Sunday, February 9, 2025

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

BITS & BYTES: Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. calls for art; Reimagine Dunham Mall call for art; Becket Arts Center call for art; Berkshire Concert Choir welcomes new singers; Volunteer fair at Hot Plate Brewing Co.

Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. announces multiple calls for art.

Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. announces multiple calls for art

Pittsfield— Downtown Pittsfield, Inc has shared details for multiple calls for art. 

Westside Legends, in partnership with Berkshire County NAACP, ROPE and Mill Town Foundation, seeks an artist or artist team to lead a three-month painted mural project for Durant Park that memorializes local heroes of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and builds community education and involvement. This call is open through February 6th. More information can be found online. 

Courtesy Berkshire Art Association.

Berkshire Art Association seeks donations of original artwork for their annual 10×10 Real Art Party fundraiser raffle. In collaboration with Clock Tower Artists, The Clock Tower Business Center, and the City of Pittsfield’s 10×10 Festival in February 2025, the BAA welcomes submissions from artists of the Berkshires and beyond. This call is open through February 10th. More information can be found online. 

Courtesy Pittsfield Irish Sister City Committee.

Pittsfield Irish Sister City Committee and the City of Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development invite artists from Berkshire County and beyond to submit original two- and three-dimensional artwork for a group exhibit entitled “Forty Shades of Green: Celebrating Ireland & Irish Culture” to be held in March at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in downtown Pittsfield. This call is open through February 14th. More information can be found online. 

Jean-Charles Innocent, 2024 BAA College Fellowship Show.

Berkshire Art Association’s College Fellowship Show is open to Berkshire County residents enrolled at the undergraduate level as art majors at any college in the country as well as non-residents majoring in art at a Berkshire County college. The show will open in April at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield with an award ceremony to be held on Saturday, April 19th from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. This call is open through February 23rd. More information can be found online. 

Courtesy Art In The Berkshires.

Art In The Berkshires is calling all Berkshire artists and artisans to enter artwork in the Art In The Berkshires 2025 Juried Art Show. This show celebrates local talent with an art show at Eastover Contemporary Art in June. It is open to artists living or working in, or within 40 miles of Berkshire County. This call is open through March 14th. More information can be found online. 

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Reimagine Dunham Mall announces two calls for public art

Pittsfield— Reimagine Dunham Mall announces two calls for public art to support the use and beautification of Dunham Mall.

The first call for art is for a digital map of Downtown. Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. is seeking an artist to produce a digital map of downtown Pittsfield that will be centralized in Dunham Mall and reproduced for use throughout downtown. Map boundaries will be the Colonial Theatre and Carr Hardware (South/North) and two blocks out in the East/West directions. Final map dimensions (delivered digitally) should be 36″x 24″ with standard bleed. The budget for design is $2,000. Artists must have their own technology to produce the image. The chosen artist will be recognized by name in all reproductions of the work, but Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. will own the rights to the final image. The application and more information can be found online. 

The second call for art is for a large mountable mosaic for Dunham Mall. Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. is seeking an artist to produce a large mosaic that will be installed in Dunham Mall. The piece will be mounted on a brick wall and should have dimensions of 10’ wide by 8’ high. The budget for art is $3,000 with an additional $500 stipend for materials. Artists must have their own tools to produce the mosaic. The application and more information can be found online.

Courtesy Reimagine Dunham Mall.

Both calls for art close on Sunday, February 2nd at 11:59 p.m.

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Becket Arts Center call for art

Becket— The Becket Arts Center (BAC) is now accepting submissions for its “How Many 2025 summer juried shows.

One work will be selected for the season poster, and that artist will be awarded $300 as well as a solo exhibition in August. 

Courtesy Becket Arts Center.

For those who need help with the application, BAC will offer a hands-on workshop with artist Sean McCusker on Saturday, January 25th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration and more information can be found online. 

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Berkshire Concert Choir welcomes new singers for spring season

Pittsfield— The Berkshire Concert Choir and Artistic Director Ryan LaBoy welcome all interested singers to the choir’s first rehearsal of the spring season to be held on January 30th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, located at 67 East Street in Pittsfield. No audition is required. 

The spring concert program “This Shining Night” will be performed on May 17th at the Tanglewood Learning Institute and on May 18th in Pittsfield. The performances will speak to the Berkshire community using the phases of night as a metaphor for aging and memory loss. Musical selections address the challenge of navigating the journey of dementia: Jessica Rudman’s multi-movement work, “A Forest that is a Desert,” and Eric Nelson’s arrangement of “When Memory Fades,” as well as night-themed pieces by well-known composers including Samuel Barber, Morten Lauridsen, Eric Whitacre, Alice Parker, and Ysaye Barnwell. Berkshires’ own jazz legend Wanda Houston will join the choir as a guest soloist for both performances.

Courtesy Berkshire Concert Choir.

Registration and more information can be found online. 

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Volunteer fair at Hot Plate Brewing Co.

Pittsfield— On Monday, January 20th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hot Plate Brewing Co. will host a volunteer fair. 

Honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrating the National Day of Service, Hot Plate Brewing Co. is hosting representatives from the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, the Berkshire United Way, the South Community Food Bank, and the Berkshire Immigrant Center who will all be tabling and sharing information on how you can support them or get involved with their work.

Courtesy Hot Plate Brewing Co.

The fair is on Monday, January 20th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hot Plate Brewing Co., located at 1 School Street in Pittsfield. More information can be found online. 

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The Edge Is Free To Read.

But Not To Produce.

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The Edge Is Free To Read.

But Not To Produce.