Hancock Shaker Village

Participating cultural organizations include Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Botanical Garden, Berkshire International Film Festival, Berkshire Theatre Group, Community Access to the Arts, The Clark, Hancock Shaker Village, Jacob’s Pillow, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, MASS MoCA, The Mount, Norman Rockwell Museum, Shakespeare & Company, The Trustees and Williamstown Theatre Festival. 

The Board of Trustees of Hancock Shaker Village announced today that director Jennifer Trainer Thompson will step down in July. Thompson has been widely credited for her transformational leadership of the museum and is recognized as an innovator in the museum community. Since her appointment in September 2016, Hancock Shaker Village has grown in size and stature and has been infused, as The Boston Globe noted last summer, “with great gusts of contemporary vitality”.

“Spring at Hancock Shaker Village is a joyous time,” said Director Jennifer Trainer Thompson. “Our farm literally ‘springs’ to life and there may be nothing cuter than a baby animal. When you add to that 20 historic buildings, and a lot of creative programming --- from farm talks to concerts to the spiritual richness of brooms --- you find a union with content that creates an unparalleled experience. Welcome back, and welcome to our 2022 season!”

In its first major exhibition on contemporary Asian art, A Spirit of Gift, A Place of Sharing is a campus-wide exhibition opening May 30 at Hancock Shaker Village. The exhibition features three artists—Yusuke Asai of Japan, Kimsooja of Korea, and Pinaree Sanpitak of Thailand – who explore links between 19th century Shaker art and contemporary Asian art.

The Berkshire Art Association (BAA) seeks contemporary art for its biennial show at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, planned for October 7 - November 26 at the Lichtenstein Center, 28 Renne Avenue, Pittsfield, MA

Peer into hidden spaces, with guides sharing tales of ghosts that dwell here and the Shakers' participation in the Spiritualist Movement.

The al fresco evening will begin with a stroll and tasting in the orchard, then move onto a multi-course savory farm dinner, featuring craft cider pairings as well as remarks by the cider makers and our farmer about the cider and the apples.

This series of black basalt-ware ceramics was created by James Turrell in collaboration with Irish potter Nicholas Mosse of Kilkenny, Ireland.  The ceramics collection absorbs light as opposed to refracting it; pitch black and unyieldingly dark, Lapsed Quaker Ware exerts a visual gravitational pull, drawing in the viewer with a visceral sense of the sublime.

It's spring at Hancock Shaker Village. That means time for one of its most popular events. For family fun come see all the newborn animals from lambs and piglets to chicks and goats.

Hancock Shaker Village, one of the most comprehensively interpreted Shaker sites in the U.S. and the oldest working farm in Western Massachusetts, announced today the appointments of Linda Johnson as Curator and Brenda Lynch as Director of Development, a newly created position.  

Skyspace will augment one of the world’s most comprehensive experiences of installations by James Turrell while realizing a vision the artist had when visiting the museum’s campus in 1987. The Skyspace will join a long-term exhibition of Turrell works at MASS MoCA, which includes one work from each of the six decades of the artist’s career.

Seasons Greetings and an appeal from Hancock Shaker Village.

Hancock Shaker Village felt like a home-away-from-home this year. In a year when we are counting our heroes, the Village has had many.

Live from Hancock Shaker Village: Songs of Comfort will be broadcast live on WAMC and streamed online or on the WAMC app. This Sunday August 30 at 7 pm.

Joe Thompson graduated from Williams College in 1981. As founding director of MASS MoCA he has been here ever since. Stepping down in October he will sever ties next summer. Between now and then he will plan the next move. Other than some loose ends his remarkable work here is complete. Magnificently so.

Since the late 18th century, the Shakers have embraced individuals of all racial and cultural backgrounds as equals – including black, brown, and indigenous. We are a museum, not Shakers – but as a museum and in keeping with the historic Shaker values of equality and justice, we are appalled by what we see before our eyes across America.

On Thursday, June 4 as part of Massachusetts Phase 1 initiative, Hancock Shaker Village will open only its outdoor spaces—including its beloved baby animals in outdoor fenced-in areas—to the public Thursdays through Sundays, 10 am–3 pm. This schedule will be in place at least through June, as the Village plans for a full reopening in Phase 3.

In a normal season the Hancock Shaker Village, which was founded sixty years ago near Pittsfield, is open from April through December. With spring planting and the birth of livestock this is a busy time of year. The annual Baby Animals Festival draws some 20% of annual visitation and 15% of earned revenue. We spoke with director Jennifer Trainer Thompson about strategies to function during the pandemic.

Jennifer Trainer Thompson, the director of Hancock Shaker Village, has a letter for friends and neighbors. It's spring and the lambs have been born. Soon it is time to plant the traditional gardens. Trying times call for creative solutions.

Many artists and friends attended the opening of my exhbition "Then and Now: Analog to Digital" at Real Eyes Gallery in Adams, Mass. For the occasion I wore my Senegal robes. That reflected the exotic nature of the work. Music was performed on electric sitar and percussion by Nana Simopoulos and Caryn Heilman. There were lively dialogues about the work anticipating an artist's talk on Saturday, November 23 at 4 PM.

Working "24/7" over several months the renowned, Williamstown-based artist, Barbara Ernst Prey, created Borrowed Light. The suite of watercolor renderings of interiors is on view in a converted chicken coop of Hancock Shaker Village. It is a part of expanded contemporary programming under the director Jennifer Trainer Thompson. She was a founding member of the MASS MoCA team. They have been neighbors and friends for many years. It was intuitive for them to undertake this remarkable project.

Paul Muldoon, a 67 year old New Yorker, originally from Northern Ireland, recited his poetry while the band, Rogue Olifant, played accompanying music. The evening at Hancock Shaker Village emulated a 1960s scene from my past.

A great day trip that enlightens and enriches the soul is as close as Berkshire county, home of Hancock Shaker Village. Spending a day learning about the Shakers, sharing dinner and thought with Peter Jennings son, Chris Jennings, and attending a concert with members of WILCO and transplanted local troubadour, Johnny Irion, can turn any day into sunshine.

Hancock Shaker Village, near Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was decorated for the holidays during a late afternoon stroll with carolers, musicians and dressed-up staff from this timeless Shaker community. Drinks, Shaker Holiday carols and festive food was served as guests listened to Shaker stories and songs.

Dar Williams talks about her new book, 'What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities One Coffee Shop, Dog Run and Open-Mike Night at a Time.' BBQ, Bourbon and beer are on the menu at Hancock Shaker Village.