'Swept: This Work I Will Do' Opens At Hancock Shaker Village

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In "Swept: This Work I Will Do," artist and broom squire Cate Richards presents a series of broom-inspired sculptures alongside Shaker brooms, connecting Shakers to contemporary craft practices and exploring the Shakers' influence on American craft and art today.
 
"In Swept: This Work I Will Do" (the subtitle is from a Shaker hymn), Richards makes sculptural objects using established broom making techniques in a discursive manner to explore issues of craft, social inequity, environment, and other topics. Richards' works are made of materials both expected (broomcorn, twine, and wood) and unconventional (plastic and metal). 
 
According to a press release, these anachronistic sculptures, juxtaposed against original Shaker brooms, offer revealing insight on the history of American broom making, highlight contemporary broom making practices, and explore the broom as a spiritual object.
 
"Swept: This Work I Will Do" opens in the Chace Gallery on June 17 with a reception and talk for Hancock Shaker Village members; the exhibition opens to the public with regular admission on June 18.
 
Cate Richards is a queer artist, jeweler, broomsquire, and educator currently living on occupied Ho-Chunk, Sac & Fox, and Kickapoo lands, now also called Madison, Wis. In the summer of 2021, they were a resident at MASS MoCA, where they researched the history of New England broom production. Richards has been awarded several travel grants for craft research, including funding for fieldwork in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to study the copper mining culture of the area, and to travel to the Foxfire Museum and Appalachian Heritage Center in Georgia to learn broom making. Richards has exhibited at Abel Contemporary in Stoughton, Wis., EatMetal Inc. in Hoboken, NJ, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash., Lillstreet Arts Center in Chicago, and the Gallery im Körnerpark, Berlin.
 
 

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Pittsfield ZBA Member Recognized for 40 Years of Service

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Albert Ingegni III tells the council about how his father-in-law, former Mayor Remo Del Gallo who died at age 94 in 2020, enjoyed his many years serving the city and told Ingegni to do the same. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It's not every day that a citizen is recognized for decades of service to a local board — except for Tuesday.

Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.

"It's not every day that you get to stand before the City Council in honor of a Pittsfield citizen who has dedicated 40 years of his life serving on a board or commission," he said.

"As we say that, I know that there are many people that want to serve on boards and commissions and this office will take any resume that there is and evaluate each person but tonight, we're here to honor Albert Ingegni."

The honoree is currently chair of the ZBA, which handles applicants who are appealing a decision or asking for a variance.

Ingegni said he was thinking on the ride over about his late father-in-law, former Mayor Remo Del Gallo, who told him to "enjoy every moment of it because it goes really quickly."

"He was right," he said. "Thank you all."

The council accepted $18,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and a  $310,060 from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program.

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