Here is a quote from the website:

“Welcome to the world of Project Elements Easthampton. These illustrations were inspired by sifting through microfiche and finding true stories that happened in Easthampton, MA from 1898 to 2009. Some are poignant while others are humorous.”

Community Photo Access is a community based, art & photography center working in collaboration with local artists, regional organizations and other stakeholders who are actively involved in the Pioneer Valley creative arts community. Between June 4-11, we are sponsoring the exhibition Machakos-Through their Eyes. This fund-raising photography exhibit documents the lives of the children that live at the rescue center in Machakos, Kenya, and was a project conceived and organized by Abby Tuominen and Shira Kaufman, two Amherst Regional High School Seniors. The photographs were taken by the girls at the orphanage and gives us a glimpse of their daily lives. Ani Rivera, of CPA, has donated his time to organize the exhibition at Community Photo Access. Proceeds from sales of prints will go to the Machakos fund. Take a look under news for the press release that provides more information.

By Julie Lackner

As an artist, you’ve spent a lifetime not only creating, but collecting, art.  What’s going to happen to it all after you are gone?  You may have accumulated a large collection of art, and better yet, that collection might be worth a lot of money.  What’s the best way to pass on all that value to the next generation of owners? This is where a good estate planning attorney will be helpful.

The main thing to consider is whether to give away some of the art during your life or to give it away through your will after you’ve passed away.  The tax treatment to the recipient of the gift is different in each option.  If you give away a piece of art during your life, the person who receives the piece will have the same basis as you.  Basis is a tax term, and it means the cost that was paid for the piece originally.  For example, say you bought a piece by Takashi Murakami before anyone knew who he was.  You paid $10,000 for the piece.  Today, imagine the piece is worth $1,000,000.  You decide to give it away as a gift to your child, Joe.  Joe is not much of an art collector, and he decides that he wants to sell the piece.  When he sells it, he will step into your shoes for tax purposes and take your basis.  That means he will pay capital gains on the entire gain on the sale.  He’ll pay tax on $1,000,000 – $10,000, which is $990,000.  At a 15% capital gains tax rate, Joe will pay $148,500 to Uncle Sam.  Once you account for the tax Joe has to pay, you’ve only given him a gift worth approximately $850,000.  Note that if you give a gift while you are still alive, you may need to file a gift tax return and pay a gift tax.  You can give away cash or property worth up to $13,000 in 2010 to as many people as you like without having to file a gift tax return with the IRS and without having to pay any gift tax.  Over your lifetime, you can give away up to $1,000,000 before you have to pay any gift tax at all.

What happens if you die next year and you leave Joe the piece in your will instead?  You may have to pay some estate taxes on it, but Joe will get what’s called a “step-up” in basis.  That means that his basis for tax purposes will be whatever the property was worth on the day you died.  So if the piece is worth $1,000,000 on the date of your death and Joe turns around and sells it for $1,000,000, he will have no gain on the sale.  No gain means no tax, and Joe gets to keep the entire $1,000,000.  In fact, he may even get to take a loss for any commissions he has to pay when he sells the art!  Passing on art at death can be accomplished either through a will or a estate planning trust.

In addition to deciding whether you want to give away your art during life or at death, you’ll need to decide who will receive it.  As in the above example, you could give it away to a family member, but you don’t have to.  You could decide instead that you want to give your entire collection to a museum.  If the museum is a qualified charity, then no taxes will be due on the transfer and you could even get a charitable deduction.

As a final thought, it’s generally best to pass on highly appreciated assets at your death, rather than giving them away during your life.  None of the appreciation gets taxed so the recipients will get a lot more bang for their buck, and they should thank you for that.

*The material contained above has been prepared by Bacon Wilson, P.C. for informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be construed as legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Internet subscribers and online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.

Click Here is the official schedule

Brief History of Northampton MA: In 1851, opera singer Jenny Lind, the “Swedish Nightingale”, declared Northampton, MA to be the “Paradise of America”. Among the city’s famous residents are: author William Cullen Bryant, the fire and brimstone preacher Jonathan Edwards; the ascetic health guru Sylvester Graham, namesake of the Graham Cracker; children’s author and illustrator Eric Carle, Sojourner Truth, African American abolitionist and orator; Lydia Maria Child, authoress of the Thanksgiving poem “Over the River and Through the Woods”; musicians Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne; Calvin Coolidge, who served as mayor of Northampton before becoming governor of Massachusetts and U.S. president.

Garden Garlic

Mark your calendars for the phenomenal ‘Festival that Stinks,’ a fabulous celebration for the whole family. Looking for inspiration and practical skills to survive and thrive in tough economic times? At the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival you can:

Support and enjoy the bounty of over 100 amazing artists, farmers and organizations; strengthen communities by purchasing locally grown and crafted. Gain skills for interdependence: learn to grow garlic, press cider, mill lumber, make paper, coil clay, grind grain, do tai chi, go solar. Nourish yourself through chef demos, fantastic food and the wondrous wood fired bread oven. Transform trash into compost (last year only three bags of garbage for 12,000 people)! Celebrate with friends old and new: enjoy rockin’ music and incredible entertainment on two solar powered stages, wonderful workshops and garlic games galore. There’s something for everyone you love, so bring your friends and the entire family.

On October 3 and 4, follow your nose to beautiful, historic Forster’s Farm, 60 Chestnut Hill Road, Orange, MA. Visit www.garlicandarts.org for directions, pet policy, and past years highlights. Inflation buster admission at $5.00 per day for adults, weekend pass $8.00, kids 12 and under free. Bike, hike, parachute or ride the Magic Bus–the free biodiesel shuttle from nearby parking lots. Wheelchair accessible parking and restroom facility provided. The 2009 schedule of vendors, music, entertainment and games, chef demos, renewable energy and healing arts workshops, and all you need to know to have a scent-sational time will be updated by July. Multiply the fun: enjoy CISA’s Eat the View and the Conway Festival of the Hills on this same glorious October weekend.

Exhibition of Highly Unlikely Subway Maps at Artifacts 20th Century

This June 26, Artifacts 20th Century will premiere a special exhibition of faux subway maps. The exhibition, titled Transit Authority Figures: Highly Unlikely Subway Maps, will be on display until July 31. Many in the Valley may recognize the Northampton/Amherst Metropolitan Area Subway Map and this will be their first chance to get a look at the next eight maps as Transit Authority Figures begins their quest to design underground mass transit systems in unlikely places around the country.

The exhibition will kick off on Friday June 26 with an opening/launch party at Artifacts 20th Century in Florence from 6 to 9 PM and the public is invited.

Transit Authority Figures was conceived last winter when Northampton designers Rob & Damia Stewart mocked up a 4-line traditional-style subway diagram with Northampton and Amherst as twin hubs. The Stewarts made a poster with the diagram and gave hundreds away as holiday presents. The feedback from friends and clients was so overwhelmingly positive that they decided to replicate the model and introduce it to other communities. The new company they formed is called Transit Authority Figures.

The formula is simple – the map has to look real and the location has to be such that the idea of building a subway there is patently absurd. Heading into the summer of 2009, Transit Authority Figures has set its sites on East Coast beach resorts: Cape Cod; Martha’s Vineyard; Nantucket Island; The Hamptons, North Fork & Shelter Island; Fire Island; Bar Harbor, Maine; and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. These are the maps that will be featured in the exhibition.

“When I think about getting around Boston or Washington, DC, I don’t think of the physical topography of the place. My mental map of those cities is the subway diagram,” said Rob Stewart. “In creating Transit Authority Figures, we thought about some of our favorite places and how they would be “improved” by having a full service subway system. Where would the lines go? What would the stops be? If those subways are ever built, these are the maps that will be burned on your brain for all time.”

The maps are hitting the scene just as overall interest in rail transit is peaking, with the possibility of Amtrak rerouting its Vermonter line through Holyoke and Northampton and the hope that federal stimulus money will bring high-speed rail service to Springfield.

Artifacts 20th Century is located at 28 North Maple Street in Florence, MA. Hours are 11AM-5 PM Tuesday through Saturday. For more information visit www.transitauthorityfigures.com.

Raquy

and the Cavemen are coming back to Northampton to do another fund raiser for the Vegan Bus! The last sold out Raquy show we put on helped raise over one thousand dollars for the bus. This time we have booked the Northampton Center for the Arts ballroom which can better facilitate the size of a crowd Raquy draws. In addition to the show we will be using the side galleries to sell vegan treats as part of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale.

Raquy and the Cavemen from Brooklyn bring traditional Middle Eastern Music and Modern Drumming to a heady peak. Raquy has traveled to and immersed herself in the musical cultures of the Middle East, Egypt and India. Raquy performs with the Dumbek (Arabic hand drum) and the Iranian Kamanche, which is similar to a violin. Link to their site.

Are you the first in your family to: grow up in this country? graduate from high school? go to college? speak English as your first language? be incarcerated? not be incarcerated ? be adopted? be drug free? be openly glbt? question your faith? choose a different faith? break the silence? be an artist? Are you First Generation?

First Generation is an intensive, arts-based and youth leadership-development program. It provides a platform for young people to have a public voice in their community, and beyond, through creative expression and thoughtful exploration of what it means to be First Generation.

First Generation began in the fall of 2008 in Springfield, MA with a group of 12 youth, ages 15-22, who are the first in their families to be growing up in the United States or who define themselves as first generation in other ways. For example, being the first to graduate high school, go to college, or to have shifted from a family culture of heterosexuality, religious affiliation or economic values. The group is multi-lingual group and includes youth who are court-involved.

An Evening with Arun Gandhi

Arun Gandhi, the grandson of India’s legendary leader, “Mahatma” Gandhi.

You are invited to attend a global reception with Arun Gandhi, the grandson
of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi.

Unity First invites you, your family, co-workers and friends to attend
this celebration honoring those people in our communities who inspire new generations
of success. Let’s celebrate our collective ability to be the change that our children
and communities want to see and believe in.
June 4, 2009 (5:30 pm – 7:30 pm)
Location: Pan African Historical Museum
Tower Square, 1500 Main St. (Second Floor)
Springfield, MA01115
Arun Gandhi Creating a new legacy of leadership

FOR TICKETS
(includes book)Leader: $65
(includes Arun Gandhi’s book (1), two tickets and recognition as a supporter)
To register via email, send an email with your
contact information (phone, address) and ticket
request to: info@unityfirst.com. Payments may be
made via credit card. FYI, ticket confirmations will be issued.