CATA and Lenox Library present a reading of work by writers with disabilities tonight
Community Access to the Arts (CATA) and the Lenox Library present “truth, forest, mouse,” a dynamic reading celebrating the work of writers with disabilities on February 15 at 5pm. A free reception will follow the reading where you can meet and celebrate CATA writers and artists. An accompanying exhibit of paintings and drawings by CATA artists will also be on display in the library’s Welles Gallery through March 15.
The event takes place February 15 at 5:00 p.m. at the Lenox Library, located at 18 Main Street, Lenox, Mass. Reservations are required for this free event. Register online at CATAarts.org/reading2023 or by contacting CATA at (413) 528-5485 or by email at KateHarding@CATAarts.org.
The event will feature guest readers in an exciting program of poignant, humorous, and heartfelt writing created in the CATA Writers’ Workshop—a weekly class where writers with disabilities hone their craft and express their perspectives. In conjunction with the reading, an exhibit of paintings, drawings, and collages by CATA artists with disabilities will be on display in the library’s Welles Gallery through March 15, 2023. All works in the exhibit are professionally matted, framed, and available for sale, with proceeds supporting commissions for the individual artists.
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Warren Miller’s 73rd Annual film to be screened at the Mahaiwe
Great Barrington— The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present Warren Miller’s “Daymaker” on Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. “Daymaker” is the 73rd annual edition of this ski and snowboarding film series by Warren Miller.
The film captures a trip to Greece’s Olympus Range with Michelle Parker and McKenna Peterson, as well as a storm cycle in the Manashees of British Columbia. Daron Rahlves, Ryland Bell, and Cam Fitzpatrick go on a trip to enjoy the snow in Alaska, and Pete McAfee and Dominic Davila approach backcountry riding from a new angle.
This film is presented in partnership with Ski Butternut.
Tickets to this screening are $15, $10 for season passholders at Ski Butternut, available here.
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First winter arts market featuring local artists opens Sunday
Great Barrington— Great Barrington Arts Market has announced their new monthly winter market February through April at Saint James Place in downtown Great Barrington. Admission is free. The first winter market is on Sunday, February 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
GBAM’s mission is to provide revenue for Berkshire-based and regional artists and to offer locally made products to consumers year-round. Artists Kristen Kanter and Molly de St Andre manage the market, helping connect local craftspeople with a viable marketplace opportunity. De St Andre and Kanter believe that the conscious shopper recognizes how important it is to support the local economy and that a venue for artists to sell their work directly to the community is an obvious match for vibrant downtown Great Barrington.
The Winter Market will be held once a month, February through April and will feature a rotating roster of local and regional artists each month. For more information write to gbartsmarket@gmail.com or find us on Facebook @GB Arts Market and Instagram @gbartsmarket.
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“Promenades on Paper” exhibit digs into Egyptian history with Liza Oliver lecture
Williamstown— On Thursday, February 23 at 6 p.m., the Clark Art Institute will host a lecture by Liza Oliver, associate professor of art at Wellesley College, who discusses the “Description de l’Égypte” (1809–1820). The talk is presented in conjunction with the Clark’s “Promenades on Paper: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings” from the Bibliothèque nationale de France exhibition, on view through March 12.
The Description de l’Égypte (1809–1820) is a monumental compilation of engravings and essays about the pharaonic past, modern state, and natural history of Egypt that ushered in the discipline of modern Egyptology as we know it. Born out of Napoleon’s violent occupation of the country in 1798, the Description de l’Égypte highlights the close connection between Enlightenment-inspired classification projects and Europe’s imperial and colonial ambitions of the period.
Admission to the Clark is free through March 2023. No registration is required. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.
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Ten Days of Play begins alongside school’s February break at the Berkshire Museum
Pittsfield— Berkshire Museum celebrates its annual Ten Days of Play, Friday, February 17 to Sunday, February 26, every day between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., welcoming children and families during school’s February break with the opportunity to build, collaborate, experiment, learn, and be entertained. Ten Days of Play offers unstructured play and educator-led programming. Kids of all ages are invited to build and create on a bigger scale than they can at home with the big blue foam blocks of Imagination Playground, colorful Bilderhoos boards, and tables piled high with LEGO bricks at the center of the Museum. In the popular Tinker Lab, older children can take apart old electronics to create something new. On the first floor, visitors 18 months to 5 years old can explore and create in the storytelling-themed Early Childhood play area.
In celebration of the beginning of Ten Days of Play, Berkshire Museum opens its doors to all for a free community night – Friday, February 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Entertaining and educational performances from Records and Burpees Zoo Shows, Jeff Boyer Productions, and Berkshire Music School will also bring families together for shows that feature opportunities for audience participation.
Coinciding with Ten Days of Play – Berkshire Museum presents “The Art of Storytelling: Celebrating Illustration and Literature,” on display from February 4 through April 30. The Art of Storytelling features three exhibitions based on children’s books and illustrations, offering a wide array of experiences from original drawings from iconic characters such as Cat in the Hat to immersive storybook experiences for children which highlight the six major literacy development areas: print motivation, print awareness, letter knowledge, sound awareness, vocabulary, and narrative skills and comprehension.
The Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults; $13 for students; $8 for children 4-18; free admission for children 3 and under, Museum members, and EBT cardholders.
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Watch Sarah Elizabeth Charles and SCOPE perform
Hudson, N.Y. — Sarah Elizabeth Charles and her band SCOPE will kick off the 2023 Hudson Jazz Festival on Friday, February 17 at 7 p.m.
Vocalist and composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles and her band SCOPE recently released their fourth album, Blank Canvas (November 2022). Described as a collaborative journey with SCOPE, the album features artwork by Laetitia Kiang that becomes part of an immersive environment for this performance.The Massachusetts native has been lauded for her “unmatched sound” (Jay Z’s Life+Times), “impeccable technical prowess” and “boldly uninhibited expression” (JazzTimes). She has been compared to Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln, yet with her impassioned blend of jazz, neo-soul, R&B and world music, has created – as DownBeat coined it – a true “genre of one.”
View the full 2023 Hudson Jazz Festival lineup here.
