Center for Peace through Culture

Our imagination team is a diverse collective rooted in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, drawing from global perspectives and personal experiences. Angela Chi-Chi Glass, a Peruvian-American sound artist, educator, and arts administrator, draws on her background as a concert musician and her practice in collective sound-making to explore music's power for connection and well-being. Zaina Mahmoud, a first-generation daughter of refugees from the Middle East, is an art therapist passionate about art’s ability to foster connection and social change. Melanie McCarthy, Executive Director of the Center for Peace through Culture, brings her background in law and human rights advocacy, working to uplift artists as co-activists. Together, we embark on this imagination journey to challenge the traditional shaping of art spaces in the Berkshires. We’re here to uplift immigrant and BIPOC voices and dare to imagine alternatives.