Berkshire County — On Monday, April 14, the Massachusetts Cultural Council announced that $3.57 million in grants have been awarded to 57 performing arts centers via the state’s Gaming Mitigation Fund.
The formal announcement was made at an event at The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington.
Berkshire County grant awardees include:
Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, $10,500;
Freshgrass Public Foundation Inc. in Williamstown, $85,400;
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, $125,000;
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, $67,800;
The Williamstown Theater Foundation, $7,500; and
The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, $6,000.
The Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, receives two percent of state casino tax revenue to fund the program.
Leaders of cultural organizations and Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Michael Bobbitt attended the event.
“We love the arts in all forms, including performing and visual arts,” Bobbitt told The Berkshire Edge.
“But the thing about performing arts is that it brings people together to consume art in a space.
Right now, we’re so divided in this world and people are suffering from loneliness spurred on by the pandemic.
We need the performing arts to get us all in one space, to listen to music, to hear singing, and to enjoy the presence of other people and have a bond that tends to be missing in our everyday lives.”
Bobbitt said that funds from the state casino tax revenue come from the state’s Gaming Commission.
“We partnered with the Gaming Commission to support performing arts organizations and to mitigate the stress of competing with casinos,” Bobbitt said.
“The Berkshires has an embarrassment of riches with performing arts.
For anyone who lives here, all you have to do is pop onto the internet to find a show, and you will see dozens of options.”
Bobbitt said that funds for arts organizations are more important than ever due to the loss of federal government funds.
“The [Trump administration] is already cutting money to the National Endowment for the Humanities, and they have taken away money from the IMLS [Institute of Museum and Library Services],” Bobbitt said.
“We are sure that arts organizations in Massachusetts will be losing money.
It’s going to be a hard time.
Sometimes, when the federal government decides what is deserving of funding, that sends a message to the private sector.
This is why we want the private sector to double down on its support for arts organizations.
And if individual consumers of arts can go out to see art more than once a week, go if you can.”
The April 14 event included a performance by founder and Artistic Director of the Berkshire High Peaks Festival and Close Encounters with Music Artistic Director Yehuda Hanani.
This year’s High Peaks Festival will be relocating from its previous venue of the Daniel Arts Center on the campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock to The Guthrie Center.
“The Berkshires are a cultural hub for the United States, and it has historically always been that way,” organization Director of Operations Caitlin Marsden McNeill told The Berkshire Edge.
“However, culture has often been overlooked by many people.
I think while some people go about their own lives appreciating music and performances, some of them don’t understand the hard work of donors, patrons, and supporters, and what it means to keep all of these institutions alive.
These grants help with the long-term success and future of these organizations.”
“Arts are an important aspect of humanity,” said Jacob’s Pillow Deputy Director A.J. Pietrantone.
“We need to subsidize them through contributions to make ends meet.
You can’t just make things meet with earned income, so it is great to have the state support us.
We’re one of the few nations in the world that doesn’t get much federal government support for the arts, so it’s great that the state can help us.
In terms of jobs and all of the activities that the arts support, and along with being an important part of community life, the arts are a necessary element, and it’s what makes the Berkshires an important and livable community.”
In a speech during the event, Guthrie Center Director Mo Guthrie expressed his gratitude for the state grant.
“My grandfather [musician Arlo Guthrie] founded The Guthrie Center in 1992 to honor the legacy of his parents, Woody and Marjorie,” Guthrie said.
“[The Guthrie Center] was established as a place where we can share our different traditions of music and art.
We’ve also come to honor Arlo’s legacy and a belief that there are no throwaway people.
When he started the center, Arlo envisioned a space where individuals could come together and cultivate a deeper awareness of culture, humanity, and the global community of which we are all a part, whether it be through music, visual arts, or simply sharing a conversation in a safe place where community is key.
We’re extremely grateful to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for the support they offer to organizations like our own.
image source from：https://theberkshireedge.com/state-backs-performing-arts-centers-through-grants/
