MCLA Professor Receives Irene Buck Award

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Arts|Learning, a state advocacy agency for arts education, has named MCLA Professor of Arts Management Lisa Donovan its 2021 Irene Buck Service to Arts Education Award recipient.   
 
According to a press release, the Irene Buck Award honors an individual for distinguished and prolonged service as an advocate for arts education. The recipient exemplifies commitment and service to, and support of the arts, and arts-education communities. 
 
It was named to honor Irene Buck, President of the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education for many years, who was the first recipient in 1998.   
 
Donovan has published widely on arts integration and rural arts education, including multiple books and research that was featured by the National Endowment for the Arts. She has also led multiple grant-funded initiatives that seek to increase access to the arts for Berkshire students. 
 
Donovan has experience working as an arts educator and administrator in a variety of organizations including Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Berkshire Opera Company, Barrington Stage Company, University of Massachusetts' Department of Theater, Boston University's Theater, Visual Arts and Tanglewood Institutes. In addition, she served as executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education. 
 
In addition to her work as a professor, Donovan is currently spearheading several projects that foreground the use of the arts as a strategy for regional change. Her research Leveraging Change: Increasing Access to Arts Education in Rural Areas (Donovan & Brown, 2017) was featured by the National Endowment for the Arts. She serves as the director of the Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact (C4) initiative, creating the Berkshire County Blueprint for Arts Integration and Education, which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. She is also co-director of the Berkshire Regional Arts Integration Network (BRAINworks), funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement, and director of the MCLA Institute for Arts and Humanities, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She has published widely on arts integration and rural arts education including Teacher as Curator: Formative Assessment and Arts Based Strategies (Donovan & Anderberg, 2020). She is the co-editor/author of a five-book series on arts integration published by Shell Education. 
 
Donovan has a B.A. in Psychology from Oneonta State University in New York, an M.A. in Communications from Boston University and a Ph.D. from Lesley University.   
 
Arts|Learning, formerly the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education, is a nonprofit alliance partnering with dozens of professional arts education organizations, cultural institutions, and public agencies to bring about changes in the way the arts are viewed and supported within public education.  

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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.

Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.

We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.

In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.

Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear. 

The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.

"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."

Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.

In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.

The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.

"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.

They are hoping their display carries on the tradition of the Arnold Family Christmas Lights Display that retired in 2022.

The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.

In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.

"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said. 

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