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**Launch Party on November 22 to Feature Live Music and a Fundraising Raffle for Equal Measure Arts**

Portland, Maine — November 2025 — Equal Measure Arts (EMA) and Monaco Studios are proud to announce the grand opening of [the square], a new creative hub located at 34 Preble Street in the heart of Portland’s Arts District, just off Monument Square. The community is invited to celebrate with a launch party on November 22 from 3:00–7:00 p.m., featuring live music, light refreshments, and a raffle supporting EMA’s nonprofit programming. Tickets start at $15, and each ticket includes one raffle entry.

Formerly home to Prism Analog, [the square] is being reimagined as a versatile space dedicated to music, education, community, and the arts. The project emerged after EMA began exploring opportunities to expand its educational offerings and learned that the studio was preparing to close. Determined to preserve the location as a resource for Portland’s creative community, EMA Founder Sam Monaco led a months-long effort to save the space and develop a community-centered vision for its future.

“Demand for affordable recording sessions and educational programming in audio engineering and music production has grown far beyond the capacity of our existing resources,” says Monaco. “We wanted to meet students and emerging artists where many of them already are — downtown — and ensure that transportation barriers don’t interfere with access to the tools of a professional studio.”

The new location will allow EMA to deepen collaborations with the Maine Academy of Modern Music and the Maine College of Art & Design, while developing new programs with Portland High School, the Boys & Girls Club, the Portland Public Library, the Portland Conservatory of Music, and Portland Media Center. In keeping with the model established at Monaco Studios, 10% of all commercial studio income at [the square] will go directly to EMA’s financial aid fund, which subsidizes recording time and instruction for under-resourced artists and aspiring producers and engineers.

Since its inception, the financial aid program founded by EMA at Monaco Studios has supported the creation of more than 50 songs by students and under-resourced musicians — work that has collectively reached over 221,000 streams on Spotify. Several major projects are currently underway: an upcoming crowdfunding campaign with Graham Ganter, winner of the most recent WMPG Battle of the Bands at USM; and another forthcoming campaign with Hadithi Abdulle, a Lewiston-based Somali songwriter completing an album of protest songs written on his oud.

While recording and production remain central to its mission, [the square] is designed to function as a multipurpose creative hub, offering services in audio engineering, podcast production, photography, videography, and immersive multimedia installations in collaboration with creative partners at PORTL&. For those interested in recurring access to these resources, multiple membership tiers will offer self-guided use and additional perks — making [the square] the first space of its kind in Portland, akin to a co-working or maker-space model specifically built for musicians and creative professionals.

The grand opening celebration will feature performances by several young and emerging artists supported by EMA over the past year, including Berklee College students Ana Blosset & Aedan MacDougall, Luc Anthony (of One Hundred Thorns), and Alma June and the Persian Cats, who will also be celebrating the release of their debut album.

Each ticket purchased includes one raffle entry, with prizes including $100 in studio credit and gift cards from local businesses including David’s, Great Lost Bear, LB Kitchen, Lois’ Natural, Portland Souvenir Shop, and Dimillo’s. All proceeds support Equal Measure Arts and its mission to make professional studio recording and education accessible to young and under-resourced musicians.

Those unable to attend but wishing to support EMA can make tax-deductible donations at [**equalmeasurearts.org**](https://www.equalmeasurearts.org/).


**Event Details**

Grand Opening: [the square]

Saturday, November 22, 3:00–7:00 p.m.

34 Preble Street, Portland, ME

Live music • Snacks & light beverages • Raffle fundraiser

Tickets start at $15

Ticket link: [**tinyurl.com/26hhumzj**](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-square-grand-opening-feat-alma-june-luc-anthony-ana-blosset-tickets-1971157304560?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl)

More information: [**www.thesquareportland.com**](https://www.thesquareportland.com/)


**About Equal Measure Arts:**

Equal Measure Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Falmouth, Maine, dedicated to making professional studio recording and music education accessible to students and under-resourced musicians. EMA partners with schools, community programs, and local artists to provide training, subsidized recording time, and opportunities for hands-on creative expression. EMA is supported in part by a grant from the Onion Foundation.

**About EMA Founder Sam Monaco**

Sam Monaco is a Portland native who was raised on the local music scene. He began drumming in the fifth grade and, as a young musician longing for access to professional recording tools, competed in the Reindeer Rock-Off, performed at venues like The Big Easy, and recorded his first demo with GarageBand on his parents’ eMac in 2007. After spending the 2010s in New York City performing in bands and musical theater (including a podcast musical with Jonathan Groff & Jessie Shelton), Monaco returned to Maine in 2019 and opened Monaco Studios out of his farmhouse in Falmouth. Driven by a passion for welcoming first-time studio musicians and expanding access to music education, he and producer/engineer Ethan Woodman Fowler (a longtime educator at Portland Arts & Technology High School) founded Equal Measure Arts in 2024 to make professional studio recording and training accessible to young and under-resourced artists.

Grand Opening of [the square]

Portland's new creative hub in the Arts District

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