Representatives from local arts organizations, Mass Cultural Council, MassDevelopment, and local area state representatives at the end of an event at the Colonial Theatre celebrating grants for cultural facilities on Monday, Oct. 30. Photo by Shaw Israel Izikson.
Pittsfield — On October 12, state agencies Mass Cultural Council and MassDevelopment announced that they approved more than $3.1 million in grants for cultural facilities and projects throughout the state. The grants were awarded through the Cultural Facilities Fund, which is jointly administered through both state agencies.
The Cultural Facilities Fund was created by the state legislature in 2006 in order to stimulate investments in the arts by preserving cultural resources, along with enhancing the state’s creative economy through various means, including the renovation, expansion, and repair of cultural facilities. Since it was established, the fund has awarded over $165 million to 1,427 projects.
Of the 28 projects approved for Cultural Facilities Fund grants, four projects are in Berkshire County:
- Berkshire Theatre Group in Pittsfield — awarded $153,000 for the installation of solar panels on the roof of the Colonial Theater and its warehouse roof.
- Ventfort Hall Association in Lenox — awarded $149,000 to repair and rebuild four chimneys on its mansion roof.
- Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield — awarded $112,000 for updated theatrical lighting and audio equipment for its St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center.
- The Sheffield Historical Society — awarded $78,000 for drainage, grout, and foundation work to its Old Stone Store building.
An event at the Colonial Theatre on Monday, October 30 celebrated the awarding of the Berkshire County grants.
“This state has a plethora and embarrassment of riches and arts organizations,” Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Michael Bobbitt told The Berkshire Edge. “These organizations have been around for a long time. Massachusetts gets to boast that we have some of the first, and the longest running arts organizations. If we want to keep having a thriving arts and culture sector in the state, we need to support the infrastructure of these buildings.”
When asked about what made arts organizations in Berkshire County special, Bobbitt said that it has to do with the diversity of its offerings. “You have some of the best museums, some of the best theater, dance, and music,” Bobbitt said. “You can find something to do every single day. But when it comes to the arts and culture sector, one of the things that gets deferred a lot by organizations is the maintenance of its buildings. It’s nice to have a fund where organizations don’t have to wait so long to get things fixed.”
Bobbitt said that, while the pandemic hit the arts and cultural sector hard, organizations are slowly starting to bounce back. “Arts organizations are always struggling with trying to bring in revenues and to do the things they do,” he said. “I hope that residents continue to support them. When the pandemic happened, we were the first sector to close, and the last sector to open. I think audiences are still small due to COVID insecurities, but we’re building it back up.”
While Bobbitt is optimistic about the state of arts organizations in Berkshire County, Berkshire Theatre Group Executive Director Nick Paleologos was blunt with his assessment when he talked to The Berkshire Edge. “It has been devastating,” Paleologos said. “This year has been probably one of the most challenging years since I’ve been here, and that includes 2020.” Paleologos has been the executive director of The Berkshire Theatre Group since 2018. “If you look across the country you will see what’s happening,” Paleologos said. “There have been at least a dozen major theater organizations this year that have either shut their doors or carved back their programming dramatically. One reason why is because the donor base is coming back slowly since the pandemic started.”
Paleologos said that his organization relies on its donor base for 50 percent of its annual funding. “Most experts are saying, well, your donor base isn’t going to recover for a year or two years, maybe even three years,” Paleologos said. “If you couple that with the fact that we’re all being punished by post pandemic inflation in everything we buy—housing, sets, costumes, and services. The combination of post pandemic inflation and the end of pandemic relief from the government has put us in a perfect economic storm.”
Paleologos emphasized that the Cultural Facilities Fund grant, which will allow the organization to install solar panels on the roofs of the Colonial Theatre and its warehouse, is important in light of the financial difficulties that arts organizations are facing. “Anything that reduces our annual operating costs, including our utility costs, will help with our sustainability in the long run,” Paleologos said. “I am pretty optimistic about our organization’s survival, but you have to adjust to realities. In our particular case, we have to find creative ways to offload our insurance costs, offload our utility costs, and concentrate on what we do best, which is to deliver educational and cultural services to our community. The other part of our long-term sustainability will depend on stakeholders and partners. If we close our doors, it’s a kick in the teeth to the downtown economy.”
Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum Executive Director Wendy Healey said that the grant the organization received will help to keep its building open. The organization will use its awarded grant funds to repair and rebuild four chimneys on its mansion roof. “We have a master plan that was created by historic restoration specialists, and the plan outlines all of the masonry work that needs to be done,” Healey said. “The work has all been divided up into small projects. The most urgent project is the chimneys.”
Healey said that the plan was created back in 2016, and since then, the organization has had to deal with a number of challenges. “Aside from the pandemic, our previous executive director retired, and I’m the first full-time executive director in over 10 years,” Healey said. “There were 70 or so of these Gilded Age buildings built in the Berkshires that are similar to Ventfort Hall. Some are still in private hands, but many of them have been converted into spas or restaurants. It’s important to preserve them because they are all part of the fabric of our arts, culture, and economy.”
Healey said that the Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum brings in approximately 15,000 visitors a year. “We also have had movies filmed at the site, which brings in economic development in Lenox,” she said. “On one hand, with the museum, we want to preserve the Gilded Age aspect. But there’s also the fact that we are using the building for other events, including lectures, concerts, parties, and business meetings. It’s a great cultural center for the Berkshires.”
Healey added that, despite the challenges currently facing the state’s arts sector, she is optimistic. “I think that we have a lot of collaboration between organizations that is going on, and that is going to be really the key to raising the awareness of the arts sector for everybody,” Healey said. “This will help bring more tourism in, and bring more success to our organizations.”