The Northampton Center for the Arts is transforming individual creative passion into long-term professional sustainability with the launch of its inaugural Artist Mentorship Project. By providing a mix of professional development, increased visibility, and inclusive performance and exhibition opportunities, the program is designed to empower local artists while simultaneously strengthening the arts ecosystem in the region.
The Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA) recently announced the first cohort of the program, also known as “AMP it Up!”, which will provide a year of holistic support for artists in western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.
“It’s a very exciting program, and I’m so happy to be a part of it,” said Katrina Parker, an interdisciplinary artist and craftsperson who lives in Easthampton.
Membership was awarded to the artists in the area who applied late last year: 10 seats were first-come, first-served; five seats were reserved for BIPOC artists; five were selected by lottery; and five were reserved for emerging artists. Artists paid a sliding-scale membership fee, though the NCFA’s Community Funds covered the cost for those in need.
Heather Geoffrey, co-director of the Northampton Center for the Arts, created AMP it UP! program with the intent of providing ongoing support for artists in “a holistic wraparound way,” she said. The program was the only new initiative she and co-director Kelly Silliman launched this year, noting it “felt like the most important thing” following recent funding cuts in the cultural and nonprofit sectors.
“It’s important to provide as much support as we can to these artists who are out there in their studios and trying to make it,” Geoffrey said.
The cohort artists will receive several professional benefits, including four workshops per year on topics like grants and income streams; a 30-minute consulting session with Geoffrey and Silliman; discounted facility rentals; a featured profile on the NCFA’s website; networking and collaboration opportunities; and spotlights on multiple social media platforms.
“Any dance artist knows that it takes a village to produce and present work, and oftentimes, for freelancers, it can be hard to ‘get your foot in the door.’ The support and resources NCFA provides is huge,” Francesca Baron, a movement artist who lives in Northampton, said in an email. “This program is acting like an accountability buddy for me, making sure I stay consistent with my artistic practice while simultaneously sharing it with the community.”
“A program like AMP It Up! can be so beneficial. The support, guidance and community it offers are all things that can feel scarce in the private world of an artist,” Mariana Cicerchia, a visual artist who lives in Great Barrington, said in an email. “I have personally found my journey as a visual artist to be one of solitude. There’s a stillness and silence that is required to access the things behind the words in your mind. And that space can become a bit isolating. Sometimes it feels like you’re swimming from one shore to the other but neither are in sight. Offering a space and format for artists to come together, share process, work, inspiration, all under the guidance and mentorship of two incredible women, feels like a perfect balance.”
Cartoonist, illustrator and games artist Brendan Albetski of Ellington, Connecticut, said he’s looking forward to taking part in the program to be exposed to work from a variety of disciplines and to develop business skills specific to the art world.
As a self-published artist who also makes work for publications, “I already have one foot in both worlds,” he said, but “I’m really looking to find ways that I can sharpen my own skills on the business side of things before I can even share them with the community.”
Albetski is also a member of The Cartoonist Cooperative, which advocates for fair pay and labor protections for cartoonists.
“I would love to be able to come to a meeting and say, ‘Hey, I learned this [from the program]! I’m looking for those foundational instruments that I can use throughout the rest of my career, that I can use and that I can help other people in my community with,” he said.
The kind of professional support that AMP it Up! provides to artists is important because art is “skilled labor like anything else, and it’s not looked on like that. Artists really need to fight and promote themselves and not be afraid of telling people how much work and how much skill” goes into their art, Albetski said.
“There’s nobody out there who’s telling a welder that they should [only do it because they] enjoy it and that it’s a fun hobby,” he said. “It takes a long, long time to get to a place where you are professional-caliber, so I think the work and the effort that goes into that, the sleepless nights, etc., should be recognized.”
Kira Yan, a visual artist who lives in Northampton, likewise said, “Artists need support now more than ever.”
“It is very easy to get lost or confused about the next steps you should take when it comes to getting your work out there, so it is really helpful to have a professional community to navigate and support [you] throughout your journey,” she said. “I believe art has the power to heal. Let’s heal the world.”
Other cohort members include: multidisciplinary artist Adrian Almquist; illustrator and fine artist Andrea Holland; visual artist Cathy Durso; artist and writer Debra Hoyle; choreographer and educator Gabriella Carmichael; visual artist Harold Dumas; multidisciplinary artist Indë; artist and educator James Lipshaw; artist Jennie Moss; printmaker and weaver Kate Jenkins; visual artist, photographer and writer Nikki Gardner; dancer and educator Nona Monahin; artist and educator Paige Quinn-Vasic; cyanotype artist and fiber artist Phyllis Meredith; mixed media artist and photographer Robin Griffith; contemporary folk artist Ruth LaGue; visual artist and educator S.T. Gately; multidisciplinary artist and printmaker Sol Weiss; author/illustrator and community muralist Youme Nguyen Ly; and dance maker Zazie Tobey.
The artists represent 17 different towns in and around the Valley: Amherst; Conway; Easthampton; Ellington, Connecticut; Florence; Great Barrington; Hadley; Holyoke; Huntington; Leeds; Leverett; Northampton; Plainfield; Springfield; Sunderland; Westhampton; and Williamsburg.
For more information about the Artist Mentorship Project, visit nohoarts.org/amp-it-up. Applications for the 2027 cohort will open in November. For more information about this year’s cohort, visit nohoarts.org/amp-cohort-2026.