Dutch artists to summer in the Berkshires

Look out, the Dutch are coming!

An unprecedented number of Dutch artists, filmmakers, dancers, choreographers, musicians, composers, and theater groups will descend on Berkshires arts organizations in a summer-long multidisciplinary showcase, "NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires."

MASS MoCA in North Adams will feature a semi permanent outdoor structure designed by sculptor and installation artist Dré Wapenaar and works of contemporary Dutch composers performed by New York musical collective Bang on a Can . Tanglewood offerings include performances by the Orchestra of the 18th Century and a new symphonic work by composer Robin de Raaff commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Other highlights include performances by the Nederlands Dans Theater II at Jacob's Pillow , and the presentation of two Frans Hals portraits, paired for the first time in more than two centuries, at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. And Pittsfield's newly restored Colonial Theatre will partner with Amsterdam-based group the ISH Institute to host a two-week , intensive after-school program for at-risk youth.

Each of the venues selected the artists to work with and developed programs in conjunction with the artists.

The Department of Press and Cultural Affairs at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York and the Service Centre for International Cultural Activities in Amsterdam are the coordinators of "NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires."

"This is the largest and most comprehensive festival of Dutch arts and culture ever organized in the United States," George Lawson, director of the Service Centre , said in a statement. "With so many of the country's top arts organizations and a discerning cultural audience that comes to the area from all over, the Berkshires [are] an ideal location for the presentation of these programs. We are thrilled to be able to enrich the existing artistic offerings in the region by sending some of Holland's finest artists to present their work."

For more details, visit nl-berkshires.org.