The Lace Mill — RUPCO’s pioneering artist housing complex on Cornell Street — is planning a summer season full art, music, and events that will highlight the concentration of talent within the walls of the early 20th century factory building.

Since opening in 2015, the Lace Mill has been home to a community of artists and musicians drawn by affordable rents and an arts-friendly vibe. The imposing brick edifice once produced lace curtains, one of dozens of factory buildings that formed the heart of the city’s economy before IBM moved in during the 1950s. Today, the building holds 55 units of affordable housing. RUPCO rules give preference to working artists while three galleries, shared studio spaces, and other amenities give them a place to create and exhibit their work.

“We recognize each other,” said Lace Mill Arts Council Chairman James Martin of the complex’s arts community. “We get to talk, collaborate, or bicker about the direction of the arts programs here.”

At the heart of that program are three galleries — Main, East and West — that occupy the ground floor. The Lace Mill’s industrial past is on full display in the main gallery, which sits on a mezzanine dominated by an enormous two-story boiler that once powered the factory (designers of the project balked about the cost and difficulty of removing the massive structure and opted to build around it instead). Unfinished brick walls and old factory steam fittings that could be works of art themselves are reminiscent of SoHo and other post-industrial landscapes turned arts havens.

Adjacent to the gallery, another space hosts figure drawing classes on the weekends and serves a photography and film studio open to residents. The galleries are also set up to accommodate musical performances, which, Martin said, run towards experimental jazz and avantgarde. Martin, a painter and filmmaker who has called the Lace Mill home since 2016, said that the gallery has evolved since those early days when it was mostly just a raw space lacking basics like gallery lighting.

A friend and I came up with the idea that we’d just do a show and maybe the lights will come, and they did,” recalled Martin. “Some of them were donated by one of the residents and RUPCO installed the rest.”

Showings and performances at the Lace Mill gallery are open to residents only except by special invitation of the arts council. Any resident can pick a month to do a show in one of the three galleries and block out time on a calendar in the mailroom for special events. New shows go up regularly on the first Saturday of each month. Martin said the shows run the gamut of media and style, reflecting the wide range of talent and interests among the Lace Mill’s community of artists.

“There’s no ‘we’re only doing this kind of art,’” said Martin. “We have some very experimental work and some more traditional. It keeps everything sort of equal and hopefully keeps everybody happy.”

The Lace Mill Arts Council summer season kicks off on July 1 with an opening reception and music program from 4 to 9 p.m. in the main gallery. The event is hosted and features performances by Charles Dennis and Claire Porter, Michael Bisio, Juma Sultan, the Daniel Palladino Quartet, and more. Exhibits by Lace Mill artists will run throughout July and August. Regular gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, go to thelacemillarts.com.