How Brightside Studios was established

Brightside Studios is a café, art studio, music and event space that opened in February of this year. However, the journey hasn’t been easy for founders Brad and Vanessa Kuenn.

Brad described it as, “The hangout spot for local creatives; it is a place where you can explore different mediums and find yourself through creativity.”

How the community helped

In 2016, Brad and his wife Vanessa developed the idea to build a place for artists where they could be messy, rent art studios, share a cup of coffee, and listen to live music. However, plans were halted in 2020 when Brad was diagnosed with cancer. Due to the support of the creative community, they managed to persevere and open the studio in 2022.

“We didn’t know what was next, and so that community came to us and said, ‘This is an idea that we want to support,” said Brad. He further explained that four muralists came to design the, “Four great murals we have at Brightside.” Brad explains with all the support given, he was able to take time to heal.

Other events

Brightside Studios will host the Creatives Against Cancer fundraiser on Oct. 8 and donate all proceeds to the International Myeloma Foundation to fund resources.

“It’s a large event at our venue; we’re going to have food trucks, local artisans, raffles, silent auctions. The goal is to raise as much money as possible towards cancer research,” explained Brad.

Brightside allows local creatives and others to dabble in art in a safe and judge free zone. “We are offering that venue to come down, have fun, whether you find it therapeutic or you just want to make a mess on a Saturday,” he said.

Their website provides many details for passes, an inside look into the studio itself, and a calendar full of upcoming events.