“Art in the Park” with Shelsy Rodriguez

Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. and First Fridays Artswalk are pleased to announce our first “Art in the Park” artist of the 2025 First Fridays at Five Season!

Shelsy Rodriguez (Stephx) will be popped up in Palace Park (near 122 North Street), inviting the community to join her in creating an original painting. Thank you to the Feigenbaum Foundation for making this event possible!

Shelsy Rodriguez (Stephx) is 22 years old and is from Bogota, Colombia. She came to the United States almost four years ago in search of her own well-being and development as a person. When she was in high school, she always took refuge in art, because it was a time when painting made her feel free and calm, in contrast to the reality of her life. Art has made her see nuances, textures and colors that transport her to a place where she feels comfortable, being truly herself. Over the course of her existence, she has met women who inspire her to form the mindset she has today about how she views life. She is now in the Berkshires, where she is trying to improve her artistic skills. She is an environmental science student at BCC and has a creative baking business with her mother. She is part of several projects with the community in Pittsfield through different activities from public art to some painting workshops with the art collective KATUNEMO. Shelsy’s first mural can be seen on the Intermodal Center in Pittsfield!