Register of Probate Francis Marinaro, Spring Jajjar, Dalia Banevicius, Riley Nichols, Kayla Johnson, Emma Sullivan, Judge Richard Simons, and Chief Probation Officer Amy Koenig.
Judge Richard Simons said he finds comfort in viewing the art.
Register Francis Marinaro said the court was able to accept all of the art submitted.
Chief Probation Officer Amy Koenig said art can change perceptions.
Riley Nichols was one of 15 local artists submitting pieces to hang in the courthouse.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Probate and Family Court can be a traumatic time for those who have to attend.
But local students are providing a little bit of comfort. For the better part of the year, 15 pieces of student art will hang throughout the halls and in the courtrooms.
"I personally can start my day and look at your pieces of art and it comforts me," Judge Richard Simons told the students attending a ceremony on Thursday commemorating the first year of the program.
According to Register Francis Marinaro, the court received a grant through the state Creating Community Connection Through Arts program, which provided frames for the art. A call for artists was sent out to the local high schools and 15 students from Taconic, Pittsfield High School, and Berkshire School applied.
"We tried to choose as many as we could and luckily we were able to accept them all," Marinaro said.
The work will be given back to the art teachers at the end of the exhibit and the frames kept for next year's program.
"We are absolutely delighted to be a partner with the school system in Berkshire County," Simons said.
Chief of Probation Officer Amy Koenig echoed sentiments said by Simons and Marinaro that the work not only brightens up the courtrooms, making it less of such a dreary place for families and the workers who deal with difficult situations, but also communicates feelings and senses.
"Art does communicate with us in a number of ways," she said. "It can change the way we see things."
About a half dozen students were able to attend the short reception Thursday. All students will receive certificates of appreciation for the participation as will the schools.
The program was started in 2015 and this year is being expanded all across the state. A total of 10 courthouses will feature art from local students.
"It was in Essex County as a pilot and it went really well," Marinaro said. "You artists have created a little sunshine in this courthouse."
Essex and Middlesex counties also held receptions on Thursday and the rest are scheduled later this month and into June.
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