North Adams, MA

MASS MoCA: Contemporary art gives a mill town new perspective

The bond between North Adams and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is proof opposites attract. After more than a decade of planning driven by community commitment, an innovative arts space is settled comfortably into a blue-collar town.

For years, North Adams—a town dominated by Mount Greylock to the south, towering church steeples, and old red-brick mills, many now abandoned—depended on industry. For generations, the factory that now is MASS MoCA was the largest employer in town. Its 27 buildings had been a workplace for residents since Civil War times.

“When Sprague Electric (the factory owner since 1942) began downsizing in 1984, I realized we had put all our eggs in one basket,” says Mayor John Barrett. Sprague closed in 1985, and the town’s population began a decline from 18,000 to 15,000.

“We hit rock bottom,” Barrett says.

“The empty buildings were a haunting symbol of despair, and the emotional struggle of unemployment was draining North Adams of its vitality,” says Sheila Gibeau, former Sprague employee and North Adams native.

As the town tread water and businesses began to close, Thomas Krens, former director of Williams College Museum of Art in nearby Williamstown, suggested creating an art gallery. The idea, touted in local papers, the North Adams Transcript and The Berkshire Eagle, caught on.

“There wasn’t one note of disagreement from the people of North Adams, not one letter to the editor,” Barrett says.

In 1988, with $35 million in state funding promised and plans for a 1993 opening, Krens moved on to another project. His assistant, Joseph C. Thompson, decided to stay.

“Few, if any projects, offer the prospect of making simultaneous and substantial contributions to the world of contemporary culture and to the economic life of an entire region. The risks and time seemed worthwhile,” says Thompson, current director of Mass MoCA.

But there were setbacks—in 1991, with a new governor, the state pulled the plug on the funding and North Adams had to get busy on its own.

“Citizens went door to door soliciting pledges and raised $1 million. The state asked for more local commitment, and in four years, $8.6 million in pledges and partnerships were amassed,” Barrett says. With that to prime the well, the state approved $18 million for the project in 1995. In the meantime, plans had grown from a small art museum into a contemporary art complex.

It was a community effort. “John DeRosa, a North Adams lawyer, gave invaluable advice and access, Mayor Barrett never abandoned the project, (and) Francis C. Oakley, president of Williams College, risked resources to advance MASS MoCA,” Thompson says.

The museum opened in May 1999 as a space for contemporary art—ranging from room-size steel and wood sculptures to a children’s room with interactive art. It’s since produced 14 exhibitions and 80 performing arts events, attracting more than 150,000 visitors.

Outdoor art greets visitors in the main courtyard. Six flame maples called “Tree Logic” hang upside down from cables and beams.

Inside—in keeping with a town whose homes and businesses reflect the same blend—renovations mix old and new. In the lobby, factory pillars are dedicated to donors who were “pillars of support.” Recycled steel girders, wood flooring, and an elevator spring make up the ticket desk.

Some of the 19 galleries have new walls and wood floors. Others have original brick walls and cement floors. One, possibly the largest gallery in the country, is 100 yards long. Kidspace, on the other hand, is kid size—light and bright with both exhibit and do-it-yourself space. The Hunter Center for the Performing Arts has a 10,000 square-foot flexible stage and high-tech resources. Throughout, signs reading “From Mill to Museum” describe Mass MoCA’s s evolution.

MASS MoCA also opened a computer center, providing free computer access and skills training. North Adams elementary school classes visit the museum twice yearly, and space has been rented to nine new media companies, creating 300 jobs.

“I never envisioned those grand old buildings would have such a strong link to the future. It’s remarkable how the world of contemporary art has embraced the values of small-town living and how townsfolk have learned to appreciate and enjoy their new neighbor,” Gibeau says.

“It’s part of North Adams,” echoes Barrett. “Not just in it.”

Anna Viadero writes from her home in Montague, Mass.

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