[Forum] Northern Berkshire Arts
Karen Kane
k.kane at adelphia.net
Wed Mar 28 11:51:34 EDT 2007
I'm not sure about this issue, but ... there is so little traffic on
Eagle st now ... mostly cars driving through. A pedestrian way might
be a place people would come to as a destination. Maybe there could
even be (ohmygod) benches ...
On Mar 28, 2007, at 11:40 AM, Daniel Field wrote:
> one short note about a peddestian way on eagle str.NOthat would be
> the death nail for all of us on eagle st.
> if you love eagle st. so much get caugh there once in a while or
> buy in while you still cane
> dan
>
>
> On 3/26/07, Joshua Field <joshua at joshuafield.com> wrote:
> 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>
> >
> >
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Forum mailing list
> > Forum at berkshirevisualarts.org
> > http://lists.berkshirevisualarts.org/mailman/listinfo/forum
> >
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Forum mailing list
> Forum at berkshirevisualarts.org
> http://lists.berkshirevisualarts.org/mailman/listinfo/forum
>
> _______________________________________________
> Forum mailing list
> Forum at berkshirevisualarts.org
> http://lists.berkshirevisualarts.org/mailman/listinfo/forum
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.berkshirevisualarts.org/pipermail/forum/attachments/20070328/0049ff4f/attachment.html
More information about the Forum
mailing list