Pittsfield Cultural Council

With funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Pittsfield Cultural Council (PCC) provides grants to help underwrite projects, programs, and events in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences. We are committed to supporting the work of local artists, cultural institutions, and schools, as well as the work of community members who identify as Black, Indigenous, POC, LGBTQX, refugees, immigrants, or people living with disabilities. Our ultimate goal is sustaining and enriching the diverse creative community of the city of Pittsfield, with a focus on making cultural activities accessible and engaging to all.

Contact

Marilyn Gerhard
[email protected]
413-442-6120

Address
PO Box 1192
70 Allen Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201-6250

Application Information

FY26 Allocation

$50,500

FY26 Local Priorities

The Pittsfield Cultural Council gathers input yearly from the community and develops funding priorities based on the feedback received. In the 2026 cycle, the Pittsfield Cultural Council will give priority to:
1) Projects planned by Pittsfield artists or organizations.
2) Projects with a direct benefit to Pittsfield residents.
3) Projects that are accessible for free or at minimal cost to community members.
4) Projects that promote community engagement and cohesion.
5) Projects that reach diverse audiences, especially audiences that do not usually benefit from cultural or artistic offerings.
6) Emerging or independent Pittsfield projects that have a goal of promoting new growth in the arts, sciences, or humanities.
7) Projects for which a thorough and complete budget has been presented with the inclusion of all other funding sources.

FY26 Local Guidelines

1) A resume (for an individual) and/or statement (for an organization), detailing the applicant’s qualifications must be included with the application.
2) Slides, photographs, and other materials submitted with the application will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed and stamped envelope.
3) The project location (performance venue/gallery space, etc.) and the date of the event must be secured in advance of the application; if appropriate, a letter of support from the site manager or sponsor must be included in the application.
4) Any change to the project after approval of the original grant application must be submitted in writing (e-mail is acceptable) and approved by the Pittsfield Cultural Council in advance of those changes.
5) The Pittsfield Cultural Council and Massachusetts Cultural Council logos must be used in all advertising/ promotional materials such as posters, advertisements, and program booklets. Grantees who fail to do so may be ineligible to receive subsequent funding. You may Google “Pittsfield Cultural Council logo” to find the image. The MCC logo is also readily available online.
6) Grantees who do not submit the required final reports may also be ineligible for subsequent funding. The final report lets the council members know that the project was actually presented.
7) Applicants will not be funded for more than three consecutive years, after which the applicant must wait one year before re-applying.
8) Only one application will be considered from any individual or organization within each grant cycle.
9) The PCC does not fund fund-raising projects or grant scholarship requests.
10) All venues must be handicapped-accessible. Consideration should be made to present programs in accessible locations near bus stops, for example, for those community members who do not have personal transportation.
11) Funding for each grant is at the discretion of a quorum of council members. Applicants should understand that the council members will make every effort to provide funding to every worthy application, but not necessarily at the full amount requested by the applicant.

How Grant Recipients Are Paid

Direct Grants

FY26 Funding List

Name	Project Title	Amount
Arts in Recovery for Youth	Arts in Recovery for Youth (AIRY)	$1,000
Berkshire Art Association, Inc.	BAA Biennial Show 2026	$1,000
Berkshire Children's Chorus, Inc.	Joyful Voices of Berkshire Children; North, South and Central County	$1,000
Berkshire Concert Choir, Inc.	Berkshire Concert Choir 2025-6 Concert Season	$1,250
Berkshire County Arc	Music Therapy	$1,000
Berkshire Garden Center, Inc.	Farm & Garden Afterschool Program at Herberg Middle School	$400
Berkshire Lyric Theatre,Inc.	Educational Programs and Concerts	$1,000
Berkshire Music School, Inc.	Pay-What-You-Can Community Group Classes	$2,500
Berkshires Jazz, Inc.	Berkshires Jazz Summer Showcase	$1,500
Boston Comic Arts Foundation, Limited	Pittsfield Makes Comics	$1,250
Clay, Sarah	Day Dream	$700
Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association, Inc., The	First Fridays Artswalk (FFA) and Art in the Park	$1,000
Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.	Pittsfield Beautiful – “Where Nature and City Meet” Storefront Paint Project	$1,000
Elizabeth Freeman Center, Inc.	Healing Through Harmony – Music Therapy for Survivors	$2,500
FIRTELL, Diane	Plein Air at Roots Rising	$750
Geraldi Folegatti, Luiza	All the power / Todo el poder	$1,000
Greenagers, Inc.	Greenagers Education and Environmental Stewardship	$1,000
Heart & Soil Collective Inc.	Community Cooking Days	$2,500
Hernández, Maurice A	Spanish community magazine: Revista Somos Berkshires	$1,000
IS183, Inc.	Visual Arts Programming for The William Stickney Pittsfield Adult Learning Center	$1,000
Katunemo	Katunemo Community Exhibition	$1,250
Latinas413	Sewing Workshops	$1,250
Leff, Alex	The King Is Dead, Now What? The 250-Year Struggle for Democracy	$1,000
Literacy Network of South Berkshire, Inc.	LitNet's Storytelling Project	$1,250
Literacy Volunteers of Berkshire County, Inc.	Project 45: Celebrating 45 Years of Literacy and Community through Music	$1,750
Maichack, Mary Jo D.	Girl Talk: Finding Your Voice: Storytelling for Older Girls	$487
Mandel, Bruce	“The View From Behind This Guitar”	$550
Meli, Amanda	Songbird Soul	$350
Neill, David	Patriotic music by the Fanfare Brass Ensemble	$625
Nutshell Playhouse, Inc.	Nutshell Playhouse at Kidzone	$800
Parisi, Rita	Women of '76	$625
Ricci, David	From Antique Fairs to Photobook – Unpacking American Cultural Identity	$350
Rites of Passage and Empowerment	R.O.P.E.Celebrates Black America	$1,140
Roots Rising, Inc.	Pittsfield Farmers Market	$1,250
Ross, Sheldon	Ragtime Five Brass Quintet	$600
Ryan, Elizabeth	Totality	$720
Santangelo, Jay	First Line: Community Storytelling & Performance SeriesProject Title: Depot After Dark: Free Summer Dance Series	$1,250
Shakespeare & Company, Inc.	2026 Fall Festival of Shakespeare	$1,250
Small Planet Dancers	The Roaring Twenties	$600
Staples-F, Noel	African Rooted Dance and Drum	$1,000
Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center, Inc.	Celebrate Malinke Culture from Guinea: Drum, song and culture w/ master artist Bolokada Conde	$600
The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Inc.	Recovery Rewards: Healing Through Art	$1,254
The Eagles Band, Inc.	Eagles Band Colonial Theatre Free Annual Concert	$1,750
The Stockbridge Sinfonia, Inc.	The Stockbridge Sinfonia Summer Concert Series	$1,250
Trustees of Berkshire Athenaeum	Berkshire Book Con: A Celebration of Reading & Writing	$2,000
Tupper, Lara	Memoir Writing: What's Your Story?	$425
Van Egmond, Timothy	Performances For Baby Animals Festival at HSV	$140
Witt, Mary	Music for Community	$400