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			DOWNSIDE UP

Tell us what you think about DOWNSIDE UP.

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Newburyport, MA

I loved the show regarding N. Adams, MA. Being in the military and away from MA, I love watching shows on MA. Newburyport was a depressed town while I was growing up but obtained funds for an urban renewal project in the early 70's changing the city from a facotry town (Towle Silversmith's) to a tourist attraction. Today, they city is home to many commuters from Boston which has driven up the real estate prices and my parents taxes are very very high. In addition, I do not believe that I could afford to buy home there after I retire. One of the shop workers in N. Adams made a comment about the locals being able to afford to live in N. Adams...it could happen over time.

San Francisco, CA

I just saw the documentary,. I love it . It brought me to tears, tears of hope, of joy ,of inspiration. I can't think of a more life affirming story. And it's true?! Amazing. Network television needs this. We all need this story. I certainly needed it - long live modern art and all creativity. The people of North Adams will be connoiseurs of modern art in no time. Building a new reality is exactly what we need to do - all over the world. Hoorah!!

Patrick D Rondeau

San Francisco, CA

Hi Everyone. I just wanted to thank Nancy Kelly for taking the time to create this wonderful film. And I also wanted to thank the visionaries who saw the potential for the museum. I remember when it was just a seed and they had the MoCA Parties to raise money. I never truly believed that it would come to fruition. But I'm glad it did. Thank you all. I stayed up late to watch it here on the West Coast because I'm from North Adams originally. When I was growing up, I never thought about how bad things were but I definitely noticed a slide as I headed toward high school in the late 80s. That aside, I loved growing up in NA and if you saw those thousands of acres of green trees as a young kid, you can probably imagine why. Even though I'm almost a continent away, the place is still my home and I try and get back to visit it at least once a year. I think the place is doing great and I am encouraged everytime I visit. It just keeps getting better. Good luck this summer. I'm sure I'll be by to visit.

Isis Coble

Willits, California

I live in a small town 3 1/2 hours north of San Francisco. It has been my priviledge for the last 2 years to participate in local productions of the V-Day Vagina Monologues, in both this time and In Ukiah, the next town south of here. Local artists have been showing anit-violence, and erotic feminine art due to this play. The local community is talking to each other about the erotic in art; violence toward women and children is becoming tackled like never before. Art changes everyone. It's changed ME!

Sherryn Adair

Phoenix, AZ

Fabulous! This is the stuff that propels me toward graduate study in City, Regional and Environmental Planning. I've been drawn toward communities like North Adams my whole life, and am inspired by the visionaries both in this documentary and in my life. Thank you for yet another enlivening PBS presentation! You rule!

Being a person who was born and raised in North Adams, Mass for approximately 20 years, I can say that it seems that North Adams is trying to make a comeback and art appears to be the reason. For the past few years I have returned to North Adams and feel extremely moved by the atmosphere and nostalgia that exists within this community - as stated earlier, art seems to be a contributing factor. For North Adams to continue in this success vein I pray everything continues but not to the point that the long time residents are outpriced and no longer feel a part of the nostalgia. From my point of view some of the challenges a community faces during a remaking are not letting the past fade away completely and this is something that all of us must preserve. The benefits are the progress that can occur; however, progress is not always positive, many times it is almost destructive. Please feel free to contact me for any further points of view regarding North Adams and its past, present or future status.

Mary Provencher Taylor

San Antonio, TX

I viewed Downside Up this evening, and was very impressed by the great job Nancy Kelly has done. I am a native of North Adams, having left there in 1952 for Texas with my husband. I have returned almost every year since, and have seen both the city's decline due to loss of industries, and its renaissance since Mass MoCA arrived on the scene. Since this film was produced, the town continues to amaze me with new venues. Joe Manning has contributed immensely to public knowledge of this jewel of the Berkshires, through his books, articles and tours. I have always been proud to call North Adams my home. It has so many beautiful Victorian buildings, stately churches and incredible natural beauty, none of which were mentioned in the film,unfortunately. and the people are friendly, wise and appreciative of the culture in the area. North Adams was featured in a recent issue of Travel Magazine as one of the most romantic places to visit! Imagine that!

Harry Matthews

Brooklyn, NY

As a Williams College alumnus (class of '67) who visits the Berkshires with some regularity, I was impressed by the skill, range, and tone of Kelly's film. I especially admired the blend of candor and tact she brought to describing the tensions and interdependence of blue-collar North Adams and elite Williamstown. Personally, I prefer an historical view, so I regret the fact that she failed to explain that Sprague Electric (and in Pittsfield, General Electric) took over failed textile mills -- which had moved operations to non-union factories in the South. In a sense, the arrival of MassMoCA is simply the latest step in the continued re-use of its buildings. Even the new emphasis on art is simply a case of building on a local boom: Williams College has, for the past half-century, had one of the best art eductation programs in the world, run by exceptionally well-connected professors, who succeeded in placing their best students in positions of enormous influence. Indeed, the Williams College Museum of Art has become a "destination" in its own right. Then there's the outstanding historical collection of the Clark Art Institute, which is embarking on its own multi-million-dollar expansion. Every summer brings the Williamstown Theatre Festival, a decades-old landmark that will benefit from the College's expansion of its theatre facilities. In brief, I share Kelly's optimism about the region. Art could be the 21st-century equivalent of textiles in this quiet and picturesque corner of the world.

Max & LaDonna Benningfield

Alva, OK

Really enjoyed the program. Glad to learn more about Mass MoCA. Good to see you too Joe. Fantastic!

i just had an amazing time watching this town transform itself. i must admit that i looked at north adams state college in 1993 and one reason i didn't attend was the state of the town. i regret that now. i have an uncle who lives in who recently quit his post in trying to transform my old hometowns downtown in tilton,nh because the town couldn't organize itself and decide what its priorities were and how monies should be spent. i hope he can find some inspiration in your film. great job! my summer weekend trip schedule WILL include a trip to north adams.

K. Major

Columbia, MO

The film was very interesting and instilled a sense of hope in me. I wanted to see the town grow, change, and prosper. I was glad that the segment at the end of the film highlighted some of the changes. It also made me think about how enlightening the arts can be for those who have had little previous exposure and for children. What a power art has!

I was very touched by your documentary Downside Up. You seemed to catch the very emotion of the community, from the quiet desparity to the eventual feeling of pride and selfworth. In creating this story of North Adams, you have managed to capture a bit of the story of so many other towns suffering from decay. That gives all of us hope. It has also made me put Mass MoCA on my list of places to visit this summer! I hope to see more of your work soon. Thank you.

What a wonderful surprise to find this program on PBS this evening and see our hometown coming alive again. My husband and I were born and brought up in NORTH Adams, but left in 1964 because their was no future there for us.Whenever we returned we would always visit the Clark Art Institute, and the Williams College Art Museum. It is wonderful to see what is happening, now that MassMOCA has come into being. Now that we have retired, we often think, maybe it is time to move back!

Karl Freund

Austin, Tx

wow. Every day we see hopelessness and despair on the news. This week alone (and its only Tuesday) War; there is no way out. AIDS; the only vaccine on the horizon does not work. Nukes; Korea has them and they ain't afraid to use 'em. Now I see that hope not only lives, but thrives when people have the commitment to realize their dreams in spite of all odds. Thank you so much for this well made documentary, which showed those lucky enough to watch that beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, it is in the eye of the dreamer, the believer, and those dedicated to taking risks for the right rewards. Dream on! By the way, I noticed that the credits, like the trees in MOCA, were flowing upside-down just fine! ;-) Karl

Joel Walker

Granby, MA

I grew up in Williamstown and went to North Adams State. In 1972 I remember doing a report on the economic future of the area for my economics class and interviewing people at Sprague, Hunter Machine and General Cable Corp. They all said the future for northern Berkshire County was tourism but they did not know what the main draw would be. Art has made a great diffence to North Adams making the vision of tourism come true.

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