OVERVIEW
Arts In & Arts Out
In this core program, CATA participants attend workshops led by CATA faculty artists skilled in the visual and performing arts. Visual arts workshops include drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, woodworking, and set and costume design. Performing arts workshops include singing, drumming, dancing, juggling, and acting. Other workshops include poetry and yoga.
For more information:
Dawn Lane
Program & Artistic Director
413-528-5485 x104
dawn@communityaccesstotheARTS.org
The Art Cart
CATA faculty artist, JoAnne Spies, and a CATA participant share songs and stories, as well as a colorful mobile lending library of framed artwork with residents of Berkshire Health System nursing homes.
For more information:
Dawn Lane
Program & Artistic Director
413-528-5485 x104
dawn@communityaccesstotheARTS.org
A.R.T. Workshops
Artistic Realization Technologies is a unique method in which people with severe physical disabilities can create paintings with the help of a head-mounted laser pointer and a specially trained individual tracker. During the workshops, trackers become the hands of the artist, working with them through an infinite and sophisticated series of yes or no questions designed to offer the artist complete control. Click here to learn more about A.R.T.
For more information:
Rebecca Tucker-Smith
North County Program Director
413-884-5079
rebecca@communityaccesstotheARTS.org
CATA Art on Tour
Visual art created in CATA workshops throughout the year is professionally framed and exhibited at our annual “I Am a Part of Art” show in July. Following the show, up to 100 pieces of art are available to be shown at museums, galleries, cafes, businesses, schools and community spaces. This program is funded by Berkshire Life Charitable Foundation and gifts from Carol & George Minkoff, Leslie & Steve Shatz, Elaine & Ben Silberstein, and Marjorie & Sherwood Sumner. Click here to view the 2008-2009 Tour Calendar.
For more information:
Liana Toscanini
Development & Marketing Director
413-528-5485 x102
liana@communityaccesstotheARTS.org
CATA on Tour
CATA’s visual art has been exhibited at business, cultural and community sites throughout Berkshire County and beyond, i.e. Massachusetts Cultural Council, Berkshire Museum and Princeton Museum of Art. CATA’s five performing arts companies - The Moving Company, The Serenaders, Shakespeare’s Players, The Juggling Connection and Tap Murmurs - are comprised of CATA participants and often include community members as guest performers.
For more information:
Dawn Lane
Program & Artistic Director
413-528-5485 x104
dawn@communityaccesstotheARTS.org
CATAtransitions
CATA collaborates with area public school systems to provide teenagers and young adults with disabilities with the skills, motivation, and support necessary to access artistic and cultural resources in their communities. This program is funded in part by a grant from Berkshire Bank Foundation and VSA arts Massachusetts.
For more information:
Rebecca Tucker-Smith
North County Program Director
413-884-5079
rebecca@communityaccesstotheARTS.org
Creative Employment
CATA’s creative employment program, CATAdirect, offers creative work to people with disabilities. Products for adorning the home and person - including jewelry, scarves, and notecards - are produced under lively conditions from mostly recycled materials and are sold at CATA events, the CATA gallery, festivals and craft fairs. CATAdirect is funded by grants from the Great Barrington Rotary Club, the Highmeadow Foundation, the Joseph P. and Carol F. Reich Fund, Morning Glory Charitable Trust, the Tri-Town Rotary Club of Lee, Lenox, and Stockbridge, and gifts from Bernard & Chris Marden, Helice & Steve Picheney, and Leslie & Steve Shatz. Click here to visit the CATAdirect Store.
For more information:
Liana Toscanini
Development & Marketing Director
413-528-5485 x102
liana@communityaccesstotheARTS.org
Special Events
CATA’s annual events include a gala and community performance at Shakespeare & Company’s Founders’ Theatre and “I Am A Part of Art,” an art show and poetry reading. In addition to year-round programs, CATA holds special events that raise public awareness of CATA’s work, including The Sprout Touring Film Festival, featuring films by and about people with developmental disabilities, and art exhibitions at venues including the Storefront Artist Project, Berkshire Museum and MCLA Gallery 51.
For more information:
Dawn Lane
Program & Artistic Director
413-528-5485 x104
dawn@communityaccesstotheARTS.org