Berkshire Museum Announces Two Exhibitions For Spring

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Museum announced two new exhibitions to be displayed beginning Saturday, Feb. 3.  
 
Planning for the Future – 1979-2024, the third and final installment of the museum's 3-part exhibition series highlighting the history of the museum in celebration of the institution's 120th  anniversary in 2023. The final installation of three exhibitions celebrating the 120th Anniversary of Berkshire Museum, this exhibition will detail the last 45 years of the Museum. Themes include a spotlight on how the 1903 museum has remained relevant from the 1980s to today, the departure of General Electric and the subsequent impact on the economy of Pittsfield and its citizens, the sale of artworks to preserve and maintain the museum, and the museum's plans for the future. The works on view will be highlights from the collection – historic objects, paintings, and contemporary art. 
 
Painted Pages: Illuminated Manuscripts, 13th – 18th Centuries, which includes more than thirty-five works—some with elaborate gold leaf decoration and intricate ornament— from medieval Bibles, Prayer Books, Psalters, Books of Hours, Choir Books, Missals, Breviaries, and Lectionaries drawn from the collection of the Reading Public Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania, who organized the exhibition. Also featured in the exhibit are examples of the materials— parchment, vellum, gold leaf, and minerals which were ground into pigments and used by artists before the age of printed books to create these extraordinary pages. Painted Pages: Illuminated Manuscripts, 13th – 18th Centuries, is organized by the Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania.  
 
"Combining art, science, and history, Painted Pages is an enlightening exhibition that includes several colorful examples of hand-drawn and embellished religious texts from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East." said, Jesse Kowalksi, Berkshire Museum's Chief Curator. 
 
An exhibition opening event for museum members will be held on Friday, February 2, from 5:30 PM to 7 PM. Museum members will have the opportunity to get the first look at both of the new exhibitions and hear remarks by Scott Schweigert, Curator of Art & Civilization at the Reading Public Museum, Reading, PA, at 6 PM. Light refreshments will be served. 
 

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Letter: Is the Select Board Listening to Dalton Voters?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

A reasonable expectation by the people of a community is that their Select Board rises above personal preference and represents the collective interests of the community. On Tuesday night [Nov. 12], what occurred is reason for concern that might not be true in Dalton.

This all began when a Select Board member submitted his resignation effective Oct. 1 to the Town Clerk. Wishing to fill the vacated Select Board seat, in good faith I followed the state law, prepared a petition, and collected the required 200-plus signatures of which the Town Clerk certified 223. The Town Manager, who already had a copy of the Select Board member's resignation, was notified of the certified petitions the following day. All required steps had been completed.

Or had they? At the Oct. 9 Select Board meeting when Board members discussed the submitted petition, there was no mention about how they were informed of the petition or that they had not seen the resignation letter. Then a month later at the Nov. 12 Select Board meeting we learn that providing the resignation letter and certified petitions to the Town Manager was insufficient. However, by informing the Town Manager back in October the Select Board had been informed. Thus, the contentions raised at the Nov. 12 meeting by John Boyle seem like a thinly veiled attempt to delay a decision until the end of January deadline to have a special election has passed.

If this is happening with the Special Election, can we realistically hope that the present Board will listen to the call by residents to halt the rapid increases in spending and our taxes that have been occurring the last few years and pass a level-funded budget for next year, or to not harness the taxpayers in town with the majority of the cost for a new police station? I am sure these issues are of concern to many in town. However, to make a change many people need to speak up.

Please reach out to a Select Board member and let them know you are concerned and want the Special Election issue addressed and finalized at their Nov. 25 meeting.

Robert E.W. Collins
Dalton, Mass.

 

 

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