Urbano represents an evolution of the mission and vision of The Space, a non-profit artist-run gallery and public art incubator created by Stella A. McGregor in 1986. Active for 8 years in the South End and on Boston's South Street, The Space supported contemporary artists and performers from Boston and the world to explore art as a vehicle for communication and social change.

The Space's success in fostering collaborations among artists from diverse cultural and national backgrounds led to the creation of public and participatory art projects in Boston, New Orleans, Taiwan, and Macedonia.

Since 2003 McGregor has partnered with youth- and community-serving arts organizations such as the UrbanArts Institute at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design to foster intergenerational partnerships between professional artists and Boston's public high school students. Innovative, nationally-recognized programming such as the Teen Curatorial Program and Artists' Workshops offered Boston-area high school students opportunities to engage with printmaking, photography, performance art, spoken word, filmmaking and animation, graphic design, and more, all with a focus on development of the artistic process, community engagement, and professional exhibition.

In the summer of 2009 McGregor launched The Urbano Project, renewing her partnership with the UrbanArts Institute. Through Urbano the programming that began with the Teen Curatorial Program and Artists' Workshops continues, expanding to provide greater opportunities for collaboration between young people, community members, and contemporary artists.

Today Urbano's contemporary art studio and exhibition space in Jamaica Plain's historic Brewery complex house Artists' Projects in many media, providing teens from all over the city ongoing opportunities for mentorship, artistic exploration, and public presentation of their work. Urbano's programming emphasizes partnership between teens and adult artists, large-scale collaborative works, integration of audience participation, and self-discovery though the artistic process. Through programming designed to take advantage of the unique history and cultural life of Boston's diverse neighborhoods, Urbano seeks to foster a new generation of artists and engaged citizens.