Eight-person artist group the Fiberistas explore the variations of the color blue in their new exhibit, “Mostly Blue,” which opens April 2 and runs through April 30 at the Hosmer Gallery in Forbes Library. The reception takes place on Saturday, April 7, from 2-4 p.m. The Fiberistas work with fiber material, doing quilting, felting, tapestry weaving, dyeing, stitchery and more. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 587-1011. Forbes Library is located at 20 West St. in Northampton.
The University of Massachusetts Department of Dance and Music hosts the 20th Annual High School Jazz Festival on Saturday, April 7, in the Fine Arts Center in the music wing. The daylong event will include performances by high school big bands, combos and vocal jazz ensembles from students throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont. This event is free and open to the public. Students will perform and be reviewed by world-class soloist, composer and band leader jazz saxophonist Chris Potter and other members of the UMass faculty. Potter’s quartet will perform later in the evening at the Fine Arts Center. Tickets for Potter’s performance are $35 and $25 for Five College Students and youth under 17. For more information, visit umass.edu/music/event/20th-annual-high-school-jazz-festival.
“Immigrant Voices: A Celebration of Arts” returns for the third year to showcase performances by immigrants living in western Massachusetts. The performance takes place on Sunday, April 8, at 3 p.m. at the Shea Theater Arts Center and is sponsored by the Center for New Americans. Students from Venezuela, Mexico, Tibet, Costa Rica and Haiti will share cultural traditions from their countries. Featured performers include the Senegalese hip-hop group Gokh-Bi System, Latin-fusion band Viva Quetzal, and Latina dance group Grupo Folklorico Tradiciones. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at cnam.org/immigrant-voices. The Shea Theater Arts Center is located at 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls.
Last week, a celebration of local Williamsburg artist Greta Carey kicked off a four-week exhibit with a silent auction at Meekins Library in the Neil Hammer Gallery. Carey was a painter known for her interpretations of local scenes and landscapes. She was also was the president of the Williamsburg Brush and Palette Club, an art teacher at the Hill Institute in Florence for nearly 30 years, and an exhibiting member of the Deerfield Valley Art Association. Since her death in 2004, Carey’s daughter, Willo, has come across nearly 70 additional paintings previously unseen by the public. In honor of the local artist, the Board of Selectmen selected April 2018 as official “Greta Carey Month.”
“It’s a wonderful chance to honor a well-loved former resident, purchase a piece of original art, and support three worthy community organizations, all at the same time,” says Pat Billingsley, the committee event chair. Proceeds will be donated to organizations valued by the artist including Williamsburg Libraries, Grange, and Historical Society.
The month’s showcase event will take place on Friday, April 27 with a closing reception gala and live auction for a select group of Carey’s paintings. For more information about Greta Carey and this month’s events, visit gretacarey.art.