Race Brook Lodge presents singer-songwriter Huda Asfour
Sheffield— On Friday, April 4th from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., Race Brook Lodge, as part of their Spring Festival Weekend, presents singer-songwriter Huda Asfour.
Huda Asfour believes in the necessity of transcending borders in both life and music. An exceptional improviser, she is a natural storyteller whose music, through the tenderness of her oud and the lyricism of her compositions, challenges taboos and stereotypes.
Since the establishment of her first band with Tamer Abu Ghazaleh in 2003, Huda Asfour has released two studio albums: ‘Mars,’ funded by the Culture Resource and ‘Kouni,’ supported by a grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture. Over the past 10 years, she has collaborated and performed with artists across the globe.
The concert is on Friday, April 4th from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. in The Barnspace at Race Brook Lodge, located at 864 South Undermountain Road in Sheffield. Tickets and more information, including the full festival lineup, can be found online.
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American Mural Project presents ‘The Mural as Muse: From Free Verse to Haiku,’ a creative writing workshop
Winsted, Conn.— On Saturday, April 5th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., American Mural Project, in celebration of National Poetry Month, presents ‘The Mural as Muse: From Free Verse to Haiku,’ a creative writing workshop
Madison, Connecticut’s Poet Laureate Ed Lent will guide participants through an immersive writing experience inspired by AMP’s five-story ‘Art of Work’ mural. Writers will craft poetry directly influenced by this monumental collaborative artwork. Writers will first explore free verse writing inspired by the mural, then transition to haiku, discovering how to express more with less while experiencing the artwork from multiple perspectives.
“Poetry and visual art have a natural connection—both seek to capture truths, beauty, and meaning in different forms,” said Ed Lent, The Mural as Muse workshop facilitator and Madison CT’s Poet Laureate. “The American Mural Project is an awe-inspiring space. Participants often surprise themselves with what emerges when they’re surrounded by art of this magnitude.”
The workshop is on Saturday, April 5th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at American Mural Project, located at 90 Whiting Street in Winsted, Conn. Writers of all levels can register for the workshop for $30 per person, with an early bird rate of $25 for those who register before March 31st. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to submit their work for a special month-long exhibit at AMP, which will display the poetry beside the mural artwork that inspired it. The workshop is designed for writers ages 16 and up, and no prior poetry experience is required. Registration and more information can be found online.
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Bernay Fine Art presents ‘Visual Verse: When Poetry Meets Paint,’ a group exhibition exploring intersection of text and visual art
Great Barrington— From March 29th through April 27th, Bernay Fine Art presents “Visual Verse: When Poetry Meets Paint,” an engaging group exhibition that explores the intersection of text and visual art, featuring works by Fern Apfel, Mel Bernstine, FAILE, Warren Isensee, and Sue Muskat Knoll.
This compelling collection showcases how the written word enhances and transforms visual storytelling, inviting viewers into layered narratives woven through color, texture, and meaning. Through a diverse range of styles—from bold, expressive typographic compositions to subtle poetic whispers embedded in mixed-media works, “Visual Verse” celebrates the power of language to evoke emotion, provoke thought, and challenge perception. The exhibition highlights how words and images can coexist, each amplifying the other to create profound artistic expressions.
Each artist brings a unique perspective to this fusion of art and language. Fern Apfel layers handwritten letters and found ephemera in meticulously painted compositions, blending nostalgia and realism to explore memory and identity. Mel Bernstine experiments with text as a structural and expressive element, creating dynamic and thought-provoking pieces. FAILE, the renowned Brooklyn-based artistic duo, merges pop culture references with layers of typography and street art aesthetics to create captivating, narrative-driven works. Warren Isensee incorporated bold geometric forms with subtle textual elements, leading viewers through a visual and linguistic journey. Sue Muskat Knoll infuses her work with poetic fragments, blending words and imagery to convey intimate emotional landscapes.
The exhibit runs from March 29th through April 27th at Bernay Fine Art, located at 296 Main Street in Great Barrington. There is an opening reception on Saturday, March 29th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and a closing reception on April 26th. More information can be found online.
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Guild of Berkshire Artists presents ‘Flora Fauna Stone,’ a ceramics show at Art on Main Gallery
West Stockbridge— From April 3rd through April 27th, Guild of Berkshire Artists presents “Flora Fauna Stone,” a ceramics show at Art on Main Gallery.
Touching each one of the six exhibiting artists in a unique way, the inspiration of the natural world can be seen in the variety of form and expression on display in “Flora Fauna Stone.” Walks through the woods inspire Barbara Roth’s sculptures, which are “love letters” to the trees, mirroring a sense of calm and connectedness. Increasingly aware of, and inspired by, the natural world since moving to the Berkshires, Anne Ferril’s pieces in this show reflect her delight in that awareness. Animals and the rich textures of nature inspire Caryn King’s sculptures; crafting her own narrative, she invites viewers to interpret and create their own stories as well.
Drawing inspiration from historical pottery shapes, Ingrid Raab’s functional forms are altered by using shapes found in the plant world or glazes that are reminiscent of stone. Fascinated by leaves, nests, shells, and stones, Moira O’Grady uses various and unique sculptural, woodcutting and painterly techniques to create tiles, bowls and other vessels. While creating her smoke fired seed pods, Paula Shalan “hovers in that place between fact and inventiveness” to distill visual information into intuitively imagined artwork.
The exhibit runs from April 3rd through April 27th at Art on Main Gallery, located at 38 Main Street in West Stockbridge. There is an opening reception on Saturday, April 5th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. More information can be found online.
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Protest rally planned by local groups in Salisbury, Conn.
Salisbury, Conn.— On Saturday, April 5th at 11 a.m., local groups, as part of Indivisible’s Nationwide Day of Protests, are organizing a HANDS OFF protest on the lawn in front of The White Hart Inn, located at 15 Under Mountain Road in Salisbury.
HANDS OFF is protesting recent and planned cuts to various programs and services such as the Dept. of Education, US Postal Service, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Veterans Administration. There are hundreds of HANDS OFF protests being organized across the country, including major rallies in DC, NYC, and other large cities.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think the United States belongs to them. They’re taking everything they can get their hands on—health care, data, jobs, services—and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now. On Saturday, April 5th, take to the streets to fight back with a clear message: HANDS OFF!