Save the date if you are a fan of The Brush Art Gallery & Studios and the Lowell cultural renaissance. On Saturday, January 16, at 1 pm, the Brush Gallery is hosting a panel discussion about the roots of this amazing arts project that will begin its 35th year in 2016.

Fred Faust of the Edge Group, who was executive director of the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission when the project was invented; Rosemary Noon of the Lowell Plan, the city’s first cultural affairs director; and I will talk about how this all happened and what it was like in the 1980s and ’90s, especially, as well as during the culturally active 1960s and ’70s. I’ll also be signing copies of my book “Mill Power,” which chronicles in part the cultural revival that accompanied the creation of a national park in Lowell. Thanks to Director Jim Dyment, the resident artists, and the board of The Brush Gallery for inviting us to share our stories. Come on over to The Brush at Market Mills, 256 Market St, and share your own stories of the early days.