Tour hub and performances held in Cummington,
Massachusetts’ newest cultural district

Cummington, MA – The Hilltown Arts Alliance announced today that 32 artists who have chosen the beautiful and historic Western Massachusetts Hilltowns as a place to live and work will be opening their workspaces September 30 and October 1, 2023 for the 5th annual Open Studio Tour. The weekend features work and demonstrations from a global slate of artists in 23 locations. The studio spaces are open 11AM – 5PM each day.

“The rural Hilltowns are increasingly where artists from around the US and the world are choosing to live and create,” says Hilltown Arts Alliance President and award-winning fabric artist Kathy Ford. “Artists on the tour are from Ukraine, Ireland, Estonia, Spain, the Netherlands, New York, Hawaii, Kansas, Florida, California, Montana, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma. While our influences and work are wildly diverse, we all come here to find the space to create. Artists in the Hilltowns reinvent 19th century barns and mills into light-filled creative spaces. Seeing how people live and work in such a beautiful rural area is the unique experience of the Hilltowns Open Studio Tour.”

A Tour Hub and gallery featuring representative works of each artist is being set up in Massachusetts newest designated cultural district: Cummington, MA. It will be held at the Community House at 33 Main St.  Printed maps will be available there and at each studio stop on the tour. An interactive tour map is located at: hilltownartsalliance.org/tour-map.

New to the tour this year are: Adrian Almquist, Nancy Doniger, Madge Evers, Greta Gnatek Redzko, Lena Garcia, Ellie Goudie-Averill, Marie Haas, Eric Jacobson, Barbara Konieczny and Molly Smith.

Returning artists include: Elena Allee, Ana Busto, Pleun Bouricius, Laura Bundeson, Valerianna Claff, Gloria Conwell, Michael Falcone, Leni Fried,  Alexandra Cherau, Sergei Isupov, Kathryn Jensen, Jeanne Johns, Beckie Kravetz, Guy Matsuda, Michael Melle, Kevin O’Connor, Olwen O’Herlihy Dowling, Jen Parrish-Hill, Kädri Parnamets, Mark Shapiro, Cyndy Sperry, John Walker, Jr. and Susanna White.

Attendees of the tour will wander Scenic Byways 112 and 143 from Huntington in the southern Hilltowns to Plainfield in the north during peak leaf season. The roads follow the Westfield River, which was designated Wild & Scenic by an act of Congress 30 years ago. Restaurants, a brewery and food trucks serving local fare are dotted throughout the area. Music and dance performances will take place in Worthington and Cummington in the late afternoons during the weekend. Attendees can come for the entire weekend – or just spend a few hours – getting to know the work of Hilltown artists and the scenery that inspires them.

The Open Studio Tour is made possible with support from the Hilltown Community Development Corporation, Cummington Cultural District; Mass. Cultural Council, Hilltown Community Health Center. Florence Bank, George Propane, East Branch Studios, Cummington Supply, and Old Creamery Co Op.

For the most updated information on artists and events throughout the weekend, go to hilltownartsalliance.org

About the Hilltown Arts Alliance. The Hilltown Arts Alliance is applying to be a registered 501(c)(3) and is a volunteer-run nonprofit arts organization serving the beautiful hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. These lush rolling hills are home to an impressive number of accomplished artists. Our mission is to spread the word! The Hilltown Arts Alliance seeks to connect and support local Hilltown artists and makers in their creative endeavors.