Since 1950, the non-profit Berkshire Art Association has been dedicated to encouraging emerging artists and to giving Berkshire residents and visitors opportunities to view and become engaged with contemporary trends in American art.

Between 1952 and 1998, the Berkshire Art Association held annual juried regional shows at the Berkshire Museum. The first BAA exhibit had 70 works selected from 300 submitted and a catalog that sold for 20 cents. By 1957, the BAA Show had gained the attention of artists and art lovers far beyond Berkshire County. Jurors have included Norman Rockwell, Professor Lane Faison, Williams College, Thomas Messer and Thomas Kren, the Guggenheim Museum, and directors of galleries at Carnegie Mellon, the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Rhode Island School of Design, Yale, Smith, the Whitney, and MoMA. By the late 1990s, the annual show was attracting over 800 entries and standing room only crowds for its opening night lectures and receptions. The BAA also sponsored the spring shows Works on Paper and Invitationals. Many interest groups kept the BAA’s mission vital, and always thanks to a large and active Board. After the museum decided to discontinue hosting the juried art show, the Berkshire Art Association held the 2000 invitational exhibit at the DeSisto School Gallery in Stockbridge. The BAA’s focus for the next few years was on Artist Talks, Studio Tours, and the Fellowship Show.

In 1972, the first two student awards were given, $250 each, the start of what became the annual Fellowship for college art students. For several years a $1,000 traveling prize for art students was awarded, funded by the Lawrence H. Bloedell family of Williamstown. The BAA Fellowship Show moved to the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield, a perfect space for a small exhibition. With an endowment and fundraising, awards have increased from $3,000 to $5,000 annually, and awards receptions are well attended. The Norman and Rose Avnet Scholarship award goes to an art student and Berkshire County resident. Since 2021, awards to fellowship artists have been underwritten with grants from the Feigenbaum Foundation.

The BAA was an organizing partner of a different kind of juried exhibit in 2004 – SHEEPTACULAR PITTSFIELD! Artists and students decorated fiberglass Merino sheep sculptures. Artists, tourists, local citizens, and school children flocked downtown to enjoy this fun public art and attended artists’ talks and a forum at the Berkshire Museum. Artists’ sheep were raffled off at Hancock Shaker Village. The sheep can be seen today in public and private collections throughout the county.

We helped inaugurate summer juried outdoor art shows in downtown Pittsfield in 2005. From 2006 through 2007, the Berkshire Art Association coordinated Art Of The Game – a baseball-themed public art celebration of Pittsfield’s long baseball history and involving youth, schools, and artists, baseball enthusiasts and players. 

Through 2010, the BAA collaborated with the City of Pittsfield’s Artscape Committee and Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. to present the Pittsfield Art Show, which became a major creative economy event. In 2012, helped with the premier of First Fridays Artswalk, the brainchild of local art supporter Mary McGinniss, which continues today. 

In October 2015, shortly after our fall annual meeting, the board met for a day-long retreat, facilitated by  non-profit leader Dr. Scott Murray. We reaffirmed our commitment to the visual arts and Berkshire county and the legacy of the BAA. Our 64th year began with a concise mission statement and a new brand identity, created by local artist Regina Burgio. The recent history of the BAA has many unsung champions. We are indebted to past board members like Carolyn Koch, Marilyn McAllister, and Lorraine Lauzon. The BAA cherishes Mary L. Rentz, a community organizer, arts advocate, and philanthropist who continues to serve on the BAA board. 

In 2023, BAA celebrated the 10th anniversary of our 10x10 Real Art Party. The popular art show, drawing and benefit at the Berkshire Museum benefits Berkshire County art students. Art donated by artists was on display at the Berkshire Museum and sold during a party during the City of Pittsfield’s 10×10 Festival. Proceeds benefited the BAA college fellowships, art field trip grants for Berkshire high schools, and free admission for art students to the Berkshire Museum.

The BAA holds biennial juried shows, such as Showing Up, 2018; NEXT, 2020, and RE*Fresh in 2022. NEXT and RE*Fresh were underwritten by a grant from the Pittsfield Cultural Council. Shows like the 2020 Distillations installation with artists Peg Dotchin, Ilene Spiewak, Peg Dotchin, and Jesse Tobin McCauley, supported by the A.R.T. Fund of the Berkshire/Taconic Community Foundation. International comics cartoon shows were held in 2015 and 2022, both curated by Lawrence Klein, BAA board member and founder of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York City. The 2021 show, Everyone is a Hero, was a salute to our local first responders, and dedicated to the memory of BAA Treasurer Paul Houston. 

As the Berkshire Art Association moves into the future, we will continue to evolve as we carry out our core mission. We invite you to participate!