Come celebrate the one year anniversary of First Fridays Artswalk in Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District this Friday, featuring dozens of artists on display in over 20 locations, including restaurants, shops and galleries. The popular art stroll kicks off at 5pm on Friday, May 3^rd, rain or shine, with a party afterwards! Click here for your free map & guide to this month's Artswalk!

First Fridays Artswalk | Friday, May 3 | 5-8pm | downtown Pittsfield | FREE

Artsbucks are back with a twist!

For the month of May, First Fridays Artsbucksreturns with a twist: Berkshire Money Management will donate $100 to the local non-profit of your choice when you buy an original work of art for $200 or more. Pick up an Artsbuck at one of the over 30 upstreet Artswalk venues, support your favorite cause and bring home a one-of-a-kind work of art to boot!

Michael Mongue at Berkshire Medical Center

Michael Mongue displays a series of abstracted and reconstructed musical instruments, as part of his ongoing exploration of shape, form and spatial relationships.

Berkshire Medical Center | 725 North Street |413-447-2776

Domestic Amalgams at yBar

Join an artist reception for an exhibit featuring Brent Whitney & Ariel Lavery who collaborate to share an absurdist critique of a consumptive post-industrial society in an exhibit entitled Domestic Amalgams. Refreshments provided by Whitney's Farm Marketand dancing afterwards into the night with DJ BFG.

yBar | 391 North Street | No phone

Le Petit Musee presents Linda Gail Leskovitz

Le Petit Musee brings you self-taught photographerLinda Gail Leskovitz, capturing anything and everything she finds captivating. Leskovitz received her first professional camera over 20 years ago and she has been finding beauty in images ever since.

Artist Reception for Spring Uncorked at Gallery 25

Three Berkshire artists welcome you to their new exhibit Spring Uncorked, featuring Abby Dubow'svibrant monoprints, Lorraine Klagsbrun's small and intimate collages and Judith Koppel's imaginative ceramic sculptures. 

Gallery 25 | 25 Union Street | No cover

Studio Sale & Artist Reception at NUArts

The NuArts artists are cleaning house with a huge visual arts sale during Artswalk and on Saturday, May 4, from 11am-3pm. Also taking place is an opening reception for a group show of self portraits by eight artists called NU Faces: Self Portraits of the NUartists. Come explore the studios of over a dozen local artists working together in the Upstreet Cultural District.

NUarts Studios & Gallery | 311 North Street 

Artist reception for Landscape, Color and Me at TREEHOUSE

Stop by and enjoy the opening reception for an exhibit by local artist Sean McCusker featuring his colorful surreal landscape paintings. This show highlights the development of the settings and characters he uses in his imaginative paintings. From his dark and mysterious early work to newly completed paintings full of bright color and vibrancy, you can experience the development of the now iconic characters and scenarios that have become indicative of his work.

TREEHOUSE Gallery, 305 North Street, 413-344-4435

Cripina & Friends at Shire City Sanctuary

Crispina ffrench offers handmade picnic blankets, dresses, aprons and cotton hoodies made from recycled used clothing. Joining her are the good folks who make handmade wooden spoons, birds and chairs fromOvermeade Greenwood; Judy Bates and her silkscreen prints; and Donna and Bill Chandlerfrom Brattle Farm introducing their new CSA.

Shire City Sanctuary | 40 Melville Street | 323-493-8247

Walt Pasko at Intermodal Gallery

A public reception for Walt Pasko's en plein air painting art exhibit. Inspired by works of the early 20^th-Century American impressionist painters of California and New England, most of Pasko's paintings are done on location in New England, from the rolling hills of western Massachusetts and mountains of Vermont to the rugged coastline of Northern Maine. 

Berkshire Community College Intermodal Gallery | 1 Columbus Avenue | 413-236-2116

New Artwork at Bagels, Too

New painted floor cloths by Judy Artioli join the ongoing display of works by Doane Perry, Karen Carmean, Mitch Greenwald andSusan Merrill.Artioli's painted floor cloths are new to Bagels, Too, reminders of the 19th century filled with playful animals and other bursting with color images.

Bagels, Too | 166 North Street | 413-499-0119

Joan Ciolfi's Dance Card at Steven Valenti's

An artist reception for a collection of contemporary oil paintings called Dance Card showcase the beautiful work of Berkshire County artist Joan Ciolfi. She finds inspiration and discreet beauty in the least suspecting of subjects. Calling on emotional and tactile memories from vintage garments, Ciolfi has created a body of dress portraits that she hopes each viewer will personally connect with.

Steven Valenti's Clothing for Men | 157 North Street | 413-443-2569

Opening Reception for Allan Seppa at Maria's European Delights

Allan Seppa shows his photography at Maria's European Delights with an artist's reception from 5pm-8pm. Seppa's exhibit features landscape photographs printed on canvas.

Friday, May 3 | 5pm-8pm | Maria's European Delights | 146 North Street | 413-442-5100 | FREE

Crawford Square: Susan Geller's Retrospective at Kinderhook

Susan Geller's photos are a collection of images of travel, famous people, flowers, and Berkshire scenes, displayed in an exhibit entitled Retrospective. The reception is free and open to the public.

Kinderhook Real Estate | 137 North Street |413-499-7490

Crawford Square: Morris Bennett at Decades of Health

Morris Bennett's work dons the walls of Decades of Health Holistic Wellness, with a unique triple-threat in abstract, portrait and landscape expressions. Ultimately, he creates art using his intuition, the influence of music and the beauty in his surroundings.

Friday, May 3 | 5pm-8pm | Decades of Health Holistic Wellness | Crawford Square, second floor | 137 North Street | 914-424-5949 | No cover

Crawford Square: Artist Reception for Angela M Brett at Brenda & Co.

Angela M. Brett presents a brand new, bakers dozen drawings, both graphite and colored, including food inspired and seasonal botanicals, along with a few surprises. Light fare will be served.

Brenda & Company Caterers | 137 North Street | 413-997-5040

Crawford Square: WOW & Deconstructed Flowers by H. David Stein

H. David Stein displays photographs from two different series, entitled White On White (WOW),featuring photographs of white flowers with white backgrounds, and Deconstructed Flowers, consisting of multiple photographs of the same flower, taken at different angles.

Unusual Wedding Rings and More | 137 North Street | 413-236-9300

Art in Our Schools at the Lichtenstein

The work of middle and high school students adorns the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts as part of an annual exhibit entitled Art in Our Schools. Students grades 6-12 from Pittsfield public schoolsshowcase their best work in a salon-style show that celebrates creativity among our youth!

Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 28 Renne Avenue | 413-499-9348

Michael Cohen's Times and Places at Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.

Michael Cohen explores Times and Places is an exhibit of that name. Through his work, Cohen interprets color harmonies of different places at different times of the year and times of day.

Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. | 33 Dunham Mall | 413-443-6501

Bill Wright's Morning Light at The Marketplace Cafe

Renowned local photographer Bill Wright hosts an opening reception for his new exhibit Morning Lightfeaturing portraits taken the second someone wakes up. Currently, Wright's body of work investigates the emotional space between figure and object, professing an honesty rarely seen.

The Marketplace Café | 53 North Street | 413-358-4777

Photography Show at 7 North Street!

Four talented photographers who share an upstreet studio are collaborating on a photography show in the lobby of 7 North Street near the corner of West Street.  Enjoy refreshments from Bake Me Pretty,live music, and great images from Barbara Schmick,Marc Wrzesinski, Karen Schiltz and Chill Photography. Look for the giant Artsbuck and you'll know you're in the right place!

The Photo Op | 7 North Street  

Kate Knapp and Vintage Pittsfield Photographs at Museum Facsimiles

The Dressing Room Galleries at Museum Facsimiles features Berkshire artist Kate Knapp. Her fauvist styled works of plants, coastlines and everyday objects are brightly colored and very lively. Also featured this month are vintage photographs of Pittsfield, Mass., circa 1906-1915 credited to Detroit Publishing.

Museum Facsimiles | Bank Row | 413-499-0020

Berkshires Jazz at Baba Louie's Backroom

Berkshires Jazz, Inc., presents the talents of theWilliams College Jazz Group, an ensemble comprising students from around the world, headed byAndy Jaffe.

Baba Louie's Backroom | 7:30pm | 34 Depot Street | 413-499-2400 | No cover

First Anniversary Party at Spice Dragon!

Everyone's invited to help celebrate the first anniversary of Artswalk at Spice Dragon, where you will enjoy birthday cake, refreshments, and live music by the fabulous Blue Light Trio!

Spice Dragon | 8pm-10pm | 297 North Street | 413-443-1234 | No cover

Live Music at Mission + DJ Dancing at yBar

Make an evening of Artswalk with dinner out and live music at Mission Bar + Tapas, where the Sister City Jazz Ambassadors will play from 5:30pm-8pm followed by Bell Engine from 8:30pm-11pm, with no cover charge! Also, DJ BFG returns to yBar, to spin some spring tunes from around the world that everyone can dance to.

Mission Bar & Tapas | 438 North Street | No cover
Y Bar | 391 North Street | No cover 

THANK YOU to everyone who helps make Artswalk a success, especially our lead sponsors Berkshire Money Management, Berkshire Medical Center, Gallery 25, the Berkshire ArtAssociation, The Berkshire Eagle and theMassachusetts Cultural Council. Other sponsors include Berkshire Bank, Downtown Pittsfield Inc., WJ Blueprint, and the City of Pittsfield. For more details about First Fridays Artswalk, visitdiscoverpittsfield.com/firstfridaysartswalk. And mark your calendar for the next First Fridays Artswalk onFriday, June 7. See you upstreet!