Berkshire Museum

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, for Under the Big Top: Festival of Trees 2011 at Berkshire Museum. The 27th annual holiday event, featuring more than one hundred dazzling, decorated trees filling the Museum’s galleries, begins with a gala Opening Night Party on Friday, November 18, 2011, and runs through Monday, January 2, 2012. Special exhibitions of vintage circus memorabilia and photography add to the exciting Big Top atmosphere. Bring the whole family to the most thrilling Festival of Trees ever!

The Morgan Library in New York, and the Berkshire Museum, showed a performance of Gounod's Faust straight from Covent Garden and featuring a stellar cast. We are going to have a banquet of operas to choose from, and filming decisions made in this production felt a lot more like opera than the Metropolitan's HDs.

The HD broadcast field expands to include wonderful opera productions from around the world. Adriana Lecouvreur from Convent Garden will be a treat with Angela Gherghiu, banned at the Met, and Jonas Kaufman.

The fine arts collectors Jay and Jane Braus divide their time between summers in the Berkshires and winters in Florida. When they sold their home in Larchmont a collection of major abstraction expressionist works was liquidated. But those bare walls in a Florida condo started them going again. Through October a selection of works from their collection is on view at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield.

Berkshire Museum’s Little Cinema today offers bi-weekly, high-definition digital broadcasts of world class opera and ballet performances from around the world. These broadcasts feature acclaimed performances by leading performance troupes, from some of the world’s finest theatres and concert halls.

This eclectic exhibition throws the doors open wide on the private collection of the Brauses, providing the public the chance to enjoy twenty-six paintings chosen by the couple, including work by a range of renowned 20th and 21st century artists.

Stuart Chase will provide 1Berkshire and its affiliates, the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, the Berkshire Visitors Bureau and Berkshire Creative Economy Council, with executive leadership in all areas vital to the growth and success of 1Berkshire including strategic and organizational management, fundraising, economic development and marketing.

With the high profile Ferrin Gallery space on the market has a flagship of the creative economy in Pittsfield morphed into a red flag? In part two of an in depth interview with Leslie Ferrin we explore the complex reasons behind this decision. What does it imply about the fragile infrastructure and synergy of the arts in the Berkshires? How tough is it to stretch the busy summer season into a year round retail operation? Overall, Ferrin is upbeat about new options and challenges.

With affordable rent in a rural setting Leslie Ferrin has sustained a successful gallery through a difficult economy. But she is now faced with the decision to sell the space in Pittsfield. She plans to focus more on the major art fairs and working with artists whose careers have really taken off with global opportunities. That is measured against a retail business that is only viable during the busy Berkshire summer season.

The Colonial Theatre's live music additions include the underground hip-hop icon Talib Kweli on July 22, Jersey Shore rock legends Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes on August 25, the unique Celtic sounds of the Tartan Terrors on October 21 and the return of the popular community production Romance, Soul & Rock N’ Roll on October 28 and 29. The family programming will begin with the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats on June 11 and The Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical on December 4.

The first annual Berkshire student art exhibition was held last night at Mass MoCA. It was a fun event with awards and cash prizes followed by snacks and live music. The exhibition moved to the Eclipse Mill Gallery in North Adams from March 12 to 27. There will be a panel discussion and reception at the Eclipse Mill Gallery on March 19.

This year’s lineup includes three world premiere theatre performances produced by BTF, three separate BTF musical productions on the Colonial stage, a rare appearance by noted columnist Frank Rich and live performances of some of the leading artists in the worlds of theatre, jazz and comedy. Among the organizations that will be co-promoting events will be Lift Ev’ry Voice, the Pittsfield 250th anniversary committee, Pittsfield CityJazz Festival, Word x Word Festival, and ZipStohr Comedy.

The Berkshire Museum insists that there is no substance to our speculation that the resignation of Start Chase as its executive director was "abrupt" or the result of a conflict with the Board regarding the use of the Florence Keep & Josephine Crane Fund. It is named for the donors of the works which were sold for $7 million. By e mail Chase responded to a request for clarification of the current status of the acquisition fund and its recent use.

Other than a press release nobody is talking about the surprising and sudden resignation of Stuart Chase as director of the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield. Sources indicate that there was a conflict with the Board about the proper use of $7 million thorough the sale, several years ago, of three paintings by the Russian artist, Boris Dimitrievich Grigoriev (1886-1939).

Interviews provide access to the primary source. There is much to be learned through dialogues with actors and directors. But it also entails a conflict of interest and concerns when we have to write about their work. Does that entail softening the blow when we don't respond to a production? This installment of an extensive dialogue explores the tricky business of honestly informing the reader. It is the reason why some critics refuse to conduct interviews.

During the opening weekend of M.C. Escher: Seeing the Unseen the Berkshire Museum was packed. With school vacations and ski season it is likely that the museum will be mobbed with families from now until May 22. As this large selection of work demonstrates Escher was a master and genius but in a class by himself. In the populist museum there is a crowd pleasing companion exhibition Henry Klimowicz: Constructs.

Berkshire Museum's winter exhibition, a major show of the work of one of the 20th century’s most popular artists, MC Escher: Seeing the Unseen. This world premiere experience, conceived and curated by Berkshire Museum, offers a fresh perspective on an iconic artist, one who innovatively brought together graphic design, fine art, and an interest in natural history that makes him an excellent subject for a one-artist exhibition at Berkshire Museum.

Storefront Artist Project announces the relocation of its gallery and office to 31 South Street at the corner of Park Square in downtown Pittsfield Massachusetts. Storefront will be leaving its present location in the Howard building at 124 Fenn Street, a space it has occupied since 2006, and share the new South Street space with local retailer Emporium.

For most of us right now its jingle bells. With the announcement of the 2011 Tanglewood schedule this week, however, Berkshire arts organizations are hard at work planning a fast launch to the season on the Fourth of July. But, like Abbott and Costello, come summer, let's hope they aren't wondering about "who's on first." There is desperate need for branding, pooled resources, and a marketing strategy for the Berkshires.

There is a domino impact for the arts in the Berkshires with the merger, over the next year, of the Colonial Theatre and the Berkshire Theatre Festival. A more dynamic Colonial increases the critical mass and leadership of Pittsfield as the matrix and hub of the arts and cultural economy. It is equidistant from the boundaries of the region that represent more than an hour to drive from one end to the other. Strengthening the thriving arts community in Pittsfield changes the paradigm for the region. It increases the potential for synergy or competition.

Recently, the California collectors Sonny and Gloria Kamm visited Pittsfield during a national search for a museum to partner with housing their collection. Over 30 years they acquired 10,000 vintage and contemporary tea pots. Some of them through Pittsfield Gallerist Leslie Ferrin. She hosted a reception in their honor. Today, she and Stuart Chase, director of the Berkshire Museum, announced that the collection will not come to Pittsfield.

Over the past 30 years the Los Angeles based Sonny and Gloria Kamm have acquired 10,000 tea pots. Currently, they are seeking a museum partner to house their collection. The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield appears to be a finalist. To house the Kamm's Tea Pot Museum the plan would be to acquire a church property in the heart of the city.

With three days of programming the arts and the creative community were underplayed in the recent Berkshire Forum. Although the arts are a major employer and drive the economy of the Berkshires just one session was devoted to this essential agenda. The too few seats at the table excluded any representatives from the four major theatre companies, or even Jacob's Pillow. Mass MoCA director Joe Thompson was included in another panel where he commented on the important Wilco Festival this summer.

A three-day conference promising inspiring ideas and stimulating dialogue led by a remarkable network of business owners, economists, social innovators, technology visionaries, cultural enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and thought leadersâ€"bound by a devotion to region worth preserving and an interest in shaping its cultural and economic future.

During the recent, season ending, Tanglewood Jazz Festival we spoke with Mark Volpe, the managing director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He has had his hands full, yet again, with another medical absence by maestro, James Levine. Despite the concerns of some classical critics regarding the continuity and consistency of the orchestra, for the most part, the season has been successful. Even magical. But regarding non-classical programming, of which there is very little in the program, he was quoted making harsh remarks in the Berkshire Eagle. We asked him about that and were surprised but guardedly pleased by his response.