1. MASS MoCA

87 Marshall Street
Open daily 11am-5pm
Closed Tuesdays

MASS MoCA seeks to catalyze and support the creation of new art, exposure our visitors and bold visual an performing art in all stages of production, and re-invigorate the life of a region in socioeconomic need. MASS MoCA exhibits works by many of the most important artists of today -both well known, and emerging- focusing on large-scale and complex installations that are impossible to realize in conventional museums.

Since opening in 1999, MASS MoCA has become one of the world’s premier centers for making and showing the best art of our time. With an annual attendance of 120,000, it ranks among the most visited institutions in the United States dedicated to new art.

About MASS MoCA

MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest!) centers for making, showing, enjoying, and learning about the best music, theater, and dance of our time. More than 80 major new works of art and more than 50 performances have been created through fabrication and rehearsal residencies in North Adams, making MASS MoCA perhaps the most fertile site in the country for new art. The museum thrives on making and presenting work and learning opportunities that are fresh, surprising, and challenging.

MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 11am to 5pm every day except Tuesdays. In July and August, MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 10am to 6pm every day. Gallery admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students, $5 for children 6–16, and free for children 5 and under. Members are admitted free year-round. For additional information, call 413-662-2111 or visit www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA is an independent 501(c)(3) whose operations and programming are funded through admissions and commercial lease revenue, corporate and foundation grants, and individual philanthropy. Except for an initial construction grant from the Commonwealth, and competitive program and operations grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, MASS MoCA is privately funded: 90% of annual operating revenues are from earned revenues, membership support, and private gifts and grants.

2. Kidspace @ MASS MoCA

87 Marshall Street
Open daily 11am-4pm
Closed Tuesdays

         FREEDOM: Just Another Word For…

Kidspace @ MASS MoCA Exhibition Opens June 15, 201 (North Adams, MA) FREEDOM: Just Another Word For… is Kidspace @ MASS MoCA’s contribution to this year’s three-museum project Words & Images. The exhibition is a visual exploration of how words and art can have multiple meanings. Freedom opens June 15, 2013 and will be on view through May 2014. It includes work by Xu Bing, Long-Bin Chen, Gonkar Gyatso, Ran Hwang, Ang Tsherin Sherpa, and Roger Shimomura, and features opportunities for children to develop their own interpretations and words to describe the work on view.

Words &Images, a three-museum exhibition project, explores the contexts in which words are used, and how artists visually express their meanings, and the different kinds of words that may be associated with visual images. The goal of this project is to help children expand their visual vocabulary, and to understand that there are many possible visual descriptions and symbols for words. Each of the three museums (The Clark, Williams College Museum of Art, and MASS MoCA) will develop a project (exhibition, curriculum, program) focusing on its interpretation of the theme, and the annual summer institute (July 8 – 12, 2013) will also explore words and images as the central theme.

The Kidspace @ MASS MoCA exhibition will begin with a focus on the word FREEDOM. In most American public schools, the topic of freedom is investigated in the social studies curriculum through the lens of American history. As a result, many children when asked to draw a picture about freedom, may be stumped to come up with anything other than an American flag or Statue of Liberty. The term, however, has much broader meanings, which this exhibition and related programs will illuminate. It will examine the artists’ work illustrating both the path to freedom and limitations placed on it. The artists have incorporated into their work their backgrounds and personal experiences, as well as their interpretations of symbols from popular culture and symbols in written form.

Kidspace Public Hours

Kidspace @ MASS MoCA is a child-centered art gallery and hands-on studio that presents exhibitions and educational experiences in collaboration with leading artists. Free public hours are offered during the school year: every day except Tuesdays from 11am to 5pm; art-making on weekends and during school holidays. During the summer (July – August): every day with art-making from 11am to 6pm.

3.  Caravan

Gateway Motors – 69 Union St.

July 25 – August 25

Wed-Fri 12-6 pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm

Since 1972, Japanese-born choreographer/dancers Eiko & Koma have created a unique and riveting theater of movement out of stillness, shape, light and sound. Eiko & Koma dance about what matters to them. Their subjects are elemental; their message pitiless yet humanistic. Both their choreography and stagecraft are characterized by bold, highly theatrical strokes. Eiko & Koma want the vulnerability of their own dancing bodies to invite the audience’s empathy.

Recently on view at MoMA, The Caravan Project involves the installation and utilization of a specially modified trailer which the artists will perform in and around within the gallery throughout the duration of the exhibition including DSA Thursday and other events.

4.  Gallery 105

Photo Credit: Kay Canavino

105 Main St.

Wed-Fri 12-6 pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm

Rotating exhibitions include:

June 20/ July 21 – works by Jenny Kemp & Richard Harrington. Richard Harrington is a visual artist whose career has spanned several decades. He has exhibited sculpture and light installations in addition to environmental works both in the United States and Europe. Harrington’s vision for this exhibition explores geometrical three dimensional installations  rooted in his philosophy: “Each installation presents its own unique problems and solutions. Though this may seem simple minded, this has been the wisdom of the decades distilled into how and why this artwork will look the way it does. The consistent theme in my work has been a stereoptic correlation and dialogue between light, objects and their environment. I hope that this grouping can achieve these goals in addressing the unique characteristics of this space on Main Street.”

July 25/ August 25 - Double Edge Theatre Company brings an exhibition showcasing a unique perspective on the theater process of this exceptional and highly regarded theater company. The Double Edge ensemble is made up of multi-disciplined artists from Argentina, England, Bulgaria, and the U.S., from ages 26 to 70, who have worked together for up to thirty years. History is recounted in their works with a variety of iconic images from film, television, and photography. Time both shrinks and expands as the 20th century unfolds in a dream-like rush of juxtapositions.

5.  Gallery 53

53 Main St.

Wed-Fri 12-6 pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm

Exhibitions include: Beehive Collective, Messages From Iran curated by Solly Kh, Atlas Films with work by artist Rich Remsberg, and Great Small Works 

June 20/July 21 - The Beehive Collective is an all-volunteer network of artists, educators, and activists who use compelling visuals to share complex stories crafted in collaboration with social movements. Public and participatory art is at the very core of what they do. Their large-format narrative graphics depict many facets of the struggles for social and ecological justice, but a theme that unites them all is the importance of place. beehivecollective.org/

July 25/August 25 – Messages From Iran curated by Solly Kh. Solly Kh is an independent curator based in Teheran, Iran. According to her statement: “These video artists belong to a generation whose childhood was spent on war and violence and who are now living under threat of boycotting and war from foreign countries. Due to these conditions their psyche is full of fairness, depression without any hope to future… Despite of the situation they make effort to send their peaceful massage to all the word.”

August 29/September 22 – Atlas Films is the company name for Emmy Award-winning archival image researcher Rich Remsberg. “The backbone of what we offer is archival footage and still photo research, although we are equally at home with fine art, vintage maps, newspapers, rare books, music, and contemporary stock.”

September 26/October 27 –  Great Small Works (John Bell, Trudi Cohen, Stephen Kaplin, Jenny Romaine, Roberto Rossi and Mark Sussman) is a collective of artists, all veterans of Bread and Puppet Theater, whose productions tell contemporary stories by reinventing folk, puppet, avant-garde and popular theater traditions. Great Small Works performs in theaters, schools, parks, libraries, museums, prisons, street corners, and other public spaces, producing work on many scales, from community-based outdoor spectacles with scores of volunteers, to miniature tabletop shows in living rooms. On any scale Great Small Works productions seek to renew, cultivate and strengthen the spirits of their audiences, reanimating the public sphere and promoting theater as a communal activity, a model for participating in democracy.

October 31 – Great Small Works joins us again for the DownStreet Art Season Finale!

6. MCLA Gallery 51

51 Main Street

Open daily 10 am-6 pm

MCLA Gallery 51, run by the Massachusetts College of            Liberal Arts since 2005, presents work from a wide range of       emerging and mid-career contemporary artists.

Rotating exhibitions:

June 8/July 21 - Other Hudson Chapter II: Other Hudson Chapter Two is the second exhibit in a series showcasing work by artists from the NY Hudson Valley. The second Other Hudson exhibit will feature work by Kahn/Selesnik and Denis Herbert. Richard Selesnick and Nicholas Kahn have been collaborating as Kahn/Selesnick on a series of complex narrative photo-novellas and sculptural installations since 1988. Dennis Herbert has been making art assemblages from found materials for over 10 years. A self-trained artist, he  spends his free time creating mysterious, dream-like boxes as well as free standing sculptures. The exhibit will open it’s doors on Saturday June 8, with an opening reception on Thursday June 20th, in conjunction with the Down Street Art 2013 kickoff.

July 25/ August 25 - Ibrahim Quraishi is an artist who works with different mediums like photography, photo painting, video, film, installation, performance, dance and theatre. His primary interest is the exploration of understanding visual performativity and its relationship to the broader cultural perspectives and their schisms. His approach to the world is that of a traveler.

August 29/ September 22 - A Marriage: 1(Suburbia) With installations that incorporate sculpture, performance art, video, theater, and drawing, artists Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin utilize their own marriage, “tropes of masculinity, images of utopic suburbia and the model of the nuclear family to explore our deep ambivalence towards the traditionally heteronormative set of aspirations that make up the American Dream.”

September 26/ October 27 - Eliza Barrios                    Eliza’s work explores and questions the various tangible and intangible elements that ‘make up’ a person – their subjectivity, their motivations – their ‘internal belief system.’ Her pieces act as a catalyst for self reflection, both metaphorically and literally. Through the use of various visual devices she orchestrates subtle environments/encounters that subliminally navigate the viewer to question their own perceptions of beliefs with regard to cultural histories, personal relations and the temporal notion of time and location.

October 31 - REWILDERMENT: passing through the veil between worlds. Artists Sarah Falkner, Shannon Taggart & C. Ryder Cooley will rewild MCLA Gallery 51 for an All Hallows Eve exhibition of collaborative and solo work. Exploring themes of ritual, witchcraft and mediumistic practices, the show will include spirit photography, performance residue, video, drawing and artifacts from the mysterious worlds ofthree inter-disciplinary artists. Shannon Taggart is a photographer from Brooklyn NY, Sarah Falkner is a writer, artist and healer from Hudson NY, Ryder Cooley is an artist,musician and performer based in N. Adams, MA.

7. PRESS

PRESS IS MOVING!!

Check out the new location this summer at:

49 Main Street

Wed-Fri 12-6 pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm

Letterpress as a Public Art Project.

Melanie Mowinski, assistant professor of visual art at MCLA and proprietress of PRESS, will be operating the Vandercook Universal III. The space is a gallery and a workshop in downtown North Adams.

June 20/July 21 - PRESS kicks off the 2012 season of Downstreet Art with imPRESS: an exhibit showing the work of MASS MoCA Teenspace artists exploring printmaking

July 25/ August 25 – Liminality: Prints and Artist Books that mark the space between having departed but not yet arrived. Featuring the work of Valerie Carrigan. valeriecarrigan.com

 August 29/ September 22 - The Politics of _________ : Printed works that invite the viewer into conversation and debate.

September 26/ October 27 – Markings: Marks and mark-making in printmaking: work created at PRESS.

October 31 – The Diary Project: Which is more beautiful, the documentation of an event or the event itself? You decide. Featuring the work of Tara O’Brien - inkfishpress.com

 December 5 – FRESH: Explorations in prints and artist books by MCLA students and others.

WORKSHOPS

Make your own MANTRA                                                         Third Wednesday of the Month, 5-8 pm                              July 17, August 21, September 18, October 16

Learn the basics of setting and printing type on a letterpress printer. Bring a phrase/mantra that is less than 20 words, learn to compose it on a type stick, place in the bed of the press and PRINT! We will print on paper that you bring from home as well as paper that we provide.                                   $55

8.  Branch Gallery

18 Holden St.

Wed-Fri 12-6 pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm

Exhibitions include: works by Geoffrey Booras & David Kaufmann, Phil’s Hill: exhibiting drawings by Michelle Lauriat, and originals from Matt Philips

June 20/July 21 - works by Geoffrey Booras & David Kaufmann. Both Geoffrey Booras and David Kaufmann’s research explores ideas and objects which represent a kind of false peak of technology’s arc. Their work grapples with questions of technological relationships within a wide scope of time in an effort to reflect on the tools of our day and how their use defines our present situation. The objects they make pose questions about the long and short sightedness of these tools.

July 25/August 25 – Michelle Lauriat presents her series: Phil’s Hill. Michelle recently graduated in Studio Art from UMass. She lives in Wakefield, MA. Her drawings deal with the irreducibility of place. Our ability to see a place fully is limited by both the mechanics of our eyes, and the intrusion of our mind. Rationally, we have expectations about what will be in a space, and memories of similar places that mingle with our real time perception, never really allowing an unbiased observation.

August 29/ September 22 – works by artist Matt Philips;        Stay tuned! More exhibition info to come!

9. MURAL: Melissa Matsuki Lillie

Holden Street corner and Main Street,

An abstract colorful interpretation of the geologic makeup of Main Street and its buildings

10. MURAL: Maya Hayuk

Side of Juvenile Court (facing Rt. 2),

Large, colorful, completely improvised, totally optimistic abstract mural.

11. Wendy James Studio

22 Holden Street
By appointment

A working studio exploring various media, both figurative and abstract.

12. NAACO Gallery

33 Main Street
Mon-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 10 am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm

The North Adams Artists’ Co-Operative Gallery, otherwise known as the NAACO Gallery, is an independently member-run organization of over 35 active and talented, primarily regional, artists exhibiting contemporary fine art and craft.

13. William Oberst Studio

16 Holden Street
Visit by appointment. Please call (631) 398-4011

The working studio of realist painter of people and landscapes.

“We all have a shared humanity. Should any of my pictures survive for the next three hundred years, I would hope that people in that distant future see, in my art, how we felt about each other in the twenty-first century, and how we felt about being alive. I would also hope that those future viewers recognize something of themselves in my work.” B. Oberst.

14. Bus Stand

Main Street

Permanent Installation on Main Street by Victoria Palermo, which combines the functional with the aesthetic. According to a BRTA patron: “commuters are truly blessed to enjoy such beauty. Thanks to all who made this artful bus stop a reality”. The installation is made possible thanks to Kidspace @ MASS MoCA.

15. CAFE:

Community Art For Everyone

     107 Main St.

       Wed-Fri 12-6 pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm

Art About Town specializes in creating opportunities for community involvement in public art-making. This summer they will introduce a community-based center for art-learning, exploration and growth. Each week in the gallery, a team of artists will promote art making by residents of all ages and visitors who would stretch the concept of what is art by utilizing impressions direct from the history of North Adams.

  Participant artists include: Bill Oberst, Vin Jensen, Dan   Morgan, Christina King, Phil and Gail Sellers.

16. ART ABOUT TOWN: Pillars

Underpass RT2 on Marshall Street

Art About Town is an artist- and citizen-based organization that builds community through public art projects.  The mural project is located on the pillars under the Veterans Memorial Bridge on Marshall Street.

Art teacher Christina King along with 9 students from Greylock Elementary School who participated in CAMP -”community art mural project” an after school program brought this project to life.

Interested in the history of North Adams and it’s creative past, images were chosen from the cut and stitch cloth dolls that were printed by Arnold Printworks in the late 1890’s through 1910. Arnold Printworks (1862-1945) was located on the present day site of MASS MoCA and by 1905 was one of the leading producers of printed textiles.

The students learned to replicate, enlarge and transfer the doll images to the columns. Painting is being done with the help of their art teacher Christina King, William Oberst local realist painter and MCLA student, Stephanie Vanbramer. All of the dolls are scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2012.

17. Adams Community Bank Gallery

                                  31 Eagle Street

Mon-Fri 10 am-4 pm, Sat 10am-12pm

        Stay tuned! More exhibition info to come!

          18. studio21south

                                 44 Eagle Street

Wed-Fri 12-6 pm, Sat 10 am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm

           Stay tuned! More exhibition info to come!

 27. Community Art Program at North Adams Regional Hospital

71 Hospital Avenue
Always open

200 works of art by area artists displayed on four floors, curated by Sharon Carson.

         28. The Transcript Gallery

85 Main St.

Office of the North Adams Transcript

Exhibiting local artists: Stay tuned! More exhibition info to come!