Ten arts organizations in the Berkshires announced a partnership Tuesday to advance support for infrastructure, transportation and housing needs in the county.
The recently formed Berkshire Arts and Culture Alliance first convened on Oct. 31, 2024, after leaders at its member organizations met to discuss shared challenges and interests. It has met once every two months since, said Pamela Tatge, creative and executive director of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and will soon begin meeting monthly to unify the voices of the institutions and seek resources to bolster the local economy.
The alliance’s agenda thus far prioritizes development of housing for full-time and seasonal workers, greater intra-county and statewide transportation options and collective infrastructure improvements. Other efforts include research into climate resiliency, enhancing safety measures on cultural campuses and joint marketing efforts to attract visitors.
“Moving forward, it’s our intention to provide public and private sector leadership a platform to address pertinent to issues facing the county that involve the interests of arts and culture,” wrote Chad Smith, president and CEO of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. “We look forward to doing all we can to ensure that our region remains the premier cultural destination in our country.”
Tatge said the alliance’s efforts are an extension of their overall role in the local economy — a tourism industry that generates around $1.5 billion of economic impact annually in Berkshire County.
Ten county arts organizations have formed the Berkshire Arts and Culture Alliance to advocate for transportation, housing and infrastructure needs. Pictured here in August 2024, a group of people wait to enter for Tanglewood on Parade at the venue run by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a partner organization.
“We appreciate what we mean to the creative economy in Western Mass., and what we mean to the whole economy of Western Mass. … we need to be at the table, and we want to use our creativity and our proven ability to innovate to serve the goals of our county,” Tatge said in an interview with The Eagle.
Member organizations include Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Theatre Group, the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Tanglewood, the Clark Art Institute, the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Shakespeare and Company, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Norman Rockwell Museum and Williamstown Theatre Festival.
The roster of founding member organizations represents 3,100 full and part-time employees, a collective operating budget of $212 million annually and programming which draws over 1.7 million visitors to the county, according to the release.
The alliance is the first effort of its kind since the formation of Berkshire Creative in 2007, when local cultural organizations partnered across business sectors to measure and grow the creative economy’s impact in Berkshire County. That organization, previously chaired by Norman Rockwell Museum Director Laurie Norton Moffatt, consolidated with 1Berkshire in 2015.
Olivier Meslay, director of the Clark Art Institute, said the alliance brought together partners who might not work with each other otherwise — leaders tend to work with institutions that are close to them in both mission and geography, he said. The new cross-disciplinary partnership, however, is bringing everyone to the table.
Pictured here in 2022, an audience enjoys an outdoor performance during a community day at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Jacob’s Pillow is one of ten member organizations for the recently formed Berkshire Arts and Culture Alliance, advocating for transportation, housing and infrastructure needs.
“We are suddenly talking with one voice, which is of course stronger because it is 10 voices together,” Meslay said. “The choir is working better than one person.”
Vicky Saltzman, director of communications at the Clark Art Institute, said the new alliance will provide a “central point” for legislators to learn about the priorities of local arts organizations, streamlining the process for policy advocacy at the state and federal level.
Presenting a shared vision to leaders such as State Sen. Paul Mark, who represents the Berkshires and chairs the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, is more efficient than having them canvas with individual organizations, Saltzman said. Mark is one of several local, state and federal leaders that the alliance has engaged with since its formation.
“The arts and culture sector is a crucial part of the Berkshire County economy, and today these institutions are facing challenges rarely seen in our lifetimes,” Mark wrote in the press release. “I look forward to partnering with and engaging with BACA and our local creative institutions to ensure that they are able to access the tools, funding avenues, and integrity of artistic expression they need and deserve moving forward.”
The alliance’s priorities will likely evolve in the coming months, as it seeks new private and public partners to work with and receives input from non-member organizations later this year, but its role of advocacy will remain the same, Tatge said.
“I think what is clear is that there are a lot of headwinds facing arts and culture right now,” Tatge said, “And the most important next step is to move this network forward and to really be active in conversations where we can add value.”