Holiday First Fridays Artswalk!

Enjoy brand new indoor art shows during the First Fridays Artswalk on Friday, December 3, 5 to 8 pm. Download the Downtown Pittsfield app in the App Store or on Google Play to follow a virtual walking tour of art, including all of Pittsfield’s Paintboxes, on your cell phone. Enjoy live music from the Berkshire Hills Chorus beginning at 5:30 pm downtown!

NUarts Studios & Gallery, the largest artist and artisan studio collective in downtown Pittsfield, will host a holiday open studios event on December 3, 5 to 8 pm. Among the artists opening their studios on December 3rd are Stefanie Bessman, Myk Daigle, Val Fox, Kathy Gideon, Caroline Kelley, Shany Porras, Ilene Richard, Marney Schorr, and Sally Tiska Rice.

Those participating in the open studios will offer artwork and wares for sale that would be perfect for holiday gifting. Join Marney Schorr for free, handmade ornament making for all ages. Entrances to NUarts are at 311 North Street and 21 Union Street.

New to Artswalk, Soma’s Aromas, 81 East Street, will present “Mandalas in Bloom” by Elizabeth Nelson for the month of December. There will be a reception with the artist on December 3, 5 to 8 pm. Hot Plate Brewing will pour samples, and Elizabeth will create a mandala in real time to show her process.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsfield, 175 Wendell Avenue, will present a group show entitled “When Heaven & Nature Sing”, December 3 through January 17. Featuring photography, paintings, pastels, and mixed-media art, this group show includes pieces by Paula Dambrauskas, Phyllis Prysby, and Sal deBethune. There will be an opportunity to visit with the artists on Friday, December 3, 5 to 8 pm, as part of First Fridays Artswalk. At the craft table in the Social Hall, visitors will be invited to create, collage, and exchange winter holiday cards to take home.

Members of the Guild of Berkshire Artists will celebrate the holiday season during the month of December at TKG Real Estate, 137 North Street. Work exhibited will include paintings, photographs, and fiber arts. This exhibit is coordinated with an online show at BerkshireArtists.org which benefits Berkshire United Way.

Featured artists are Susan Sabino, photographer; Katherine Ludington, fiber artist; Lou Coco, painter; and Jon Caplan, photographer. There will be a reception as part of First Fridays Artswalk on Friday, December 3, 5 to 8 pm. The work will be up during the month of December and can be viewed when TKG is open.

The Brothership Building Window at 141 North Street, curated by IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, will feature Proof that I am, by lowercase d studios, December 3-31. Sam de Soto (lowercase d studios, they/he) is an artist, musician, and teacher from Long Island, NY. Largely influenced by abstract expressionism, street art, and modern design, Sam’s work ranges from large canvases to digital photo manipulations. This is their first gallery installation.

MCLA Pittsfield at 66 Allen Street will feature an art show by Molly Paluilis for the month of December. About her work, Paluilis says, “(it) is about feeling using color, shape, rhythm, and movement. It shows healing, chaos, excitement, pain, and resilience in ways that words cannot. It is used as an outlet to express the inexpressible.”

There will be an opening reception in conjunction with First Fridays Artswalk from 5 to 6:30 pm on December 3. After the opening, Paluilis’s work can be viewed by appointment Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4 pm. To make an appointment, please call 413-662-5576 or 413-662-5422.

The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, 28 Renne Avenue, will host a grab and go Wreath Sale to benefit the food pantry at the South Congregational Church, UCC, Pittsfield on Friday, December 3 from 12:30 to 6:30 pm. Choose from holiday wreaths, kissing balls, and centerpieces all handmade by local artists.

Hotel on North, 297 North Street, will feature WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE by Scott Taylor for the December Artswalk. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE is a sampling of the work Taylor created during the pandemic. Many of the paintings speak of containment, some visually looking outward, some inward. Some return to a simpler time that we once knew hoping to find comfort in our own existence. There will be an opportunity to visit with the artist on Friday, December 3, 5 to 8 pm, as part of First Fridays Artswalk.

The Berkshire Museum, 39 South Street, will present Museum of the Moon, an awe-inspiring installation of lunar views and glowing moonlight through January 9, 2022. A combination of art, science, and sound, this radiant installation was created using NASA imagery of the lunar surface, inspiring those who experience it to contemplate the many ways the Moon connects humankind across time and culture. There will be extended museum hours every Friday evening until 7:30 pm. Admission is required. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children aged 4-17. Children 3 and under and museum members are free.

The December Artswalk will also highlight art celebrating Cultural Appreciation Week 2021 in the windows of Berkshire Juvenile Court, 190 North Street. The virtual tour will guide you to murals downtown including: The Sun Will Rise by Jesse Tobin McCauley, Jay Tobin and Stephanie Quetti at 443 North Street and Gaia on Melville Street by Mike Carty. Also highlighted will be all of Artscape’s Pittsfield Paintboxes.

All art exhibits are on display in participating venues throughout the month. For more information on First Fridays Artswalk and to view a listing and map of all participating artists and locations, visit www.FirstFridaysArtswalk.com.

First Fridays Artswalk is supported in part by a grant from the Pittsfield Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. The Downtown Pittsfield app is made possible by a generous grant from the Feigenbaum Foundation.

Featured image: Elizabeth Nelson “Apple and Sunflower Mandala”