MASS MoCA Archive

Internship Opportunities-Updated!

Internship Opportunities-Updated!

The Berkshires are an excellent place to gain experience at a variety of creative economy businesses and organizations. Check out some of these opportunities available now!

Barrington Stage Company Professional Internship Program (PIP)

The Professional Internship Program (PIP) is an intensive summer internship program offered to college age students interested in pursuing careers in theatre. Participants are chosen through a competitive application process to train and gain professional experience in various facets of Professional Equity Theatre. Click here to learn more and apply!

Berkshire Hills Internship Program (B-HIP)

Deadline: April 1, 2010

The Berkshire Hills Internship Program (B-HIP) is a structured summer internship course that helps to integrate theoretical concepts and real-world experience. An intensive twelve-week program, B-HIP combines an internship component with a seminar in arts management, talk backs with the area’s leading arts professionals, and full participation in cultural events throughout Berkshire County. Interns work in a multitude of administrative capacities including development, marketing, public relations and programming – as they gain hands-on experience in the field of arts management. Click here to learn more and apply!

Berkshire Museum: Collections Internship

The Berkshire Museum has a diverse art, history and natural science collection of approximately 25,000 objects. In its efforts to continually improve and update the management of collections, the Museum involves interns with different aspects of collections work, including inventories, cataloguing objects, data entry, object photography and object research. For Fall/Winter 2010, the museum seeks an intern to research and catalog one of the following collections; Asian, Decorative Arts, Minerals, Shells and/or American History. The museum is also embarking on an archive project. The Berkshire Museum intern program works closely with the individual to create an experience that meets both the needs of the museum and intern. This is an unpaid internship. Interns will report directly to the Collections Manager. Click here to learn more and apply!

Berkshire Theatre Festival Summer Training

Deadline: March 29/April 9, 2010

Berkshire Theatre Festival’s mission is to sustain, promote, and produce theatre through performance and education.  Since 1928 BTF has been dedicated to producing theatre that recognizes its venerable past while providing a home for the next generation of the American theatre’s creative artists.  We offer competitive education and training through our summer Acting Apprenticeships, Directing and Design Assistantships and Production and Administrative Internships that lead students toward a professional working career in the arts. Candidates must be at least 18 and enthusiastic about pursuing a career in the theatre profession. Click here to learn more and apply!

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Deadlines: Summer Priority Deadline has passed. Regular Deadline is March 1, 2010 after March 1, call 413-243-9919 x17 to inquire if openings are available. Off-season deadline: Rolling

Summer Internships are comprised of real-work projects and responsibilities that develop professional skills and careers. Interns receive staff-led seminars, training and mentoring, on-campus housing, 3 meals a day, $500 stipend, and a $150 travel/sundry expense allowance. College credit, work-study, independent study, and/or cooperative learning programs may be available through your school. Or you may register for college credit at Jacob’s Pillow, through their partnership with the Division of Continuing Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Off-season interns assist in the preparation for Jacob’s Pillow upcoming season. Off-season interns gain a broad perspective on arts administration, the dance field, and dance history while receiving on-the-job training, and experience working alongside professional staff both independently and collaboratively. Onsite housing can be arranged and is shared with other Pillow interns, as well as with artists-in-residence. Full and part-time internships for the fall, winter, and spring can be tailored to meet college credit needs and individual interests. Dates and times are flexible. Click here to learn more and apply!

IS183 Art School of the Berkshires:  Young Artists Program Intern

IS183 is seeking interns with an interest in the visual arts and/or education, combined with interest and enjoyment of children and young teens for their 2010 IS183 Summer Young Artist Program. The program will run from June 28 to August 20, 2010, and candidates may apply for a 2- to 8-week internship commitment. Hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday thru Friday.

Candidates should be pursuing art as a major or supplementary course of study, and able to demonstrate some experience working with children. Interns receive a stipend of $100/week for their work as well as the opportunity to audit one evening or week-end adult class during the summer. In addition, you may be able to receive academic credit from your college or university. IS183 will also provide references for your future employment/academic pursuits upon request, dependent on performance. Click here to learn more and apply!

MASS MoCA Internship Program

Deadline: March 1, 2010

MASS MoCA seeks full-time interns for various departments. Spend summer in the culturally rich, naturally beautiful Berkshires, while gaining invaluable professional experience in the arts. Paid interns are given $100/wk stipend and free housing with a block of the complex. Each applicant may apply to a maximum of 2 departments (Visual Arts, Production, Marketing/Public Relations, Public Education, Graphic Design, Box Office and Development). All internships run from June 2 through September 6.Click here to learn more and apply!

Shakespeare & Company Internships in Carpentry, Props, Paint, Sound, Electrics, Costumes, and Stage Management

Interns sought for an Equity L.O.A. 14 show, 3 stage season at Shakespeare & Company. This opportunity is for individuals early in their career to develop skills and work with theatre professionals. Duties will include show running and/or change-over responsibilities. Season runs from early May through March 2011, although most positions for summer only. Late season and early start contracts may include theatre-in-education support. Housing negotiable. Stipend available.Click here to learn more and apply!

Does your organization or business offer creative economy internship opportunities? Email them to info@berkshirecreative.org!

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MASS MoCA Makes Boston Globe’s List of Top Ten Art Stories for the Decade

MASS MoCA Makes Boston Globe’s List of Top Ten Art Stories for the Decade

Check out the Boston Globe’s Geoff Edgers round-up of the  Top Ten Art Stories of the Decade, including the evolution of MASS MoCA, which marked it’s own 10 year anniversary in 2009.

Edgers writes of Boston, “Just 10 years ago, we were culturally a city of have-nots, with crusty institutions desperately trying to stay a step ahead of the next round of budget cuts. Consider these snapshots: A Museum of Fine Arts embroiled in controversy over curatorial firings; an Institute of Contemporary Art barely able to draw 20,000 people a year to its cramped Back Bay space; no Opera House, Calderwood Pavilion or — brace yourself — Guitar Hero. Certainly, not everything has been rosy in the last decade. We’ve watched crushing deficits and general inactivity damage the Citi Performing Arts Center (formerly the Wang Center for the Performing Arts). Museums, theater companies, and even the mighty Boston Symphony Orchestra have had to make cuts. But the real story of the ’00s has been a cultural building boom that’s brought nothing short of an arts revolution to Boston. Here are the 10 biggest developments”

Click here to see the list!

Berkshire County Artist Study: $100 Yearly Honorarium

Berkshire County Artist Study: $100 Yearly Honorarium

Assets for Artists – a project of Berkshire Creative, MASS MoCA, MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center and Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development – is recruiting Berkshire County artists in all disciplines to participate in a research study investigating the economic impact of the Assets for Artists program.

Twenty “low- to moderate-income” artists can receive a $100 per year stipend (for a multi-year study) to share information on their household income and credit history. No surveys or interviews; you just submit copies of your last 2 federal tax returns. It’s no more of a time-waster than that! All information will be kept strictly confidential and used only for research purposes. The study is intended to help the program partners better understand the financial conditions of local artists and evaluate the relative impact of the training and matched savings grants provided through Assets for Artists, now in its second year of operation with an innovative model to promote the financial success of working artists.

Eligibility for the study is based on household income: a one-person household with adjusted gross income of no more than $41,450 (as documented on a federal tax return) will be eligible. Income limits are higher for larger households.

Artists in any discipline who would like to be considered for the research study should contact Blair Benjamin at MASS MoCA (413-664-4481 x8104 or blair@massmoca.org) to discuss the details. Slots for eligible participants are available first-come, first-serve. If you’re not eligible, please help spread the word to other artists who may be eligible.

ASSETS FOR ARTISTS IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF:

Assets for Artists Sponsors

Join us at the BeCreative BarCamp!

Join us at the BeCreative BarCamp!

The BeCreative BarCamp is ideas and creativity!

A chance for Berkshire Creatives to have an open conversation about their businesses, ideas, projects, and creative visions!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

5:30-9:30pm

Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA

Free

Click here for directions to the museum!

RSVP DEADLINES

TO PRESENT: OCTOBER 21,2009 /TO ATTEND: OCTOBER 26, 2009

Click here to present @ BeCreative BarCamp or click here to RSVP to attend!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE BECREATIVE BARCAMP ONLINE AND LEARN MORE!

The BeCreative BarCamp is about creating conversation and opportunity. It’s about creating connections between people and their interests in a dynamic new way that we hope will catch on in the Berkshires. It’s about bringing out the creativity all around us and hearing new voices. It’s about what you make of it!

Olver, NEFA and MCC Announce Arts Stimulus at Norman Rockwell Museum

Olver, NEFA and MCC Announce Arts Stimulus at Norman Rockwell Museum

The Berkshire Eagle reports:”Cultural institutions play a crucial role in the economy of the Berkshires, and artistic and legislative leaders from across the state gathered at the Norman Rockwell Museum on Friday to announce an influx of funding to help through these tough economic times. U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, and a collection of speakers announced that $1.3 million in federal economic stimulus funds have been awarded to nonprofit arts organizations in Massachusetts. The funds are administered by the National Endowment for the Arts, which received $50 million in appropriations through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

“I wish we could do 10 time as much,” Olver said.

Locally, the NEA awarded $50,000 grants to the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation in North Adams, and the Rockwell Museum.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) awarded $10,000 stimulus grants to The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge and Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. The Colonial Theatre Association in Pittsfield received a $4,500 grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts.

Click here to read the full Berkshire Eagle article!

Click here to view the full list  of recipients!

Do you have an item you would like to share about the creative economy? Suggest a Post to Berkshire Creative!

From the Berkshire Eagle

From the Berkshire Eagle

The arts get a reward

By Trevor Jones

Saturday, September  19, 2009

STOCKBRIDGE — Cultural institutions play a crucial role in the economy of the Berkshires, and artistic and legislative leaders from across the state gathered at the Norman Rockwell Museum on Friday to announce an influx of funding to help through these tough economic times. U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, and a collection of speakers announced that $1.3 million in federal economic stimulus funds have been awarded to nonprofit arts organizations in Massachusetts. The funds are administered by the National Endowment for the Arts, which received $50 million in appropriations through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“I wish we could do 10 time as much,” Olver said.

Locally, the NEA awarded $50,000 grants to the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation in North Adams, and the Rockwell Museum.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) awarded $10,000 stimulus grants to The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge and Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. The Colonial Theatre Association in Pittsfield received a $4,500 grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts.

“We would not be able to present this collection and share it with the nation,” without the NEA and MCC funding, said Rockwell Museum CEO Laurie Norton Moffatt.

Moffatt said the funding for the Rockwell Museum will be used to maintain current staffing levels, help create a scholarship program, and allow online availability to the museum’s catalog.

A recent MCC survey found that nearly half of the arts organizations that receive state funding have laid off at least one employee since the start of the economic recession. Many others have either reduced salaries, cut workers’ hours, or are implementing hiring freezes.

MCC Executive Director Anita Walker said nonprofit arts organizations are important because they enrich communities and transform lives. She said the stimulus funding acknowledges the importance of their work.

“This was an amazing moment, because the money had impact,” said Walker of the inclusion of NEA funding in the stimulus bill. “It confirmed that these are real jobs that matter in America.”

Olver joked about the proportion of funds going to the Berkshires and not to the other areas in his district. But he said the creative economy plays a crucial role in Berkshire County.

“You have the venues, and they interconnect so well,” he said.

Moffatt said the funds will not only aid the art institutions, but the greater community as well.

“We’re keeping employees not only at the Norman Rockwell Museum, but employees through the restaurants, hotels, banks and all the beneficiaries of a robust creative economy,” said Moffatt.

Click here  to visit the Berkshire Eagle online and learn more about what is happening in Berkshires and beyond!

North Adams Community Art Installation In Second Year

North Adams Community Art Installation In Second Year

Friday, August 22 will mark the second Hoosac River Lights festival-a free event which uses art to focus on the history and future of the Hoosac/Hoosic/Hoosuck/Hoosick River that flows through Western Massachusetts, Southern Vermont, and Upstate New York.

Last year’s event featured several light sculptures and drew  thousands to downtown North Adams. This year’s festival, which conincides with the summerlong DownStreetArt and MASS MoCA’s presentation of Project Bandaloop : The Intimacy of Spectacle: a site-specific reaction, will celebrate the native trout which inhabit the river, and the hot air ballooning that historically happened in North Adams.

Click here for more information about participating and volunteering at the event!

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Berkshire Creative at Governor’s Creative Economy Roundtable at MASS MoCA

Berkshire Creative at  Governor’s Creative Economy Roundtable at MASS MoCA

Yesterday, a contingent of Berkshire Creative board members and Berkshire Creative Director, Helena Fruscio joined 70 plus Berkshire Creatives, Gov. Deval Patrick, Betsy Wall of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and Massachusetts Creative Economy Director, Jason Schupbach for a roundtable discussion on the state of the creative economy in the Berkshires.

Both Tammy Daniels of iberkshires and Jennifer Huberdeau covered the event. Huberdeau quotes Gov. Deval Patrick as stating that the idea of the meeting “is to listen to your ideas on how to take the extreme strength of this area and build upon it….We have a sensibility about the visual and performing arts here in Berkshire County that you won’t find anywhere else in the world. We should not take that for granted.”

Daniels reported that topics discussed ranged from “better ways to support not only its well-known venues but its work force, including establishing zones that encourage collaboration between nonprofits and businesses…how the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism was marketing the region to how filmmakers could be persuaded make the Berkshires a backdrop to how the area itself could provide housing and jobs for the creative individuals needed to ensure a strong cultural base.”

Daniels also reported that “One obstacle he (Kevin Sprague) and others saw was the ability for cultural entrepreneurs and developers to get the capital backing for new ventures, such as theaters or housing.”

“Artist and real estate developer Eric Rudd said projects like his Eclipse Mill are difficult to do because of the limited profitability. The studio/living condominiums in his mill sold out before they were completed, showing there was a market for medium-priced artists’ housing. But break-even ventures don’t attract a lot of capital.”

“His neighbor across the street, Ariel Sutain in the former Hoosac Mill, didn’t completely agree, but noted that the types of development he was pursuing didn’t fit neatly in the categories outlined by MassDevelopment. ‘We didn’t fit into the development mold.’”

“’Conventional finance won’t work,’ said state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley. ‘Banks have to get involved, he said, but are limited because of regulatory issues. ‘“

Huberdeau also reported “Patrick suggested the region begin focusing on a cultural venue to become a destination, similar to the Edinburgh [Scotland] International Festival — a festival combining classical music, opera, theater and dance.”

Click here to read the full North Adams Transcript article by Jennifer Hunberdeau or here to read Tammy Daniels coverage on iberkshires.com!

Click here to listen to Charlie Dietz’s coverage of the event on WAMC!

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NEA Announces Over $29 Million in Direct Grants

picture-1The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced their direct grants as part of the $50 million federal economic stimulus recovery package. The NEA will distribute over $29 million to 631 nonprofit arts groups nationwide. This is in addition to the 63 state and regional sub-grants previously awarded in April, totaling $19.8 million.

Over $1 million of these funds will be going to Massachusetts arts organizations, including four Berkshire County organizations: The Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter School, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, MASS MoCA, and The Norman Rockwell Museum.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), which allocated these funds to the NEA for disbursement, was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. It was an unprecedented effort to jumpstart the economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges.

The ARRA funds designated to the NEA are intended to support arts projects and activities that preserve jobs in the nonprofit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn. As part of this important investment, the Arts Endowment is developing a plan to expedite distribution of critical funds at the national, regional, state, and local levels for projects that focus on the preservation of jobs in the arts.

Click here to visit the NEA online and learn more!

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Second Season of Downstreet Art!

picture-1Following the extraordinary success of last year’s DownStreet Art program, MCLA, along with the City of North Adams, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Northern Berkshire Community Coalition (NBCC) and Scarafoni Realty once again will present DownStreet Art.

This year’s Downstreet Art  will be nearly doubled in size and scale, with 27 galleries, museums and other arts destinations participating, including 13 new galleries to open TONIGHT, Thursday, June 25, beginning at 6 p.m.

DownStreet Art, a public art project of MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, is designed to revitalize downtown North Adams, harnessing existing arts organizations and events, and transforming vacant and open spaces into arts destinations.

MCLA’s Gallery 51 joins in the celebration with a free opening reception for Threaded, a presentation of unconventional textiles that straddle the fine line between craft and art. Threaded, which also opens at 6 p.m. June 25, features works made from fabric, yarn, and thread.

Gallery 51 is at 51 Main Street in North Adams, in the center of the DownStreet Art scene.

“This program defines North Adams as a cultural haven, driving tourists and community members downtown,” said Jonathan Secor, director of special programming at MCLA. “Last year, DownStreet Art brought 15,000 visitors to downtown North Adams. Businesses felt the impact, both in attendance as well as in sales. Our goal is to increase those numbers.”

“North Adams is an arts destination – not only because it is the home of MASS MoCA, but because of the scope of art in the downtown,” Secor added.

In addition to performances to take place throughout the downtown tonight, a number of area restaurants and cafés will be open late and feature menu specials in honor of the program’s launch.

“DownStreet Art Thursdays” will be held the last Thursday of each month, when all of the galleries will be open late. These events will include the opening of new exhibitions, dance performances, meet and greet gatherings with the artists and other festivities.

Click here to learn more about Downstreet Art and download a map of participating venues!

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