Welcome to a place where creativity is contagious and art materials are provided,
some free of charge.

The 100th Monkey Studio is a socially conscious small business owned and operated by two women.

Mission Statement

• The 100th Monkey Studio will provide anyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation, a safe and affordable place to use art materials.
  
• The 100th Monkey Studio will support each artist in their journey using art materials as a means of individual self-expression.
• The 100th Monkey Studio will provide the community a creative place to visit, view art and/or locate personal resources.

An open studio is a studio or work room that is open to all, where artistic or creative work can be viewed and created collaboratively. Artists and non-artists come together in the open studio to celebrate the social act of collaborating.

An Open Studio is intended to foster creativity and encourage experimentation in an atmosphere of cultural exchange, conversation, encouragement, and freedom of expression.

Open studios can be traced back to 17th century Paris where artists and other creative intellectuals gathered.  Beat poetry can be traced back to originating in open studio settings.  Post-WWII New York saw many open studios, one famous one, The Factory,  was created by Andy Warhol.

In our approach we use our eight-roomed open studio in many ways. 

We teach classes and have drop-in art making space available to the community.  We also have have art openings, make our own art, hold special events and much more.

Our members have space to work on their own art and storage is available for their works-in-progress. 

In our studio we also have confidential office space where families, couples or individuals engage with a Master's Level Art Therapist.  Our studio also provides clinical art therapy groups to individuals looking for support.

Stop by for a tour and see what is happening today.

What's with all the monkeys?
The name of the studio was inspired by a story one of the partners read.  It is a story that some believe to be fiction, but the message is one of positive social change.

The Japanese monkey, Macaca Fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years.  It was documented that in 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists had been leaving the monkeys sweet potatoes in the sand in exchange for a look into their social culture.

In 1958, one female was documented as washing the sweet potatoes in a nearby stream to rid it of the dirt and sand.  She was documented as teaching the habit to her mother and her playmates.  The new trait spread throughout the island.  Suddenly not just on this island, but on surrounding islands and onto the mainland monkeys were washing their food.

The number 100 is merely a symbol, but in the story it was used to recognize when the trait forever changed the species.  This magical occurrence was named the 100th Monkey Phenomenon.

The name The 100th Monkey Studio was adopted because the founders saw the opportunity for humankind to have the same sort of “phenomenon” in relation to using art as a means of self-care as well as self-expression.  It is our goal that art making in a community setting become infectious, bringing art into people’s everyday life.  In this creative community space any one is welcome to come and learn from each other, while supporting and embracing each other's differences.