Marge Champion dances with Norton Owen at the 2014 Jacob’ s Pillow gala. Norton Owen during a " Pillow Talk " with Pamela Tatge, executive and artistic director of Jacob’ s Pillow.
conversations between past and present. His approach is refreshingly organic, rejecting rigid narratives in favor of multiple entry
points that allow visitors to discover the Pillow ' s rich history on their own terms. The archives are housed in the building
CHRISTOPHER DUGGAN( 2) adjacent to the exhibit hall in Blake’ s Barn, with the aptly named Norton Owen Reading Room. This inviting space features an extensive library and video viewing rooms, all open to the public. Owen describes his goal of making the archives accessible and welcoming, rather than a closed-off, exclusive space. He emphasizes the importance of allowing visitors to engage with the material in their own way, highlighting the archives as a place of discovery and surprise, where unexpected insights foster personal connections to the Pillow ' s history. " It ' s about those moments of unexpected discovery," Owen explains, " when someone stumbles upon a photograph or a performance video and suddenly feels a deep, personal connection. That ' s when history comes alive.” This approach is particularly powerful, given Jacob ' s Pillow ' s unique history. Unlike many arts institutions that have relocated, the Pillow has remained in the same location since 1933. The land itself is part of the story— a living archive where history is embedded in every blade of grass, every wooden floor, every architectural detail.
90 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE May / June 2025