Community Calendar

JooYoung Choi is an astro-futurist artist whose expansive practice blends autobiography and invention. For over a decade, Choi's work has centered on developing narratives within a highly structured imaginary realm known as the Cosmic Womb.

Adventures of the Quantum Soup Surfer brings together early and recent paintings, a sculptural installation, and video works that chronicle one character's journey of self-discovery. Long known as Nina Blue, the Quantum Soup Surfer first appeared in the Cosmic Womb as a professional imaginary friend, contributing to the journeys of several legendary heroes of the Cosmic Womb.

The exhibition follows Nina Blue's passage from supporting character to protagonist. She emerges as the Quantum Soup Surfer--a celestial superhero and thoughtful navigator who channels the spiritual energy of water to brave uncharted territories and share her story of resilience.

Inspired by the Cosmic Womb's motto--"Have Faith for You have Always Been Loved"--this exhibition foregrounds imagination, curiosity, and art as tools for resilience that have been significant for Nina Blue's transformation into the Quantum Soup Surfer and the hero of this story.

Adventures of the Quantum Soup Surfer is made possible by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

This exhibition will explore movement as an integral throughline in Kwame Brathwaite’s work—one that spans his deep engagement with social and political movements and his keen attention to the body in motion. Brathwaite’s images intimate the powerful and transformative ways that action can convey joy, beauty, strength, and hope, even in charged moments.

Brathwaite (1938-2023) is perhaps most recognized for photographs celebrating Black beauty and excellence in fashion, music, and athletics. His studio portraits and concert photography like his documentation of historic marches, the everyday life of residents in Harlem and The Bronx, and of athletes such as Muhammad Ali convey the power of the body as a symbol of cultural strength, resilience, and pan-African solidarity. Through a selection of original and new prints from archival negatives, the exhibition will offer an opportunity to experience the breadth of his work and its resonance today.

Curated in close partnership with Brathwaite’s son and daughter-in-law, Kwame and Robynn Brathwaite (Amherst College Class of 1996 and 1998, respectively), Revolutionary Movements will expand stories about the artist's work and its international circulation.

Kwame Brathwaite: Revolutionary Movements is made possible by Teiger Foundation.

The Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum is seeking donations of gently used adult and children’s books, DVDs, and jigsaw puzzles for their upcoming book sale. Donations will only be accepted by curbside drop-off at the back door of the First United Methodist Church, 16 Court St., Westfield, during the weeks of April 6-11 and April 13-18 as follows: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10-1; Tuesday and Thursday from 4-7, and Saturday from 9-12.
Please note that we cannot accept musty or damaged books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, Reader’s Digest books, or outdated manuals, travel books, or self-help books.
The book sale will be held at the Church on Thursday, April 23, 10-7; Friday, April 24, 10-5; and Saturday, April 25, 10-2. On Thursday only, we are offering a $5.00 discount for educators (bring your ID!) and new Friends members joining at the door.
The Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum is an all-volunteer 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization that supports the programs and services of the Westfield Athenaeum.

Discover the Pioneer Valley, one bookshop at a time! Visit 10+ bookstores to be entered into the Grand Prize drawing to win $800 in bookstore gift cards. Each additional bookstore you visit is another entry into the drawing! And the more bookstores you visit, the greater your chances of winning. More info: http://tinyurl.com/pvbc26

Sandglass Theater presents a series of special appearances and public workshops by stellar artists working in exciting interdisciplinary performance techniques. The Summer Series celebrates the crossroads of art forms and development of new works by professional and emerging artists. This year’s series will feature three performances and two special workshops. ‘The City That Slept’ is an imaginative puppetry performance by Tom Tuke that also features an original technique developed by Tuke: floating shadow puppets that glide across a pool of moving water, creating luminous images of motion and reflection. ‘Penelope in First Person’, performed by Keely Eastley and directed by Eric Bass is adapted from a book by Canadian poet Sue Goyette. The performance reimagines the story of Penelope from Homer’s ‘Odyssey’. The production blends poetic language, theatrical storytelling, music, and elements of magical realism. ‘Death and the Fool | A Medieval Folly’, presented by the ensemble of Happenstance Theater is inspired by medieval mystery plays and tarot imagery, combining puppetry, slapstick comedy, live music, and physical theater. The workshops will include a floating water puppets workshop with Tom Tuke and a physical comedy workshop with Happenstance Theater.
All performances and workshops are at Sandglass Theater, 17 Kimball Hill in the heart of Putney, VT, just off of Exit 4 from I91. No one will be turned away from Summer Series performances for lack of funds.

An official selection of the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, the East Coast debut of The Clayton Effect is on view throughout June at Split Level Gallery, 33 Hawley Street in Northampton, MA.

Flush with saucy humor, social commentary, and a semi-autobiographical view on transgender life, step inside the bathroom to experience The Clayton Effect. Inspired by the foundational film editing principle developed in the 1900s (known as the Kuleshov Effect), this silent-but-deadly movie, lathered with a throwback feel and a razor-sharp modern twist, takes the plunge into representations of gender. Jiggling the handle has never been more fun!

In addition to the short film, queer artist Jacob Clayton will be showing four mixed-media photo-based self-portraits, as part of We Contain Multitudes: A Curated Collective of 2SLGBTQIA+ and BIPOC Creatives’ Voices, curated by M. Rudder.

Discover the Lives of Berkshire Amphibians with Naturalist Tom Tyning

Next up in the Berkshire Nature Talk Series:

Back by popular demand: Tom Tyning: Frog Fables and Salamander Stories. Tom Tyning returns to offer an introduction to the incredible amphibians of Berkshire County, highlighting their remarkable life history strategies, amazing behaviors, and incredible beauty.

This engaging evening will explore questions as yet unanswered—how did amphibians arrive in the Berkshires after the glaciers? Who came first? Why do some species ignore water altogether? How can certain frogs survive without lungs? With stunning photos of frogs and salamanders in their natural habitats, and with a number of live specimens whose stories will be told, Tyning will bring these remarkable creatures to life.

Tom Tyning brings over four decades of experience as a field biologist, author, professor, and passionate naturalist. He currently teaches Environmental Science at Berkshire Community College and is widely recognized for his work on amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and habitat conservation across Massachusetts and beyond.

Free for West Stockbridge Historical Society members; $10 suggested donation for nonmembers. Please register at weststockbridgehistory.org.

The School for Contemporary Dance & Thought, Inc presents
The Hatchery Young Artist Performance Project in
ASTEROID B612, a love story- a live performance inspired by THE LITTLE PRINCE

Family-friendly and inspirational.
The Hatchery Young Artist Company is a dynamic creative program where young artists collaborate to create original performance work for the public. More than a recital, Hatchery produces inspiring art for all.
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Original work by The Hatchery Dance Company & Hatchery Pit Band

WHEN?
Friday, June 12th at 7:30 PM
Saturday, June 13th at 2:00 PM ( with the Hatchlings ) & 7:30 PM

WHERE?
33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA in A.P.E.'s WORKROOM THEATER

Directed by Jen Polins, Katherine Kain & Ashirah Devi Dalomba

Special Guests: Sakina Ibrahim, Gabriella Carmichael, Erik Elizondo

Hatchery Company Choreographers: Irina Andrews, Lila Gilman-Hollabaugh, Serena Gross, Andrew Jones-Monahan, Agnes MacLean, Frances Slabich, Ida Pitcher, Jamie Rose, Inna Selman

For over 20 years, Django in June has been bringing world class jazz manouche -- that is, jazz in the tradition of Sinti guitarist Django Reinhardt -- to Western Massachusetts. For one fine week in June, hundreds of avid students of the style descend on the campus of Smith College to study and "djam." At week's end, the artists who have been teaching at Django Camp offer two concerts at the Academy of Music. They range this year from Austin (Hot Club of Cowtown) to Nantes (Gwen Cahue Quartet), and from a young North American prodigy (Sam Farthing), to one of the most celebrated Sinti artists of the last 40 years (Fapy Lafertin.)