Art events in The Berkshires in 2023 brought community members out of their homes and into public spaces to take in live spectacles, join in on fascinating discussions, and meet notable trailblazers in their field.
In the spring, Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village showcased the imaginative outsider art of then-senior Theda Galvin. Her solo exhibition opened at the school’s Kearcher-Monsell Library gallery wall, showcasing dolls with magnified eyes inspired by internet fandom. Recognized for her talent, Galvin received an $80,000 scholarship from the Jasper Johns-led Foundation for Contemporary Arts later in the school year for her education at The Cleveland Institute for Art.
Alexander Wilburn
Public art was also a trend this year for area schools. Artist Ben Keller transformed HVRHS’ cafeteria with a mural reflecting the school’s evolving demographics. Inspired by street art, Keller's piece was unveiled in May. Similarly, Sharon Center School initiated a project with artist Morgan Blair, translating students’ floral designs into a public mural.
Local theater shined bright throughout the summer, with audiences returning in significant numbers after the limitations of the pandemic. Under the new leadership of Rod Christensen and Carl Andress, the managing director and artistic director, The Sharon Playhouse produced a vibrant range of productions, including “Something Rotten!” a snarky musical directed by Amy Griffin with a spotlight-stealing turn by Jen Cody that made the Shakespearean romp a must-see, and the family-friendly “Oliver!” directed by Michael Kevin Baldwin. Staying true to Lionel Bart’s 1960 adaptation, it was a zippy rendition of Dickens’ classic, featuring standout performances by Indian Mountain student Ivan Howe as Oliver and Gina Naomi Baez as Nancy. In another offering, the Playhouse presented “Our Town,” directed by Andrus Nichols, featuring an ensemble of many locals led by Jane Kaczmarek. Closing the season, The Sharon Playhouse presented “The Lifespan of a Fact,” directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. The tension-filled play explored the complexities of fact-checking and truth in storytelling. Renaldo Piniella, Jennifer Van Dyck, and Jonathan Walker delivered compelling performances and provided a thought-provoking conclusion to the Playhouse’s season under new leadership.
Ivan OweAly Morrissey
In other audience news, this summer, the release of “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” sparked a national cinematic celebration termed “Barbenheimer,” turning it into an impromptu holiday for moviegoers and marking the highest-grossing opening weekend since 2019. Amid the challenges faced by the struggling movie theater industry, The Moviehouse, overseen by David Maltby and Chelsea Altman, has been actively revitalizing its connection with the local film-going community. The theater’s initiatives include one-night-only programming and live events, such as a unique production of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” This year’s programming also had actress Kyra Sedgwick screening her directorial debut, “Space Oddity,” and board member and actress Gretchen Mol hosting a screening of her Sundance film, “Palm Trees and Powerlines.”
Thanks to a dedicated group of film-loving residents, the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington reopened its doors in November. After the movie theater closed in June, a grassroots effort raised over $1 million to purchase the theater from its longtime owner.
Audiences were also seated for the many in-person author talks, a change from the Zoom broadcasts during the pandemic. In John Sayles’ novel “Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade’s Journey,” the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter took readers at The White Hart Inn in Salisbury on a bloody odyssey from Scottish Highlands’ Jacobite battles to the 18th-century colonies of The New World. Jenny Jackson’s debut novel, “Pineapple Street,” was set against the backdrop of unprecedented inherited wealth for millennials. Jackson, a vice president and executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf, wrote the novel based on observations of Brooklyn’s 1%.
Penguin Random House,
Hernan Diaz won the Pulitzer Prize in 2023 for “Trust” and discussed his novel’s polyphonic exploration of wealth at the Morton Memorial Library in Rhinecliff. In a conversation with agent, Sharon-native Bill Clegg, Diaz highlighting the rejection he faced preceding his success. The Haystack Book Festival in Norfolk celebrated its fifth year with the theme of “New York Stories,” exploring modernism in various art forms. At one of House of Books’ intimate “dinner with an author” salons in Kent, Adrienne Brodeur’s novel “Little Monsters” examined familial resentments in Cape Cod. WAMC’s Joe Donahue interviewed Michael Cunningham on his new book, “Day,” at The White Hart Inn. The Pulitzer-Prize-winning author’s first novel in a decade explored an unconventional New York family’s changes over three years, delving into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
