Belchertown, MA, August 14th, 2021. Hosted by the Belchertown Community Alliance.
“The former Belchertown State School for the Feeble-Minded (BSS) campus and the treatment many residents experienced there from 1922-1992 is a painful and complicated part of Belchertown’s past. Using a multidisciplinary approach including, visual arts, performance art, poetry, historical text and imagery in an in-person and virtual art experience, the Belchertown Community Alliance (BCA) will shine a light on all parts of the legacy the BSS leaves behind. Creating a platform for expression for some of those harmed and disenfranchised by this space, this body of work will be a step towards justice for the site. The installations, performances, and coordinating digital application will aim to connect the community of BSS survivors now scattered around the state and country and Belchertown residents so that together they can tackle the legacy of the Belchertown State School and support development towards more just futures.
For more information visit https://btowncommunity.org/reflections-belchertown-state-school or contact 2jhammer@gmail.com
Exhibitions:
- James Blackmore Painting Series – “James Blackmore, a Belchertown State School (BSS) survivor and local artist, with support from the Belchertown Community Alliance, Attack Bear Press, and the Belchertown Justice Collaborative, will create a public painting installation at the site of the former Belchertown State School this summer. This project will be in service of memorializing the legacy of the BSS, of giving voice to those harmed by it, and of creating space and opportunity for generations of Belchertown community members to reflect on an institution which continues to have such a physical presence in our lives today. Mr. Blackmore will be creating paintings based on images developed in collaboration with a panel of other survivors of State School facilities. This project will center the voices of those most harmed by the BSS as this property takes on new life as a space of economic and community development.
- The Belchertown State School Friends Association – “The Belchertown State School Friends are joining the Belchertown Cultural Alliance for a Walk of Reflection this spring to help share the rich and diverse history of the state school, its residents, and staff. The history of the state school is being painstakingly preserved by the Friends to be put on public display so that future generations have an opportunity to study the evolution of institutional care and the education of individuals with disabilities. Authors Katherine Anderson and Ed Orzechowski will be exhibiting pieces of their works related to the state school including historic images of the construction and evolution of the state school as well as the human aspect of state school life from the point of view of a long term resident. They will be on hand to answer any questions about the history of the state school and the state school experience.”
- Community Options – “Historically, it has been a challenge for people with developmental and/or physical disabilities to be seen as individuals and to have a voice in their own lives. To have a creative voice or outlet is even more rare. By borrowing from the concept of a totem pole, each of these individual story poles will use visual elements of form, shape and color to embody a personal narrative .
* The process will begin by interviewing each person for a description and recorded version of their stories and experiences (The interviews will be edited and later synched with the artwork itself and available digitally). Artists will then work in collaboration with the “storyteller” and Community Options staff to develop a design for the individual poles. While we are working on the basic concept of a “pole” we envision that these may incorporate found objects and not necessarily be straight and vertical. Each person’s story perhaps will have its own trajectory. The hope is that each pole will be unique in it’s imagery yet also represent the shared experiences of separation, isolation, mistreatment and abuse that was collectively experienced by so many people that lived on the grounds of BSS. We hope to have a common element of light atop each pole to serve both as a unifying visual element, and as a reminder that this particular group of people be seen, respected, and their stories not forgotten.” - * The Rainbow Players – “The Hero’s Journey: A Tribute to 70 Years of Institutions towards a Shift in Mindset” with The Rainbow Players Theater Troupe and Guests will be an onsite immersive theater presentation held on the campus of Belchertown State School (BSS). Combining storytelling, first person accounts and historical fiction, the actors will tell the story of the ways that children were left to these institutions to teach and raise. Many people lived and died in these institutions, never getting an opportunity to live in homes in which they were free to move around and live a ‘normal’ life.
The performance covers stories from Fernald and Belchertown State Schools. We will have a tour guide, a prior resident of BSS bring us into the lives of many and how a day might look. We will have filmed performance pieces from those unable to meet to rehearse in person due to Covid. The audience is able to move around experiencing parts of the story at their own pace, with art displayed along the pathway, dance of the spirits in celebration of their story told, such a long time in waiting. We are each able to judge and be judged: If the past had been different, would the mindset be equally different? If the labels had not been based on an intelligence test, naming “idiot, imbecile, moron”, would lives have been richer for countless individuals?Educational and Vocational Project Summary – “Currently the BHS Transitions Program is focusing our energies on fundraising for the Walk of Reflection as well as the overall renovation project at 6 Berkshire Ave. The students of the Post-Graduate Transitions Program are in the process of setting up a virtual store to sell crafts (produced in-house), as well as crafts by local artisans and some select Pandemic-friendly services such as virtual singing telegrams. These are the students and program for whom this project is the most meaningful as it will result in local, accessible and embedded vocational placements and future job opportunities.”
More Projects to be added soon!
