Alchemy Initiative and Ferrin Gallery to explore life and death through art

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. – On Thursday, January 21, 2010, Alchemy Initiative and Ferrin Gallery team up to host a night of visual and performance art in downtown Pittsfield. 

At 5pm Ferrin Gallery will host a solo exhibition of photography by Jason Houston, called "Family of Mine." At 7 pm, following the opening, Alchemy Initiative will host Billie Best as she performs “The Widow Wears Red Pajamas.”

On January 16, 2009 Billie Best called her friend Jason Houston over to photograph her dying husband. She had been struck by “the serenity” of the scene: her husband’s still body, the Christmas tree, the lights. Best and Houston did not know that the day of the photo-shoot would be Chet’s last.

Documentary photographer Jason Houston’s images, although intimate and personal, are reflections of relationships, traditions, values and family dynamics that are universally identifiable.

Houston captured this intimate scene, which has been collected in a soft-cover book that Best, as publisher and writer, has entitled, “Dying Beautifully: The Story of One Man’s Beautiful Death, and How Dying Consciously Can Change Everything.” This book and experience were the inspiration for Best’s performance, “The Widow Wears Red Pajamas.” The book, "Dying Beautifully" will be for sale along with coffee, tea and baked goods, the evening of the event at Alchemy Initiative.

“The Widow Wears Red Pajamas” is 75-minutes of storytelling and poetry in which author/performer, Billie Best, shares her experience caring for her dying husband, musician Chet Cahill. She reflects on her social status as a widow, challenging the audience to liberate themselves from fear and approach their own inevitable deaths with a creative spirit. Poignant, inspiring, and occasionally quite funny, the performance is illuminated by Houston’s exquisite photographs of Best's husband taken before and after his death. 


Ferrin Gallery is located at 434 North Street, Pittsfield. Alchemy Initiative is located just a block away, at 40 Melville Street.

Tickets for “The Widow Wears Red Pajamas” are $5 at the door, with all profits benefiting Alchemy Initiative.  

Alchemy Initiative is an urban model of sustainability and community. An intentional community, Alchemy Initiative uses food and farming, health and healing, art and music, and sustainability and community as catalysts for social change.

For more information, email Jessica Conzo at Alchemy.Initiative@Gmail.com or call 413-236-9600.

Visit us at: AlchemyInitiative.org/ : : facebook.com/pages/Alchemy-Initiative/210744684363/  : : twitter.com/alchemy413/ : : flickr.com/photos/alchemyinitiative
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Possible Measles Exposure at Boston, Logan

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday that an out-of-state adult visitor who spent time in Boston and Westborough earlier this month was diagnosed with measles and was present in a number of locations.
 
This could have resulted in other people being exposed to measles virus.
 
The visitor arrived at Logan International Airport on American Airlines flight 2384 from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 11 at 2:39 p.m. They stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough in Westborough and departed the state on Dec. 12 via Logan at 9:19 p.m. on JetBlue flight 117 to Las Vegas.
 
DPH is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local partners to identify and notify those who may have been exposed to measles from this individual.
 
"Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease, which has increased significantly in the United States because of the unfortunate decrease in vaccination rates. It is also a preventable disease," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein. "This current situation serves as an important reminder of the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our communities. While Massachusetts has not had a measles case this year, 2025 saw the highest number of nationwide cases in more than a decade — nearly 2,000 in 44 jurisdictions, and sadly, three deaths. 
 
"Fifteen years ago, measles had been considered eliminated in the United States, but that tremendous progress is at risk. Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever — they are safe, effective, and lifesaving."
 
Measles is very contagious. However, the risk to most people in Massachusetts is low because the vaccination rate in the state is high. People who are not immune and visited any of the locations on the following dates and times may be at risk for developing measles.
 
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