About the Hilltown Arts Alliance
The Hilltown Arts Alliance 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!
We provide a nexus for the Hilltown community of artists and makers to share ideas, showcase works, and otherwise help to lift each other up and let the world know what gems lay hidden in our region.
While the Hilltowns themselves are rural, we are quite fortunate to be home for a thriving population of creative people. Representing a dozen towns and many square miles, Hilltown Arts Alliance is proud of the creativity that resides here.
We seek to connect, support, and encourage Hilltown artists – connecting with other artists and getting feedback and exposure.
We organize year-round lectures, musical events, and art shows. Members organize classes in figure drawing, watercolors, basket weaving, and plein air painting. We collaborate with Hilltown Community Development for select programs, dedicated to jointly promoting engagement in the hilltowns of western Massachusetts.
Local Connections in the Creative Community
The Hilltowns possess a well-kept secret: the creativity per capita is amazing! For a population that is spread thinly over an expansive rural geography, there are a surprising number of artists and artisans that have made their homes and studios here. Providing a growing network of fellow artists, artisans, patrons, and community members offers these far-flung makers a signal boost. We hope to show the world a vibrant and colorful slice of what our Hilltowns have to offer.
Board of Directors
We’re volunteer run with a board of directors voted in at the annual meeting held each May. Officers for 2023-24 include:
President: Kathy Ford
kfordarchitect@gmail.com
Vice-President: Valerianna Claff
valerianna@verizon.net
Clerk: Kathryn Jensen
kjens3@icloud.com
Treasurer: Gabriel Unger
dylangabrielunger@gmail.com
Community Director: Mary Jane Carey
maryjanecarey49@gmail.com
Social Media: Jen Parrish-Hill
jen@parrishrelics.com
There’s So Much More to the Hilltowns than Green Grass and High Clouds
Hilltown Arts Alliance could not do what it does without two key groups of people: the artists and the patrons. We are thankful for all of the support that comes from these folks and everyone in our community. With our expanded capabilities, thanks to the support of Hilltown Community Development, we’re so excited for the possibilities to more effectively serve our community! We’re further encouraged by the outpouring of monetary and volunteer support we’ve received in the past five years.
Would you like to help support the Hilltown Arts Alliance? Learn how you can contribute here:
The Hilltown Open Studio Tour
In 2018, the Hilltown Arts Alliance began organizing a new annual tradition: The Hilltown Open Studio Tour. HOST 2018 consisted of over 25 artists and makers at studio locations in 4 towns, spanning more than 10 mediums including painters, watercolorists, sculptors, quilters, printmakers, weavers, jewelers, metalsmiths, glassblowers, flameworkers, collagists, photographers, mixed media artists, and more. Many studios offered additional demonstrations or other activities for visitors. The debut event was an enormous success and they keep getting better. Come along for the Tour!
