Xiang Li Art Welcomes the Opening of The Creative Hub Worcester
May 5, 2026 · Fei Wu
There are some moments that feel bigger than one event, one evening, or even one exhibition.
The opening reception of The Creative Hub Worcester was one of those moments.
On April 16, 2026, artists, community leaders, supporters, neighbors, and friends gathered inside the newly renovated Creative Hub Community Arts Center at 2 Ionic Avenue in Worcester, Massachusetts. The space, once the historic Worcester Boys Club, has been transformed into a vibrant home for artists, makers, creative entrepreneurs, and community members to gather, learn, collaborate, and celebrate the arts. The building itself dates back to 1914 and served Worcester youth for nearly a century before closing in the early 2000s.
For Xiang Li Art, this opening was especially meaningful. Xiang Li was invited to be the first featured artist in the Creative Hub Gallery, with seven original silk paintings installed in the main gallery in early April to welcome guests into the space.
It is hard to describe the feeling of seeing Xiang Li’s large-scale original works inside a building with so much history. Her paintings, created on silk with mineral and plant-based pigments, carry centuries of Chinese artistic tradition. The Creative Hub carries a different but equally powerful story: a Worcester building once dedicated to youth and community, now reborn as a place for creativity, healing, education, and connection.
Together, they created a beautiful conversation between past and future.
A Vision Years in the Making
The Creative Hub is not a project that happened overnight. It has taken years of planning, fundraising, renovation, and community belief to bring this space to life. According to The Creative Hub, the organization began its fundraising journey in 2015, supported by founding partners and local institutions, with the goal of transforming the historic Ionic Avenue Boys Club into a community arts center. Construction broke ground in 2024, and the newly renovated space opened to the public in 2026.
At the heart of this vision is Laura Marotta, co-founder and CEO of Creative Hub Worcester. Laura has been one of the driving forces behind this project, not only as a leader but as a deeply committed advocate for artists and community-centered creativity.
On The Creative Hub’s website, Laura shares a simple and powerful idea: “We want to create a space where community members can feel safe and supported as they explore the processes of art-making and collaboration.”
That spirit was felt throughout the opening reception.
From the moment guests walked in, there was a sense of curiosity and celebration. People toured the renovated building, visited artist studios, explored the gallery, met resident artists, enjoyed refreshments, and stayed for the after party with DanceAway Sound Productions. The evening also included a ribbon cutting, a fashion show by Wavvz Newage, and opportunities to learn about upcoming classes, workshops, and community events.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Xiang Li | Chinese Silk Watercolor Art (@xiangliart)
Xiang Li as the First Featured Artist
Being the first featured artist in the Creative Hub Gallery is an honor we will always remember.
Xiang Li’s work has traveled through museums, universities, libraries, botanical gardens, cultural festivals, and public art spaces across Massachusetts and beyond. But every venue brings its own energy. The Creative Hub felt different because it is not only a gallery. It is a living, working, growing space.
It is a place where artists can have studios. Where community members can take classes. Where families can attend events. Where local makers can participate in markets. Where creativity is not treated as something separate from daily life, but as something that belongs inside the community.
The Creative Hub describes the Community Arts Center as a dedicated hub for artists, makers, entrepreneurs, and creative people to thrive, while inviting everyone to engage with the arts. Its offerings include artist studios, an artisan market, art-making experiences, a community arts classroom, performance and exhibit space, and event space for 250+ people.
For Xiang Li Art, this mission feels deeply aligned with our own.
Xiang Li’s Chinese Empresses collection was created not only to preserve history, but to bring historical women back into conversation with modern audiences. Her paintings invite people to ask: Who were these women? What did they survive? What did they lead? What can we learn from them today?
At the opening reception, we had the joy of seeing guests pause in front of the paintings, take photos, ask questions, and connect with the stories behind the work.
A New Cultural Home for Worcester
The Creative Hub’s opening is also significant for Worcester as a city.
Worcester has long been home to artists, immigrants, educators, students, families, and cultural organizations. But artists need more than inspiration. They need physical space. They need affordable studios. They need gathering places. They need opportunities to show work, teach, collaborate, and be seen.
The renovation of the former Boys Club building created a 30,000-square-foot community arts destination in the city. Local reporting noted that the redevelopment supports new and established artists through studio space, community building, and artistic events, while also making room for subsidized childcare for Worcester families and regular programming that celebrates diverse cultures.
That combination matters.
Art is not separate from family life. It is not separate from education, neighborhood development, small business, or cultural belonging. When a city invests in spaces like The Creative Hub, it sends a message: creativity is infrastructure.
It is something communities need in order to thrive.
Our Gratitude
We are so grateful to Laura Marotta and the entire Creative Hub Worcester team for inviting Xiang Li Art to be part of this historic opening.
We are also grateful to everyone who attended the April 16 reception: the artists, community members, cultural leaders, city supporters, friends, and neighbors who helped bring the space to life that evening.
In my short speech that evening, I shared how much this opportunity means to our family. My mother, Xiang Li, has spent her life creating art, preserving Chinese painting traditions, and sharing stories of women from history. To see her work welcomed into a new creative home in Worcester was incredibly moving.
The Creative Hub officially opened to the public on May 1, 2026, and it is already becoming a focal point for local media, artists, and community conversations about the future of creativity in Worcester.
We hope you will visit, learn more, attend an event, support local artists, and experience this beautiful new space for yourself.
To learn more about The Creative Hub Worcester, visit creativehubworcester.org, explore upcoming events, and follow their work as this new chapter unfolds.
Congratulations to Laura and the entire Creative Hub team. What you have built is more than a building. It is a home for imagination, community, and possibility.
Learn more about the Creative Hub Worcester