River Revival Exhibit on Display With Local Artist
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Joanna Gabler, a well-known Berkshire County artist, has invited the Hoosic River Revival to share North Adams Downstreet Art exhibit space with her in C Gallery (33 Main St.) through Aug. 23.
Gabler’s primary subject area is photographs of the Hoosic River which she manipulates into strikingly beautiful mandala-like creations. Hoosic River Revival is organization dedicated to the restoration of the Hoosic River in North Adams.
The River Revival exhibit is titled “Our River: Discovering our Past/Imagining our Future.” With a 4- by 5-foot detailed 1942 map of the downtown as a reference, participants will be able to pin point locations of favorite stores, or where they or their grandparents lived, or what they remember doing downtown.
The section titled “Imagining our Future” will feature the design of the River Revival’s pilot project on the South Branch along Noel Field. In the new design, the river will meander within the athletic fields, which have been slightly reconfigured to embrace the river so that people will be able to get into the river or they might use the sand bar as a landing point for paddling up or down river. River Revival members will answer questions and provide visual examples of other successful river restoration projects.
“I have been impressed with the River Revival’s work since its beginning in 2008, and now that their dream for a revitalized, accessible river is at the design stage, I decided it would be interesting and exciting to share their plans for the Hoosic along with my photographs of the same river,” Gabler said.
Judith Grinnell, president of the Hoosic River Revival, said the River Revival exhibit was primarily the creation of Ellie Wachtel, a student intern from Williams College who has done extensive research on the history of the Hoosic River, its relationship to the city, and the goals of the River Revival to transform the river from "an eyesore into an asset." She was aided by Annie Valk and Lauren Abman, who work at the Williams Center for Learning in Action and the Williams College Art Museum, respectively.
The Hoosic River Revival’s pilot project design and the Gabler artwork will be on display in North Adams at C Gallery, corner of Main and Marshall streets, Wednesdays through Sundays from through Aug. 23.
Tags: art show, Hoosic River, Hoosic River Revival,
