The Space – Montclair’s multi-dimensional art space for creativity, community and connection.
What we do
The space is a forum for creative expansion and expression. We are an art gallery that holds art classes, open mic nights, artist talks, exhibit openings, healing circles, live music events, meditation and wellness events, and jewelry markets. The space is a welcoming environment for us all to explore and witness the creative spirit.
Mission Statement
The Space is where people come together to experience the joy and magic of the creative process. We make room for one another to express ourselves. We foster a beautiful and safe atmosphere, that is judgment free, where you can be yourself and not be afraid to express your unique point of view in this world.
There is no one else who sees things the way that you do. Celebrate that uniqueness. Take up space. Allow the creative force to express itself through you. Its a high-vibrating, joy-escalating place to be. A place for connection, growth, for wonder, and for creative play.
We believe the creative force is within each of us. We offer the space for you to explore your creative expression, and to witness that of others.
We need to take up space in this world for our own creative expression to come out. We need a moment to explore, to discover, to try things out, to be heard and to be seen. Tap into a deeper resonance within yourself. We invite you to feel the flow of your own creative energy. When you do it opens up a sense of wonder for what you’re capable of. It shows you just how big your spirit is. And that is a very fulfilling feeling.
This is where creative minds find one another. We come together in community to engage in creative dialogue, discuss and share ideas and techniques, marvel at someone’s artistic work and to be inspired by one another.
It is safe here because our guiding principle is at the heart of everything we do – its not the destination that counts, but the journey.
We believe that its all about the process – the ‘how’, and not so much the ‘what’.
Take the time and space to explore
To create
To wonder
To express
To grow
To nurture
To experiment
To discover yourself.
Take the space to be.
Who we are
The Space was founded by Naz Botas, a long time product and jewelry designer who was looking to expand her own creative spirit in her life. As a commercial artist and designer she realized she had not tended to her deeper expression that wanted to come out through her drawing and painting. Knowing how isolating the creative process can be, she longed for a collaborative environment where ideas could be shared and opinions expressed. Her vision for a collective art space crystallized after a battle with breast cancer in 2022.
Now completely cured and having gone through all the existential machinations that cancer has a way of dragging one through, she decided that the time is now. “Every moment we get to live is an opportunity to create and express from the highest vibrational state we are capable of. My relationship to space and time has shifted from linear to cosmic, and I saw within myself just how big my spirit really is. My humanness is the only thing that keeps me small.” The destructive forces of cancer made her acutely aware that she could choose to spend the rest of her life dedicated to the creative forces of nature, not the destructive ones.
Naz has also studied yoga and vedanta philosophy since the early 1990s, and has been a teacher of yoga and meditation since 2011. She has taught nearly 1000 yoga and meditation classes, and has come to be known for her relaxing, safe and soothing approach to the practice. She is also a reiki healer and brings that strength of spirit to everything she offers. She has always been good at holding space for others.
The journey is what counts.