North Adams Archive

The Creative Economy Artistic minds weigh options

By Jennifer Huberdeau

Friday, August 14, 2009

NORTH ADAMS — Capitalizing on the Berkshire’s unique offerings of culture, recreation, history and natural beauty was the main focus of a creative economy roundtable that tapped the minds of some of the area’s creative leaders at Mass MoCA on Thursday.

“The idea of this meeting is to listen to your ideas on how to take the extreme strength of this area and build upon it,” Gov. Deval L. Patrick said to the crowd of about 70 guests. “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.”

Patrick, who was joined by Betsy Wall, executive director of the state Office of Tourism and Travel, and Jason Schupbach, the state’s creative economy director, said that in a time of scarce resources, it’s a time for collaboration.

“I know that you all have come with your own laundry lists of non-negotiable demands, but this is a time for joint problem solving,” Patrick joked.

Wall emphasized that while the state has increased its marketing presence both nationally and internationally, that her office needs to hear from industry members.

“We need to know what you are doing and what you need,” she said. “We don’t care about size — we want to know what the little bed and breakfast or the local galleries are doing.”

Jason Lyon of Tanglewood, said he finds that collaboration between

local venues and constant contact with the Berkshire Visitors Bureau is one of the most important things that can be done.”We recently hosted a Discover the Berkshires trade show, which is widely successful,” he said.

However, Jeffrey Folmer, executive director of Ventfort Hall, questioned how the state is attracting visitors from New York and Boston to the area.

“Those are two huge untapped pools of tourism,” he said. “I hear a lot that people think we’re too far away or too expensive. How do we fix that? I don’t have the answers, but this is something we have to figure out.”

Wall said that a new campaign on New York City radio stations was showing results and a focused marketing campaign had been launched.

State Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, said that while the region often is forgotten in many aspects of state government, that it is traditionally marketed more heavily by the tourism office.

“We hear the three B’s in Boston — ‘Boston, Beaches and the Berkshires’,” he said. “I think that we’ve branded this region more so than in other years, but that we need to remember to focus on more than just the cultural attractions. This is an innovative area, one rich in history as well as recreation.”

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.

Artist Eric Rudd said he’d like to see more state support of buildings like the Eclipse Mill on Union Street, which turned a former mill into studio/workspace condominiums.

“When I completed the mill in 2005, the economy was already becoming soft and construction costs had risen,” he said. “It’s not profitable to do another mill like that at this point. We could do six or seven more in this area, but it’s not doable right now. And these mills are going to continue to deteriorate.”

He suggested the state set up a venture capital fund to help developers.

Ariel Sutain, a principal in Wave Realty which owns the NoAMA building across the street from the Eclipse Mill, said he’s also run into problems trying to find funding sources to help convert the former cotton mill into artist lofts and studio and retail space.

“What I want to do doesn’t fit the current mold for programs through the state or Mass Development,” he said.

Similar roundtables have been held in Provincetown and Fitchburg.

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