SHEDDING LIGHT artist Erika Zekos

SHEDDING LIGHT artist Erika Zekos spoke with the MCC's Art Sake about this weekend's SHEDDING LIGHT opening.

As with much of my work, the idea is to call attention to the environment (both built and unbuilt) and create a forum for the questions that arise as a result of the work. The more I’ve learned about the uniqueness, simplicity, and single-use design of the tobacco sheds the more intrigued I’ve become. It’s not my intention to celebrate smoking, but it’s certainly an interesting history. Believe it or not, Connecticut Valley shade-grown tobacco is among the best in the world and is used as the wrapper layer of fine cigars. In the peak growing years of the 1920’s to 50’s 30,000 acres were planted… now it’s more like 3,000 acres. It’s no surprise then that the sheds built to dry the crop are quickly vanishing as they fall down or the land is developed into shopping malls and housing. I wanted to do something that would highlight the distinctiveness of this architectural vernacular and the vision of the shed filled with light in a winter landscape was a clear idea from the very beginning.

It's a terrific interview. Check it out.

SHEDDING LIGHT

Briefly, some editorial: The reason for the existence of Cultural Mass is the promotion of the riches that make our region unique: art, education, and agriculture. It is not often when all three of these attributes converge in one incredible project. If there is any reason that we need to promote of the Valley as an arts destination, it is projects like the one that follows.

SHEDDING LIGHT, a public art project conceived by artist/architect Erika Zekos in celebration of our region's history and future, and in exploration of the power of art to connect us to our landscapes, both cultural and physical, will be presented in honor of Amherst's 250th and in partnership with the Town of Amherst's Public Arts Commission. It will be on view each night from Dec 5 - 31.

The schedule of events is as follows:
@ the Nacul Center Gallery, 592 Main Street, Amherst
2:00 pm - Opening Talk by Darcy Purinton + Dale Cahill, coauthors of the new book, Tobacco Sheds of the Connecticut River Valley. Darcy and Dale will discuss their experiences and interest in tobacco sheds as well as show some of their beautiful photographs.

2:45 pm - "Living Green: From the Past to the Future". Join us in a discussion about the role of design excellence and ingenuity in creating sustainable environments. Moderated by SHEDDING LIGHT artist/architect Erika Zekos. Panel experts include Meg Vickery (architectural historian and curator of UMass Amherst University Gallery's "Greening the Valley" exhibit opening February 2010), practicing "green" architect Thomas RC Hartman AIA and Dr. David T. Damery (Umass Amherst professor Dept. of Natural Resources Conservation).

3:30 pm - Exhibit Opening Reception. On view, Shedding Light photographs, charcoal/pastel tobacco drawings by Scott Tulay and professor emeritus Arthur Mange.

@ Swartz Family Farm

5 pm - Lighting of the tobacco shed on the farm for SHEDDING LIGHT! Join Joe and Sarah Swartz for a special open house at the farm (starting at 3). Tour the greenhouses, enjoy a hot chocolate, learn about a farm share and see SHEDDING LIGHT! Special viewing area on route 116 just north of the Meadow Street traffic light or the Farm's 11 Meadow Street entrance on December 5 only.

For more information please go to:

SHEDDING LIGHT blog

and for more information on the project check out the following:

Article by Bonnie Wells of the Amherst Bulletin
and an op-ed by Terry Rooney of the Amherst Public Art Commission.

Rosenberg's cultural development bill is right recipe for region's art scene

From the November 6, 2009 Daily Hampshire Gazette, Maren Brown of the UMass Arts Extension Service and Anita Walker of the Massachusetts Cultural Council make the case for Sen. Rosenberg's introduction of Senate bill 1878 to establish the Massachusetts Cultural Trust Fund.

A snippet:

The cultural sector already plays a vital role in the Valley's prosperity, providing more than 10,000 jobs and drawing visitors and their income to the region. Nonprofit arts, humanities and science organizations, along with creative industries like design and publishing, also make our communities attractive places in which to live, work and raise families. A recent study by the Arts Extension Service and UMass Donahue Institute shows a quarter billion dollar creative economic impact from graduates of the UMass College of Humanities and Fine Arts alone.

So how do we ensure that this sector has the support it needs to continue to grow, innovate and create new economic opportunities for the residents of the Pioneer Valley?

A bill recently introduced by state Sen. Stan Rosenberg of Amherst would go a long way toward realizing this vision. This bill, Senate 1878, was considered by the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development at a hearing at Amherst's Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art on Oct. 19. While unlikely to pass in the near term, the Rosenberg bill lays out a thoughful plan for long-term support for the cultural sector, as many supporters from the region attested.

You can read more online at gazettenet.com (subscription required).

Important Legislative Hearing on October 19 @ Eric Carle Museum

Join the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development for a Legislative Hearing on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 11:00am at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 West Bay Road, Amherst.

Five Bills will be heard:

S1863 - Senator Brewer - An Act Amending the Cultural Council Requirements
S1866 - Senator Downing - An Act Establishing Pilot Enterprise Zones
S1867 - Senator Downing - An Act Creating the Commonwealth Heritage Program
S1878 - Senator Rosenberg - An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Cultural Trust Fund
S3145 - Representative Kocut - An Act Relative to the Connecticut River River Rowing Facility

Come on out and show your support!

Jones Library Named Frost Literary Landmark

From the October 16th edition of the Amherst Bulletin:

Literary landmark

This fall the library has been designated a literary landmark by the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, a division of the American Library Association. The designation is given in recognition of the library's early relationship with Frost and the strength of its collection. Since 1986, the group has designated 160 literary landmark sites throughout the country. The next nearest site is the Dr. Seuss National Memorial in Springfield.

The Jones will mark the honor next week, starting with an evening event on Wednesday, Oct. 21, featuring a talk by William Pritchard of Amherst. Pritchard, a professor of English at Amherst College, is the author of a critical biography of Frost, the 1993 "Frost: A Literary Life Reconsidered," and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review. He will speak on "Frost's Mischievous Grip."

"Many of Frost's best moments are serious but also playful," Pritchard said. "The reader has to get involved with the play' to enter into the poem."

Preceding the talk, at 7 p.m., a group from Amherst Regional High School led by Tobias Thomas will perform chamber music in the special collections area on the third floor, and following, at a reception in the Burnett Gallery.

On Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m., a bronze plaque will be unveiled at a ceremony on the library's front lawn, dedicating the Jones as a literary landmark. At 2:30 p.m., the festivities move inside to the atrium, where children's librarian Sondra Radosh will lead a group of Amherst young people in a Reader's Theater presentation of several of Frost's poems, with harp accompaniment by library trustee Sara McKee.

"It's fitting that we do this now," said Kimball. "It will be 50 years to the day that we dedicated the Robert Frost Room (now the Trustees Room) on the town's 200th anniversary," with Frost in attendance.

At the unveiling, in addition to library, town and state officials, Frost's grandaughter Lesley Lee Francis will be on hand to share her reflections and read a poem. Francis is co-honorary trustee of the Robert Frost Farm in Derry, N.H., and a member of the advisory board of The Robert Frost Review. She has written some 14 articles on her famous grandfather and family and is the author of the 1994 book "The Frost Family's Adventure: Sheer Morning Gladness at the Brim."

The full article can be read here.

The Jones Library in Amherst, a strong community center and driver of the town's downtown economic activity, brings in over 350,000 visitors each year, many hundreds who visit the Frost and Dickinson archives.

Paradise City Arts Festival

While I had been unable to make this weekend's Paradise City Arts Festival this past weekend, from all of the accounts both from friends and family and the papers, the 15th season of the festival was yet again a success.

I couldn't make it last weekend because I was playing dad all weekend, while my wife was helping her brother who was exhibiting for the first time. The things I do for family. Sigh.

The founders of Paradise City, Geoffrey and Linda Post, have been champions of the arts in the Valley for many years, and our cultural landscape is so much better for their hard work and dedication. Congratulations to them on another successful year and on reaching 15 years.

Agritourism and the Valley

Throughout the 10 months or so that the Cultural Mass folks have been meeting, we have identified three major areas upon which to focus the efforts of marketing cultural tourism in our neck of the woods: art, education, and agriculture. On the blog, I've concerned myself mostly with the arts part because it's what I'm most familiar with (plus it's in the blood) and touched a little on the education piece. However, discussing the region's cultural economy without an in-depth on our agricultural treasures is not complete.

Phil Korman, Executive Director of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture), has been a valuable member of the Cultural Mass steering committee. Phil's and CISA's role in our local economy can not be understated. For years, CISA was instrumental in keeping the Buy Local message at the forefront with the "Local Hero" campaign. That message is more important than ever, as Phil himself states in a June 30 Daily Hampshire Gazette article (subscription required).

Where does agriculture fit in the cultural tourism picture? Agritourism is a growing industry. In the past, people taking trips to Napa or Sonoma or passing through a cornfield maze might have thought that they were going to a singular or regional destination without even considering the land that held the attraction. That's changing, as farmers, growers, and tourist agencies better market their product to a visiting audience. UC Davis even has a program (there are probably many more at other schools) dedicated to agritourism.

The Valley has great agritourism potential. From a tour of family farms or CSAs or Organic Farm Beds and Breakfasts, Hampshire county's rich agrarian past and fertile present not only supplies us with food, but may also account for a rise in heads in hotel beds and revenue to our local merchants.

Take a look at CISA's calendar of events here.