Photographs by Veronika Patty, Jesse Merrick, and Kay Canavino

WHAT: Photographs by Veronika Patty, Jesse Merrick, and Kay Canavino
WHERE: Forbes Library 20 West Street Northampton MA WHEN: February 7 – March 5, 2020
              Reception with Kay Canavino and Jesse Merrick: Saturday, February 8, 2-4 PM
              Reception with Veronika Patty and the Northampton Recovery Center:
              Wednesday, February 12, 6-7 PM

Veronika Patty – Project Redemption

Project Redemption is a travelling photo exhibit featuring people in recovery created by Ashburnham photographer Veronika Patty. In August, Patty came to Northampton to take pictures of people in recovery who are affiliated with the Northampton Recovery Center. This exhibit is sponsored by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, Hampshire HOPE, the Northampton Recovery Center, with generous funding from Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Project Redemption was created as a collaboration between Alyssa’s Place at AED Foundation and Photography by Veronika Patty to help de-stigmatize addiction and people who struggle with substance use disorder and to make the point that people in recovery come from all walks of life.

There will be a community reception, featuring the photographer and speakers who are part of the exhibit, on Wednesday Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. in the Coolidge Museum.

Kay Canavino – Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne in the Berkshires

Fine art photographer Kay Canavino recently moved to Northampton from the Berkshires. The color photographs she is showing at the Hosmer Gallery are from a project she did on the writers Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne and how the landscape shaped their writing. Many of the photographs show the abundance of whale and sea imagery in the landscape—things Melville might have seen to remind him of his time spent at sea.

Jesse Merrick – Street Scenes & Historic Buildings

This photography collection consists of black & white photographs reflecting my interest in local & national historic buildings and in capturing engaging and dramatic street scenes. I am interested in photography that has a retro or timeless atmosphere and I am most inspired by classic architecture, landscape and street photography. Recording interesting and spontaneous, real-life candid moments with striking lighting is my primary focus. I love photography that is fun to look at, full of life, has not been overly-edited or processed and that looks a bit different than other common modern photography styles.

I am a local photographer, filmmaker, video editor and teacher. I teach public high school and middle school classes in photography, video production, art/technology, business and social studies. I also teach professional development technology classes to teachers and other adults. My educational background includes Film Production at Mass. College of Art, Film/Video Studies at UMass Amherst (B.A. Degree) and a Master’s Degree in Education (and Technology) from MCLA in North Adams, MA. Website: JMerrickMedia.com

KidsBestFest 2020: A Movie Festival for Kids and Their Adults

Design by James Hindle

When: During Winter School Break -  Tuesday February 18th, 2020 - Friday February 21st, 2020; Film Screenings start at 11:00AM // Doors Open at 10:30AM

Where: Academy of Music Theatre, 274 Main Street Northampton, MA 01060

What:
KidsBestFest is a movie festival for kids and their adults with free admission during winter school break on the big screen at the Academy of Music Theatre! KidsBestFest, a part of the Four Sundays in February winter arts series, is presented by the Northampton Arts Council and the Academy of Music Theatre. We kick off the film festival on Tuesday February 18th at 11:00AM with one screening of Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird!, followed on Wednesday the 19th with one screening of Song of the Sea at 11:00AM, on Thursday the 20th we will show The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part at 11:00AM, and on Friday the 21st is Aya of Yop City at 11:00AM. As an added bonus we will feature a special screening before each movie of two short animated films from local animation studio Opertura, “Weird Healing” and “The Problem With Link Think.”

Bachata Academy DREAM Project Performance

Designed by James Hindle

Bachata Academy DREAM Project Performance

Join us for an introduction to Bachata, a genre of folk music and dance from the Dominican Republic. Bachata is an evolving genre of folk art and is quickly gaining international popularity as an alternative to salsa. Learn about Dominican musical history, culture, and techniques of an art form directly from master practitioners.

When: Friday February 28th - 7:00 PM. Doors open at 6:30PM

Where: 33 Hawley Flex Space 33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060

How Much: Advance Price General Admission All Ages - $15 (Available online or in person); Day of at Door Price General Admission All Ages - $20

Ticket Outlets: Online - Brown Paper Tickets - http://bachata.brownpapertickets.com/ or call 1-800-838-3006, In Person - State Street Fruit Store in Northampton, Cooper’s Corner in Florence, A.J. Hastings in Amherst

More Info: The Bachata Academy is the first and only program teaching Bachata in the world. Started in 2013, the Bachata Academy aims to enrich the Dominican community through song and dance and to share barrio culture internationally. The head instructors Martires de Leon and Abel Martinez are Grammy-nominated musicians aiming to not only teach a new generation of Bachata musicians but to teach a new generation of Bachata instructors.


Media Sponsors: Daily Hampshire Gazette, WRSI - 93.9 The River/WHMP/Hits 94.3/Pure Oldies 96.9, New England Public Radio, Northampton Open Media, MassLive.com/The Republican, Valley Advocate

Organizational Support: Massachusetts Cultural Council, City of Northampton

Local Cultural Council Arts Grant Award Winners Announced

The Northampton Arts Council is pleased to announce the awarding of 27 grants totaling $20,105 in support of art projects and programming from funds allocated by the Massachusetts Cultural Councils' LCC program. The caliber of applications this round was outstanding, and we were unable to fund many worthy projects. The Arts Council received 79 requests for $89,598 of funding. Grants were awarded in the following categories: Dance, Literature, Media Arts, Multidisciplinary Arts, Music, Theater and Visual Arts.

Dance:

$555.00 to Jamila Jackson for Embodied Leadership Project at The AFROmation Festival

$1,200.00 to Jesús Muñoz for Jesús Muñoz Flamenco: Mensajes

$500.00 to Kelly Silliman for Tinydance Accessibility Tour

Literature:

$1,000.00 to Gretchen Krull for Voices Carry

Media Arts:

$250.00 to Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival for 2020 Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival

Multidisciplinary Arts:

$1,000.00 to Edwin Lynch for Barter Night Out

$900.00 to Ezzell Floranina and The Rainbow Players for A Gathering of Brilliants- 20th Anniversary Gala and Inclusion Mini-Festival with The Rainbow Players and Friends

$800.00 to The School for Contemporary Dance and Thought for SCDT Spring Artist Series (SAS)

$400.00 to Meredith Bove for First Meetings

Music:

$1,600.00 to Felipe Salles for The New Immigrant Experience

$500.00 to Lisa Landau for Lyra Music Festival Faculty and Guest Artist Concerts

$1,200.00 to Northampton Parents Center for Weekly Drop-In Music Classes for Families with Young Children

$600.00 to Robin Lane for Soldier On Veterans Voices

$250.00 to Roger Tinckell for Children's Songs and Singing Games Family Concert

$900.00 to The Valley Winds- Brian Messier for A History of our Times

Theater:

$900.00 to Ezekiel Baskin for Emerging Playwrights Reading

$500.00 to Jay Sefton for Blank by Brian Stanton

$1,600.00 to The Performance Project for Stand Tall Mi Gente! Performances & Workshops

Visual Arts:

$600.00 to Amber Scoon for Abandoned Phone Booth Project

$400.00 to Anne Beresford for Extraction: Green to the Extreme

$250.00 to Eva Fierst for ArtSalon

$400.00 to Jill St. Coeur for Tiny Pricks Project

$500.00 to Lynn Peterfreund for Seeing Everyday

$500.00 to Marla Shelasky for Artists of Springfield MA

$1,000.00 to Sarah Johnson for Early Literacy Everywhere

$1,000.00 to Vick Quezada for Martin Cortes, mommas boy daddies eye

$800.00 to Zoe Sasson for Northampton High School Honors Art Alumni Exhibition 2020

Northampton Jazz Workshop Featuring vocalist Linda Ransom

WHAT: Northampton Jazz Workshop Featuring vocalist Linda Ransom
WHERE: City Sports Grille at Spare Time Northampton, 525 Pleasant St., Northampton, MA.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 21st from 7:30 to 8:30 followed by the open jazz jam session.

Featuring vocalist Linda Ransom with the Green Street Trio Tuesday, January 21st from 7:30 to 8:30 followed by the open jazz jam session.

Linda Ransom – A voice and style beyond compare. Originally from New London and currently residing in Hartford, she has been singing with some of the finest musicians in CT for decades. Linda’s vocal ability compares with many of the well-known jazz greats such as Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughn when performing a standard. Just as easily, she can pour her soul out on an R&B hit by Gladys Knight or Whitney.

The concert set starts at 7:30, followed immediately by the jam session until 10:30. $5 per person room charge for the concert set and donations to the band gratefully accepted. City Sports Grille at Spare Time Northampton, 525 Pleasant St., Northampton, MA. 413-584-4830

Also of Interest
1. Saturday, January 18th, the Vermont Jazz Center is delighted to present pianist/vocalist Champian Fulton and her quartet. 8PM show. You may remember her from when she performed at the 2014 Northampton Jazz Festival. She will be with the same personnel. A very talented and engaging performer. vtjazz.org

Upcoming Guest Artists:
1/28 - Kris Allen on alto sax

2/4 – Michael Zsoldos on tenor sax
2/11 – The Young Lions - Carolyn Dufraine on trombone and vocals and Nate Jennings on tenor
2/18 - Michael Rabinowitz on bassoon
2/25 - Fat Tuesday Celebration – Samirah Evans on vocals with Don Anderson on trumpet.

For photos and videos of past NJW shows and related news, events and buzz, please see FB at: www.facebook.com/NorthamptonJazzWorkshop

Tiny Pricks Project at A.P.E.

WHAT: Tiny Pricks Project
WHEN: FEBRUARY 1ST & 8TH FROM 12-4 PM
WHERE: A.P.E. GALLERY 126 Main Street, Northampton

DESPERATE TIMES, CREATIVE MEASURES

CREATED BY DIANA WEYMAR TO RECORD TRUMP’S WORDS BY STITCHING ON VINTAGE TEXTILES.

Tiny Pricks Project Northampton was spearheaded by Jill St. Coeur and A.P.E. to create some local interest in this national project and is supported in part by a grant from the Northampton Arts Council. Local participants are already making tiny pricks to exhibit in conjunction with pieces from Diana Weymar’s archives.

JOIN US FOR TWO WORKSHOPS TO CREATE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THIS VISUAL RECORD.

FEBRUARY 1ST & 8TH FROM 12-4 PM AT THE A.P.E. GALLERY
126 Main Street, Northampton
Workshops are free and some supplies will be provided but bring your own too!

THESE WORKS WILL BE ON VIEW ON ARTS NIGHT OUT- FEBRUARY 14, 5PM-8 PM.
AND
FROM FEBRUARY 8-FEBRUARY 28 WEEKLY FROM 2-5 PM (Closed Mondays)

FOR MORE INFO: WWW.TINYPRICKSPROJECT.COM JILL.NOHOTPP@GMAIL.COM


THE PROJECT:

Tiny Pricks is a public art project created and curated by Diana Weymar. Contributors from around the world are stitching Donald Trump’s words into textiles, creating the material record of his presidency and of the movement against it.

Tiny Pricks Project holds a creative space in a tumultuous political climate. The collection counterbalances the impermanence of Twitter and other social media, and Trump’s statements as president through the use of textiles that embody warmth, craft, permanence, civility and a shared history. The daintiness and integrity of each piece stand in stark contrast to his presidency.

HOW IT ALL STARTED:

On January, 2018, I stitched “I am a very stable genius” into a piece of my grandmother’s abandoned needlework from the 1960’s. When I posted it on Instagram, the response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Assuming he would become more presidential over time, with only the occasional ridiculous tweet, I decided to stitch one Trump quote a week. However, it quickly became a daily practice, as I tried to keep up with the outpouring of ‘un-presidential’ text.

Friends asked if I would host workshops so that they could join the project. Tiny Pricks Project has since become the largest textile Trump protest EVER with over 1100 Tiny Pricks and hundreds of participants globally.

The series will go strong until Trump is out of office. THE GOAL WAS TO CREATE 2020 TINY PRICKS BY 2020 and that goal has been exceeded!

Click HERE: https://www.tinypricksproject.com/press/

to read more about Tiny Pricks

Thank you for First Night Northampton!

The Northampton Arts Council would like to acknowledge the many people, businesses,  and organizations that made First Night Northampton 2020 a great success.
First Night Northampton is truly a team effort. The Arts Council was pleased to produce this signature celebration in our city for the third time; we are proud to continue this thirty-five year tradition into the future. We are thankful for our artists, performers, tech crew, sponsors, performance venues and their staffs, the restaurants who donate food, and the scores of volunteers who work enthusiastically for hours on New Year’s Eve.