How Shall We Live?
Climate Visions of Berkshire Youth Artists
In 2020 Living the Change Berkshires collaborated with Berkshire Museum and Cooler Communities for our first juried art show about climate change for Berkshire artists of high school age. Because of the pandemic, the show was hosted on the Berkshire Museum’s website and attracted over 600 visitors.
In 2023 Living the Change Berkshires collaborated with Berkshire Art Center to present a second exhibition of student art responding to the climate crisis. “HOW SHALL WE LIVE? Climate Visions of Berkshire Youth Artists II” took place in August at Berkshire Art Center in Pittsfield and opened during the First Fridays Art Walk.
A third and much larger exhibition took place in April and May 2024. Over 200 students from 8 Berkshire High Schools submitted 174 pieces of art which were shown for 5 weeks at the Dalton Stationery Factory.
For these exhibitions, Berkshire County students of high school age submitted artwork in one of four subject categories: “What is happening? (positive or negative)”, “What is needed?”, “What would be lost?” and “Vision of the future (positive or negative)”
Local artists Phyllis Kornfeld, Jo Valens, Lorimer Burns, Karen Andrews, Gabriella Senza, and Anne Legêne selected works for the show, which was sponsored by Cooler Communities, a school grant program at the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation.
