[Forum] Northern Berkshire Arts

Mon Mar 26 12:35:49 EDT 2007

hi ralph,

yep - this is the correct address for communication with the group. 
thanks for your thoughts - in particular, the lewitt project and the 
ando addition at the clark are great to note and tend to be forgotten 
when talking about the scene here. it should be a great press buzz when 
they open.

your note about restaurants ties to our williamstown visitors' 
experience in north adams. when we would venture to gideon's or now 
gramercy i am surprised to see a lot of faces i recognize from the 
williamstown business community. it seems like those folks are willing 
to travel to a fine dining restaurant (there aren't that many in 
williamstown outside of mezze and mill on the floss), particularly in 
the summer.  likewise, i frequently see williamstown folks at mass moca 
events and at cafe latino before or after an event. i also see an 
increasing number of williams students at brewhaha...

it seems to me that the difficulty we face with our neighbors from 
williamstown is not that different from the problem we've been 
struggling to solve regarding visitors to mass moca. the lack of 
critical mass in interesting things to see/do in north adams means that 
folks tend to get back in their cars and leave. honestly, it is hard to 
blame them. at the moment, downtown is pretty empty and half of the 
occupied storefronts are banks, insurance companies and other entities 
which have nothing to offer visitors (and nothing to offer them after 
5pm when people are dining).

things that might impact this in a positive way (most have been 
mentioned before):

1. art installations downtown.
the massmoca sound art installations and the cac downtown installations 
were both positive steps which have since been abandoned. i, for one, 
would love to see a "can't miss" installation like the upside down trees 
installed on eagle street.

2. bridge of flowers type attraction downtown.
on a similar note - take a page from shelburne falls' book. they 
invested in the "bridge of flowers" which really is just an old trolley 
bridge with flowers planted on it. yet, with signs on route 2, they draw 
tons of foot traffic downtown with a relatively simple and inexpensive 
attraction.

3. eagle street pedestrian walk.
wthis has been discussed (in fact, there is an architects rendering of 
the idea at city hall!) but nothing has ever been pushed forward. again, 
i think there needs to be a "can't miss" centerpiece, and for the sake 
of north adams' well being - would someone do something with the big 
brick building on eagle street?! apparently, the manuel family would 
rather see it fall down than sell if for a reasonable amount.

are there other ideas that people have about how to get people do more 
than either visit massmoca or dine in north adams? what do we or could 
we  have to offer?

-- 

// www.joshuafield.com
// joshua at joshuafield.com
// +1 [413] 329-4789
// 121 Union Street, Studio 1E
// North Adams, MA 01247 USA 

ralph brill wrote:
> Hi All:  I have caught some of the Berkshire Arts Forum e-mails over 
> the past weeks.  Is this the correct address for communications?  I am 
> pleased to feel the Positive Energies.  Allow me to add these comments:
>  
> 1)  It took MASS MoCA several years and tries before it found its 
> place.  Once the Sol LeWitt Galleries are open a Larger and Different 
> Growd will appear in North Adams.  Presently, MASS MoCA announces 
> about 125,000 Visitors per year and The Clark announces 175,000 
> Visitors.  With the LeWitt Galleries Open and with The Clark's New 
> Galleries these numbers might jump to 200,000 Visitors which 
> translates to about 15,000 Arts Visitors per Month coming through 
> North Adams.  We need to be Ready for that!  Will We?
>  
> 2)  Pittsfield's 40,000 Population is more than double the population 
> of North Adams and Williamstown Combined.  Pittsfield is benefitting 
> because Artists are finding Affordable Spaces as they are moving out 
> of Great Barrington, Northampton and from Boston and NYC.  They are 
> that much Closer to the Buying Public versus the Viewing Public in 
> North Adams.  It has taken Pittsfield more than 20 Years to 
> transition.  North Adams' turn is next.  If you ask some of the 
> Artists why they chose Pittsfield they will also say there is More To 
> Do There.  Pittsfield's Arts Community has also benefitted from the 
> $Millions that GE was required to give back to that community for 
> Polluting It.
>  
> 3)  Pittsfield has Several Very Good Restaurants.  Williamstown has a 
> Few.  North Adams has a Shortage.  Good Food and Good Art Go Together.
>  
> 4)  For whatever reasons, it is a Struggle for the Williamstown 
> Community to travel further East than Wild Oats.  It is easier for 
> those Residents to go South 30 Minutes to Pittsfield than the 10 
> Minutes East to North Adams.  It should be noted, however, that some 
> of the Concerts held in the Eclipse Mill have brought Williamstowners 
> who stated that they were glad to happen upon our Galleries.
>  
> 5)  With all its pronouncements, North Adams isn't all that Arts 
> Friendly.  Cities like Beacon, Kingston, Hudson and Pittsfield 
> understand the dynamics and that Supporting the Arts Aids the 
> Economy.  Simple things like Gallery Signage shouldn't have to be so 
> bureaucratic.  It has taken the Eclipse Mill almost a year and I 
> believe the Windsor Mill Signs are taking a long time as well.  I have 
> had several parties complain that they couldn't find the Eclipse 
> Mill.  North Adams' Tourist Office is open only Part Of The Year.  If 
> North Adams sees itself as only a Seasonal Tourist City - then that's 
> what it will become!  Almost 50% of North Adams' Storefronts are 
> Vacant.  A Seasonal City is Not Sustainable for the Mechants and 
> Galleries.  In the meantime, the Vacant Storefronts could become 
> Spaces For The Arts like Pittsfield's Successful Program. 
>  
> 6)  Now that the Creative Economy Blueprint has been announced it is 
> up to Us to make sure that the Northern Berkshire Arts Community gets 
> a Meaningful Seat at the Table.
>  
> 7)  Several of the Surrounding States have Hotel/Arts/Food Tourism 
> Packages.
>  
> 8)  This is the Last Week of my Leonard Freed Show.  The Gallery will 
> be Open Friday Evening and Saturday Afternoon.  Some of the Freed 
> Photos will reappear at the Leica Gallery in NYC in May.  My next Show 
> will be the Paintings and Photographs of Eve Sonneman whose works are 
> in the Collections of MoMA, MET, Corcoran, Pompidou, etc.  Please stop 
> by. - Ralph
>  
> BRILL GALLERY
> Ralph Brill, Director
> Eclipse Mill - Studio 109
> 243 Union Street
> North Adams, MA 01247-0786
> 800.294 2811
> www.brillgallery109.com <http://www.brillgallery109.com>
>      
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