Pittsfield Cultural Council Announces 2026 Grant Awards
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Cultural Council (PCC) has awarded grants to a group of organizations, groups, and individuals who will provide creative experiences for community members of all ages this year.
Through funding provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), the PCC is supporting 48 projects that span a wide range of disciplines, including visual arts, music, theater, dance, literature, and community events.
Projects will take place throughout 2026.
The PCC is among 329 local councils that receive annual allocations from the MCC, a state agency dedicated to providing grassroots funding for projects in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences.
Each fall, the local council reviews applications and awards grants to projects that align with its mission of fostering a vibrant and accessible local arts and culture scene. Non-profits, businesses, government agencies, and individuals are encouraged to apply for grants for 2027 through the MCC website, which typically begins accepting project proposals in early September.
Pittsfield Cultural Council Grant Awards for 2026
- Arts in Recovery for Youth: Expressive art program
- Berkshire Art Association: BAA Biennial Show
- Berkshire Art Center: Visual arts program for the Stickney Pittsfield Adult Learning Center
- Berkshire Children's Chorus: "Joyful Voices of Berkshire Children" concerts
- Berkshire Concert Choir: 2025-2026 concert season
- Berkshire County Arc: Music therapy program
- Berkshire Garden Center: Farm and garden program at Herberg Middle School
- Berkshire Lyric Theatre: Educational programs and concerts
- Berkshire Music School: "Pay-what-you-can" community group classes
- Berkshires Jazz: Summer Showcase concert
- Boston Comic Arts Foundation: Pittsfield Makes Comics workshop
- Sarah Clay: "Day Dream" jazz concert
- Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association: First Fridays Artswalk and Art in the Park
- Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.: "Where Nature and City Meet" storefront painting project
- Elizabeth Freeman Center: "Healing Through Harmony," music therapy program
- Diane Firtell: Plein air painting and art exhibition
- Luiza Geraldi Folegatti: "All the Power/Toro el Poder," bilingual youth photo workshop
- Greenagers: Greenagers Education and Environmental Stewardship Program
- Heart & Soil Collective: Community Cooking Days classes
- Maurice Hernández: Support for Revista Somos Berkshires, Spanish-language community magazine
- Katunemo: Community art exhibition
- Latinas413: Bilingual sewing workshops
- Alex Leff: Screening of "The King Is Dead, Now What? The 250-Year Struggle for Democracy," an animated documentary
- Literacy Network of South Berkshire: Storytelling for adult English-language learners
- Literacy Volunteers of Berkshire County: "Project 45: Celebrating 45 Years of Literacy and
- Community Through Music" celebration
- Mary Jo Maichack: "Girl Talk: Finding Your Voice," storytelling workshop for girls
- Bruce Mandel: "The View From Behind This Guitar, solo acoustic concert
- Amanda Meli: "Songbird Soul" performance celebrating legendary women singers
- David Neill: Fanfare Brass Ensemble patriotic music program
- Nutshell Playhouse: Theatrical performances for children
- Rita Parisi: "Women of ‘76" theatrical history program
- David Ricci: "Hunter Gatherer: Salvaged Stories of American Culture," photography presentation
- Rites of Empowerment and Passage (R.O.P.E.): "R.O.P.E. Celebrates Black America," youth arts program
- Roots Rising: Pittsfield Farmers Market activities
- Sheldon Ross: Ragtime Five Brass Quintet concert
- Elizabeth Ryan: Soular Eclipse "Totality," jazz and R&B concert
- Jay Santangelo: "Depot After Dark," outdoor summer dance series
- Shakespeare & Co.: Fall Festival, arts education program for high-school students
- Small Planet Dancers: "Roaring Twenties" dance, song, and comedy program
- Noel Staples-F.: "African-Rooted Dance and Drum," dance and music classes
- Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center: "Celebrate Malinke Culture From Guinea," music and culture class with master artist Bolokada Conde
- The Brien Center for Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services: "Recovery Rewards: Healing Through Art" program
- The Eagles Band: Free annual Colonial Theatre concert
- The Stockbridge Sinfonia: Summer concerts showcasing American composers
- Trustees of Berkshire Athenaeum: Berkshire Book Con, celebration of reading and writing
- Lara Tupper: "Memoir Writing: What's Your Story?" workshop
- Timothy Van Egmond: Singing and storytelling at the Hancock Shaker Village's Baby Animals Festival
- Mary Witt: O-Tones "Music for the Soul," swing, blues and jazz concert
