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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State Study Finds 220K New Homes Needed Before 2035

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A statewide study found that more than 220,000 homes must be built in the next decade to meet housing needs.

On Thursday, the Healey-Driscoll Administration released the initial results of "A Home for Everyone: A Comprehensive Housing Plan for Massachusetts," developed in collaboration with the Housing Advisory Council established when the $5.1 billion Affordable Homes Act was filed.

The report says Massachusetts needs to increase its year-round housing supply by at least 222,000 units from 2025 to 2035 to stay competitive and lower costs and "Every region of the state needs more homes in order to reach this statewide target."

During a visit to Pittsfield last April, a common theme that Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward Augustus Jr. heard was the challenge of housing construction.

He said the challenge in Berkshire County is that it costs nearly the same to build a 10 or 30-unit apartment building as it does in the Greater Boston area but you can't get the same rents or sale prices. This requires greater subsidies to make it work.
 
"I think the thing that makes me feel optimistic is you have got a lot of really good, engaged people out here in the Berkshires trying to figure it out. They're not overwhelmed by it, they're not daunted by it, they're kind of putting their heads together, they're building coalitions, they're finding allies to get it done and I think the group we just had around the table is an example of that," Augustus commented.
 
"If it's just housing advocates trying to do it, it's hard to push that rock up the hill but if you've got CEOs and college presidents and municipal leaders and other folks helping you lift that rock up the hill, it gets a little easier and so I think to the credit of the folks here in the Berkshires, they're working together to try to get it done."

In Pittsfield, the average single-family home value has increased by 44.8 percent from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025, now valued at $295,292. Since FY21, the average tax bill has increased by $275 per year because of rising property values, which is expected to continue for the next couple of years.

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