
Members of the Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Coalition held a summit on Sept. 25 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Theater in Great Barrington.
Robin Roraback
Members of the Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Coalition held a summit on Sept. 25 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Theater in Great Barrington.
The second Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Summit took place at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Castle Street in Great Barrington on Sept. 25.
The Pay Equity Project began in 2021. It grew from a leadership program facilitated by Multicultural BRIDGE (Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups and Education) and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation provided support for it. It was inspired by the voices of the underpaid workers in an open letter to White American Theater, and the grass roots movements Change the Museum, and Change Berkshire Culture.
An anonymous worker commented “Even after ten years I have no retirement savings, and I’m still paying off college debt. I have no safety net, I’m sacrificing financial stability, along with my mental health. This is not sustainable.”
The Pay Equity Project is co-led by Kristen van Ginhoven and Aron Goldman. “We work individually and collectively in the spirit of cultural humility and mutual learning,” van Ginhoven said. “Right now, we are focused on changing internal systems, becoming more transparent with our boards, staff and communities and reporting our efforts at pay equity summits.”
The coalition was formed with six members and has grown to eighteen and has become a movement. Some of the members are: Ancram Center for the Arts, Art Omi, Barrington Stage Company, Community Access to the Arts (CATA), Jacob’s Pillow, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, The Mount, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Hancock Shaker Village.
According to the 2024 Summit summary: “Entry and mid-level arts and culture workers in this region struggle to put gas in their cars, find decent housing, access basic healthcare, feed their families and as a result, maintain their financial, physical and emotional wellbeing.” And more, “These challenges are more pronounced for people of color and other identity groups who have historically experienced oppression.”
In spite of workers’ struggles financially, arts and culture are important to the region’s economy, bringing in $398 million annually and supplying 5,500 jobs in Berkshire County. These jobs include groundskeepers, administrators, and support staff, not just artists.
In 2023, the Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project made recommendations which the coalition is striving to put into practice. These included pay increases, more benefits including health insurance for part-time employees, and improvements in retirement plans.
Although not perfect, the coalition reported at the summit that there has been “a wide range of financial and non-financial improvements that are making a real difference.” Workers said in a new survey done this year, that although they “continue to feel their situation is unsustainable,” the changes have had “positive mental health consequences” and a “palpable effect on staff morale” in part due to knowing their employers are trying to improve things.
Employers reported, “improved morale leading to reduced turnover and a corresponding long-term cost reduction that can offset new costs associated with pay equity initiatives.”
A question the Pay Equity project often gets is how the pay increases will be paid for. AJ Pietrantone, the deputy Director of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival contributed “A lot of people assume pay equity will break the bank, but we are showing that it can be done using innovative practices from around the country, sharing strategies regionally, collectively working to expand funding and create new systems and including entry and mid-level workers themselves in the process in meaningful ways.”
At the summit, the coalition announced it will continue to work on pay equity in their membership. The coalition also has plans to secure affordable housing for workers as well as transportation. They will continue to report changes they make “toward employer and collective systems change.” The coalition hopes to attract new members and to include entry and mid-level workers as voices in the coalition. They plan a 2025 summit to report on progress.
“Our coalition works together, sharing strategies, inspiring each other, holding each other accountable to a bold pay equity agenda,” Mahaiwe Executive Director Janis Martison. “It is challenging work, but it has all been rewarding as we begin to see meaningful change happening for entry and mid-level employees.”
Recent changes in Massachusetts may have been spurred by the coalition. On July 31, the Massachusetts legislature “passed a pay transparency bill requiring all employers with more than 25 employees to include salary bands and compensation on job announcements.” On Aug. 6, the Governor signed the Massachusetts affordable homes act. It gave five million dollars toward “seasonal supportive housing for the non-profit creative community in Berkshire County.” And on Sept. 20, days before the summit, the creation of the Cultural Economy Advisory Council was announced. It will explore “policies that support artists and cultural organizations.”
The summit concluded, “Pay equity is intrinsically valuable. But it also leads to organization effectiveness, artistic expression that inspires, and a vital creative economy.”
Dancers from Pilobolus will perform at the NWCT Arts Council spring fundraiser on April 26 in Washington Depot, Conn.
On Saturday, April 26, the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council will host a special evening, Arts Connected, their spring fundraiser celebrating the power of creativity and community. Held at the Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington Depot from 5 to 8 p.m., this event brings together artists, performers, and neighbors for a magical night filled with inspiration, connection and joy.
Award-winning designer and arts advocate Diane von Furstenberg and her granddaughter Antonia Steinberg are honorary co-chairs of the event. Their shared love of the arts informs the spirit of the evening.
Antonia Steinberg, above, President of Bucks Rock Camp in New Milford that she first attended as a camper when she was ten years old. Antonia is co-chair, with her grandmother Diane Von Furstenberg of the NWCT Arts Council fundraiser.Provided
“As someone whose life was profoundly shaped by the arts — as a child at Buck’s Rock and now as President of its Board — I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of the arts; how creative spaces can empower young people, build community, and nurture well-rounded problem solvers. That’s why I’m so honored to co-host the Northwest CT Arts Council Gala. Their work in supporting artists and cultural organizations across Connecticut is essential,” said Steinberg.
Von Furstenberg’s influence in fashion and culture, and Steinberg’s leadership at Buck’s Rock reflect the intergenerational impact of the arts,” said NWCT Arts Council board president Sunday Fisher. “Their participation underscores the power of creative expression as a defining force in our community.” Steinberg is the president of Buck’s Rock Camp, a non-profit performing and creative arts camp in New Milford that she first attended as a 10-year-old camper.
Diane Von Furstenberg, co-chair of NWCT Arts Council fundraiser.Provided
Steph Burr, executive director at NWCT Arts Council, added, “Events like Arts Connected are at the heart of what we do — bringing people together, lifting up artists, and reminding us of the essential role creativity plays in our lives. The Council works year-round to ensure the arts not only survive but thrive across our region.”
NWCT Arts Council is a nonprofit that serves as advocates for the arts. Through regranting efforts, public art support, legislative advocacy, and their regional events calendar, they work to ensure the arts are accessible and celebrated in every corner of their 25-town service area.
Burr continued, “The arts in Northwest Connecticut are vibrant, evolving, and deeply rooted in community. There’s a quiet but powerful creative pulse running through these hills — one that reflects the resilience, diversity, and passion of the people who call this region home. Over the past few years, artists and cultural organizations have navigated challenges with heart and determination, despite ongoing funding volatility. Through our advocacy and collaborative programming, we ensure the arts remain essential and accessible in our community.”
Highlights of the April 26 fundraiser include performances by Pilobolus, Sherman Chamber Ensemble, Ysanne Marshall & the Lotus Blues, hand pan musician Jeremy Driscoll, and a curated art exhibition, NW25 Gallery, featuring local artists. Sponsors Litchfield Distillery, Kent Falls Brewing Company, and Executive Cuisine catering will provide the food and drink.
Ticket prices are $125, open to guests 21 and older, available online at givebutter.com/artsconnected.For more information or to ask about sponsorship opportunities, email Katherine Pelletier at katherine@artsnwct.org or visit givebutter.com/artsconnectedsponsorship.
Arts Connected is made possible thanks to the generous support of sponsors; Antonia Steinberg is sponsoring all the artists for the event and Valiant Energy and Torrington Savings Bank are presenting the event.Additional sponsors include William Raveis Lifestyle Realty, Litchfield Magazine, Housatonic Heritage, Art Bank 7, Harney & Sons Teas, Aquarion Water, The Lost Fox Inn, George Home, NKYV Rituals, and Litchfield Distillery.
Lily Al-Nemri, founder and owner, and artistic director and painter Rudy Vavra at Tyte medispa and gallery in Millbrook.
The painter Rudy Vavra once created floor collages in Texas. You could, in theory, lie on them. Now, years later and much farther north, his work graces the walls of a medispa in Millbrook, New York where he also serves as the artistic director. You can still lie down, just not on the art. Instead, you might be undergoing an EmFace non-surgical facelift while surrounded by twenty-two of Vavra’s paintings.
The space, Tyte Medispa in Millbrook, is equal parts gallery and treatment center, the brainchild of Lily Al-Nemri, a medical aesthetician and now gallery owner. She also owns the nail salon, Bryte, down the street on Franklin Avenue. A few years ago, feeling she was outgrowing that space, she looked to expand and, just a few blocks away, found this rather sprawling maze of rooms with the gallery that now inhabits the grand central ballroom. “This used to be a gym,” she said. “It was way more than I was looking for, but I went for it.”
Vavra, a self-professed “painter’s painter,” has spent decades layering pigment in his barn-turned-studio in Milan, New York. “I find paintings as much as I make them,” he mused. “Some happen quickly, others are slow.” Of this latest collection, he said, “Some people call them busy. I think they’re slow.” His marks accumulate with a kind of devotional persistence, like petals left at a shrine. “A while ago, I saw a photographic image of a shrine,” Vavra said. “I don’t know if it was a Buddhist shrine or what, but there were colors on the ground all around it, and I realized they were the stains of flowers left in the worship. That’s very similar to the way I paint.”
The collection of paintings on view at Tyte — some as large as a shrine — are meditations on color, inviting the viewer to slow down. Or speed up. Whether viewers are activated or soothed by the images is neither Vavra’s intention nor within his control. Still, he said that watching people interact with the work has been a real treat. “Now that I have my paintings here, I get to see them all together,” he said. “It’s only when they’re all together that I see how they talk to each other. It’s interesting to see people come in and go to have a treatment and come out. It’s a very interesting connection.”
And what is the connection? What could be a disjointed pairing — aesthetics and aesthetic medicine — has become, improbably, a perfectly logical continuum. “They’re related in a sense,” Vavra said.
Aly Morrissey
Al-Nemri, a former radiologist who taught for over a decade at Westchester Community College, is no stranger to layering, precision, or the quiet rigor of care. Her incredible menu of services — Botox, body contouring, pelvic floor therapies — are the cutting edge of the industry. Of Vavra, Al-Nemri said, “I fell in love with his work, and we just hit it off.” It’s a kind of kismet that seems to hover over the place. Pilates mat classes take place twice a week in the main gallery space and both Al-Nemri and Vavra have loved watching clients pause, eyes caught by a stripe of cerulean or a vibrating cluster of brushstrokes. “Something will catch their eye,” said Vavra. “They’re looking for something in it.”
So, this gallery-meets-spa (or is it the other way around?) has plans. Vavra will be curating six shows a year. Laurie Adams’s photographs will be hung in June, a group show of local artists will share the space in July and August, and a Fall show will feature twenty women artists, which Vavra is eager to anchor with a piece by Judy Pfaff. “There’s nothing like this on this side of the county,” he said of the light drenched space. “It’s been a bit sleepier here. We want to wake it up.”
He means it kindly; sleep certainly has its place. But here in Millbrook, amid the low drone of machines designed to rejuvenate, something unexpected has emerged. Perhaps that’s what both Al-Nemri and Vavra are really after — not the quick fix or the final image, but the suspended moment, the long look. A face seen anew. A painting revealed slowly, in silence.
As for Vavra’s curatorial process? “I just unpack the paintings, lean them against the wall, and look,” he said. “Eighty percent of the time, they’re already where they’re supposed to be.”