MCLA-Pittsfield to Feature Dana Schildkraut as November Artist of the Month
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. —Dana Schildkraut, an award-winning artist, will be the featured artist at MCLA-Pittsfield for November, with work on display at the College’s Pittsfield location at 66 Allen Street. Schildkraut’s work will be exhibited for the entire month, and an opening artist reception will be held from 5-6:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5, during the city’s First Fridays Artswalk, sponsored by the City of Pittsfield Office of Cultural Development.
Dana Schildkraut is an award-winning artist and educator who resides in Southern Vermont. She grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. Dana studied Studio Art and earned both a BFA and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Manhattanville College. She also lived and studied in Seville, Spain. Dana’s artwork has been exhibited across the USA and featured in many adjudicated shows, including at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden, the Blue Door Art Center, the New Bedford Art Museum, and the Northville Art House.
Schildkraut worked for nearly seven years to promote STEAM education and arts integration at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Feature articles about Dana’s sculptures have been published in Art Doll Quarterly (2013) and Paper Art Magazine (2014). In 2020, Dana was honored with a 40 Under Forty recognition award in leadership and community service in the Berkshires.
Noteworthy commissions include the design and creation of masks and giant puppets for the technology-meets-dance company, iLuminate, and the creation of a series of stage masks for the Newton Theatre Company. She has also collaborated with Arm-of-the-Sea Mask & Puppet Theater.
Common themes seen in Dana’s artworks are human and animal faces, vibrant colors, and surrealistic elements. Dana enjoys when the viewer creates their own meaning from her works and enjoys hearing varied interpretations.
About MCLA:
At MCLA, we’re here for all — and focused on each — of our students. Classes are taught by educators who care deeply about teaching, and about seeing their students thrive on every level of their lives. In nearly every way possible, the experience at MCLA is designed to elevate our students as individuals, as leaders, communicators, fully empowered to make their impressions on the world. In addition to our 125-year commitment to public education we have fortified our commitment to equitable academic excellence. For eight of the last 10 years, MCLA has been named a Top Ten College by U.S. News and World Report. MCLA also appears on the organization’s list of top National Public Liberal Arts Colleges, as well as on the top 50 schools in U.S. News’ Social Mobility Ranking, which measures how well schools graduate students who receive Federal Pell Grants.
For more information, go to www.mcla.edu.