Page 13 - BusinessWest October 17, 2022

Jenny Wright says the vending machine at MASS MoCA has brought joy to not only the artists, but visitors too.
they could show their work without the pressures of a typical art gallery, where artists are expected to make sales and the gallery would then make commissions.
There are typically up to four or five shows over the course of the year. Each show will have an opening reception that also takes place on First Fridays; “it’s a way to sort of maximize that appeal to people to come down to First Fridays,” Farrington said.
The gallery has been instrumental in help- ing to organize some of the First Friday events, drawing in artists, artisans, and locals. The inau- gural First Friday event was held in August; a block party on the street featuring live music and games drew a successful turnout.
In September, Farrington and her team held a community picnic where a 100-foot-long dinner table was set up, thanks to the American Legion. Locals were asked to bring their takeout or pic- nics and come down and have dinner on the street together.
“It was very successful. I’m looking forward to doing that again next year,” said Farrington, who, at the time she spoke with BusinessWest, was planning the October First Friday event on Oct. 7, an Eagle Street night market. “We’ll be having 20 vendors on the street, including the Berkshire Cider Project.”
With the creative-economy surge in down- town North Adams, the First Friday events aren’t the only place local artists and artisans are able to share their work in more creative ways. Jenny Wright, director of Strategic Communications & Advancement at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), emphasized that they’re not just artists; “they are savvy entre-
preneurs who understand the risk of starting a business during a pandemic” — and the risk is paying off.
Modern Ideas
For example, an artists’ collective repurposed a vending machine to sell art on MASS MoCA’s campus, which also promotes the local busi-
“It’s one thing to just point a global audience in the general direction of Main Street and send them on their way; it’s another thing altogether to be a full partner and develop a shared vision for what they encounter once they get there.”
nesses that created the art. But that isn’t the only thing the museum is doing to help stimulate the new creative economy surge.
“It’s interesting because, in every strategic plan I think MASS MoCA has ever been involved with, there’s been a priority of making sure that patrons that visit MASS MoCA also visit down- town,” Wright said. “It’s one thing to just point a global audience in the general direction of Main Street and send them on their way; it’s another thing altogether to be a full partner and develop
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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
OCTOBER 17, 2022 13