press
Brendt Berger and Maria Cocchiarelli-Berger - 2026 Arts and Creative Placemaking Award
Governor's Creative Leadership Award - 2026 Arts and Creative Placemaking Award- Brendt Berger and Maria Cocchiarelli-Berger - Walsenburg, Colorado Brendt Berger is an artist who champions community, diversity and personal development. Together, Brendt and Maria founded the Museum of Friends (MoF) in 2006. MoF is a contemporary art museum recognized for applying the arts as a catalyst for social activism, civic engagement, and economic revitalization in rural Walsenburg, Colorado. MoF is not only a shelter for works of art, but also a community center offering a whole variety of community-building services. Some services include early childhood programs, art exhibits, lectures, films working in cooperation with the Fox Theater, The Green Thumb Initiative (Cañon City), Pueblo’s United Way, and other local non-profits. Maria Cocchiarelli-Berger is a practicing studio/public artist and educator. Maria’s public art and community projects include murals, tile and garden installations, and collaborative banners created for Arts in Society in Walsenburg in partnership with the Downtown Revitalization Committee, NYC School Construction 1% for the Arts Program, Socrates Sculpture Park, PS1 Contemporary Art Museum, Queens, and many more. These collaborative contemporary interventions explored how community can be reimagined through art and give youth a voice. About Colorado Creative Industries: Colorado Creative Industries is a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Established to capitalize on the immense potential for our creative sector to enhance economic growth in Colorado, the mission of Colorado Creative Industries is to promote, support and expand the creative industries to drive Colorado’s economy, grow jobs and enhance our quality of life. For more information, visit oedit.colorado.gov/colorado-creative-industries.
July 2026
Brendt Berger and Maria Cocchiarelli-Berger - Walsenburg, Colorado - 2026 Arts and Creative Placemaking Award
Brendt Berger is an artist who champions community, diversity and personal development. Together, Brendt and Maria founded the Museum of Friends (MoF) in 2006. MoF is a contemporary art museum recognized for applying the arts as a catalyst for social activism, civic engagement, and economic revitalization in rural Walsenburg, Colorado. MoF is not only a shelter for works of art, but also a community center offering a whole variety of community-building services. Some services include early childhood programs, art exhibits, lectures, films working in cooperation with the Fox Theater, The Green Thumb Initiative (Cañon City), Pueblo’s United Way, and other local non-profits.
Maria Cocchiarelli-Berger is a practicing studio/public artist and educator. Maria’s public art and community projects include murals, tile and garden installations, and collaborative banners created for Arts in Society in Walsenburg in partnership with the Downtown Revitalization Committee, NYC School Construction 1% for the Arts Program, Socrates Sculpture Park, PS1 Contemporary Art Museum, Queens, and many more. These collaborative contemporary interventions explored how community can be reimagined through art and give youth a voice.
June 2026
At 91, Artist and Ursuline Nun Mary Frances Judge Returns to Dallas with a Resurgent Career and Long-Overlooked Work
New York, NY - April 13, 2026 - Ten years ago, Sister Mary Frances Judge’s paintings—more than 150 canvases spanning decades—sat in storage, at risk of being forgotten. Today, at 91, the Ursuline nun and artist is experiencing an unexpected resurgence, culminating in a solo exhibition, The Color of Devotion, at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas. The exhibition opens April 26 and runs through August 14, featuring 22 paintings that reflect a lifetime of spiritual and artistic inquiry.
April 2026
jann vail and tom vail: shared journey
Shared Journey by husband-and-wife artists Jann and Tom Vail cannot be fully described without acknowledging the gallery in which it resides. The Museum of Friends in Walsenburg is a site worthy of artistic pilgrimage, stewarded since 2006 by East Coast art elders Maria Cocchiarelli-Berger and Brendt Berger, whose devotion to collecting and supporting artists is remarkable. They have cultivated an archive of more than 4,000 works—mostly gifts—within a spacious, rotating gallery that nurtures emerging and established artists and honors artistic legacies, as this exhibition demonstrates.
March 2026
2025 arts & business partnership award film
"The Museum of Friends has transformed Walsenburg and Huerfano County through its dedication to cultural enrichment, historic preservation, economic vitality, education and community-driven development with unique partnerships."
Film Credit: Black Dove Studios and Colorado Business Committee for the Arts
April 2025
mof receives award from colorado business committee for the arts (press release)
"...we are excited to celebrate these diverse cross-sector partnerships and individuals for their innovative and inspirational achievements and community impact,” says Christin Crampton Day, CBCA executive director.
January 2025
