Paul Shoul Photo

After completing his associate’s degree in art at Berkshire Community College, Adams native Peter Dudek left the Berkshires to continue his studies—first at the School for Visual Arts, and then at Hunter College. Dudek says, “In the 1970’s, the Berkshires didn’t have many opportunities for artists.” These days, the Berkshires have become a great place for artists, in part due to Dudek, who is director of Pittsfield’s Storefront Artist Project and one of the people creating a “cultural corridor” for the region.

Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser: What brought you back to the Berkshires?

Peter Dudek: In New York, the opportunities were so incredible. My first class in the city was with Louise Bourgeois. After finishing school, I started teaching at the School for Visual Arts. I had a studio. I was pretty rooted in the city for about twenty years, before I started teaching summers at Bennington College. In ’99, my girlfriend and I drove through Windsor and stumbled upon a house. We weren’t looking for it, weren’t even living together, but we bought it. The house brought me back on a regular basis.

SWB: And the girlfriend?

PD: Three years ago we got married on our property in front of the river. I guess that’s why we bought the house.

SWB: A weekend retreat is one thing. How’d you get involved in the Berkshire art scene?

PD: I noticed Storefront Artist Project in 2003, and got studio space. After a couple of summers, Maggie Mailer—founder of Storefront Artist—asked whether I’d consider a different project. I suggested that I curate an exhibit for the gallery space by the office. Envisioning this cultural corridor from Beacon, New York to Bennington, Vermont, I chose artists from that region. We’ll have the fourth of these group shows in July.

SWB: Can you explain the rationale of deeming this the corridor? What will people experience when they visit?

PD: On this north-south route, there’s a year-round opportunity to see so much important contemporary art being made and shown and sold: Dia in Beacon, New York, Mass MOCA, Art Oh My, and Salem Art Works and more.

SWB: Do you incorporate the cultural corridor into your teaching?

PD: Yes. From New York, there are plenty of do-able day trips.

SWB: You’ve gone from artist to teacher… to curator?

PD: I started to organize exhibitions in New York in ’97. My teaching and sculpture-making and curatorial work fit together.

SWB: As director of Storefront Artist, you’ve also become an arts administrator.

PD: That’s been interesting. This is a small community, where arts organizations are working hard to help revitalize the local economy. Storefront Artist Project is important to the cultural economy being developed here. Being director has put me into a new role. Now I know the mayor. People want me to help them do all sorts of things.

SWB: Storefront Artist Project has different facets, not just filling empty storefronts with artists and projects, right?

PD: Besides the studios—availability fluctuates depending upon how many spaces downtown are vacant—and the shows, Storefront provides mentorship opportunities for high school students. In our storefront office and gallery space, the shows change each month. Our goal is to expose both new artists and established ones.

SWB: Have any former students migrated north?

PD: Yes, some have. In general, there are more artists moving north.

SWB: Where do you do your own creative work?

PD: My studio is in Pittsfield. It’s a great, large, light space, with room for my old and new work, and it’s just a block from the Storefront office.

SWB: How might someone find the Cultural Corridor’s “roadmap?”

PD: We’re in the beginning stages of putting together a website. Before it goes up, though, stop by the Storefront to learn more.