November 3 First Fridays Artswalk features New Art Exhibits, Open Studios, and a Free Kids’ Paint & Sip!
The First Fridays Artswalk in downtown Pittsfield returns on Friday, November 3 from 5 to 8 pm. Participating venues include Berkshire Art Center, Clock Tower Artists, Hotel on North, Krol Headquarters, Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Marchetti Headquarters, Marketplace Cafe, NUarts gallery + studios, Soda Chef, the Beacon Cinema, and the Unitarian Universalist Church. Link to November 3 Artswalk Tour: https://pocketsights.com/tours/tour/Pittsfield-2-November-3-First-Fridays-Artswalk-in-Pittsfield-MA-8933
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.
Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church will host a Free Kids’ Paint & Sip on Friday, November 3, 5 to 7 pm, in the auditorium at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 67 East Street, as part of the First Fridays Artswalk. There will be a bonus painting craft on wooden owl ornaments sponsored by St. Stephen’s.
This free autumn-themed Paint & Sip is best suited for ages 5 to 12, although younger and older children are welcome. All materials, instruction, snacks, and juice will be provided. Children are welcome to drop in anytime over the course of the event, and all children must be accompanied by an adult. The auditorium is on the second floor of the parish house, and the entrance is on Allen Street.
The Clock Tower Artists at 75 South Church Street will host an open studios event in their beautiful and ever-expanding space on Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm, and Saturday, November 4, 11 am to 4 pm. Witness the artists’ artistic processes firsthand and be captivated by an eclectic blend of masterpieces that will enchant and inspire you.
Artists with Open Studios in September include: Deborah H. Carter, Joan Palano Ciolfi, Marion H. Grant, Stacey Healy, Caroline Kelley, Bruce Laird, Mark Mellinger, Linda Petrocine, Shany Porras, Sally Tiska Rice, Ilene Richard, Audrey Shachnow, and Stefanie Weber.
The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, 28 Renee Avenue, will feature “CHAOS: Paintings and Drawings by Julio Granda” through November 17. CHAOS features 54 paintings by Julio Granda.
The show will be on view during the First Fridays Artswalk on Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm. CHAOS can also be viewed Wednesdays through Fridays, 11 am to 3 pm or by appointment.
“Always the explorer, Julio Granda has once again set his impassioned sights on new territory,” says Barry Sternlieb. “Coming to grips with a profound life-altering loss at 88, he digs into the sudden new reality with a vengeance, making each of these 54 paintings a defiantly unique symbiotic union of language and image, a single furious word empowered by abstraction to grasp the matter of meaning so deeply rooted in his own personal chaos it moves us beyond ourselves with a universal touch that eternal loss alone embodies.”
The Berkshire Art Center (BAC), 141 North Street, will continue to offer Free Artmaking Drop-Ins on the First Friday of the month from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, year-round. For the month of November, The Berkshire Art Center will also feature two window displays: Landscapes, Seascapes, Skyscapes – curated by Matt Brinton (north window) and Turn the Tables by Deborah Carter (south window).
On Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm, NUarts gallery + studios, 311 North Street, will open their Hall Gallery featuring the works of resident artists including Richard Britell, Kathy Gideon, Brent Ridge, Joan Rooks, Marney Schorr, and Laura Thompson.
Matthew Brinton will present “Illustrations from a Bygone Era” at Krol Headquarters, 139 North Street, for the month of November. These are illustrations from a book Matthew wrote which is coming out in November called “Tales From a Bygone Era.” There will be an opening reception on Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm, during the First Fridays Artswalk, and there will be flyers at the venue explaining more about Matthew’s book.
The Marketplace Cafe, 53 North Street, will host artwork by Emily Bunnell for the month of November. There will be a reception with the artist during the November 3 First Fridays Artswalk from 5 to 7 pm.
Emily Bunnell is a painter and designer living in Windsor, MA. She is interested in creating work that honors the beauty, complexity, inherent value, and interconnected nature of all of our wild community members. Bunnell paints elements and scenes found in nature with a designer’s eye. Her mediums are acrylic, gouache, pencil, and digital.
Marchetti Headquarters, at 314 North Street, will feature Mollie Kellogg’s Incognito Witches on November 3. Experience hidden magick revealed in Mollie Kellogg’s Incognito Witch paintings and drawings during the First Fridays Artswalk and meet Mollie at a reception on Friday, November 3 from 5 to 7 pm at Marchetti Headquarters. Additional paintings have been added for the November 3rd Artswalk event!
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsfield, 175 Wendell Avenue, will present “Darling, Darling” by Falcon Laina and Cassidy Clark, November 3-20. There will be a reception with the artists on Friday, November 3, 5 to 7 pm, as part of the First Fridays Artswalk.
“Darling, Darling” is a collaborative exhibition between local youth artists Cassidy Clark and Falcon Laina. Working in opposing disciplines of analog photography, sculpture, and illustration, the pair is now merging their solo artistic practices and speaking with one voice of creative experimentation. Inspired by each other, “Darling, Darling” takes a bold new step in the expression of queer love.
Berkshire Medical Center will present “JOY” – a collaborative exhibit featuring the joyful works of staff and friends of BMC’s Clinical Ancillary Services Division. Participating artists will share examples of what brings them JOY through a variety of mediums.
“JOY” will be on view in BMC’s Main Lobby at 725 North Street November 1 through November 30; and there will be two receptions on Friday, November 3: 12 to 1 pm and 3 to 5 pm.
Hotel on North, 297 North Street, will feature Soil Paintings by Sarah Horne through November 29.
“This exhibit is about the mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, and liquids—the alchemy that makes soil,” says Sarah. “Soil is elemental to the environment that keeps me alive: soil and its nutrients are fundamental to growing and literally the earth beneath my feet. I feel that our souls, our beginnings and our endings, lie low in our bodies as the soil that helps sustain us lies low on the earth.
These paintings are a representation of what I see when I look directly down at soil. The paintings are multi-layered, complex and earthy in tones. I want to capture the movement, depth and complexity of soil in these paintings. I am lucky enough to know two extraordinarily beautiful farms that serve as the inspiration for these Soil Paintings: Spring Hills Farm in Dalton, PA and Woven Roots Farm in Tyringham, MA. Both are working organic farms that place high importance on the health and beauty of soil. “
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.
First Fridays Artswalk is supported in part by a grant from the Mass Cultural Council, and a grant from the Pittsfield Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
This program is also supported in part by The Feigenbaum Foundation as well as a grant awarded by Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Arts Build Community initiative with funding from the Barr Foundation.
Event Highlights (South to North):
Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsfield, 175 Wendell Avenue
“Darling, Darling” by Falcon Laina and Cassidy Clark
Reception: Friday, November 3, 5 to 7 pm
Artists at the Clock Tower, 75 South Church Street, Third Floor
Deborah H. Carter, Joan Palano Ciolfi, Marion H. Grant, Stacey Healy, Caroline Kelley, Bruce Laird, Mark Mellinger, Linda Petrocine, Shany Porras, Sally Tiska Rice, Ilene Richard, Audrey Shachnow, and Stefanie Weber
Open Studios: Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm; Saturday, November 4, 11 am to 4 pm
Free Drop-in Kids’ Paint & Sip
Auditorium at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 67 East Street, enter on Allen Street
Bonus painting craft on wooden owl ornaments sponsored by St. Stephen’s!
Friday, November 3, 5 to 7 pm
Marketplace Cafe, 53 North Street
Emily Bunnell
Opening Reception: Friday, November 3, 5 to 7 pm
Beacon Cinema Lobby, 57 North Street
A show by the Clock Tower Artists curated by Dr. Mark Mellinger
Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, 28 Renne Avenue
CHAOS: Paintings and Drawings by Julio Granda
On View: Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm
Krol Headquarters, 139 North Street
“Illustrations from a Bygone Era”
Matthew Brinton
Opening Reception: Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm
Berkshire Art Center/Brothership Building, 141 North Street
Landscapes, Seascapes, Skyscapes – curated by Matt Brinton (north window)
“Turn the Tables” by Deborah Carter (south window)
Free All Ages Art Making Drop-In: Friday, November 3, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Soda Chef, 161 North Street
Nicole March Art – Window Display
Hotel on North, 297 North Street
Soil Paintings by Sarah Horne
On View: Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm
NUarts gallery + studios, 311 North Street
Tour NUarts’ Hall Gallery featuring the works of resident artists
Friday, November 3, 5 to 8 pm
Marchetti Headquarters, 314 North Street
Mollie Kellogg’s Incognito Witches
Reception: Friday, November 3, 5 to 7 pm
Berkshire Medical Center (BMC), 725 North Street
JOY
Opening Reception: Friday, November 3, 12 to 1 pm and 3 to 5 pm
Featured images in header (left to right): Emily Bunnell and Mollie Kellogg