First Fridays Artswalk Returns for 2022 Season on May 6!
Enjoy 11 brand new art shows and exhibits during the First Fridays Artswalk on Friday, May 6, 5 to 8 pm. Explore art and meet artists during opening receptions on the first Friday of the month from 5 to 8 pm, with most art on display all month long. Download the Downtown Pittsfield app in the App Store or on Google Play to follow a virtual walking tour of art on your cell phone.
Soma’s Aromas, 81 East Street, will present Jennifer Johnson Shadowboxes for the month of May. Jennifer’s shadowboxes are handmade using found, recycled, refurbished, metal detected, and mudlarked items from around the world, including Scotland, Spain, the Amalfi Coast of Italy, England, and right here in the Berkshires!
There will be a reception with the artist on May 6, 5 to 8 pm, during the First Fridays Artswalk. Hot Plate Brewing Co. will pour samples, and Jennifer will create a shadowbox in real time to show her process.
Hotel on North, 297 North Street, will feature “Rhythm and Hues” by Michael Fabrizio through May 31. There will be a reception with the artist on Friday, May 6, 5 to 8 pm, as part of First Fridays Artswalk.
“My paintings are, despite their abstract nature, representative of the dialogue we all have with living, of the contact between us and our world. They are an art made of many moments of observations of life, long and short, sweet and stinging” says Fabrizio. “They are a collection of impressions, messages from living, and thoughts for the heart. They represent expressions and impressions, of my reaction, wonder and interaction with my world. They are my attempts, as Shakespeare said, to see the sermon in a stone.”
NUarts Studios & Gallery at 311 North Street, the largest artist and artisan studio collective in downtown Pittsfield, will host Open Studios on Friday, May 6, 5 to 8 pm during Artswalk. The artists opening their studios for the May 6 Open Studios are Caroline Kelley, Shany Porras, Sally Tiska Rice, and Ilene Richard. These artists will offer artwork and wares for sale and will share information about their art process and inspiration.
Dr. Mark Mellinger will also host Open Studios during the First Fridays Artswalk on May 6, 5 to 8 pm. Visit Dr. Mellinger’s studio in the Agricultural Bank Building, 100 North Street, Room 322. While continuing his psychoanalytic practice, Mark paints, does collage, and makes constructions of found objects in his Pittsfield studio.
Two artists from the Guild of Berkshire Artists will show their work during the month of May at TKG Real Estate, 137 North Street. Featured artists are Susan Lynch Smith and Kayla Corby. There will be a reception as part of First Fridays Artswalk on Friday, May 6, 5 to 8 pm. The work will be up during the month of May and can be viewed when TKG Real Estate is open.
The Brothership Building Window at 141 North Street, curated by IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, will feature Winter Study, by Katherine Finkelstein, May 6-30. Katherine Finkelstein is an artist and the founder and director of Motherbox Gallery, an exhibition space she has run out of her Brooklyn apartment since 2016. She teaches photography at the Buxton School in Williamstown, MA.
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsfield, 175 Wendell Avenue, will present a show by a husband-wife team, “Valenti and Valenti – An Evening of Art and Poetry”, for the month of May. There will be an opening reception on Friday, May 6, 5 to 8 pm, as part of First Fridays Artswalk, and the art will be on display through May 27.
As a special attraction for this event, Dan Valenti will join poet Jerri Chaplin of Charleston, SC, and author Paul Kocak of Syracuse, NY, as each read from their newly published collaborative book, Third Person Singular: 33 1/3 Poems Each (Planet Media Books-2022).
The reading will take place from 6 to 7 pm on Friday, May 6. The visual and verbal evening promises an in-depth immersion into the creative process, and the personalities behind it.
Senior AP Art & Design students will present their senior portfolio sustained investigations at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, 28 Renne Avenue, for the month of May. The exhibit will be on view during First Fridays Artswalk on May 6 from 5 to 8 pm; and there will be an opening reception on Wednesday, May 11, 6 to 7 pm.
Featured artists are Isabella Ameen, Antonia Bedard, Isabelle Berkel, Dale Christiana, Cody Clemons, Charlotte Coco, Shyah Figuero, Kaden Griffin, Lucien Nash, Sophia Nguyen, Mia Powers, Mackenzi Ressler, Paige Webster, and Isabella Witherell.
MCLA Pittsfield at 66 Allen Street will feature an art show by JC Innocence and Delano Mills for the May First Fridays Artswalk. There will be a reception as part of First Fridays Artswalk from 5 to 7 pm on May 6.
The Berkshire Museum, 39 South Street, will offer free admission to their newest exhibition, “Project Vaccine: Our Best Defense” (“Proyecto Vacunas: Nuesta mejor defensa”) on Friday, May 6, 5 to 8 pm, during First Fridays Artswalk. Learn about vaccines and their development, viral transmission, and the many steps and countless professionals involved in the creation of—and rollout of— vaccines. This bilingual exhibition (English and Spanish) provides the tools and knowledge that can inform your vaccination decisions for yourself and loved ones.
“Project Vaccine: Our Best Defense” was created by the Museum of Science, Boston, in collaboration with Moment Factory, and was made possible through support provided by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.
The Marketplace Cafe, 53 North Street, will present mixed-media portraits by Mollie Kellogg for the month of May. There will be a reception with the artist as part of First Fridays Artswalk from 5 to 7 pm on May 6.
Creative Sorceress Mollie Kellogg conjures textured, mixed-media portraits that celebrate hidden magick. Incognito Witch works reveal the subject’s hidden psyche, suppressed to meet society’s expectations. Mortals become magickal beings draped in mysterious fabrics, adorned with jewels and leaves, wearing messy makeup with a signature flash of color under the eyes. These figures evoke a Mother Nature archetype of power, strength, attraction, empathy, and vulnerability.
Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. will present Indoors Out! Free Kids’ Paint & Sip on Friday, May 6, 5:30-7:30 pm, at the parklet and outdoor seating area at The Marketplace Café, 53 North Street. This free event is best suited for ages 5 to 12, although older children are welcome. All materials and instruction are provided. Kids will be able to choose to paint Spring Trees or Swirly Flowers. Snacks and juice will also be provided. Children must be accompanied by an adult and masks are required.
Indoors Out! Free Kids’ Paint & Sip is presented by Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. and funding has been provided by the Commonwealth Places Program created by MassDevelopment. The event is presented in partnership with First Fridays Artswalk.
The rain location for Indoors Out! Free Kids’ Paint & Sip is the Conference Room at 33 Dunham Mall (the Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. office). Notice will be made on Facebook (@DowntownPittsfield) if the event is moved to the rain location.
Quick Highlights:
Brothership Building Window
141 North Street, curated by IS183 Art School of the Berkshires
Winter Study, by Katherine Finkelstein
Hotel on North
297 North Street
“Rhythm and Hues” by Michael Fabrizio
Reception: May 6, 5 to 8 pm
Lichtenstein Center for the Arts
28 Renne Avenue
Senior AP Art & Design students present their senior portfolio sustained investigations
On View: May 6, 5 to 8 pm
MCLA Pittsfield
66 Allen Street
JC Innocence and Delano Mills
Reception: May 6, 5 to 7 pm
NUarts Open Studios – May 6, 5 to 8 pm
NUarts Studios & Gallery, 311 North Street
Caroline Kelley, Shany Porras, Sally Tiska Rice, and Ilene Richard
Open Studios with Dr. Mark Mellinger – May 6, 5 to 8 pm
Agricultural Bank Building, 100 North Street, Room 322.
Soma’s Aromas
81 East Street
Jennifer Johnson Shadowboxes
Reception: May 6, 5 to 8 pm
Hot Plate Brewing Co. samples
Jennifer will create a shadowbox in real time!
TKG Real Estate
137 North Street
Susan Lynch Smith and Kayla Corby
Reception: May 6, 5 to 8 pm
The Berkshire Museum
39 South Street
On May 6, 5 to 8 pm, enjoy free admission to “Project Vaccine: Our Best Defense”
The Marketplace Café
53 North Street
Mixed-media portraits by Mollie Kellogg
Reception: May 6, 5 to 7 pm
Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsfield
175 Wendell Avenue
“Valenti and Valenti – An Evening of Art and Poetry”
Reception: May 6, 5 to 8 pm