Mass MoCA Approved for Major NEA Grant

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is one of a select number of initiatives the National Endowment for the Arts has approved for a major "Our Town" grant.

Selected as one of just 51 grants nationwide in this category, the two-year, $100,000 matching grant will support the North Adams Artist Impact Coalition, a collaborative initiative designed to maximize artist support in the North Adams community and better connect artists to regional resources and to each other. 

The coalition, which formed last year, is spearheaded by Mass MoCA's Assets for Artists Program alongside the city of North Adams and other area arts stakeholders such as the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Installation Space Art Gallery, Common Folk Artist Collective, Walkaway House Artist Residency and a number of local, practicing artists.

The announcement from the NEA comes as the North Adams Artist Impact Coalition disperses $20,000 of other funding in rapid response working capital grants to 20 city artists whose artistic businesses have been significantly damaged by the coronavirus outbreak. These grants are paired with additional educational support in the form of one-on-one mentorship from coalition members along with webinars on how to sustain a creative business under these new conditions.

"Mass MoCA's Assets for Artists program has more than a decade-long track record of investing in artists throughout our region with this type of multi-pronged support," said Blair Benjamin, the program's founder and director. "We've seen artists make exciting progress from our support, and we're thrilled to significantly expand that work in North Adams with the help of our coalition partners and this NEA grant funding."

The North Adams Artist Impact Coalition also hosts quarterly artist meet-ups around the North Berkshire region, designed the city’s first Artist Census in early 2020, and planned an artist materials swap, which is currently postponed until later this year.

The new Our Town grant will support the expansion of the Artist Impact Coalition's existing work with a focus on creating new resources for artists to thrive in the city of North Adams.

"The creative economy is a large sector in this region, and it's no secret it has been deeply impacted by the pandemic," said Jess Sweeney, a North Adams City Councilor, the director of Common Folk Artist Collective and a coalition member. "This grant will go a long way to preserve the fabric of our creative world here in North Adams and simultaneously support artists in navigating the rapidly changing industry."

A public call for additional projects that will strengthen the livelihoods of North Adams artists is expected early next year.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.