The Flywheel

In the spring of 1998, Cindy Bow and Helen Harrison founded Valley Arts and Music Alliance (VAMA), a grassroots collective in which artists would help each other produce free, all-ages shows that reflected the their own creative visions rather than the values of the music industry establishment. VAMA attracted like-minded people, most of whom were already doing similar things in their own homes, church and dorm basements, record stores, and VFW halls. Together the group produced over two-dozen shows through December of 1998, when a friend and supporter found a permanent space in Easthampton – a long-vacant cabinet store owned by a local Palestinian-born doctor named Shawki Kanazi. For many years, Dr. Kanazi leased the space to Flywheel, rent free, as he supported efforts to bring low cost art to Easthampton. As word of the space spread, more people joined, and Flywheel was born. Doors opened in March of 1999. Since then, the unique expressions of countless artists continue to transform the space from day to day. In 2007, after 8 years at 2 Holyoke St., the Flywheel relocated to Easthampton’s historic Old Town Hall at 43 Main St.