Shantigar Foundation
in Western Massachusetts
Arts
Meditation
Nature
Jean-Claude van Itallie, Founder
1936 - 2021
Jean-Claude van Itallie
Scholarship Fund
Welcome to Shantigar
Summer & Fall at Shantigar
Shantigar is vibrant this summer—humming with movement, song, searching conversations, and fascinating research. The walks are glorious.
In these times, we’re pursuing the three pathways of our mission with renewed passion and purpose:
Joining meditative and artistic practices
with the healing power of nature,
we can live more peacefully on our planet.
Join us and experience the Shantigar Effect, where the arts, meditation, and nature meet. During our events and workshops, you'll explore creativity and dwell in community, saturated in the splendor of our hills, fields, and forests.
“For a long weekend, we were inspired by a dance created by Continuum founder Emilie Conrad, in solo, duet and group formats.”
“For emerging artists from LaGuardia Community College, Shantigar provided the time to slow down, unwind, and reflect.”
This Summer and Fall, we will have a Mushroom Hunt with John Wheeler of the Berkshire Mycological Society and a Field Research Day on Bees & Flowers with Dr. Kate Borchardt of UMass-Amherst. Our neighbor John Meyer will lead an afternoon of Chi Kung practice, followed by an Asian Art Tour at Shantigar’s farmhouse.
Longer workshops include Voice & Music with renowned teacher Jonathan Hart Makwaia and Kate Peppard’s popular Yoga & Wellness Weekend.
Chi Kung sessions with John Meyer continue onsite, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Online Theatre Conversations with Rosemary Quinn meet the first Saturday of each month.
Living with Uncertainty
We close with Pema Chödrön, the American-born Buddhist nun, teacher, and author whose words feel attuned to this moment:
In difficult times, it is only bodhichitta (awakening wisdom and compassion for all sentient beings) that heals. When inspiration has become hidden, when we feel ready to give up, this is the time when healing can be found in the tenderness of pain itself... In the midst of loneliness, in the midst of fear is the heartbeat of all things.
If uncertainty offers a deeper understanding of ourselves and others, our hope is that Shantigar helps people pass through that gateway to cultivate more courage, kindness, and imagination.
Warm regards,
Board Members—Connie Childs, Rand Engel, Didi Goldenhar, Deb Katz, Rosemary Quinn
Advisory Board Members—Josh Adler, Michael Schreiber, Marisa Viola
Shantigar = Peaceful Home
Shantigar, located on a beautiful old farm on a mountainside in Western Massachusetts, is a non-profit foundation dedicated to practices of creativity, meditation, and engagement with nature.
Located on the former Davenport Dairy Farm, Shantigar was created by the late playwright Jean-Claude van Itallie in 1997. In the 1970s, Jean-Claude’s Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, spent one year at the farm to write his renowned Shambala teachings. Trungpa renamed the farm Shantigar, which means Peaceful Home.
Over more than sixty years, Jean-Claude and Shantigar have hosted a stellar roster of theatre artists, dancers, musicians, painters, writers, spiritual teachers, yogis, healers, nature guides, and activists. Our workshops are welcoming and intimate. Our fields, hills, forests, and trails offer abundant pleasures.
Please explore our website to learn more about our history, our teachers, and our circle of partners and friends.
Grow the Community
In 2024, Shantigar established the Jean-Claude van Itallie Scholarship Fund. To expand our community, we provide financial assistance to people desiring to attend our workshops.
Recently, a dear friend of Shantigar donated $500 to the Fund. By matching this generous gift, we’ll be able to distribute $1,000 in partial scholarships for Summer and Fall workshops. Will you help us meet the match? Thank you!
Jean-Claude van Itallie
Scholarship Fund
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Shantigar's Mission
To engage with the world from a more profound place through transformative workshops, retreats and performances.
Joining meditative and artistic practices with the healing power of nature, we can live more peacefully on our planet.
Private Group Rentals at Shantigar
Shantigar is ideal for professional convenings, creative work, and meditation gatherings. Get close to what matters while immersed in our natural splendors. We offer space and time to restore, recharge, and engage in essential conversations.
Group rentals are available for a minimum of 3 people staying at least 2 nights. Our farmhouse and cabins can accommodate up to twelve people. For more information, please contact Shantigar co-director Deb Katz at (413)-834-3280 or administrator Peter Columbus: email@shantigar.org.
