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Storefront Artist Project to Relocate, Adds to Board of Directors

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Storefront Artist Project is planning to relocate its gallery and office next month.

The nonprofit arts organization will be relocating its gallery and office from 124 Fenn St, a space it has occupied since 2006, to 31 South St. It will share its new South Street space, at the corner of Park Square, with local retailer Emporium.

Emporium, a gift shop that sells novelties, Berkshire-made artisanal goods, jewelry, fine art and Blue Q products, will be moving from its current location on upper North Street. Storefront and Emporium are expected to open to the public at their new location on Sunday, Feb. 6.

For Storefront, the move reflects the continued activity and redevelopment of North Street, as well as downtown Pittsfield’s transformation into a cultural hub.

“Although we have been an integral part of the community for almost 10 years, we are excited to have a more visible presence downtown,” said Julia Dixon, Storefront Artist Project’s director, in a statement. “Our proximity to the Colonial Theatre and Berkshire Theatre Festival, Berkshire Museum, Beacon Cinema, New Stage and other thriving businesses and institutions will bring us new vitality and strengthen the city’s cultural core.”

Maria Mingalone, chair of the Storefront Artist’s Board of Directors, is enthusiastic about the move. “Storefront is really on the move, both literally and figuratively. We are excited to have the new space and how it will bring more art to the attention to more people, something that is core to Storefront’s vision.  2011 will prove to be an exciting year for Storefront and the arts community in Pittsfield,” she said in the statement.

Storefront recently added to its Board of Directors. Lesley Ann Beck of Pittsfield and Danielle Steinmann of North Adams were elected to the board in October 2010.
 
Beck is the managing editor at Berkshire Living magazine, editor of BBQ: Berkshire Business Quarterly, and served two terms on the Pittsfield Cultural Council. A journalist for more than 25 years, Beck has been recognized with a first place award from the New England Associated Press News Executives Association. She regularly contributes stories on culture and design, as well as profiles of notable individuals in the business community, and she reviews theater and the arts for www.berkshireliving.com.

As the associate director of education at Hancock Shaker Village, Steinmann creates and manages adult and family programs, as well as curriculum and teacher professional development. She also is a visiting faculty member at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Steinmann received her master’s degree in art history and has more than 15 years of experience as an arts administrator with a focus on educational programming at institutions such as the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Storefront Artist Project has been in operation since 2002, bringing art to diverse members of the community by presenting innovative art exhibitions and installations, providing non-traditional, visually accessible studio space to artists and connecting artists with the public through education, opportunities and exposure. Its programs include storefront artist residencies, the Mentor and Intern Programs, monthly exhibitions, artist salons and Open Studios. Visit storefrontartist.org for more information.

Trumbull: Local Film Could Boost FX Industry

Digital FX pioneer Douglas Trumbull is planning a sci-fi film in the Berkshires that he hopes will restart the fledgling special-effects industry here that never quite got off the ground.

The news was reported last Wednesday in the Journal of New England Technology. Trumbull, who left Hollywood for the Berkshires three decades ago, continues to operate out of his Southfield studio. But many of the special-effects producers who followed him closed up shop during the 1990s.

He told the Journal:

Last year, Jeff Kleiser of Synthespian Studios in North Adams indicated he was mulling an animated feature that could create hundreds of jobs and help boost the FX industry in the Berkshires.

Trumbull is best known for his groundbreaking work on "2001: A Space Odyessy" and "Blade Runner." The FX maestro talked about his work on "Blade Runner" a couple of years ago at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington before a screening of the restored film. 

Qualprint Calendar Nabs Silver

Qualprint's 2010 calendar nabbed a silver award from the 2010 Calendar Marketing Association.

We especially like the calendar full of Berkshire scenes was dedicated to the late Joel Librizzi, a professional photographer who served for 26 years as one of the calendar contest judges for the company. Joel, who died in June 2009, spent his career as a photojournalist at The Berkshire Eagle. He was well known as a talented artist and generous friend.

The National Calendar Award was given in the division of Most Creative Marketing Application for a custom/corporate calendar. The annual full-color calendar is produced, printed and distributed each year by the company. It's printed on FSC certified stock using soy-based inks.

The calendar was designed by Lisa Kirchner, a graphic and digital production artist at Qualprint, and more than 10,000 have been circulated throughout New England.
Winning criteria included the quality of photographs and graphics and complete execution of the calendar subject and theme. The images appearing in the calendar are chosen in an annual photography and art contest sponsored by Qualprint for the past 27 years.

Tricks of the Trade Focuses on Arts Residencies

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Art is serious business and one of the best ways to learn locally how to prosper is through the Tricks of the Trade series offered through the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center.

The 4-year-old series concludes the season with three workshops on "How Can You Secure a Residency?" with local artists and directors. The workshops run Tuesday through Thursday, April 13-15, at 6:30 p.m. in three locations.

Local artist and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts professor Melanie Mowinski leads all three sessions. The first, on April 13 at MCLA Gallery 51 on Main Street, will be with Heather Phillips, director of the Contemporary Artist Center at Woodside in Troy, N.Y. The center was founded in North Adams and has nurtured artists over the past two decades.

Artist C. Ryder Cooley is featured April 14 at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield. Cooley is an interdisciplinary artist, performer and musician. She is the creator of "Animalia: Stories of Collapse, Calamity and Departure," an animation, a performance and an illustrated artist book.

Calliope Nicholas, residency director of Millay Colony for the Arts in Austerlitz, N.Y., finishes up the series on April 15 at IS183 Art School in Stockbridge. The Millay Colony offers one-month residencies to visual artists, composers and writers. Nicholas is also director of the Film Columbia Festival in Chatham, N.Y., and producer of an affiliated high school film program.

"We have priced, branded, written about, showed and schmoozed about our work," said Jessica Conzo, BCRC director, of the previous workshops. "Now it is time to find the time and space to be inspired and create new work."

The sessions are free and open to the public with advance registration. For more information or to register, contact Conzo at 413-663-5253.

BCRC is a program of MCLA. The arts program is produced in collaboration with Berkshire Creative, Pittsfield's Office of Cultural Development and IS183 Art School.