Naumkeag’s Gardens Reimagined
Stockbridge — Beginning August 15 and running through August 30, Naumkeag will host an art exhibit featuring works inspired by the famous gardens surrounding it. Over the course of the summer, the Trustees of Reservations hosted seven regional artists, asking each to create a new work inspired by one or more of Naumkeag’s several landscaped gardens. The project is a collaboration between the Trustees and IS183 Art School of the Berkshires.
The participating artists are Adam Gudeon, Tony Conner, Wit McKay, Yura Adams, Paula Shalan, Philip Howie, and Lucie Castaldo. The artists visited the house and gardens regularly as they created their works. The Trustees invite Berkshires residents and visitors to meet the artists and engage in the process with the following upcoming events:
– Art Exhibit, August 15 – 30, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., free with admission – An exhibit of the newly created works by the seven artists will be open to the public in Naumkeag’s Carriage House. Additional works by the artists will also be included in the show.
– Preview Party, August 14, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., free for members & $10 for nonmembers – The completion of the new works will be celebrated at a festive preview party, open to all members of the Trustees and IS183 Art School of the Berkshires. Memberships may be acquired at the door. Refreshments, music, and a cash bar will be available.
– Closing Reception, August 30, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m., free for members & $10 for nonmembers – Meet the artists and celebrate the completion of the first-ever artist project at Naumkeag. Tour the gardens with the artists and see the results of their creative labors with refreshments, drinks, and music.
For more information about Gardens Reimagined, email naumkeag@ttor.org or call 413-298-3239 x3008.
–E.E.
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Bring out your inner sculptor at Chesterwood
Stockbridge — On Saturday, August 15, Chesterwood will present a family-focused sculpture tour and art workshop in conjunction with the Boston Sculptors Gallery at Chesterwood 2015 exhibition. Participants will take a walk with Amanda Gunness and learn about the materials, methods, and inspirations that go into making contemporary sculpture. Following the walk they will,create a sculpture of their own in an all-ages art workshop for which Chesterwood will provide the materials.
The program runs 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., includes a scavenger hunt for children, and is free with museum admission. Call the museum for more information at (413) 298-3579.
–E.E.
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JoAnne Spies to release new CD
Stockbridge — Singer-songwriter JoAnne Spies will be releasing her CD Ecstatic Dances as part of the Norman Rockwell Museum’s Rhythms of the Earth Family Festival from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 15. The interactive performance will begin at 2 p.m. near the Museum’s historic Linwood House.
JoAnne Spies is a Berkshire-based musician known for her interactive shows. For her new album, Spies collaborated with hiphop artist Jackson Whalan and musician/producer Robby Baier to create world music and songs for dancing, celebration, and transformation.
The Rhythms of the Earth Family Festival will also include a performance by the Stockbridge Sinfonia as well as music-themed art workshops and family gallery tours. Admission to the festival is included with regular museum admission. Contact the museum for more information at (413) 298-4100.
–E.E.
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August 15 tours at Behold! New Lebanon
New Lebanon, N.Y. — Behold! New Lebanon, the living museum of contemporary rural American life, has announced its Rural Guide schedule for Saturday, August 15. The programs include:
Hops Make the Beer – Artist/writer Alex Olchowski will lead visitors on a tour of his Spring Hill Hops farm, the only commercial-scale hops farm in Columbia County.
Waste Not, Want Not – With the Darrow School’s Sustainability Coordinator Craig Westcott, visitors will experience the Living Machine, an indoor aquatic ecosystem that cleans the waste water from school buildings and residences before returning it to the Hudson River Watershed.
Designing for the Theatre – Theater designers Sarah Conly and Michael Deegan will offer a behind-the-scenes look at designing for the stage with an emphasis on their specialty of opera design.
Weaving the Past and Present – Artisan Terrianne Koepp will take visitors on a journey through the history of basket weaving, from the Native art to the New Lebanon Shaker past, exploring the different methods and designs.
From Clay to Vessel – Potter Helen Burton will demonstrate different methods of transforming clay into functional and beautiful pieces of pottery.
With 60 different tour programs over the course of the summer, Rural Guides greet visitors at their farms, studios and workspaces, where they practice cooking, farming, cattle raising, automobile racing and mechanics, wood-working, foraging and much more. These presenters are real townspeople of today whose lives and work challenge the quaint myths about country life.
Advance ticket purchase is recommended for all programs. More information is available at the Berkshire Edge calendar, by calling (518) 720-7265, and by emailing info@beholdnewlebanon.org
–E.E.
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Jeremy Denk at Tannery Pond
New Lebanon, N.Y. — On August 15 at 8 p.m., Tannery Pond Concerts will present Jeremy Denk. Now one of the world’s leading concert pianists, Denk first performed at Tannery Pond in 2002 and in his fourth appearance at the Tannery, he will play Bartók’s Sonata BB 88; Scriabin’s Sonata Op. 68, No. 9; and Beethoven’s Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111, No. 32.
For more information and tickets, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call (888) 820-1696.
–E.E.
