The Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is bringing more culture to the Seaport. The midsized arts organization, known for producing Pulitzer Prize winning operas, has leased an additional 14,000 square foot artmaking and gathering space at Midway Artist Studios in the Seaport’s Fort Point neighborhood, at 15 Channel Center St.

The BLO will continue to present its performances at venues around the city, while the Opera and Community Studios in Fort Point will serve as the organization’s new headquarters.

The Opera and Community Studios space will also host a wide range of increased BLO programing aimed at strengthening the creative and performing arts community. The space will stage rehearsals, education programs and community events for BLO and other performing arts and non-profit organizations.

Through September 22, the Opera and Community Studios will be hosting a free exhibit, in partnership with Midway Artist Studios, the Museum of Scenographic Design and Illuminus, celebrating two revered operatic scene designers, “Scenographers: A Celebration of John Conklin and Franco Colavecchio,” with a free reception on September 12 at 5:30 p.m.

The studio expansion adds to more than just BLO’s existing 2,000 square feet of facilities, but to a rich history of Boston’s arts and culture scene at Fort Point.

The area is home to organizations like Artists for Humanity, the largest employer of teens in the city, paying them to practice and produce art, and the historic Fort Points Arts Community, which has supported affordable living and studio space for artists since 1980.

“One of the most pressing issues that that arts and culture in Boston face is having space to be creative and to do what we do, which is bring people together through music, through art, through storytelling, through spectacle and drama,” said Bradley Vernatter, BLO Stanford Calderwood General Director and CEO. Data for the previous decade shows that Boston’s arts and cultural organizations have received the lowest per capita government support of all similar cities, according to the 2016 study, “How Boston and Other American Cities Support and Sustain the Arts,” by The Boston Foundation.

“Many other cities have appropriate facilities for working artists to do just that, to work,” Vernatter said. “Boston has long struggled with providing adequate rehearsal and creative space, particularly for performing arts, but all types of artistic disciplines.” The nonprofit Midway Artist Studios, home to the new BLO studio space, already houses 89 artists from all mediums in the largest affordable work-live building in the city. Through the partnership, BLO plans to raise $10.5 million in a three-year fundraising initiative that will support the Opera and Community Studios and the potential further build-out of additional studios, support space and artist amenities by the start of the BLO’s 50th anniversary 2026/27 season.

To date, Vernatter says BLO has already reached around 70% of that $10.5 million fundraising goal. Funds have been received through a mix of individual support from the BLO board members, major patrons and the donations of a community that cares deeply about investing a vibrant and active culture scene in Boston, as well as state and city funding.

“I have personally seen so much more support and interest from the City of Boston, particularly the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture,” Vernatter said. “We've been overwhelmed by the interest and support across the Fort Point community and the broader community of Boston. We have an overwhelming number of inquiries and expressions of interest to learn more about the space or to activate it with arts and cultural activity.”