Via Rutkowski 
Earlier this year, team HG caught wind of a new business moving into 257 1st Street in Hoboken. As the year went on, residents watched as the inner workings of Mothership began to unfold. Now, this weekend on October 11th from 11AM – 6PM, the community arts center and physical media hub, Mothership, will open its doors to the Mile Square, and celebrate its official grand opening. Read on to learn more about Mothership and what to expect at the opening.
How it Started
Once upon a time, five local creatives came together to build Mothership, a community arts center and third space for lovers of games, music, and nostalgia of all kinds. Mothership will be a real-life manifestation of the team’s passion for community, art, and more, coming together as one physical hub for locals to gather, learn, and explore.
The Mothership team consists of…
- Jaiden Dalbello: Manager, Curator + Co-Founder
- Co-Founder, Kaya Balugo: Creative Director + Co-Founder
- Emma Jean Shuemake: Event Coordinator + Social Media Manager
- Sabrina Williams: Team Member + Multidisciplinary Creative
- Aaron Soliz Washington: Future Coffee Shop Owner + Programmer
HG spoke with Jaiden to get the scoop on what to expect when visiting Mothership and how the clever business all began. Jaiden explained that “Mothership was born from a desire to rebuild real-world connection in an increasingly digital era. The overlapping rise of technology and the isolation of COVID highlighted how disconnected people had become from in-person community.” He said, “we wanted to create a space that reintroduces intention, optimism, creativity, and human connection”.
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Friends and co-founders Kaya Balugo and Jaiden Dalbello have been creative collaborators since their time at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. The concept of Mothership developed as the brain-child of the two after years of conversations about community, technology, and shared cultural passions. Jaiden told HG, “After a year of traveling across the U.S., visiting influential art and media spaces (like Central Arts in Dallas to Vinegar Syndrome in Boston), I was especially inspired by seeing Parliament-Funkadelic’s iconic Mothership at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.” She took this as a call to action to begin bringing this inspiration to life alongside Kaya right then and there. Now in 2025, the Mothership has fully materialized into a real-life physical space right here in Hoboken that fuses all of their loves, aka the Mothership.
Sneak Peek: What to Expect Now + In The Future
Mothership can best be described to locals as a community arts center and physical media hub. The future-forward arts hub blends creativity, technology, and nostalgia for lovers of all things culture. The space features a curated retail space with vinyl stalls, comics, collectibles, trading card games, claw machines, gaming experiences, interactive installations, and special after-hours events designed for gathering. Jaiden told us, “At its core, it’s a hybrid: part store, part lounge, part immersive experience. Our model combines merchandise, memberships, events, and creative services, with the goal of building a sustainable third space that bridges online culture and real-world connection.” Adding, “In 3 months, we’re building a sustainable multifunctional lab for creatives that we hope will not just grow locally, but scale globally.”
At Mothership, locals can experience DJ nights, movie screenings, interactive audiovisual art, Q+A sessions, and creative workshops for young adults and kids. The team also plans to host movie and trivia nights, the first of its kind, led by Kor Skeete, known for his appearance on HBO’s The Rehearsal with Nathan Fielder, happening later this month on October 23rd.
In the coming months, the Mothership team plans to have STEM and animation classes, as well as an analog lab with computers and a coffee shop featuring specialty teas and more. These works in progress are some of the many things Mothership plans to infuse into its space within the next several months.
The Grand Opening
The official grand opening of Mothership will unfold at 257 1st Street in Hoboken from 11AM to 6PM. Attendees can look forward to imported snacks and drinks from Japan and Korea, a TV installation, popcorn, and a live DJ set. The Mothership team let us know that arcade games will be free to play for the first two weeks post-opening, and claw machine tokens will be available for purchase at the front counter.
Mothership will be open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 11AM – 5PM, and from 10AM – 5PM on Fridays and Saturdays. The space will also host pop-ups and collabs on select Mondays and Tuesdays, along with select after-hours events from 6PM – 11PM Wednesday through Sunday.
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To keep up with all of Mothership’s latest events and announcements, be sure to follow along with them on Instagram.
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