Adams' Topia Arts Center & Mill Children Back On Track

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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William Kolis, chairman of the Topia Arts Center Board, said Topia is setting a $1 million goal to become a center for arts and culture in Adams.

ADAMS, Mass. — The town's arts and cultural front is picking up steam with a" possible new location for the Mill Children" exhibit and the reinvigoration of projects such as the Topia Arts Center and the Adams Anthony Center.

Native William Kolis, who has been a champion for arts, culture and economic development in Adams, said many projects have begun to coalesce in the past few months, with the Adams Anthony Center for Political Economic and Social discourse at the helm.

"Everything is starting to click a little bit and starting to mix," Kolis said. "Every once and a while you get up and think this is just too much and then something happens."

Last year, the Topia Arts Center was struggling to raise $22,000 for a Massachusetts Cultural Council match grant. The center was unable to raise the funds in time but Kolis was able to secure an extension because of the difficulties of raising such funds in Adams.

Kolis, chairman of the its board, said they were able to "blow past" the amount needed with a $5,000 grant from Greylock Federal Credit Union and a $10,000 grant from The Feigenbaum Foundation.

Although the money is important, the exciting aspect of the funding is the outside interest in the project, he said. He thinks people realize the importance and viability of the center — now he just has to get residents to warm up to the project.

"There is a lot of negativity in town towards this project, and I just want to say people from outside look at this project and see its potential and value," Kolis said last week. "I just have to get people locally on board."

He sees the 100-year-old theater as not only a venue to host arts, cultural and community events, but also a driver of economic development that will make Adams' mark on the map a little bigger.

The building needs a lot of work and is far from being up to the building code, but there are plans to begin a serious fundraising initiative in August for $1 million. Kolis said he would like to start a local board to help with this.

"This is a major developmental project that needs a lot of money," he said. "The number chokes me a little bit, but if we can get a $1 million, we can start to put into that facility the things required by code to make it so we can get the public in the theater."

The "Mill Children," an exhibit of William Lewis Hynes photographs dating from the early years of the last century, may have found a new home at Berkshire Mill, where some of the photos were taken. The display had been at 5 Hoosac St.

Although there are still complications with the funding, Kolis believes the space will be perfect.

"It is right across form the Visitors Center," he said. "We have the public parking at the Visitors Center, and we have a crosswalk. It would be on the concourse on the first level. We will have a nice space. It could be wonderful."


The space is smaller but is furnished with air conditioning and heating. It could turn into a permanent home.

Kolis said the next big step is to find more funding and volunteers. He said he is aiming to open sometime this year if possible.

"What comes first the chicken or the egg?" he said. "I need the space but I don't have any money to put anything in there. But if I don't have the space now I won't have it for the future, and I can't ask for money."

The gallery will be expansive and find new ways to connect to Adams. The Historical Society, for instance, is working on a collection of St. Stanislaus Kostka School class photos from the past 100 years.

"That would be great to put in there. You have the 'Mill Children' and you have pictures of the kids who were 14, 15, and 16 during that time in the community who would have been working in those mills," Kolis said. "I have to believe that will draw people in like crazy looking for their relatives."

Kolis said exhibits like that are starting to fit in more in Adams and that there is an influx of artist who have been making Adams their home and open up galleries.

The 'Mill Children' exhibit may be moving into the Berkshire Mill, where many of the children in the photographs worked during its textiles period.

One of the main drivers of these two projects is the Adams Anthony Center for Political, Economic, and Social Discourse, a group created by Kolis years ago that is starting to gain momentum.

The center will hold presentations on current issues and interests and will serve as an open forum for conversation.

"We don't have those forums like we used to ... where people can come speak about the major issues of the day," Kolis said. "It's done in an orderly fashion and there is no shouting. It's to educate the public on some of the critical issues."

The center will hold a presentations every month starting Aug. 11 with a session on economic development at the library.

Other presentation take on themes such as promoting the arts, regionalizing, civic volunteering and more which can be seen on the Downtown Adams website.

Kolis said he hopes to broadcast these presentations on community television to reach people who may not go to the meetings. He hopes these meetings will draw a lot of people and get people interested in being involved and promoting the town, which is critical for the town's survival.

"If we don't do this you may as well just shut the lights off," he said. "Everything I read about small towns like this surviving we have the things they talk about we have access to a significant natural resources, institutions of higher education right around the corner, and art museums. We just have to find out how to tap into that."

Beyond promoting Adams, he hopes the group can offer a $2,000 scholarships to Hoosac Valley High School graduates interested in a future in advocacy.

"I want to begin to use this entity as a way to promote education, scholarliness, thoughtfulness and a lifetime of learning," Kolis said. "It doesn't strike you until you get very very old what it is that high school is all about. It's about learning how to teach yourself."


Tags: arts center,   community development,   exhibit,   Mill Children,   Topia Arts Center,   

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Hoosac Valley High School is Moving and Shaking

There have been some major shifts within the Hoosac Valley Regional School District recently, all of which have focused on enhancing the student experience to make it a place where ALL students can find their path.
 
In 2023, Hoosac Valley High School was designated an Innovation Pathway School by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and has since restructured the Program of Studies, utilized creative scheduling, and expanded internship opportunities. Part of this transformation includes participating in a "Portrait of a Graduate" cohort alongside four other Berkshire County schools to determine a collective vision for student success, in partnership with the BARR Foundation.
 
The Innovation Pathways at HVHS are designed to give students coursework and experience in a specific high-demand industry, such as technology, engineering, healthcare, or life sciences. Currently, Biomedical Science & Healthcare and Environmental Studies have received official state IP designation. In addition to the IP designated pathways, HVHS offers programs in Engineering & Technology, Business & Entrepreneurship, Arts & Entertainment, Education, and Sports Medicine. The result is that students have an opportunity for a transformative experience – enabling them to build essential skills, gain awareness of future career opportunities, and make informed choices about post-secondary education in promising fields.
 
Principal Colleen Byrd notes, "What makes our program special is that entry into the Pathway of your choice allows a student to access Advanced Placement and dual enrollment college courses, as well as internships in the community to set them up for success after high school."
 
The Portrait of a Graduate initiative consists of a team of Hoosac educators and students who exemplify the essential skills, practices, and beliefs that define learning experiences across the district. They work to outline the competencies, values, skills, and knowledge that define our vision for student success – keeping in mind that not every student's pathway will look the same. The District's goal is to ensure that all students graduate as responsible people, prepared individuals, lifelong learners, global citizens, critical thinkers, and thoughtful communicators.
 
Another recent change district-wide in grades K-12 is the "Crew" culture. Teachers and students now have time each day to create positive connections and build authentic relationships with one another. Through Responsive Classroom at the elementary school and Crew at the middle and high schools, students and staff gather for 30 minutes each day to engage in meaningful experiences rooted in mutual and shared interests. 
The Crew block is a prioritized structure that allows staff to support all students socially, emotionally, and academically – anchoring them and promoting the Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Crew takes many forms at the high school, such as gardening, bird watching, yoga, and sports talk with visits to college games.
 
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