Instagram story viewer> @themastheads> Posts

The Mastheads

@themastheads

3.1K

followers

883

following

writers’ residency / public humanities project / urban experiment in the berkshires

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥. Work in a Mastheads studio this month through our Day Residency program!

The day includes private use of your choice of studio, a tour of Melville’s historic home, and access to the extensive grounds and trail network at Arrowhead.

Anyone working on a creative project is welcome!
Book at the link in bio. Sliding-scale positions are also available—just email us at info@themastheads.org.

Photos by wonderful textile artist and dedicated Day Resident @abigaildoanstudio 💛 by @themastheads

48

1

4 days ago

Sending love to our Fireside students as they head back to the classroom & add to the list of things they know… some of which you can hear in our latest Fireside original tune: “And I Know”!

The song was written this spring with Pittsfield High School students in from Miss Coppola and Miss Mascitelli’s ESL classes, as part of our 2nd annual of Arts & Literacy Fellowship with @citation_needed_press. Over 5 months, these students gained multimedia arts-sector experience, including instruction in visual art, poetry, songwriting, bookmaking, printing (thx @melaniemowinski + @stephanietrotto), graphic design, and sales ⚡️

Thank you to @berkshire_taconic_cf for supporting this fellowship, and to @blackwingfoundation and @johnny_irion for bringing songwriting to this amazing group of students! We were honored to learn all the things they know. Link to song in bio 🎶 by @themastheads

17

4

a month ago

Farewell, 2026 Summer Residency! Thank you to Amy Haejung, Ann Marie Dorr, Devon Walker-Figueroa, Maggie Mull, and Rachel Lapides for a beautiful month and a spectacular Lantern Party reading at Arrowhead. Thank you also to our Summer Fellow Sadie Chernila for helping to make the summer smooth sailing the whole way through 🌊 by @themastheads

104

4

2 months ago

🌙 Lantern Party at Herman Melville’s House 🌙 Bring a picnic to @arrowhead_berkshire tomorrow for lantern-lit studio explorations, local drinks, and a performance by our (really special!) Summer Writers-in-Residence. Poetry broadsides will also be for sale 🌈 7pm! by @themastheads

25

0

3 months ago

Next Thursday, bring a picnic to Melville’s barn! We’ll have drinks, lanterns for studio explorations, and limited-edition student poetry broadsides ✨ Our writers-in-residence will perform some of the work they completed in the studios this month! They gave a spectacular short reading last week at Hot Plate—we can’t wait for you to see them at Arrowhead! by @themastheads

18

0

3 months ago

A closer look at the student poetry broadsides for sale today at our Paper Party @hotplatebrewingco 🌈

Each 11” X 17” poetry broadside features a poem by a local elementary school student and a design by Pittsfield High School ESL students. They were printed with Xerox and Risograph on hemp, bamboo, or cotton paper that was made in Lee, Massachusetts and generously donated by Onyx Paper Mill.

The broadsides were developed as part of the Masthead Needed Arts & Literacy Fellowship—a collaboration with @citation_needed_press —that provides Pittsfield High School students with multimedia arts-sector experience, including instruction in visual art, poetry, songwriting, bookmaking, graphic design, and sales.

For each broadside, pairs of high school fellows from Marina Coppola’s and Chloe Mascitelli’s ESL classes read dozens of poems written by local elementary school students this year through our poetry-in-schools program, Fireside. Each pair selected a poem and explored the work through different media, including zines, drawing, and printmaking in the PRESS Room at MCLA. Finally, in a series of design and collage workshops, students developed a coherent broadside representation of the work.

The posters will be up for the month in the storefront windows of the Onota Building at 74 North Street. Learn more about them and purchase your own at the PAPER PARTY July 11 at 2:00, Downtown Pittsfield’s FIRST FRIDAYS AT FIVE on August 7 from 5-8, and the LANTERN PARTY on July 23 at 7:00 at Arrowhead!

Funding for The Masthead Needed Arts & Literacy Fellowship comes from amazing partners @berkshire_taconic_cf, @blackwingfoundation and the Feigenbaum Foundation 💜

Shoutout to @_badstudent for the perfect Egg Skin design 🍳 by @themastheads

76

4

3 months ago

We’re having a PAPER PARTY this Saturday at 2:00 at Hot Plate Brewing, during the @downtownpittsfield Artswalk! Featuring:

- BROADSIDE SALE! Our sweet high school students will be selling the broadsides they made this spring as part of our Arts & Literacy Fellowship for PHS ESL students w/ @citation_needed_press. Each one was carefully designed and printed with Risograph or Xerox on rare, beautiful paper made in Lee, MA.

- MICRO-READING by our Summer Writers-in-Residence.

- PAPER CONVERSATIONS with Judith Monachina from the @housatonicheritage Oral History Center about papermaking in Berkshire County. Did you know that in the mid-nineteenth century, if you wanted to open a paper mill, you were said to have “Lee Mania”? Or that we once produced paper here that was 0.000014” thick?!

- WORLD CUP BLOCK PARTY kickoff at 3:00! Watch Norway v. England in the alley right outside Hot Plate at 1 School Street.

We are excited to see you, friends! by @themastheads

27

0

3 months ago

We are happy to share 3 exciting summer projects and events, starting with a series of newspaper folds we’ve created in partnership with @housatonicheritage, all about PAPER: in the Revolution, in the Berkshires, and in the Classroom. Pick up the next installments in the @berkshireeagle on July 11 and 18!

Then on SATURDAY JULY 11 at 2:00, join us for a PAPER PARTY at Hot Plate Brewing to meet our summer writers-in-residence & pick up a poetry broadside created with our Fireside students and @citation_needed_press, printed on fancy paper made right in Lee, MA! Stick around for the @hotplatebrewingco World Cup Block Party!

Finally on THURSDAY JULY 23 at 7:00, BYO Picnic to @arrowhead_berkshire for our 3rd annual LANTERN PARTY, with performances by our residents, drinks, and evening strolls to our sculptural-architectural writing studios✨ by @themastheads

17

0

3 months ago

Last week, the Morningside community came together at Kellogg Park for the 5th Annual Party in the Park—a celebration of creativity, connection, and student voice.

Families gathered for a free neighborhood celebration filled with music, poetry, books, and student-created art. The afternoon featured lively student performances alongside hands-on science and art activities led by Flying Cloud Institute, Berkshire Art Center, and MAPS Music Art Puppet Sound, creating a joyful community event for all ages.

The celebration also marked the release of A Couple Thousand Things I Like, a new student artist book created with Citation Needed Press, along with additional student-designed books and artwork.

Hosted in celebration of Morningside Community School in its final year.

#MillTownFoundation #PittsfieldPublicSchools #Education #InTheBerkshires #MorningsideCommunitySchool #PittsfieldMA #MorningsideLegacy
@johnny_irion
@flyingcloudinstitute
@berkshireartcenter
@maps_musicartpuppetsound
@citation_needed_press
The Mastheads by @themastheads

8

0

4 months ago

☀️ Join us in welcoming our 2026 summer writers-in-residence: Ann Marie Dorr, Amy Haejung, Rachel Lapides, Maggie Mull, and Devon Walker-Figueroa! For three weeks in July, these five writers will live in Pittsfield and work in The Mastheads studios at Arrowhead.

✅ Save the date! On July 23 at 7:00, join us for the residents’ final performance, with drinks, snacks, and lantern-lit strolls to the studios! by @themastheads

89

5

5 months ago

THURSDAY MAY 28! Our 5th Annual Party in Kellogg Park: A free neighborhood celebration of music, poetry, books, and art created by Morningside students. Wood-fired pizza oven from SoMA! Student performances! Music by @johnny_irion! Science and art projects by @flyingcloudinstitute, @berkshireartcenter, and @maps_musicartpuppetsound! Plus the release of A COUPLE THOUSAND THINGS I LIKE, our latest student artist book collaboration with @citation_needed_press, and more books and art designed by Pittsfield students. Come help us celebrate the beautiful Morningside Community School in its final year ❤️ by @themastheads

29

1

5 months ago

Day Residencies open on May 17! Anyone working on a creative project is invited to spend time in The Mastheads studios at Arrowhead. Past day residents have included scholars, photographers, textile artists, religious leaders, musicians, community organizers, visual artists, and more!

The residency includes private use of your choice of studio, a tour of Melville’s home, and use of Arrowhead’s grounds and trails. Sliding scale positions are available; just email info@themastheads.org.

Day Residencies are open from 10am until dusk, Thursday through Monday, from May 17 to October 31 (with a 3-week break in July for the Summer Writers Residency). Schedule at the link in bio ☀️

P.S. @berkshire_bird_observatory will be at Arrowhead select Thursdays throughout the summer—visit berkshirehistory.org to line up a Day Residency with a morning bird-banding experience! by @themastheads

78

0

5 months ago