Join us on Friday, May 9th, 6-8pm as we welcome two Jazz combos composed of members from the Northampton High School Jazz program.

The night will feature classic and modern Jazz repertoire and original compositions. Thanks for stopping by and supporting these amazing musicians!

"Ascher and Friends" is a Jazz combo composed of Ascher Savage on piano, Jonah Abel-Weisman on drums, Kai Caban on Bass, Amelia Durbin on Trombone and Vocals.

"The Isaac Tieg Trio", features Isaac Tieg on piano, Beatriz Salles on Bass, and Tilden Pitcher on drums.

*refreshments will be served

New work from Jo Smith. Please watch Here!

Take a walk down memory lane...Remember when The Iron Horse Music Hall was (and still is) a much loved musical venue for all kinds of music? To celebrate the one year anniversary of the reopening of this local treasure, artist Blanche Cybele Derby saved some of her hand drawn posters.

These were designed in the 1990s (B.C Before Computers) when illustrated flyers were posted around town and in the windows of The Horse to advertise various performers. Perhaps you attended one of these shows? Now’s your chance to revisit that era: the posters will be on display during May and June in the glass case at the entrance to the Art and Music Department at Forbes Library.

Please join the Northampton Center for the Arts, A.P.E. Ltd., and Northampton Open Media at 33 Hawley for an opening reception with refreshments and live music during Arts Night Out on Friday, 4/11, from 5:00-8:00 pm!

The Northampton Center for the Arts presents softedge. Experience the transformative power of art where the works of Lena Mac and Rae Heller explore the delicate balance between beauty and pain, hope and despair. Delve into the soft edge of healing and human experience, and find a space where joy and grief coexist.

Join us at the Split Level Gallery for the Northampton High School student show and senior show, Playground! From stunning portraiture to captivating still life and impressive sculptures, the Northampton High School students have poured their creativity into an inspiring showcase of their work.

Live Music by Ruth Kendall

Ruth Kendall is a senior at Smith College, specializing in vocal performance, songwriting, and music production. Influenced by her gospel upbringing, she blends heartfelt lyricism with R&B textures. Since her first year, she has been a member of the Smiffenpoofs, Smith’s a cappella group, and has performed her original work at Carnegie Hall and other notable events. Ruth has released two original singles and collaborates with Grammy-nominated producer Troy Chester. After graduation, she plans to continue writing, performing, and growing her audience. You can find her music on Spotify and YouTube, with more to come soon.

NOHO Art Club

Head downstairs to Eli’s Room for a Noho Art Club meet-up from 5:00-7:30 PM hosted by Paige Quinn-Vasic! Come play with collage and gelli plate printing, and check out Paige’s felt sushi demo, an original wet felting technique offered as a workshop through the Center!

River Valley Radical Futures is an exhibit by local artists envisioning a future after capitalism, led by Alix Gerber. Travel from the world we live in today in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts, to a future in this same place 100 years beyond the fall of capitalism. River Valley Radical Futures shares the future visions co-created by members of at least 14 local groups who enact alternative ways of being in the Valley today. The visions created by members of these groups have been brought to life by seven local artists who created artifacts excavated from the future we imagined.

Our Premiering Potters Series continues this May with Kate Sprankle's pottery. She'll be at PINCH for Northampton's Arts Night Out Friday, May 9th, from 5-8 PM and we'll be showcasing her work through Sunday, May 11th. Says Kate, "Water speaks to my soul, evoking movement, change, and the flow of life. Throwing clay on the pottery wheel, water helps glide my hands over the mound of clay, shaping a tall cylinder or belly of a bowl."

I have been painting for a long time as a hobby and I still consider it my favorite one. Since I retired, I’m doing it more frequently, mostly on a daily basis.

My love of nature, color, and movement has always inspired me to start a painting. I always try to push myself to accomplish whatever I start doing.

I would like people to know that anyone can do art if they push themselves and try to do it on a regular basis.

Meet watercolor artist Mary Walsh-Martel of Shire Arts.

Mary lives and paints in Conway mass, a small town nestled in the foothills of the Berkshires. Inspired by the drama of light and shadow, she is on a watercolor journey to harness the way in which watercolor behaves as it meets the paper, while allowing the pigments to mix and blend as they choose.

The transparent nature of the paint lets the white of the paper underneath, reflect the light, which can make a painting glow. Mary uses only 100% cotton papers and professional grade pigments to help ensure light fast, rich and luminous color.

She is a member of the American Watercolor Society and the New England Watercolor Society. Cedar Chest stocks a selection of 8x10" framed prints of Mary's work as well as a number of seasonally themed greeting cards. She will have a number of other items available for purchase during this event.

I’m inspired by what I see around me. I am particularly drawn to plants/flowers and to water as subjects. 

I would like people to look at my work not as a representation of reality, for example, don’t think “This is a picture of a tulip”, rather this is a picture of something interesting and sensuous and

colorful and makes me feel good, or Oh, I’d like to have clothing made of that, or I

never really looked at a tulip before. I see things not so much as WHAT they are, as

maybe HOW they are and how they make me feel.

Malea Rhodes is best known for her expressive creature and monster mugs. Her newest sculptural work was inspired by what we collect throughout our lives and the desire to make a beautiful place to showcase those items. Her series of “Curios” or curiosity shelves are carefully handbuilt from thin slabs of terracotta and layered with colorful glazes inside to house your precious treasures.

May 9 Second Friday at the Museum of Art

SCMA is free and open to all! Join us from 4–8pm for an evening of art, making, and community at SCMA. Galleries are open until 8pm. From 4–7pm Enjoy hands-on art making and celebrate spring by creating multilayered flowers, inspired by Younes Rahmoun’s Zahra-Saghira (Flower-Small) and Markib (Boat). Draw with a spirograph tool or fold origami to make complex and vibrant botanical shapes. This project was developed by SCMA STRIDE scholar Maeve Stanford as part of her 2023-2025 research project on family learning in museums. From 5:30–6pm, join the curator of Temporarily Ours: Contemporary Photography and Film to discuss the film Hashti Tehran in the lower level gallery, followed by a 6–7pm full film screening of the film in the Cunningham Center for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4jNeTCe

The Northampton High School Improv troupe, Funktionlust, will perform their unpredictable show combining family-friendly hilarity and spontaneous story-making.

Funktionlust is now in its 19th year at NHS. The Funks have been entertaining audiences at Northampton’s First Night, Smith College, Lathrop Community, Historic Northampton, and Happier Valley!

They are spontaneous, creative and funny.

Jo has been making space for new projects and new ideas by cleaning out her studio. She will be selling past work at a discounted price. You can see some of her new (much larger) work as well.

I call this series Luminous Latitudes because all of these images were made in the tropics where the light can be very intense and the foliage and landscapes quite different from our New England environment.

All of the images in this show are infrared photographs. I always found infrared photography to be an intriguing and sometimes quirky medium to work with. Unlike traditional black and white or color photography, infrared photography only records a portion of the light spectrum that is actually invisible to our eyes, because of this, it has its own aesthetic.

This selection of photographs is a bit different from what I have exhibited in the past. They were made with a digital camera whose sensor was converted to only record infrared light. I then digitally manipulated the raw images in Photoshop to render a color palette that is of my own choosing.

Please join the Northampton Center for the Arts, A.P.E. Ltd., and Northampton Open Media at 33 Hawley for an opening reception with refreshments, live music and local art…

The Northampton Center for the Arts presents Nexus: The Ties That Bind in the Barn Door Gallery. Each year, the January exhibit features artwork from Curatorial Committee members or artists of their choosing. Join us in celebrating this year's dynamic nexus of the local arts community as these creative minds unite, showcasing their work and reinforcing the spirit of collaboration and support within the local art scene. Don’t miss the chance to experience the vibrant expressions of our community!

A.P.E. Ltd. presents Remember to Remember, which brings together the works of Emine Cichowski, Muriel “Monik” Johnson, and many artists from The Care Center. Spanning multiple mediums, the exhibition offers a dynamic lens into dreams, memory, and daring expression.

Join us for a very exciting Arts Night Out at Forbes Library!

The Hosmer Gallery on the second floor will showcase photography and paper arts by Mandana Marsh, Eileen Claveloux, and Margaret Humbert-Droz & the Reading Room on the first floor will host the first Manna Community Kitchen Art Show!

Let's celebrate the incredible artistic talents within our community!

Most often I work in acrylics but I also sketch with pencil, charcoal, and oil pencils.
I began to take drawing, color theory and painting classes in 2017 at the Hill Institute a year after I retired. Since then I have had individual art classes with Whitney Robbins almost weekly in Greenfield.

When I wrote poems I would use metaphors as a way to start writing.
Since I have been painting I feel compelled by color and very often peoples faces and the story they tell.

As in my work, in cities, and on buses etc. I am always drawn to people, curious about their histories, their stories and how they represent themselves in words, language, clothes and in every other way.

The NHS Jazz Band has three smaller Jazz Combos which feature young student improvisers. Our students get to work with a variety of amazing professional Jazz musicians throughout the year thanks to the Elliot Ross Jazz in School Foundation and the Northampton Jazz Festival.

We're so happy to host singer-songwriter Scott Meyers again in our shop for Northampton Arts Night Out. He’ll be playing songs from his three studio albums as well as a few covers.

Scott’s third studio album, Pirates on the Moon, was released in April 2021, recorded at home and right through the heart of the pandemic.

Some time before, in 2009, Scott released his debut album Old Radio, featuring such fan-favorites as "Side of the Road,” “15 Minute Movie,” and “A Song is a Song.”

It was followed by Mysteries of the Night - EP (2014), a four-song, spare acoustic lullaby for his two kids.

Raised in Los Angeles, and by way of San Francisco, Boston and NYC, Scott has since settled with his family, and their dog Sally, right here in Northampton.

Jo has invited some of her favorite artisans to participate in a Holiday Market. Come see the beautiful crafts, jewelry, pottery, furniture and art and give your loved one a one of a kind gift this season!

Who will be there…

Jen Dieringer of Reclaimed Crafts

Jen Dieringer of Reclaimed crafts is a Northampton-based maker who repurposes vintage + salvaged objects -- sourced at flea markets, tag sales and roadside free piles -- into functional art. https://www.reclaimedcraftsnorthampton.com/.

Annie Bowe-Jewelry

Annie Bowe is a southern Maine artist who has studied and experimented with many forms of art. She recently fell in love with making jewelry for its quick, tangible and meditative process. Sharing her love for jewelry and seeing her pieces worn on her loved ones has sparked a lot of inspiration and joy. Often spending hours hunting for the most unique or vibrant gemstone beads, Annie is excited to continue spreading the joy and helping others discover their own personal styles with pieces that look good on everyone. And a fun tidbit - Annie is Jo Smith’s niece! Follow along on Instagram @anniebowesart https://www.instagram.com/anniebowesart?igsh=bGJieTIwanFsbXVv

Maya Machin-Pottery

Maya is a well known local potter who lives and works in Ashfield, MA. Her beautiful pottery has been loved by many for years. Jo is thrilled to host Maya at the show in December. https://www.mayamachinpottery.com/

Connie Gemmer-Uphostered Furniture and Fiber Art

Connie Gemmer’s creative palette is her home and her garden where she gets wrapped up in bold colors of cotton and linen, rich silks, intricate tapestries and the many textures of her garden. Her love for these flowers and fibers has inspired her to knit and sew her own designs and create pieces which warm up a home or delightfully punctuate a room. Recently, she has been finding beautiful yet discarded furniture which she transforms. For this show, she is using custom made fabric from her sister’s (Jo Smith) paintings.

Kevin Monaghan explores the poetic potential of "point of view" and of relationships. It includes theater-like manipulated imagery, landscape and portraiture.

Live Music @ Unitarian Society Portico

5:00PM - On That Note

5:30PM - Green Street Brew

6:00PM - UMass Duly Noted

6:30PM - Smith College Vibes

7:00PM - UMass Doo Wop Shop

7:30PM - Amherst College Sabrinas

Live Music @ First Churches

6:00PM - Valley Rock Voices

Out on Main Street

5PM - 8PM - Hilltown Sled Dogs

6PM - 8PM - SHOW Circus Performance

5PM - 8PM - Hot Chocolate brought to you by UMassFive College Federal Credit Union

5PM - 8PM - Marshmallow Roasting

5PM - 8PM - Santa & Friends in the Union Station Trolley

5PM - 8PM - Goodies brought to you by Pie Bar

5PM - 8PM - Holiday greenery brought to you by Flowerworks Farm

6:30PM - 7:30PM - Magician George the Great brought to you by ASSEMBLE Made + Curated

Join us for a festive evening celebrating the holidays in vintage style with a spotlight on all of our local makers.

Come meet artist Diane Danthony and discover her works featuring photographs of local New Orleanian culture and music.

Please join the Northampton Center for the Arts, A.P.E. Ltd., and Northampton Open Media at 33 Hawley for an opening reception with refreshments, live music, and art!

The Northampton Center for the Arts presents Wallflower Wawa in the Barn Door Gallery:

Paintings and wall sculptures by Nickolas Roblee-Strauss and Jacqueline Strauss explore the melodramas of less obvious party guests. Through the use of color, pattern, and a playful reinvention of form, this exhibit invites us to celebrate and encourages us to examine the perimeter, revealing the blossoms that emerge from the walls.

The Quabbin Art Association, in partnership with the Northampton Center for the Arts, presents New Voices, New Perspectives in the Split Level Gallery.

This exhibition features 20 emerging artists from nine universities and colleges in the Connecticut River Valley area who are pursuing careers in the visual arts. Come and see the talented artists gathered by QAA in this new initiative, designed to create opportunities for these emerging creatives!