Brightside Studios Is the Newest Creative Hub in Central Phoenix

Brad Kuenn and his wife, Vanessa, want nothing more than for Phoenix artists to connect with each other and be close to their mediums. That’s why they created Brightside Studios.

Think of it as rentable private studios that offer everything you need from food, coffee, art materials, music, and of course, space.

“It's a massive creative space where you're not, you know, bumping elbows with everybody, and it feels like it's yours when you walk in,” Brad says.

However, there are benefits to socializing beyond the art room. Creatives can gather at the in-house cafe or listen to live music and talk about what they’re working on or maybe get encouragement through a creative block. The only thing the artist needs to bring is inspiration and room fee.

Brad says the idea for Brightside Studios, which is located at 839 East Camelback Road grew from his work painting a mural for their first child in his nursery.

“I was always into art,” he says. “I limited myself to sketching and drawing because one, I just couldn't afford the paint, and it felt messy and I didn't want to ruin the carpet in the house.”

The mural may have been Brad’s introduction to painting, but the experience had an added benefit. His job at a marketing agency at the time had him stressed out. “I just didn't have a therapeutic outlet for myself. I found that painting was it for me. And so, from there, Vanessa and I kind of thought, well, if it works for me, it's going to work for other people.”


The couple is originally from Phoenix but left in 2014 after they got married. “We moved to Nashville for a little bit. But then most of our families are here on both of our sides. So, we moved back and we've been back ever since,” Vanessa says.

Brad and Vanessa hope that Brightside Studios is a space that can open up the channels of expression whether an artist needs it or not. Traditional artists, especially painters were always the inspiration for Brightside, but as Brad gave tours of the space during construction, it became apparent that artists may want solitude, but they also like to connect with their like-minded peers.

“We have easels and paint and everything to use, but we have people who just come in because they want to have that collaborative environment and talk to other people about their projects and expand their palette for other mediums,” said Brad. “So, we might have a watercolorist in here that's trying oil paint for the first time or vice versa. We have people who are making their clothing here. It's been fun to see people come in with their ideas and use the space for things that we hadn't originally thought of.”

Vanessa tapped into her own creativity while designing the Brightside space. She chose everything from the contemporary paint scheme down to the tiles in the bathroom. Brad gives her credit for giving the place its “vibe.” He contributed to that vibe by adding a heartbeat to the studio; incorporating live music into the design.

“There's art in a lot of different forms, even down to the latte art that we create in the cafe and the different things that are created in the studio, but also, you know, music. And I think we want to be a venue for people where they know that they can come into Brightside at any given time and see something special,” said Brad. “We actually have a lady in here right now who donated a baby grand piano because she wanted it to be used in a space like this.”


The community became a big part of the creation of Brightside Studios. After Brad and Vanessa bought the building, the pandemic hit, and everything got shut down. And in an even worse twist of fate, Brad became seriously ill.

“I was working in the back, and I was taking out something to the dumpster,” he explains. “And I had this really sharp pain in my back and passed out in the parking lot. When I came to, I got myself home and took a shower. I realized I had this lump under my arm that I hadn't seen before. So, the next morning Vanessa, and I went to the doctor, and I was diagnosed with cancer.”

The tests showed Brad had multiple myeloma, a rare bone marrow cancer that took the life of his grandfather a decade ago. Brad underwent chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant in March. “And so, during that time, obviously, I was bedridden,” he says.

“Vanessa took over and continued this dream and was able to tap into a lot of different vendors and artists in the community that came in and helped us. It's now something that's bigger. You know, I still have cancer. I'm still on chemo. We rely on the artist community and the musicians that come through here to continue the dream of Brightside and that was obviously very powerful for us.”

The Kuenns also want to use Brightside to give back. In October they plan on having a fundraiser in hopes of raising over $5,000 for the International Multiple Myeloma Foundation.

Phoenix is rising up artistically. Although it’s trying to find its identity in the art world, it definitely has its own signature, especially in Scottsdale. But Brad says there are parts of the city that are planting roots in the contemporary art world too. He sees central Phoenix and midtown as neighborhoods for artists to go beyond the sometimes elitist galleries in Scottsdale.

“Like we don't know what we are,” he says about the Phoenix art scene. “I think if we start to really look inward, we see that arts and culture from our Mexican heritage, Native American heritage, Western heritage of course, but, all these creative cultures are actually in Phoenix, and they all express themselves. And if we lean into it, that is our identity — that is Phoenix.”

The Kuenns are hoping to encourage artists to tap into their creative side. The magic of the Brightside Studios is in its collective harmony, where the symbiosis occurs between the artists and the atmosphere. They say they haven’t seen anything else like it in the country.

“So many artists are still wanting connection and community and wanting to be around other artists and connect in that way,” Vanessa says. “Whereas, you know, when they're at home, creating, they don't have that ability. So, we've found so many of our members just love that aspect of it; being able to meet other artists here, then collaborate on something and see where that takes them together.”