Final Farewell to Berkshire Art Kitchen

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.

As a journalist I meet some pretty interesting people. Sometimes interesting is a euphemism for scary, sometimes it’s not a euphemism at all. I've discovered that this place is absolutely crawling with diversity and dynamic people, especially business owners. Just under two years ago, I sat down with Gabriele Senza in what was, at the time, the newly opened Berkshire Art Kitchen. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before in the Berkshires; part French salon, part funky retail, part gallery.

I was hooked. And so, too, were a lot of other artists and writers and musicians and collagists…you get the idea. The Berkshire Art Kitchen was something new and different and unique. And it was clear that Gabrielle, herself an artist (think amazing art books and gorgeous golden landscapes on canvas), knew how to bring people of all niches together for a cultivated good time.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, sort of. Gabrielle is closing up shop at the BAK in order to get back to her art roots, so to speak, and because the "kitchen" couldn't cook up enough bread to be financially sustainable. But all is not lost, not yet. Even while she is working out the details of her new studio/living space, Gabrielle is hosting one last bash at the BAK this weekend.

For starters on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., she is having a moving sale. And this isn’t just any moving sale. It is a criminally low-priced sale of art (original) and other items (i.e. furniture, office and art supplies, clothes, etc.). And if you want to get your grubby hands on something before the throng, there is a preview party on Friday night from 5 to 7 complete with complimentary chocolate and prosecco (tix are $25).

Oh, and the concert …did I mention the concert?  Because it's not enough that Gabrielle is an artist and an activists and social networking genius, she’s a cellist. At 8 on Saturday night (after the big sale and the preview party and all the hauling), she will be performing the last concert at BAK with her band 8 Foot River.

If you’ve never been to the BAK or met Gabrielle, this is your last chance, so go. I know that two years doesn’t seem like a long time, especially in a town where folks have been doing business for 80 years, but in those two years I think that BAK has had quite an impact.
I wish Gabrielle (and her son Matteo) well on her new journey. I still look forward to seeing her in town and at arty, nerdy, you-name-it events. The yellow house won’t be the same without her.

For more information on BAK’s final weekend visit www.berkshireartkitchen.com.