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Conference Film: Downside UP

Downside UP: How art can change the spirit of a place

opening-night-5-29-99
Photo courtesy Nicholas Whitman

How does a dying working class town end up betting its future on art? With 80% of its downtown buildings closed, North Adams, Massachusetts united blue-collar locals with art world luminaries to transform economic failure into America’s largest center for contemporary art, MASS MoCA. A film by North Adams native Nancy Kelly, DOWNSIDE UP is about the tentative, dangerous notion of hope in a city widely viewed as hopeless.

 On Thursday April 16th at 6:30 p.m. we are thrilled to present a screening of
Downside UP
at the Smith Opera House in Geneva, NY
for the film selection at the 2015 New York Statewide Preservation Conference.

Mass MoCA sign 4-13-00 a Photo Nicholas Whitman SMALL

Immediately following the film, a panel will answer questions and discuss the role that the arts and large institutions can play in revitalizing communities. Panelists will include:

  • Wayne Goodman, Landmark Society Executive Director
  • Julian Adams, Director, Community Preservation Services Bureau, NY State Historic Preservation Office
  • Joni Monroe, Community Design Center of Rochester Executive Director
  • Bleu Cease, Rochester Contemporary Art Center Executive Director
  • Erich Lehman, WALL\THERAPY, 1975 Gallery
  • Nancy Fitzpatrick, The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA

A ticket for the film is included with your Conference registration, or tickets can be purchased separately. Tickets for the general public will also be available at the door for $10. >>Click here to return to the main Conference page to purchase your tickets!

Film and Panel Discussion Sponsored by Chaintreuil | Jensen | Stark Architects, LLP

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