Spark Brings Art, Business Community Together
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| Charles Swabey, left, David Moresi and Eugenie Sills |
"We originally expected about 150 RSVPs, but due to tremendous interest in the event, we had to relocate it to a larger venue," said Helena Fruscio, project coordinator. "Luckily, Mass MoCA's lobby was able to accommodate the 250 guests."
Good thing, because when Fruscio started turning people away they said they were going come anyway.
Part of the Berkshire Blueprint, the Creative Economy Project's Spark events bring together seemingly disparate elements of the business and art communities to forge stronger links between the region's economic drivers.
It's not about networking, said Eugenie Sills, a member of the Berkshire Creative Economy Council and founder and publisher of the Women's Times. "It's about enhancing the degree and the level of sophistication of collaboration between businesses, artists and educators."
For example, she pointed to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts President Mary Grant's leadership in developing connections within the county, such as the B-HIP program that provides internships with area museums.
"We need to get beyond tourism," Sills said.
That was the reason Synthespian Studios, the animated-charactor creator launched by Diane Walcek and Jeffrey Kleiser, was the host for the event - not because of its creativity but because it is a for-profit venture. The idea is to educate local businesses to the potential of "sparking" innovative collaborations.
<L2>There were tables set up offering information about local products and organizations; goody bags had issues of Berkshire Living, brochures and local products.
If the idea was to spark conversations across a wide spectrum, then the event could be considered a success - certainly Sills and Fruscio seemed to think so. The lobby of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, itself a rethinking of industrial uses, was packed with local leaders in arts, business and politics. So many, it was impossible to get across the room in a straight line.
Charles Swabey and David Moresi aren't involved in the arts but they are involved in creating places for people to live - and housing has become a major draw for the art community. Both condominium developers were there to mingle and do "market research."
Chatting elsewhere were members of the Barrington Stage Company, MCLA's Jonathon Secor and Gregory Scheckler, state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsield, City Councilors Gailanne Cariddi and Richard Alcombright, Creative Economy Council Chairwoman and Porches inn owner Nancy Fitzpatrick and new Berkshire Dance Theatre director Marc Aronoff - just to name a few.<R3>
The event was originally scheduled for December but was postponed because of a snowstorm. It was also to be held in Synthespian Studio's space at Mass MoCA until the deluge of RSVPs arrived.
Spark has grown exponentially since its first event, held in September in South County, brought about 150 people together.
The Creative Economy Project is still a work in progress, said Sills, but she added, "build it and they'll come."
