You might recognize photographer Bill Wright from his work at Blue Q or from his ongoing series photographing veterans. Or maybe you've seen him out supporting the Berkshire Museum, IS183 or numerous other arts-related community organizations. He's also a father of three who made a conscious decision to raise his children in an artistic environment that allows for a backyard. The Berkshires, specifically Pittsfield, has proven to be the best of both worlds. I grew up all over Fairfield County, CT and my wife, Carrie, is from all over the Berkshires. When we decided to have kids, we'd already lived in Brooklyn, Denver, Tucson and Connecticut, but Carrie wanted to raise our kids in the Berkshires. Eleven years ago Pittsfield was very different. The Storefront Artists project had just started up and it really felt like an up-and-coming place. Culturally, it was the best fit for us; it felt diverse and allowed us to raise our kids in an artistic community. I work for Blue Q, where I do a mixture of operations and photography. I became familiar with Blue Q when my wife and I owned Lenox Old Country Store and sold their products there. Later, they were looking for someone and it seemed like a good fit. It was really one of the best things I've ever done. I currently photograph all the products, all the images for the catalog, the website and their Instagram. I didn’t start out taking photos for them, but I moved into the position because they gave me so much creative freedom. It's pretty magical.
I also do my own personal photography, which has picked up more and more in the past few years. I do portraits and am really interested in photographing veterans; that's a project I'm always working on. My main focus right now is on The Answer Is Never The Answer, which documents what I believe my mother's childhood was like. I didn’t meet my mother until I was in my early teens. She was a member of the Merry Pranksters, she went to Woodstock, and she had an interesting life. The project is a recreation of old masterpieces which I photograph in a contemporary way that hints at drugs and addictive lifestyle. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has already acquired the first one in the series. My family and I go to the farmers market every Saturday and every weekend we go to Cricket Creek Farm to get cheese and milk. We have chickens and a garden, and are raising our children to be aware of everything they eat. We also visit MASS MoCA and Jacob's Pillow; it's awesome for my kids to be able to see that stuff. In the Berkshires, we have the luxury of going to a museum whenever we want and also being able to go out and hike. Those type of things weren't so common for me when I was growing up. When I first moved here, I absolutely thought I should be in NYC. I just wondered how I could be creative outside the city. But I've learned there's so much more freedom here to be creative in whatever way you want, without having to keep up with the race in New York. I wouldn't raise my kids anywhere else.
