Exhibition Openings for Berkshire Artist Residency Program

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STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. Berkshire Art Center's 2024 Berkshire Artist Residency Program is coming to a close with three exhibition openings this summer and fall at Chesterwood, The Red Lion Inn and Ventfort Hall. 
 
This year, local artists, Dai Ban, Grigori Fateyev, Kyle Strack, Kara Smith, and Stacy Scibelli worked at their respective sites for three months using each unique historical setting as inspiration for their art-making.
 
Chesterwood Artists-in-Residence, Dai Ban, Grigori Fateyev and Kyle Strack, will have an opening of their exhibition, "Chesterwood Reimagined: Architecture and Sculpture in Dialogue", on Friday, Aug. 30, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Morris Center Studio at Chesterwood. This group exhibition will be on view during Chesterwood's regular open hours, Wednesdays through Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Sept. 22, 2024.  Entrance to the Morris Center Studio is free, however, admission tickets are required if you would like to tour the contemporary sculpture show on the grounds or visit the historic Studio.  
 
Red Lion Inn Artist-In-Residence, Kara Smith, will have an opening of her exhibition, "Room 322: A Visual Investigation", on Saturday, September 7th, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Sun Room located on the first floor at The Red Lion Inn. Smith's exhibition will feature her newest collection of paintings, prints and mixed media work driven by an interest in memory, visual storytelling and modes of communication.
 
Later in the fall, Ventfort Hall Artist-In-Residence, Stacy Scibelli, will have an opening of her exhibition, "Spaceship Orion", on Thursday, October 17th, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Ventfort Hall. More details will be announced on Berkshire Art Center's website and social media. 
 
The Berkshire Artist Residency Program began in 2012 as a partnership with the Red Lion Inn. In addition to the Red Lion Inn, the program has expanded to include Chesterwood and Ventfort Hall. The heart of the Berkshire Artist Residency is to give local visual artists the opportunity to create new work inspired by their home county. Artists were chosen from a selection of diverse applicants and offered the opportunity to work on the grounds of each historic site to develop new work that intertwines with the fabric of our county. The Berkshire Artist Residency is supported in part by grants from the Stockbridge Cultural Council and Lenox Cultural Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
 
Artists' work will also be available for purchase through Berkshire Art Center's Gallery Shop at berkshireartcenter.org/gallery-shop. 
 
Chesterwood is located at 4 Williamsville Road in Stockbridge, Massachusetts; The Red Lion Inn is located at 30 Main Street in Stockbridge, Massachusetts; and Ventfort Hall Gilded Age Mansion & Museum is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox, Massachusetts.
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Butternut Fire Contained; Conditions Improve

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Butternut Fire is now believed to be contained after burning nearly 1,400 acres on East Mountain.
 
The Fire Department continues to urge people to stay out of the affected woods, as the chances of getting hurt are high, and not to start outdoor fires.
 
Public Information Officer Lt. Brian Mead on Saturday morning said there are still hotspots and potential for flareups.
 
"This area is very unstable. We are expecting that there are going to be tree falling, there are going to be landslides and there are going to be rocks rolling downhill," he said. "It is very steep. The area is slippery. We cannot have anybody in this area."
 
The fire had not grown as of Friday and crews have dwindled as light rain fell across the region over the past three days. On Friday, the department reported 15 crew members — down from a high of 120 — and identified the involved area as 1,388 acres.
 
Drones and a crew from Wyoming were walking the perimeter on Saturday and verifying that fire breaks cut into forest are holding, the Fire Department posted. The crew from Wyoming is a Type VI engine crew with "vast knowledge of wildfires" and will be making adjustments and improvements as needed over the next few days, the post read. 
 
The smoke through the town and surrounding areas appears to be minimal. Locations to get KN-95 or N-95 masks can be found at www.southernberkshirehealth.com or by calling Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative at 413-243-5540, Ext. 109. The Bushnell Sage Library will have masks available this weekend on Saturday from 10-2 or Sunday from 2-5. Other mask distribution sites are open during the week.
 
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