If you live in the Berkshires, you know Danielle Steinmann. The curly-haired, smartly dressed smiling face at so many local events is the Director of Visitor Interpretation at The Trustees of Reservations, as well as the president of the Berkshire Art Association, and an IS183 gala volunteer. Originally from Queens, New York, Steinmann moved here 11 years ago, and has since made Pittsfield her home. I attended Wellesley for undergrad, majoring in art history and French, and went on to study art history in grad school at NYU. After graduating, I lived in Boston and worked for the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) for six years. I first came to the Berkshires on a site visit to Shakespeare & Company because the MCC supported the Shakespeare in the Schools program. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and I realized what a great community this was and that I could see myself living here. When a job at The Clark opened up, I didn’t hesitate to apply, even though I didn’t know anyone here. During my time as the Clark’s Assistant Curator of Education, my colleagues and I started the “Clark After Dark" series – fun late-night events with a different theme each month – as a way to bring more young people to the museum.
Fresh radishes from the garden.
After that I served as Associate Director of Interpretation and Public Programs at Hancock Shaker Village, and for the past two years I’ve been Director of Visitor Interpretation at The Trustees of Reservations. My job is to use storytelling to bring historic sites to life, making connections between contemporary life and history. I’m translating the history and stories from scholarly curators to the public. For me, it’s all about the visitor -- what are people interested in, and how can we connect things to their lives. This past weekend, at Naumkeag in Stockbridge, I experimented by asking people “If you ran this house, what would you do?" It was great to see what people liked, what they didn’t and what they wanted more of; it gave us some good ideas. We want them to feel like the property is theirs and they can hang out there. I work with Trustees staff statewide, but primarily with Naumkeag, The Old Manse and Castle Hill at Crane Estate. I’m lucky that I can have this fun and challenging job and I get to live in a beautiful place.
Steinmann's parents enjoy Bart's Cobble.
It’s all about quality of life for me -- I love going to a place like Methuselah and knowing people when I walk in; it’s like Cheers. I love being able to contribute to making this an even better place by working with smart and creative people. One thing I never thought I would do is garden, but I’ve been inspired by places like Ashintully Gardens and Bart’s Cobble. I’m so grateful that people stepped in to save them. I also love the food culture here, the CSAs and the Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market, which is another place where you know everybody. This year I picked cherries and made jam… who would have thought a girl from Queens would be doing that? Another one of my hobbies is going in search of Mid-Century Modern treasures at estate sales. But if you don’t want to do that, you can just go to Becky Barnini at Circa on North Street. She has a great eye. When my friends from the city come to visit, they understand why I live here. My parents, both NYC public school teachers, visited for Thanksgiving dinner where I served them fresh turkey from Red Apple Butchers and introduced them to parsnips. You can find upcoming Trustees events here, including a Christmas tree sale and evergreen craft making event at Notchview in Windsor.
