Episode 2: Jennifer Trainer Thompson - Hancock Shaker Village

by Alex King & Kyle Gwilt

Today’s episode is hosted by Alex King, a senior and arts management major at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Kyle Gwilt, a senior at BART Charter. In this episode of Thinking Like a Region, King and Gwilt interview Jennifer Trainer Thompson, cultural administrator, author, and journalist. Thompson is a beloved founder of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (better known as MASS MoCA) and now serves as president and CEO of Hancock Shaker Village (HSV). Thompson speaks on how she believes arts education serves creative institutions, her astounding journey with MASS MoCA, the “volcanic shift” she sees occurring in the museum world, and all the things she loves about the Berkshires.

This episode focuses on the creative capacities of complex problem solving, adaption, curiosity, enthusiasm, and resourcefulness. Listen in to hear Thompson’s unique journey of developing and managing arts programs that define a region.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Thinking Like A Region is a production of the C4 Initiative, Berkshire County’s Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact, based at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA, and grant-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. This podcast is produced by Lisa Donovan and Leslie Appleget. Technical podcast support by Audrey Perdue.

For more information about the show or the C4 Initiative, visit brainworks.mcla.edu/c4.

THIS EPISODE’S VOICES:

Jennifer Trainer Thompson is the director and CEO of Hancock Shaker Village and a founder and ex-creative director at MASS MoCA. Hired at MoCA in 1988, only 2 years after the institution’s inception, Thompson is regarded as one of the most influential people in the museum’s history and is credited as director of the museum’s 2019 documentary Museum Town. Thompson is native to Southeastern, MA, and studied English literature at Tufts University in Medford.

Alex King is a senior at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA. King is a major in arts management.

Kyle Gwilt is a senior at BART Charter in Adams, MA.

Episode 1: Tessa Kelly - The Mastheads

Episode by Sam Bonney

Episode host Sam Bonney is a senior at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. In this episode of Thinking Like a Region, Sam interviews Tessa Kelly, co-founder and design director of The Mastheads, an experimental writers’ residency and public humanities project based in Pittsfield, MA. Kelly highlights her journey in setting up The Mastheads program and how it has shaped her understanding of the arts and the skills and practices.

In Kelly’s words, “What I find really amazing about The Mastheads is that we continue to find ways to, through inviting everyday people, to find and share their creative voice as a way to reflect on where we live, and that we continue to find new opportunities to shape and improve our public spaces.” This episode focuses on the creative capacities of active listening, the ways ideas are combined with other goals, embracing and responding to multiple voices, and translating ideas into actions. Listen in to learn what it means to be an arts program that serves a region.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Thinking Like A Region is a production of the C4 Initiative, Berkshire County’s Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact, based at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA and grant-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. This podcast is produced by Lisa Donovan and Leslie Appleget. Technical podcast support by Audrey Perdue.

For more information about the show or the C4 Initiative, visit brainworks.mcla.edu/c4.

THIS EPISODE’S VOICES:

Tessa Kelly is the co-founder and design director of The Mastheads in her hometown of Pittsfield, MA. She received her B.A. in art history from Williams College and her M.Arch from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Kelly created The Mastheads alongside her husband and co-founder, Chris Parkinson, with grants from  the National Endowment for the Arts and Housatonic Heritage.

Sam Bonney is a senior at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA. Bonney is majoring in arts management. His passions are literature, history, and learning.

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