NARH's Community Art Project marks 10th year; reception on April 30
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - New works by local artists are on display at North Adams Regional Hospital as part of the hospital’s Community Art Project for a tenth year. The public is invited to an artists’ reception on Thursday, April 30, from 5 to 7 p.m. at NARH in the Surgical Services Waiting Area on the first floor, just off the main lobby. Refreshments will be served.The Community Art Project at NARH was launched in the summer of 1999 and has been a consistent success every year since. The project brings works of art into the public corridors and waiting areas of the hospital to bring warmth and pleasure to the environment for patients and their families and friends.
Sharon Carson of North Adams serves as curator of the art project. “After a long winter and in a time when people could use some cheering up, I wanted to create a vibrant show that people would notice and enjoy,” she said. “The participating artists have submitted a wonderful selection of colorful and interesting works and I enjoyed the challenge of finding the right place in the hospital to display each artist’s work.”
“I’ve always been motivated by the idea that art is for everyone,” Carson added. “Visitors to the hospital will certainly notice that the artwork enhances the environment. And the hospital’s Community Artwork Project gives local artists an opportunity to share their work with a wide audience in a busy public location.”
“We are delighted to offer the Community Art Project at NARH for a tenth year,” said Richard Palmisano, President and CEO of Northern Berkshire Healthcare. “We work very hard to make NARH a healing place, and the addition of such varied artwork makes our job easier. We’re very appreciative of the effort that our local art community makes to be involved in caring for the community, and we’re happy to continue providing a venue to display their work.”
Artists in the exhibit, which will be on view until Oct. 23, 2009, include Sandra Butler, Ed Carson, Sharon Carson, Bill Guild, Anna Kronick, Kelly Lee, Cynthia Lewis, Jason Morin, Danny O, Debi Pendell, Wilma Rifkin, Gregory Scheckler, Thor Wickstrom, and Colleen Williams, all of North Adams; Ernest Brown, Chip Joffe-Halpern, and Ellen Joffe-Halpern of Williamstown; Cheryl Wildermuth of Clarksburg; Anne Pasko of Lanesboro; Judith Oleskiewicz of Pittsfield; Richard Hoebel of Lenox Dale; Mary Lesser of New Haven, Conn.; and Judy Cantwell of Canton, Conn.