image description

Mass MoCA Commission Approves Two New Leases

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — In a short meeting Monday, the Mass MoCA Commission approved Assets for Artists request for office space in Building 1.
 
"It has long been a fixture at Mass MoCA, and we are excited about this next chapter in its evolution,"  Morgan Everett, head of public initiatives and real estate, said. "... It has an incredible impact throughout Massachusetts, throughout New England, and they will continue building out that fantastic work."
 
The longstanding program, which offers professional development for artists and aids in capacity and community building, is branching out from Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art to become a separate 501(c)3 nonprofit.
 
"I am excited to continue this work … we do a tremendous amount of work in the Berkshires, in North Adams," Blair Benjamin of Assets for Artists said. "We are excited to continue that work with Mass MoCA and in the North Adams community. We appreciate your support of this next chapter." 
 
He said Assets For Artists residency space, the Studios at Mass MocA, will remain unchanged. The program has occupied the location on the second floor of Building 13 for the past decade. 
 
The transition is being overseen by the museum's visual arts department.
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey praised the group and its community involvement. 
 
"They are a fantastic group of individuals who really enrich the summer and add a lot to our programming throughout the year," she said.
 
Jason Ahuja, senior manager of public initiatives, introduced the second lease request and said artist Roz Crews has requested office space, also in Building 1.
 
He said the artist, curator and educator writes poems and performs and platforms for other artists. Crews currently teaches at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and is an associate curator at the Williams College Museum of Art.
 
He said Crews requires the space to organize their personal evolving archive. The lease is for a year.    
 
In other business, Everett said it has been a busy summer at the museum.
 
"The museum has been buzzing. Attendance has been high. It has been great to see people coming out and galleries full," he said.
 
Everett added that Bang on Can Loud Weekend starts Thursday. 
 
"They have been in residency doing all sorts of amazing performances and creations over the past several weeks," he said. "So it is great to have that culmination."
 
Before closing, the commission welcomed Matt Davis, son of Robert Davis, who served on the Mass MoCA Commission until is death in June. Davis will fill out his father's term.
 
"He loved being on this commission, he loved being in the community," Davis said. "So do I, being on the Fire Department. So I have some big shoes to fill."
 
Correction: Updated to correct the location and description of the Assets for Artists program space.

Tags: mass moca,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.

Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.

"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar. 

Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.

She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.

"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."

The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.

"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."

They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.

"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.

As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen. 

Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.

"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."

View Full Story

More North Adams Stories