Thank you for Joining us!

If you missed the event, more information about the works displayed can be found at https://reflectionspublicart.com/

The former Belchertown State School for the Feeble-Minded (BSS) campus and the treatment many residents experienced there from 1922-1992 is a painful and complicated part of Belchertown’s past. Using a multidisciplinary approach including, visual arts, performance art, poetry, historical text and imagery in an in-person and virtual art experience, the Belchertown Community Alliance (BCA) will shine a light on all parts of the legacy the BSS leaves behind. Creating a platform for expression for some of those harmed and disenfranchised by this space, this body of work will be a step towards justice for the site. The installations, performances, and coordinating digital application will aim to connect the community of BSS survivors now scattered around the state and country and Belchertown residents so that together they can tackle the legacy of the Belchertown State School and support development towards more just futures.

This project has been made possible by so many generous community supporters, including the Selectboard and the Belchertown Economic Development Industrial Corporation.

This opportunity is supported in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice program with funding from the Barr Foundation, as well as Belchertown Cultural Council and Massachusetts Cultural Council.  The BCA would like to thank the generous support of our sponsors and community organizations whom without we wouldn’t have been able to make this experience possible.

James Blackmore Painting Series

“James Blackmore, a Belchertown State School (BSS) survivor and local artist, with support from the Belchertown Community Alliance, Attack Bear Press, and the Belchertown Justice Collaborative, will create a public painting installation at the site of the former Belchertown State School this summer. This project will be in service of memorializing the legacy of the BSS, of giving voice to those harmed by it, and of creating space and opportunity for generations of Belchertown community members to reflect on an institution which continues to have such a physical presence in our lives today. Mr. Blackmore will be creating paintings based on images developed in collaboration with a panel of other survivors of State School facilities. This project will center the voices of those most harmed by the BSS as this property takes on new life as a space of economic and community development.

Historic Book Trail Featuring Work from authors Katherine Anderson and Ed Orzechowski

“The Belchertown State School Friends are joining the Belchertown Cultural Alliance for a Walk of Reflection this spring to help share the rich and diverse history of the state school, its residents, and staff. The history of the state school is being painstakingly preserved by the Friends to be put on public display so that future generations have an opportunity to study the evolution of institutional care and the education of individuals with disabilities. Authors Katherine Anderson and Ed Orzechowski will be exhibiting pieces of their works related to the state school including historic images of the construction and evolution of the state school as well as the human aspect of state school life from the point of view of a long term resident. They will be on hand to answer any questions about the history of the state school and the state school experience.”

“I got there, and there I was.” - Sculpture Work By Community Options

Community Options recently started collecting oral histories as a component of the upcoming Reflections project organized by the Community Alliance.  We felt that hearing the actual voices of people who lived at the Belchertown State School was an essential start to our project. Too often, people with disabilities’ voices and experiences go unheard. Even today despite so many movements forward, it is a population that is easily disenfranchised and segregated.  When we look back at the history of the state school,  we tend to talk about “patients” and “residents” and not about individual people. Each person that lived at the State school has a story to tell. Each person was separated from their families. Each person experienced isolation, mistreatment and abuse.  Where you truly begin to understand this is in listening to the specific stories of a person. Just hearing the beginning, the why and when someone was brought to the institution is a powerful story in itself and it is merely the beginning. Hearing the ways in which these people managed to get through on a daily basis and how they moved forward after leaving is both joyous and heart wrenching. 

We chose a birdcage to represent the space in which people were “kept”. The pieces around the cage are meant to represent specific parts to individual stories. We chose to include pieces from people that lived there and also people that worked there that tried to make a change. In this piece there is a mix of tragedy, of beatings and abuse, but also acts of kindness and a deep sense of humanity. 

Our goal is to raise awareness not only to the history of the institution, but also speak to how we currently engage with people with developmental and physical disabilities.  We hope it becomes another step for inclusion and desegregation, and creates the connection between us all, despite our cognitive and physical differences. 

“ They need to be remembered…there was a lot of people there and it was important to them.”

“The Hero’s Journey” - An Original Theater Piece by The Rainbow Players
August 15th ONLY

"The Hero’s Journey: A Case for Innocence - A 70 Year Path from Feeble-minded to Brilliance and a Shift of Mindset,” with The Rainbow Players Theater Troupe directed by Ezzell Floranina, is an immersive theater presentation in front of the abandoned Administration Building of Belchertown State School.  Come, meet the actors as they inhabit the spirits of past residents from BSS and from Fernald State School.  Meet those who come in real time to celebrate the demolition of these structures yet demand that all, every single child and adult, be remembered and honored. Take a trip into the past, through historical fiction -- a mix of true stories from archival materials, blended with present day individuals' experiences living with labels.

The Tour Guide, a prior resident of BSS, takes the audience from scene to scene, telling stories as they relate to the moment from the past re-visited. A News Anchor on the scene gives live updates.  The audience is invited to become involved in the action and help to honor those who lived and died here; with art, from the Tibetan tradition of prayer flags, honoring those they may know and remember.  

Combining storytelling, first person accounts and historical fiction, the actors will tell the story of the ways that children were left to these institutions to teach and raise, many spending entire lives within these walls.  Many people lived and died in these institutions, never getting an opportunity to live in homes free to move around and live a ‘normal’ life. Can the "mindset" shift to see each person as worthy and brilliant?  Come and be a part of this radical shift in thinking. 

Join us for the show and stay for a post-show discussion.  Performance begins at: 3:00 and with post-show discussion, ends at 5:30.  Come early and make an honoring flag and protest sign as we set up!  You are welcome to participate!


Label Me Brilliant - Artwork from Students


Students in the Belchertown High School Life Skills Transitions, in collaboration with artist Ezzell Floranina, designed self-portraits based on seeing themselves through the lens of “gifted and brilliant” vs. being judged against their abilities in academics, and through experiencing various arts modalities in the visual and performing arts. Our project gave these students a chance to excel as artists, expressing who they are outside of a label. This project was made possible through Mass Cultural Council’s Starz Residency Program.

Reflective Poetry On Demand - Attack Bear Press

Three award winning poets will be joining us to reflect on all of the stories being told throughout Reflections. Read their own thoughts and responses or share your own experiences to be interpreted through a custom poem. The collection of poems created at this even will be put together as an ebook to be shared with the community.

Community Paint Project
On View outside of 6 Berkshire Avenue Indefinitely

Help us bring light and joy to the former State School Campus by painting a community mural outside of 6 Berkshire Avenue. All ages and experience levels welcome!

Up-Cycled Flowers Fundraiser

As a fundraiser for Reflections the BCA, in partnership with the students in the BHS Transitions Program, will be creating these gorgeous flowers made from recycled objects. The flowers will be displayed-with their benefactors' names- on the grounds of the State School during the event and then will be available to be taken home to beautify your garden!