ArtWeek Berkshires to Celebrate County-Wide Creativity May 16-26
Organizers say art festivals are “more important than ever” in uncertain times
ArtWeek Berkshires is not a typical visit to a gallery or museum. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at local creativity. This fifth-annual countywide celebration features visual art, music, performances, workshops, demonstrations, artist talks, and open studio tours that invite the public to watch artists at work. The festival runs from May 16-26 across Berkshire County. While the festival is a celebration, it also provides an opportunity for local artists to market themselves in an increasingly difficult financial climate.
“[Art festivals are] more important than ever when we’re all struggling with the uncertainty of what’s happening more broadly,” says Laura Brennan, ArtWeek Berkshires Committee co-chair. According to reports, major art fairs continue to face rising costs worldwide, in an uphill climb to recover from losses after the pandemic.
“Right now, I really believe that the field of art is in the throes of great change because of the destabilization of the world situation,” says participating artist and sculptor Alan Papscun. “The threat of AI will be hitting the arts world in a greater way. I think more of us will be struggling. I think we’re surviving.”
Statewide, the average income of an artist (and related workers) is about $31,000, according to a 2024 Massachusetts Cultural Council Report.
A Very Berkshire Thing
This county collaboration is “a very Berkshire thing,” says Brennan. Committee co-chair Jennifer Glockner agrees. “I’ve lived in a lot of places and I’ve never seen this level of collaboration,” says Glockner. 1Berkshire has provided space on their website for events and promotion of the more than 100 artists registered to participate throughout the region.
“Artists are such a huge part of keeping us moving forward with self-expression, self-reflection, saying it’s ok to be different; to be able to dig into thoughts and feelings and find ways to work through all of that,” says Brennan.
Papscun has been a participating artist in the Open Studio Series of ArtWeek Berkshires every year since its inception. “Most people who come are very engaged, touched by the work, and genuinely interested,” says Papscun. “For me, that’s always a positive experience.”
As a sculptor, Papscun combines his artistic talent with an extensive background as a designer in his “Lead Shoe” series. He describes his creative perspective as an outsider looking in on the world and inside himself. Papscun says this vantage point comes from living with a lifelong congenital deformity of his left foot and leg.
Artist Caryn King participated in ArtWeek for the first time last year. Married for almost 55 years, Caryn King and husband Rick, raised their children on crafts and art fairs. Caryn is a painter and sculptor, while Rick helps with clay firing, glazing, and building wood displays for Caryn’s art, which features motifs of animals and the outdoors.
“In the art community around the southern Berkshires, there are quite a few [artists] who do very well,” says Rick. “But there are also people who struggle to get by, doing ‘ok.’”
Caryn says visitors to her open studio give her “a fresh look” at her work. “I love hearing from the public,” she says.
ArtWeek Berkshires was inspired by a former statewide festival, ArtWeek Massachusetts, which Brennan says “fizzled out” five years ago at the onset of the pandemic. Globally, major art fairs hit pause during Covid but in the Berkshires something else was happening—a think tank was forming.
Organizers from all five countywide cultural districts met together regularly on Zoom. This was more than a group chat. “During Covid, we were on Zoom, nothing related to ArtWeek,” says Glockner. “The cultural districts came together to say, ‘What’s everyone doing?’” Glockner says those monthly Zoom chats spawned the Berkshire version of ArtWeek. “We never met as a countywide district or collaborative before that on a regular basis,” says Glockner. “This was a new direction.”
This year marks the second time the event will be held in the spring, generally a slow season for tourism in the Berkshires.
“I think this is a great example of artists putting themselves out there and marketing
themselves—taking advantage of opportunities to display their work and that are hopefully financially advantageous as well,” says Brennan.
The ArtWeek website calendar and map tools allow visitors to create their own personalized routes by artist, county region, event, or date. Most events and open studios are free to the public. Some events may require the purchase of advanced tickets.
