Page 14 - BusinessWest October 17, 2022
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 a shared vision for what they encounter once they get there.”
Historically, the city of North Adams has struggled physically and psychologically because of the overpass dividing MASS MoCA and the cre- ative downtown. Even though the environment
is improving, it is still an ongoing struggle to get people off the gallery’s campus.
In 2018, the North Adams Exchange was a research study, a collaboration between the city of North Adams, the downtown business commu- nity, the NAMAZING Initiative, and MASS MoCA to go into the city and determine how to create
“It’s really figuring out what is the thing that you can offer to the local market that is going to keep your doors open during the slow times.”
tactical and tangible ways of pulling people from the museum into downtown.
The organizations created a pop-up space that was like an indoor park, with yard games, activi- ties for kids, and a stage for music events. There was also a pop-up business that sold an array of North Adams-made items from artists and oth- ers. The initial pop-up park is where MASS MoCA then invested “a not-so-insignificant amount of money and resources” to make Big Bling Park, Wright said.
“That was like a great litmus test to see what can be done to actually pull those people in,” Lamb said. “MASS MoCA is really trying things, novel approaches, and seeing what sticks. I think having them there as a creative partner is really important because they’re used to that process that happens in the arts. And when you can apply that to planning and movement through a city, you can get some really interesting results.”
The museum’s new director, Kristy Edmunds, has made it her priority to really get to know the community, its people, and individual businesses, Wright added.
One event she hopes will spark more momen- tum is the museum’s annual gala, historically held in New York, which is moving back to North Adams. The museum is hosting the gala to coin- cide with the opening of E.J. Hill’s exhibition, Break Run Helix, in Building 5.
“I really think MASS MoCA has an opportunity to help as a catalyst for these creative businesses and in the creative economy of North Adams by partnering with the city, bringing in artists and creative producers from other parts of the coun- try or other parts of the world, to partner with some of these local business that are starting,” Wright said. “That’s where I see our value moving forward.”
North Adams is ready to take this momentum and run with it. MASS MoCA will continue to hold live events throughout the year, from per- formances by national touring bands like Soccer Mommy to a roundtable with mixed-media artist Rose B. Simpson.
Dery added that retail shops and restaurants in town will congregate to see how the city can drum up business. One idea to reactivate the storefronts
Because of the pandemic, Ben Lamb says, more dollars are being spent locally.
Photo by Tricia McCormack
downtown is to decorate them with Christmas lights so people can enjoy dressed-up windows for the holiday season.
“I’m also excited, if the businesses are on board with this, to continue our Plaid Friday ini-
North Adams
Continued on page 43
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