Kate Knapp highlights water in her new art exhibition
Pittsfield— Water issues are real for local residents, including for Berkshire County artist Kate Knapp. Kate Knapp’s new water-inspired exhibition celebrates water to bring attention to the water quality issues especially in Housatonic, PCB issues for the Housatonic River Valley, and a proposed PCB dump in Lee.
Knapp explained, “I want to show that artwork can connect people to the vital element of H2O. It is the simple element of water that I find most inspiring and where I find peace of mind. At the edge of rivers and ponds or standing on the shore of the seas and oceans my creative spirit wakes up and urges me to paint what I see and feel.”
Kate Knapp’s paintings will be on display for viewing and purchase from Thursday, January 12 through March 12 at The Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield.
Additionally, a Berkshire Water Celebration – Avatar 2 Event will take place on Thursday, January 26 at 6 p.m. at The Beacon Theater. Attendees will enjoy an evening of performances, foods from local chefs, a water inspired art show, poetry readings, guest speakers (including retired US Marine Jerry Ensminger, to discuss his role in shedding light on the Camp Lejeune toxic water mess. The evening will conclude with the screening of James Cameron’s Avatar 2 – The Way Of Water.
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Learn about Berkshire industry from John Dickson
Pittsfield— The Berkshire County Historical Society is presenting John Dickson’s virtual lecture “Why Here? The Rise of Berkshire County Industry” on Wednesday, January 25. The virtual lecture will take place at 5:30 p.m.
Drive around the county, and it’s hard to miss the large, brick building on the corner, behind the trees, or down the street. These massive factories were in almost every town, over 500 of them in the Berkshires by the end of the 1800s – producing glass, cloth, iron, paper, shoes, rakes, or dozens of other goods sold to the farthest reaches of the planet. This lecture will explore the forgotten world of these mills, their owners and innovators and the ancestors who worked in them.
John Dickson is on the board of the Berkshire County Historical Society. He also serves on the Pittsfield Historic Commission, is a docent at Arrowhead and teaches classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
To receive the zoom link, please contact BCHS at melville@berkshirehistory.org or call 413-442-1793.
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Go on an invigorating winter hike at the Bidwell House Museum
Monterey— Join Rob Hoogs for the last of his invigorating, guided hikes on the Bidwell House Museum grounds on January 28 at 10 a.m. There are 6 miles of trails at the Museum, all of them accessible in the winter. With leaves off the trees and (hopefully) snow on the ground, you will see the trails in a whole new light and might see evidence of the animals who make their home in the Bidwell woods.
This is planned as a snowshoe walk and will go 1-2 miles and last about 2 hours. Attendees will need to bring their own snowshoes. Please also bring water and a snack.
If there is no snow on the ground the day of the walk, it will be a guided hike instead and go about 2-4 miles depending on trail conditions.
The walk/hike will be postponed if bad weather is forecast that day.
The program is limited to 15 people and pre-registration is required. Please note that parking is limited onsite when there is snow on the ground, so car-pooling is encouraged.
To sign up for the January 28 walk, click here.
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Jamie Cat Callan offers a writing workshop centering around love
Spencertown, N.Y. — Spencertown Academy Arts Center presents a virtual writing workshop with Jamie Cat Callan titled “What’s Love Got to Do with It: A Writing from the Right Side of the Brain Workshop.” The class will meet for four sessions via Zoom from January 25 through February 15 on Wednesdays between 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Enrollment is limited to 18 participants and the cost is $120. To register, please see www.spencertownacademy.org.
“When we write about love, we are writing about our entire world—not just romantic love (although that’s welcome!), but the love for a child, the love between long-time friends, the love of a sport, the love for a house, a country, our animal friends, and our fellow humans,” says Callan. “Whether you’re a new writer or a seasoned professional—whether you write memoir, fiction, short stories or essays—this workshop will inspire and encourage you to infuse your writing with the complexities of love. Through a series of right brain writing exercises, I will familiarize you with the essential elements of good writing, including how to discover your own unique themes, viewpoints, voice, and structure, and how to develop a love story.”
Callan is the creator of “The Writers Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for the ‘Write’ Side of the Brain” (Chronicle Books). She is also the author of over nine books, including novels and nonfiction. Her work has been translated worldwide into more than 25 languages. She earned a B.A. in literature with a concentration in poetry from Bard College and an M.F.A. in screenwriting from the U.C.L.A. School of Film, Television, and Theater. She has taught writing at Fairfield University, U.C.L.A., Yale University, N.Y.U., Wesleyan University, and many other places. Callan lives with her husband on La Belle Farm in Valatie, New York. She writes a weekly creativity newsletter on Substack.
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Apply to the Journalism Education Foundation of New England scholarships for aspiring journalists
Woburn— The New England Newspaper and Press Association invites aspiring high school seniors and college journalists to apply to scholarships given through the Journalism Education Foundation of New England. The foundation strives to encourage and support young people who plan to pursue a career in the newspaper industry. College students and high school seniors who are studying and acquiring work experience that will prepare them to work in the field of journalism are eligible to apply. The application deadline is March 31, 2023. Visit here to apply.
Qualifications for JEFNE Scholarship:
- Be a resident of New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, or VT).
- Must be a senior in high school or an undergraduate college student, studying journalism or a related field, planning to attend college in Fall 2023.
- Have a GPA of 3.0 or above.
- Demonstrate a serious interest in a career in journalism by sending: a cover letter, transcript, resume or biography, letter of recommendation, AND a body of published work in a school news publication, general circulation newspaper, or a similar publication AND/OR a body of work prepared for a journalism class.
- The deadline to apply is March 31, 2023.
- PLEASE NOTE: You will receive an email confirming the receipt of your application with a link to a Dropbox folder to upload the required documents.
