SculptureNow to Relaunch as Sculpture at The Mount

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LENOX, Mass. — The Mount, Edith Wharton's Home, announced that the annual outdoor sculpture exhibition produced in the Berkshires by SculptureNow for the past twenty-five years—and at The Mount for nine years—has been brought in-house as a formal Mount program, beginning with the 2024 exhibit. 
 
With the retirement of SculptureNow's founder and executive director, Ann Jon, the timing was right for a transition.
 
Founded by Jon in 1998, SculptureNow established itself as a platform for contemporary sculpture in Western Mass and beyond, showcasing the work of both emerging and established artists. As the annual sculpture exhibit transitions to The Mount's stewardship, the show will continue to feature a diverse range of sculptures in many sizes and media thoughtfully sited throughout the estate.
 
Susan Wissler, executive director of The Mount said, "By formally integrating SculptureNow into our programming, there is great synergy between Wharton's literary legacy and the compelling narratives expressed through contemporary sculpture. We are grateful to Ann Jon and her decades of hard work to provide artists and visitors alike with a space to explore the intersection of literature, sculpture, and nature. She blazed a trail for sculpture in our region."
 
Ann Jon, professional artist, curator, and art educator, shared that "25 years ago, sculpture was sometimes not considered 'fine art'. I am gratified that so many people have interacted and connected with this art form of large-scale sculptures presented on the beautiful grounds of The Mount. I look forward to seeing the exhibitions continue under The Mount's leadership."
 
In 2023, SculptureNow at The Mount welcomed 55,000 visitors. The exhibit is a destination for collectors and visitors and has been favorably reviewed by Sculpture Magazine, the New York Times, National Public Radio, the Boston Globe, Art New England, Berkshire Magazine, WAMC, the Berkshire Eagle, MassLive, and numerous other outlets.
 
The 2024 call for artist submissions is now open at https://sculptureatthemount.artcall.org. A jury will select the sculptures for the 2024 exhibit, which will open on May 24, 2024 and remain onsite until October 20. Artist-led talks will again be made available to visitors and students of all abilities.

Tags: sculpture,   The Mount,   

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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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