CATA Announces 2025-2026 Studio Arts Workshops

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Community Access to the Arts (CATA) announced its 2025-2026 season of arts workshops at the nonprofit's Great Barrington studios.
 
CATA's arts workshops are designed for individuals with a wide range of abilities and disabilities—including developmental and intellectual disabilities, autism, and brain injuries— and are offered in many art forms, including painting, drawing, sculpture, acting, dance, singing and songwriting, drumming, creative writing, photography, juggling, yoga, and more.
 
Registration is now open and no prior experience is necessary to participate. CATA works with every person to make sure that cost is not a barrier; no one will be turned away because of financial need.
 
For questions or to register for workshops, contact Kara Smith, CATA Program Director, at Kara@CATAarts.org or (413) 528-5485. A complete list of workshops is available at CATAarts.org/joincata.  
 
CATA has expanded and deepened its studio program schedule, offering more workshops in painting, sculpture, animation and illustration, dance, theater, drumming, singing and songwriting, photography, creative writing, and more. In addition to studio workshops, CATA also brings year-long arts programs to 67 partner organizations across the Berkshires, including disability agencies, public schools, residences, and nursing homes.
 
"We've heard from people with disabilities, their families and caregivers, and from our disability partners, about how critical CATA programs are—now more than ever," says CATA Executive Director Margaret Keller. "In response, we're digging deep to offer even more high quality arts programs to more individuals with disabilities. We've added several brand new workshops in to our schedule, where people with disabilities can discover talents, express who they are, and find belonging."
 
CATA's arts workshops are led by professional teaching artists, who CATA trains in trauma-informed teaching, autism-sensitive approaches, disability arts, anti-ableism, and Universal Design for Learning. CATA Faculty incorporate a variety of ways for participants to engage in each artform. Adaptive art-making tools and musical instruments, as well as other accommodations are always available, and CATA offers workshops with specific adaptive and sensory-friendly elements.
 
This year, CATA welcomes new faculty artists including Lucie Castaldo, who joins as full-time Resident Visual Arts Faculty to teach photography, printmaking, and costume design, as well as Francesca Baron who joins as part time dance faculty. Additionally, CATA announces a new partnership with the internationally acclaimed Pilobolus dance company. With support from CATA staff and faculty, Pilobolus company members Derion Loman and Emily Kent will teach CATA's mixed-ability dance ensemble The Moving Company, and will guide the creation of the ensemble's performance piece as part of CATA's Annual Performance at Shakespeare & Company in May 2026.
 
CATA works with each person to ensure that cost is not a barrier to participation. CATA invites people to participate on a Pay-What-You-Will basis as needed, and also provides a 50 percent discount to EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare card holders as part of the "Card to Culture" program. CATA fundraises in the community to fill in the gap and subsidize costs so that every person is able to participate.
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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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