorie Morris thought a building that was up for sale on Main Street in Clifton Springs would make a perfect art gallery. She decided to purchase the building and converted it into Main Street Arts.
Main Street Arts opened its doors—initially as a commercial gallery—on June 19, 2013.
Over the next four and half years, the vision of the organization became larger and one that was more in line with that of a not-for-profit entity. An artist residency program was added to the gallery’s programming in the spring 2016.
In 2018, Main Street Arts officially became a nonprofit arts organization and continued to expand programming. The After School Art Experience was added to the organization’s programming in the fall of 2018.
In 2019, Anne Mancilla—vice president of the board of directors—gifted the contents of her bookstore, Explore The Bookstore to Main Street Arts. On November 30, 2019 the newly renovated bookstore reopened as Sulfur Books (located at 18 East Main Street).
In early 2020, the artist residency program at Main Street Arts was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The studio space on the second floor was renovated and reimagined and in August of 2021, the Robert and Francie Marx Art Resource Library opened. The library contains over 1,500 books for visitors to browse during open gallery hours.
