Stockbridge Cultural Council (SCC) Announces 2023 Grants

from Judith Wilkinson, Chair, SCC

The SCC received 37 applications and awarded 26 grants ranging from $250 to $1,000 to support cultural programs in Stockbridge and the surrounding area. The total awarded was $11, 865 — more than double the amount awarded last year. Funding was provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and $5,000 from the Town of Stockbridge.

The SCC is grateful for the additional Town support and redoubled its efforts to encourage and fund artists and events in Stockbridge. It is pleased to report that all approved Stockbridge projects were fully funded.

The projects funded were:

Austen Riggs Center, Inc./Coming to America: An Exhibition on the Contribution of Refugees and Emigres to Psychoanalysis in North America
Berkshire Garden Center, Inc./Rooted in Place
Berkshire Pulse, Inc./Spirits of Chesterwood
Berkshire Theatre Group Inc./BTG Plays! Summertime
IS183, Inc./Resources for Local Artists
Olga Dunn Dance Company, Inc. "Nutcracker Seedling and More"
Shakespeare & Company, Inc./2023 Fall Festival of Shakespeare
Stockbridge Library Association/Stockbridge Ice Festival
Terry Wise/Mohican Art Exhibit at Stockbridge Library
Sean Fullerton/Acoustic Memories
Nanette Wells/Seasonal Theme Assorted Crafting

In addition, the Stockbridge Cultural Council provided all or partial funding for the following projects that it believes benefit the Stockbridge and Berkshires cultural community:

Berkshire Bach Society, Inc./Messiah Sing
Berkshire Children's Chorus, Inc./Circles: A Multimedia Concert
Berkshire Music School, Inc./DRUM TO THE BEAT: A Musical Enrichment program
Berkshire South Regional Community Center/Berkshire Ukulele Band and Berkshire Sings!
Festival Latino of the Berkshires, Inc./Festival Latino of the Berkshires
Great Barrington Public Theater, Inc./Berkshire Voices Reading Series
Greenagers, Inc./Climate Action-Environmental Education
Pittsfield Shakespeare, Inc./Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park
Sculpture Now/Sculpture Now @ The Mount
Susan L. Smith/Fantastical Felt Paintings
The Artist Book Foundation/Book donation to Monument Regional High School
The Stockbridge Sinfonia, Inc./The Stockbridge Sinfonia: Intergenerational Community Orchestra of the Berkshires
Tom Truss III/ReWritten
Vocalis Youth Choir, Inc./Vocalis Scholarship Fund
WAM Theatre, Inc./WAM Theatre's 2023 Season and Community Engagement Program

The Council regrants funds from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to individuals and organizations for projects in the arts, science, and humanities. Decisions about which projects to support are made at the community level by a board of municipally appointed volunteers. The current members of the Stockbridge Cultural Council are Judith Wilkinson (Chair), Janet Egelhofer (Treasurer), Barbara Cooperman, Terry Moor, Maureen O'Hanlon, Isabel Rose, Joe Tonetti, and Rena Zurofsky.

The SCC will seek grant applications again in the fall. The Council encourages applications from individuals or organizations seeking to enhance the cultural offerings in Stockbridge and surrounding areas. For further information, please visit www.massculturalcouncil.org/local-council/stockbridge/. If you have questions or ideas for the Council, please email them to jwilkinson@stockbridge-ma.gov.

Photo: Blue Moon Images/Dana Goedewaagen