Berkshire Arts Organizations Gets a Boost from State Funding

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Mass Cultural Council has announced $3.57 million in grants for 57 performing arts centers across Massachusetts.
 
The announcement was made today at The Guthrie Center.
 
"Performing arts centers serve as cornerstones of our communities, fostering creativity, connection, and economic vitality," said Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council. "These organizations offer access to transformative artistic experiences, and these awards help ensure that they're able to continually and successfully draw and book touring artists for their audiences to see and enjoy."
 
The grants are part of the Fiscal Year 2025 Gaming Mitigation Fund. This fund was established through the Massachusetts Expanded Gaming Act to help local arts venues compete with larger resort casinos when booking touring shows and artists.
 
According to the Mass Cultural Council, the grants aim to support these centers, which they consider important to community life.
 
The grants range from $6,000 to $200,000 and are to be used by the recipient organizations to pay touring show or artist fees. The Mass Cultural Council administers the program with 2 percent  of state casino tax revenues. Over the past five years, the program has distributed over $17 million to more than 90 organizations in the state.
 
Berkshire County grantees include:
  • Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, $10,500
  • Freshgrass Public Foundation, Williamstown, $85,400
  • Guthrie Center, Great Barrington, $6,000
  • Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, $67,800
  • Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, $7,500
"At the Guthrie Center, we believe that expression of self through the arts is an integral part of building strong community bonds and that together, we can work towards cultivating a deeper awareness of cultural and human diversity within our communities and the world of which we are all a part," said Annie Guthrie, Executive Director, The Guthrie Center. "We are extremely grateful to Mass Cultural Council for the support they offer to organizations like ours. The resources they provide are crucial to our ability to carry out our mission."
 
The event at The Guthrie Center featured speakers from two grant recipient organizations, as well as State Senator Paul Mark and Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chair Jordan Maynard.

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Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
 

The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.

Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director. 

Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.

The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.

"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.

Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.

"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."

One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.

Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.

"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.

They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.

"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.

The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.

Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.

"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said. 

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