Investing in A Booming Artistic Community

Founder and Executive Director of Adams Theater, Yina Moore (She/Her), talks about being a creative entrepreneur in the northern Berkshires.

You currently split your time between the Berkshires and New York City. What first brought you here?

In 2019, I was hired by Tom Krens—the conceptual founder of MASS MoCA and former director of the Guggenheim—as an architectural and design consultant for his Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum project in North Adams. I was living in New York City and commuting here during the week. Six months later, the pandemic happened. So my family of four and my parents got a house in North Adams and became two-city residents. 

In 2021, you purchased a theater in Adams that has been vacant for 50 years, with a vision of making it a year-round cultural and event venue. How’s the project going?

The northern Berkshires has a booming artistic community, a lot of cultural entrepreneurs are moving in, and the town of Adams is behind the revitalization and development of downtown and Greylock Glen. I thought wow, maybe I can do a project here—and with less initial capital investment than in a big city. Through fundraisers, private investors, and an $800,000 grant from the Baker-Polito administration, we have funding for building improvements and developing a programmatic vision for 2023 so the theater can be used year-round. Through collaborations with other local businesses and creative exchanges with visiting and local artists, we are building common ground and an accessible venue that welcomes all members of our community. 

What do you love most about the Berkshire way of life?

(Laughs) It’s really funny, you know, I have lived my whole life in big cities like New York and Shanghai where you are surrounded by people, but not close to people. In the Berkshires, it’s the opposite. There is less density in the Berkshires—people are farther away—but I have developed more friendships in a shorter period of time here than in many, many years living in New York.

Describe your perfect Berkshire weekend, one where you visit all your favorite places.

We like to go on hikes as a family—to discover new places, experience the different seasons through nature, and completely unplug. And if I were to include one cultural activity, I would choose between going  to Tanglewood for a concert or a show at Barrington Stage. 

What are five words you would use in describing the Berkshires to someone who hasn’t been here?

Art. Nature. Culture. History. Variety. There is something for everybody, and that is what makes the Berkshires so unique.

Learn more about The Adams Theater.

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