(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – After significant updating to the sprawling gallery and artist studios, the NUarts Studios and Gallery will be reopening its doors on Saturday, May 23, 2015, at 4-7pm. New works by the artists will be on display in the gallery, and many of them will open their studios for this first event of the year. Other openings are in the planning stages for the summer and autumn.
Several artists have joined the roster since last year, including Eric Federer, mixed media artist and musician; Miriam Ross, whose focus is oils, drawing, and community-based art; Karen S. Jacobs, contemporary landscape painting in oils; and Martha Peskin, oil portraits, figurative abstractions and one-of-a-kind hand-built porcelain ceramics.
Besides the newer artists, others who represent a wide variety of mediums and styles will also be hosting visitors with open studios. These include Harrison Searles, Eric Shuman, Claudia Shuster, Sam Ponder, Daniel Brody, Marguerite Bride, Susan Himmel, Ellen Joffe-Halpern, Marney Schorr, Sally Tiska-Rice, Sophia D. Lee, Debbie Carter, Lisa Merullo, Kathy Gideon, Dawn Meltzer, and Joanie Ciolfi.
NUarts’ foundation goes back to October 2004, when artist Annie Laurie spearheaded a project to get empty offices on the second floor of 311 North Street ready for local artists to rent. It didn’t take her long to swing into action, and soon the studios — which became known as Art on No — were at 100 percent capacity and completely transformed. Since then, the building owner Irving Cohen has continued to support the vision of having affordable working spaces for artists in downtown Pittsfield, and has made many ongoing improvements to the building.
In 2012, Art on No reorganized and changed its name to NUarts Studios and Gallery. The studios have consistently enjoyed 100 percent occupancy, being filled with 19 artists in a diverse range of media consisting of painters, printmakers, silk screen artists, musicians, videographers, sound recorders, jewelry designers, photographers, sculptors, fabric artists, and more. NUarts remains the largest concentration of artists under one roof working in downtown Pittsfield. Their goal is to increase support for the arts in downtown Pittsfield and to keep the town lively and creative.