MASS MoCA Installation Comprises more than 800 Million Grains of Rice

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While the census is not often the inspiration for major works of art, this February 10 – 25 MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center will be home to an arresting installation titled Of All the People in All the World which brings to unique life population densities, growth patterns and the changing demographics of our world. MASS MoCA is one of just three U.S. venues for the installation, the only one on the East Coast and the only one representing all the people in the Americas. Previous U.S. installations have included only the U.S. population. A landscape of rice – many, many tons of rice, more than 875,000,000 grains in all – will be used to dramatize the enormity of the population of the Americas and the miniscule place of one person in it. (All the rice will be recycled, and will re-enter the food chain upon completion of the performance.) Far from a static display, this landscape will constantly change as performers from the UK artists collective pile, measure, sort, and re-pile the rice to represent different comparative statistics, population changes, and demographic anomalies. Visitors are invited to submit their own population-based queries, and some of these questions will be incorporated into the exhibition/performance. The event will take place Saturday, February 10 through Sunday, February 25, from 11 - 5 and special evening hours (7-10 PM) on February 16 & 17 and February 23 & 24. “Our aim in producing this work is to capture a picture of the world in all of its vastness and mystery as well as its everyday ordinariness,” explains Stan’s Cafe artistic director, James Yarker. “It links today with yesterday, big moments in history with personal memories, great successes of the human race alongside its terrible failures and the challenges it continues to face.” Upon entry, visitors are presented with a single grain of rice; the significance of the one grain becomes clear as one takes in the mounds of rice representing all the people in the Americas. Breathtaking in scope yet beautifully elegant in its simplicity, the exhibit is ever-evolving as the performers carefully measure out quantities of rice to represent thousands of different statistics. Ranging from serious and sobering facts – the number of people living in gated communities next to the number living in prison, the number of people who die each day next to the number of people born – to lighthearted pop culture trivia – the number of viewers of the American Idol finale next to the number of viewers of Cheers’ last episode – these statistics are reconfigured into the rice piles that bring these groups into dramatic relief. “This work is best understood as a two-week long performance, which our visitors can enjoy in quick hits, or over prolonged or repeated visits. It is powerful to discover subtle links between the individual, single grain, and the larger community and the world that are represented in the piles before you.” said Sue Killam, Managing Director of Performing Arts at MASS MoCA. “At any one time the Hunter Center will resemble a vast sculptural landscape -- and you can enjoy the work as a piece of visual art -- but over time, the performers alter the topography as they manipulate piles of rice in response to statistical queries. Visitors can engage the performers in conversation about the work itself, their own histories, even their own ideas for statistics...and in this way the work is part theater, and part social science. At previous venues, patrons have come for short visits, but ended up staying for hours, getting caught up in the act of visualizing an amazing array of strange and beautiful comparisons.” The juxtapositions can be moving, shocking, celebratory, witty, and thought-provoking. “What we’re trying to do is raise people’s awareness of different subjects and to make those numbers that we see in the news, hear on the news everyday, make those more understandable and give them a visual sense,” says Craig Stephens, Associate Director for Of All the People in All the World. Since its premiere at the Warwick Arts Centre in the United Kingdom, Stan’s Café has toured its landmark exhibit in a variety of venues spanning the globe – Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Australia. The collective was started in 1991 and functions as a group of artists from a variety of disciplines working under the artistic direction of James Yarker; together they create leading-edge art that consistently taps the popular imagination. The exhibit is supported in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The British Council. Tickets for Of All the People in All the World are $5, with the option for a multi-day pass at $20, children under five are free, and $12.50 includes gallery admission. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Doors open at 7 PM with snacks from Lickety Split and full bar available. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams, open from 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. Wednesday through Monday (July 1 through August 31, from 10 A.M. until 6 P.M. daily). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413-662-2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org .
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NAHA Board Accepts Director's Resignation, Unlocks Tenants Association Office

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Housing Authority Board of Commissioners officially accepted the resignation of Executive Director Jennifer Hohn and restored access to the Tenants Association office.

The board held a special meeting Thursday to vote to accept Hohn's resignation and determined that there are currently no plans to replace her.

"We didn't make any final determinations in terms of the executive session so we will schedule another meeting at another time," Chairwoman Leigh Uqdah said after returning from more than an hour session. "Day-to-day operations will continue to be managed as normal by staff."

Per their bylaws, board member Marie Harpin will continue to handle finances, and Uqdah will manage contracts.

Hohn stepped down on Oct. 8 after 24 years leading the agency. Her resignation followed rising tension between her and the NAHA Tenants Association, culminating in the scheduling of a formal grievance hearing between both parties.

The boiling point was the locking of the association's office this summer. Tenants alleged the lockout was retaliation for posting a video on social media depicting improperly functioning door alarms. Hohn claimed the office was locked for tenant safety and to stop the spread of misinformation.

Tenants Association President Corey Fortin asked if Hohn's security access had been removed. Uqdah confirmed her credentials were revoked the day she resigned, meaning she can no longer monitor security cameras remotely.

Jennifer Barbeau, a former city councilor who was liaison to the Housing Authority, asked when the board met to discuss Hohn's severance package. Uqdah stated that Hohn did not have one.

The board also accepted the resignation of Commissioner Richard Lavigne, though they will vote officially on the matter at their next meeting.

The open portion of the meeting was brief, with nearly an hour and a half spent in executive session. Before entering executive session, the board opened the floor to tenants.

"The tenants requested an opportunity to talk to the board," said Uqdah. "It has been quite a while, but we have decided to honor that."

Fortin, who posted the original video to social media, was the first to speak. He was clear in his request: unlock the office door.

"Let's cut straight to the chase tonight. The former resigned Director Jennifer Hohn ordered the office locked," he alleged. "She is gone. The lockout is a direct violation, and the board has a duty to end that tonight."

He cited federal and state laws that mandate the tenants association be provided with office space, including computer and network access.

"We are here with a direct administrative demand. We demand that the board vote tonight to unlock the doors," he said. "Do not let a resigned director's illegal action remain the board's ongoing liability. Open our door tonight, and let us get back to work."

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