Exhibition Openings for Berkshire Artist Residency Program

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STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. Berkshire Art Center's 2024 Berkshire Artist Residency Program is coming to a close with three exhibition openings this summer and fall at Chesterwood, The Red Lion Inn and Ventfort Hall. 
 
This year, local artists, Dai Ban, Grigori Fateyev, Kyle Strack, Kara Smith, and Stacy Scibelli worked at their respective sites for three months using each unique historical setting as inspiration for their art-making.
 
Chesterwood Artists-in-Residence, Dai Ban, Grigori Fateyev and Kyle Strack, will have an opening of their exhibition, "Chesterwood Reimagined: Architecture and Sculpture in Dialogue", on Friday, Aug. 30, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Morris Center Studio at Chesterwood. This group exhibition will be on view during Chesterwood's regular open hours, Wednesdays through Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Sept. 22, 2024.  Entrance to the Morris Center Studio is free, however, admission tickets are required if you would like to tour the contemporary sculpture show on the grounds or visit the historic Studio.  
 
Red Lion Inn Artist-In-Residence, Kara Smith, will have an opening of her exhibition, "Room 322: A Visual Investigation", on Saturday, September 7th, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Sun Room located on the first floor at The Red Lion Inn. Smith's exhibition will feature her newest collection of paintings, prints and mixed media work driven by an interest in memory, visual storytelling and modes of communication.
 
Later in the fall, Ventfort Hall Artist-In-Residence, Stacy Scibelli, will have an opening of her exhibition, "Spaceship Orion", on Thursday, October 17th, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Ventfort Hall. More details will be announced on Berkshire Art Center's website and social media. 
 
The Berkshire Artist Residency Program began in 2012 as a partnership with the Red Lion Inn. In addition to the Red Lion Inn, the program has expanded to include Chesterwood and Ventfort Hall. The heart of the Berkshire Artist Residency is to give local visual artists the opportunity to create new work inspired by their home county. Artists were chosen from a selection of diverse applicants and offered the opportunity to work on the grounds of each historic site to develop new work that intertwines with the fabric of our county. The Berkshire Artist Residency is supported in part by grants from the Stockbridge Cultural Council and Lenox Cultural Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
 
Artists' work will also be available for purchase through Berkshire Art Center's Gallery Shop at berkshireartcenter.org/gallery-shop. 
 
Chesterwood is located at 4 Williamsville Road in Stockbridge, Massachusetts; The Red Lion Inn is located at 30 Main Street in Stockbridge, Massachusetts; and Ventfort Hall Gilded Age Mansion & Museum is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox, Massachusetts.
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Great Barrington Public Theater Appoints Artistic Director

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Great Barrington Public Theater announced that Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha will now join Jim Frangione at the helm as Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater.
 
"We at Great Barrington Public Theater are thrilled that Judy Braha will assume the role of Artistic Director alongside myself. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to help advance the interests of the theater as we move into the next phase of growth as the region's premiere developmental theater," Founder & Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. "Judy brings a tremendous amount of experience and value to our company and has, in just a few short years, grown and greatly enhanced GB Public Theater's signature program, Berkshires Voices, where playwrights develop their work, leading to public readings and in some cases workshops and full productions. I look forward to working more closely with Judy to select the next generation of plays to be presented under the GB Public banner. It's a "Bear" of a job! But we feel great about the direction of our theater."
 
Judy Braha joined the GB Public artistic leadership team in 2023 as the Associate Artistic Director after 2 years directing for the company. She has since then been collaborating with Founder and Artistic Director Jim Frangione on the selection of new work for readings and full productions in the summer season. Her impressive portfolio of credits and accomplishments strengthened Great Barrington Public's creative programming and offered new perspectives to the body of works and events produced each year. 
 
Judy Braha has been a career director, actor, teacher and artist for social justice for over four decades with directorial credits in theaters and universities throughout New England. She led the M.F.A. Directing Program at Boston University's School of Theater, retiring in 2022 after 29 years of service at BU. 
 
"Judy has the strength of commitment, leadership and passion for theater and how it affects communities that fit hand-in-glove with our founding mission and core beliefs," Founder and Producing Director Deann Halper Simmons explains. "Her artistic integrity, sense of stage esthetic and ability to make important choices that craft life from the script continues to be a great asset to our company and growth."
 
"Judy's distinguished artistic voice has significantly contributed to the exceptional growth of GB Public in recent years," Managing Director Serena Johnson added. "We are truly excited to have her stepping into this leadership role in the 2026 season."
 
 
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