Sanctum Gallery’s first exhibition featured Tracy Squires’ black-and-white photography.
MITCHELL CHAPMAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
PITTSFIELD — When Tracy Squires was growing up in Pittsfield, when General Electric was the city’s largest employer, North Street was usually packed in the evenings.
“We had cars lined up on the streets,” Squires told The Eagle. “People would be sitting on top of their hoods. They’d be outside just talking.”
Sanctum Gallery’s first exhibition featured Tracy Squires’ black-and-white photography.
MITCHELL CHAPMAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Squires hopes to create his own sense of community with Sanctum Gallery, which wrapped up its first exhibition “when Listening becomes the Lens” on Saturday, which featured black-and-white photography of nature shot by him at his Worthington home.
“I’m very connected to Mother Nature,” he said, adding that “there’s nothing like Mother Nature that may help someone connect with their own inner nature.”
The space at 148 North St. opened in February to an initial crowd of about 75 people, according to Susan Jameson, who is helping Squires market and organize the gallery. In June, he hopes to open a cafe in the former Marie’s North Street space to help sustain the gallery, which operates on a donation basis.
Phillip Shaver performs during the closing reception to “When Listening Becomes the Lens,” Sanctum Gallery’s first exhibition, on Saturday.
MITCHELL CHAPMAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
“The cafe becomes the engine,” Squires said. “Just by buying food, you’re letting everything in this space be available for everybody.”
“So it’s a really unique ecosystem.”
Tracy Squires, center, poses for a photo at the opening reception of Sanctum Gallery in February.
TRACY SQUIRES
Squires said he has purchased equipment for the cafe and has a lease agreement in place with the building’s landlord. On weekdays, it will serve breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., including baked goods, bagels, yogurts, smoothies, salads, crepes and “probably eggs,” before shifting to evening service from 4 to 8 p.m. He plans to offer brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
He said he does not have any plans to hire a manager for the cafe, though he might hire one “down the road.”
“Really having the right people matters,” he said.
Squires said the gallery has a few “angel donors” — individuals who donate what they can on a monthly basis — but for now the space is sustained by him personally. With several businesses recently closing on North Street, he acknowledged the importance of making Sanctum sustainable.
Tracy Squires, left, and Susan Jameson, second from left, have established Sanctum Gallery on North Street in the space formerly occupied by the Garden.
MITCHELL CHAPMAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Jameson hopes the gallery will be a positive addition to downtown.
“This town needs to be uplifted,” Jameson said.
“Now is the perfect time to open something new,” Squires said.
Sanctum Gallery’s first exhibition featured Tracy Squires’ black-and-white photography.
MITCHELL CHAPMAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The gallery also has separate studio and classroom spaces, where it holds art, photography and yoga classes, as well as sound baths — a meditative experience in which participants are immersed in sound — all on a donation basis. Squires said he wanted to make Sanctum an accessible space for everyone, regardless of income.
Upstairs, Sanctum Gallery has this meditation room.
TRACY SQUIRES
“We just all want to come together, collectively and lift each other up,” Jameson said.
Squires said the gallery will feature work by a different artist each month, with an exhibition by Navajo artist Walter Dan debuting during the First Friday Artswalk on May 1. Dan is known for his paintings of southwestern life, influenced by his Dine and cowboy culture.
The upstairs classroom at Sanctum Gallery.
TRACY SQUIRES
The gallery also hosts films and concerts. Cellist and composer Ian Maksin — described as a “one-man cello orchestra” — will perform there on May 28 at 7:30 p.m.
For Squires, a private therapist with more than 30 years of experience in social work, art and healing “have always been the primary driver.”
Sanctum Gallery’s first exhibition featured Tracy Squires’ black-and-white photography.
MITCHELL CHAPMAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
“It goes back to places of belonging and building community, engaging in art and creativity,” he said.
Before Sanctum, he founded the group practice Hilltown Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services and the nonprofit Healing Hearts Sanctuary, which hosts healing services on 20 “picturesque” acres in Worthington. He is also currently working on his PhD in philosophy at the California Institute of Integral Studies, though he said he took the last semester off to focus on the gallery and cafe.
“So this is a lot,” he said.
Tracy Squires’ black-and-white photography is displayed at Sanctum Gallery.
TRACY SQUIRES
As someone with a background in social services, he said he isn’t deterred by the complaints other businesses have made regarding the city’s homeless population and stressed the need for inclusive spaces.
“Every single one of us has value,” he said. “We can’t push anyone out to the outskirts.”
While the glory days of GE are long behind North Street, he believes supporting small businesses is key to its comeback.
“How do you increase traffic?” he said. “Restaurants. Retail. There has to be reasons for people to come down.”