Northampton Center for the Arts News

Northampton Chalk Art Festival

The first annual Northampton Chalk Art Festival is scheduled for “Arts Night Out” on Friday, September 10, 2010. Work will take place at six downtown locations from 8 am until 4 pm on the day of the event. The public is encouraged to watch the chalk art pieces develop and to view completed drawings in the evening while enjoying Northampton’s monthly gallery walk from 5-8pm. (Rain date for chalk art festival is Saturday, September 11.) The festival was conceived by former city councilor Bob Reckman after he became intrigued by similar events in other cities. The City of Northampton, the Northampton Business Improvement District and Chartpak Inc. made commitments to sponsor the event, while the Center for the Arts agreed to invite artist participation. Following an open call and a juried selection process, six applicants have been invited to render their work in chalk on 5’x5’ cement canvases located throughout downtown Northampton. Each artist receives a $100 stipend. In addition, cash prizes of $250, $150, and $100 will be awarded by a panel of judges for the top three creations. (Details about the artists below.) The chalk art locations include: 4 Main Street at the corner of Strong Avenue; First Churches at Main and Center; 126 Main in front of the APE Gallery; the corner of Main and Old South; and the Academy of Music walkway. Along the route, viewers will have an opportunity to stop in at some 25 art spaces that participate in Arts Night Out. A detailed listing of exhibitions and opening receptions are available on the Arts Night Out website and are published in the monthly Arts Night Out brochures found at participating venues in early September. THE ARTISTS Stephanie Gerolimatos is a studio artist painter and sculptor who recently started a neighborhood arts project "KPAO!" based on the sidewalk drawings she's done outside of her house in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Her piece for the festival will be based on one of her previous sidewalk pieces at home, a dragon-type creature, who she is excited to bring to the streets of Northampton. Noelle Horsfield is a cut-paper collage artist based out of Florence, Massachusetts whose work will be showing in the East Gallery at the Northampton Center for the Arts during the month of September. Her chalk drawing , "May You Know Peace," is based on one of the cut-paper works in her exhibition which also opens on Arts Night Out. Brendan McCauly is a local Northampton artist who works with the Now-for-Art organization. A lot of his works reference the forms and innovations of cinema, and his sidewalk piece will utilize images from Godard's film "Breathless," and serve as a kind of homage to the film turning 50. Paul Siqueira is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Massachusetts and has been participating in chalk festivals since 1998. Paul first became involved in rendering works of art in chalk while working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and has been invited to join a number of festivals in Southern California. He produces works that are related to impressionist and post-impressionist styles. Rosemary Wessel is a mixed media painter as well as a professional graphic artist and photographer located in Cummington, Massachusetts. Her work addresses the meeting of the spiritual and physical aspects of life's experiences in a unique and expressionist style. The image she will be reproducing for the festival is titled "Contentment" and is intended to catch the sense of the centered, still point reached through deep states of meditation. David Zinn has been creating original artwork in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan since 1987, serving all manner of clients from small shops to major municipalities. His artistic style and professional approach are grounded in a desire to communicate concepts clearly, and with a sense of humor where appropriate. This exciting artistic event is produced in cooperation with the City of Northampton and the Northampton Center for the Arts. It is made possible by the generous support of the Northampton Business Improvement District and Chartpak Inc.

AMBUSH ON T STREET

Lives of a Vietnam veteran, a street musician and a therapist collide, and their compelling stories are revealed through dialogue, music, poetry and storytelling in an original theater piece, created and performed by well-known Valley residents Court Dorsey, Al Miller and John Sheldon. This autobiographical exploration of trauma and healing focuses on the intersecting paths of three men – a homeless vet haunted by Vietnam flashbacks, a street musician obsessed with his failed career and history as a mental patient, and a trauma counselor who has a bourbon bottle and skeletons in his closet. The soulful sharing of their stories helps each to confront his demons and to start the process of healing. Each of the three performers has a special reputation in his artistic genre: Court Dorsey as a writer, director and performer of edgy theater pieces that pack large measures of both social criticism and hilarity; Al Miller as a poet and storyteller whose narratives about his Vietnam experiences open eyes and minds to the costs of war; and John Sheldon, a world-renowned guitar player and songwriter who played with Van Morrison and James Taylor, and who recently began writing scores for theatrical productions. “It’s all about sharing the stories,” says Miller, whose narratives include his experiences as an Army infantry squad leader in Vietnam and as an alienated veteran home from the war. Dorsey notes, “It is an incredible journey – raw excitement, passion and intensity arising for all of us. We came together to support each other, and supporting each other became the same as helping ourselves. When we do that, we’re not in a state of war or domination or competition. We laugh ourselves out of the Purple Haze of trauma and violence.” Ambush on T Street’s Northampton opening coincides with the weekend anniversary of September 11, and performances on both Friday and Saturday at 8 pm will be followed by talks with the performers and representatives from the Veterans Education Project, Western Massachusetts EMDR Association, and the Men’s Resource Center. The Director of the Amherst Writers & Artists, Maureen Jones, and AWA creator Pat Schneider will be on hand following the 4 pm performance on Sunday, September 12. Advance sales ($15 per ticket payable by credit card) are available online through Zen Peacemakers until 4 pm ON THE DAY OF EACH PERFORMANCE. Advance tickets ($15 per ticket) are also available at the Center for the Arts office adjacent to the third floor ballroom from 11am until 4pm Tuesday through Friday only. Door sales ($20 per ticket) begin 2 hours before each performance at the Center for the Arts office. Please note that tickets purchased at the Center for the Arts, advance or at the door, are payable by cash or check. The Center does not accept credit card payments. The performance is made possible through the sponsorship of the Western Massachusetts EMDR Association, the Veterans Education Project, Amherst Writers & Artists, the Men’s Resource Center of Western Massachusetts, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, and Zen Peacemakers.

Ballet Beginnings at the Center with Pioneer Valley Ballet

All sessions are held on Thursday afternoons at the Center for the Arts. Fall session: 12 weeks, September 16-December 16, 2010 (except November 24, December 9) Spring sessions: 18 weeks, January 13-June 2, 2011 (except February 24, March 17,April 24) Classes are held at the following times: 3:45-4:30 pm: Pre-Ballet for students age 4-6 as of September 1, 2010 for fall session and January 1, 2011 for spring session. 4:30-5:15 pm: Ballet I for students 6-8 years old as of September 1, 2010 for fall session and January 1, 2011 for spring session. The Center for the Arts is pleased to welcome instructor Haley Pierson to this year's program. Although Haley is new to the Center, she grew up in Florence and received her ballet training at PVB. She earned a degree in Biology from the University of California at Berkeley. While on the West Coast, Haley performed with State Street Ballet and Berkeley Ballet. She attended summer programs at Boston Ballet and Massachusetts Academy of Ballet. Haley began teaching at PVB in the fall of 2009 and currently serves as a faculty member in the Easthampton studio. Ms. Pierson will be working closely with a maximum of 8 students to develop musicality and rhythmic timing in a fun and creative environment. Tuition is $175 for the 12-week fall session and $250 for the 18-week spring session. There is a 10% discount for students who enroll in both. Full payment is expected in advance of the start date and includes a non-refundable $25 administrative fee. The remainder of the tuition is refundable if requested before the second class of each session. To register, you may download the information sheet and registration form here.

Register Now for Art Studio Classes with Paula Gottlieb and Deborah Rubin

NO FEAR OF DRAWING: Paula Gottlieb offers 5 sessions on Thursday evenings, 6:30-9pm, October 14-November 18. (There is no class on November 4.) For details and registration click here EXPLORING WATERCOLOR: Deborah Rubin offers 6 sessions on Tuesday evenings, 6:30-9pm, October 19-November 30. (There is no class on November 2.) For details and registration click here

Open Studio Figure Drawing

These Wednesday morning (9:30am-12:30pm) drop-in sessions with live models are taking a break for the summer and will resume after Labor Day. To keep up to date with what's happening, we recommend that you contact organizer Susan Halls and join the group's email list.

Valley Art Share

The Center for the Arts has partnered with Commonwealth Center for Change to promote collaboration through the creation of Valley Art Share, a new online arts community for the Pioneer Valley. Visit Valley Art Share today to browse the growing list of artists, arts organizations, and galleries in the Pioneer Valley. Valley Art Share is also home to the new community arts calendar for the Pioneer Valley. Create a profile today to start sharing your work with our community.