Visions Video, the non-profit volunteer-run video store that has enlivened Main St., Northampton since opening in June of this year, was enjoying a successful first season with well over 3000 titles circulated and over 300 membership signups. Then, the Visions founding collective got an offer they couldn’t refuse and closed out the summer with a bang: a donation of over 20,000 films from the estate of an anonymous donor – facilitated with the help of the Northampton Arts Council, Inc., and more than double the growing collection of 14,000 titles already on the shelves.

In addition to this large-scale donation, the Visions collection has been steadily growing with rare and popular films at about 1,000 titles per month, thanks to donations from the community. This pace of growth – about 34,000 titles in under a year – was unanticipated by the organization. Plans for modest growth in a four-phase, multi-year process have been accelerated to jump from Phase 1 to Phase 3 in a matter of months.

Where to house a collection of this size and value to the community? Visions Video is excited to announce they’ve come to an agreement with the shop’s landlord to work with an architect and expand into the first floor of the former Haymarket Cafe space. This means more square footage- going from 600 sq ft to 1700 sq feet- to house a collection of 30,000+ films and to continue to grow their programming: social events, screenings, classes, and space to hang out and talk about films and importantly the expansion makes Visions fully wheelchair accessible an important goal of any long-term location.

Additionally we just kicked off our first micro-cinema event welcoming a night of amazing experimental short films and music to our space, another way Visions is contributing to the arts and culture of Western Mass.

Please consider supporting our year end fundraising campaign to help us grow and continue to serve our region!