Yomarie Silva-O'Neal, an artist in residencen at Mass MoCA, sculpts in her studio. Press photo by Thomas J. Logan, courtesy of Assets 4 Artists

Arts

Here are the Hill Country Observer’s articles about the Arts, listed from newest to oldest. Topics include theater, music, dance, painting, sculpture, film, and writing. The Hill Country Observer talks with artists and makers in many media, in New York, Vermont and Western Massachusetts.

  • Issue:

    Theater festival goes urban

    Berkshire Fringe finds new home in Pittsfield arts district By STACEY MORRISContributing writer   PITTSFIELD, Mass.After nine years of producing cutting-edge summer theater in Great Barrington, The Berkshire Fringe will celebrate its 10th anniversary in August at a new home in Pittsfield’s Upstreet arts district. From its new urban base at the Shire City Sanctuary,… read more

    Theater festival goes urban
  • Issue:

    From voices of elders, works of art

    Exhibits draw from artist’s conversations with seniors By STACEY MORRIS Contributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. David Greenberger has made a national reputation by listening attentively to a collection of voices that are often ignored – those of the elderly.   Greenberger’s original plans for a career as a fi ne arts painter were pleasantly derailed… read more

    From voices of elders, works of art
  • Issue:

    Small theaters struggle to convert before film reels disappear

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    By THOMAS DIMOPOULOS Contributing writer   “Wait a minute! Wait a minute! You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.” The movie industry is arguably experiencing its biggest technological revolution since Al Jolson spoke those first words, in “The Jazz Singer,” to usher in the era of the talkies in 1927. By the end this year, the major… read more

    Small theaters struggle to convert before film reels disappear
  • Issue:

    A schoolhouse for the creative

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    Plans advance for a visual arts school in Columbia County By JOHN TOWNES Contributing writer   HARLEMVILLE, N.Y. A historic former schoolhouse in the rural hamlet of Harlemville may soon return to its roots by serving as the home of a proposed Art School of Columbia County. Planning for the new art school has been… read more

    A schoolhouse for the creative
  • Issue:

    Accessible expression

    By EVAN LAWRENCE Contributing writer     BENNINGTON, Vt. When it comes to the creation of top-quality art, physical and mental disabilities don’t have to be insurmountable barriers. That’s the message of two shows that opened this month at the Bennington Museum. “Engage,” presented by the group VSA Vermont, features 39 works by 35 contemporary… read more

    Accessible expression
  • Issue:

    Helsinki on the Hudson

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    Three years on, club is at center of city’s growing music scene By JOHN TOWNES Contributing writer   HUDSON, N.Y. When Club Helsinki closed its intimate, eclectic performance space in Great Barrington, Mass., and moved west to Hudson a few years ago, its owners hoped to play a role in the ongoing revitalization of their… read more

    Helsinki on the Hudson
  • Issue:

    Flavored by a colorful past

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    Lodge’s owner works to keep ambience of ‘70s folk music hangout By JOHN TOWNES Contributing writer BECKET, Mass.When Daniel Osman bought The Dream Away Lodge in 1997, he became the caretaker of a special corner of Berkshire County lore. The Dream Away is a 110-seat restaurant, lounge and music venue that has been operating since… read more

    Flavored by a colorful past
  • Issue:

    Bound by cotton — region’s forgotten role in slave trade

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    Historian, artist detail region’s forgotten role in slave trade By EVAN LAWRENCE Contributing writer NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Most Northerners assume that slavery was a Southern issue, and that the main role of people in upstate New York and New England was to help slaves flee to freedom in Canada and to muster troops to fight… read more

    Bound by cotton — region’s forgotten role in slave trade
  • Issue:

    An artist’s grand plans for Hudson

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    Old theater building seen as international center for performance art By JOHN TOWNES Contributing writer   HUDSON, N.Y. Within a few years, the hulking old Community Tennis building in Hudson could be transformed into new artistic hub under the guidance of one of the world’s best-known performance artists. Marina Abramovic, who has spent four decades… read more

    An artist’s grand plans for Hudson
  • Issue:

    Oldcastle Theater company moves to downtown Bennington

    Theater company’s move to downtown Bennington opens possibilities By EVAN LAWRENCE Contributing writer   BENNINGTON, Vt. When Oldcastle Theatre Company had to vacate its home of 18 years last fall, some feared for the future of the local theater group. But a blow that could have been fatal has turned instead into an exciting opportunity.… read more

    Oldcastle Theater company moves to downtown Bennington