Berkshire Museum Art of the Hills 2024, Opens Call for Art

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Museum announces Art of the Hills 2024, a bi-annual juried art exhibition to be held in Pittsfield highlighting the creative endeavors of both emerging and established artists based in the Berkshires.

Submissions for Art of the Hills 2024 are currently open, with the deadline for applications set for July 14, 2024. 
 
Guidelines and requirements for submission are outlined as follows: 

  1. All artists aged 18 and above residing within an approximate 60-mile radius of Berkshire Museum are eligible to apply.
  2. Eligible submissions encompass a range of mediums: Two-dimensional work includes painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, and photography; three-dimensional work includes sculpture of all media. Two-dimensional pieces must not exceed 288 total linear inches (including framing). Three-dimensional submissions weighing over 100 lbs. must be installed by the artist and should not surpass a 48" x 48" x 48" footprint, with a maximum weight limit of 500 lbs. Video work will be evaluated but is subject to the availability of monitors during the exhibition. Two-dimensional works must be delivered ready to hang. 
  3. The jurors retain the right to disqualify any work that is not suitably presented or does not correspond to the entry image. 
  4. Each artist may submit up to three works completed after January 2020. 
  5. The exhibition will run during normal business hours from October 5th to January 5th, 2024. Artists are responsible for the timely drop-off and pick-up of their works at local venues. Pieces not retrieved by January 19, 2024, will be deemed abandoned. Berkshire Museum will not arrange for the shipping of works back to the artists. 
  6. Berkshire Museum reserves the right to photograph and video any submitted work for documentary, educational, and publicity purposes. 
  7. Submission of the completed application form implies agreement with all conditions outlined in the prospectus. 
  8. Berkshire Museum will insure artworks for the artist’s commercial value upon receipt and throughout the exhibition. 
  9. Artworks generated using Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) will not be considered for acceptance. 

More information, a full timeline, and a submission form can be found at https://berkshiremuseum.org/aoth2024/

There will be an opening reception on October 4, 2024, from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at Berkshire Museum where jurors will award distinguished artists. Jurors to be announced. 

 


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PHS Community Challenges FY27 Budget Cuts

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee received an early look Wednesday at the proposed fiscal year 2027 facility budgets, and the Pittsfield High community argued that $653,000 would be too much of a burden for the school to bear. 

On Wednesday, during a meeting that adjourned past 10 p.m., school officials saw a more detailed overview of the spending proposal for Pittsfield's 14 schools and administration building.  

They accepted the presentation, recognizing that this is just the beginning of the budget process, as the decision on whether to close Morningside Community School still looms. The FY27 budget calendar plans the School Committee's vote in mid-April.

Under this plan, Pittsfield High School, with a proposed FY27 budget of around $8.1 million, would see a reduction of seven teachers (plus one teacher of deportment) and an assistant principal of teaching and learning, and a guidance counselor repurposed across the district.  

The administration said that after "right-sizing" the classrooms, there were initially 14 teacher reductions proposed for PHS. 

"While I truly appreciate the intentionality that has gone into developing the equity-based budget model, I am incredibly concerned that the things that make our PHS community strong are the very things now at risk," PHS teacher Kristen Negrini said. "Because when our school is facing a reduction of $653,000, 16 percent of total reductions, that impact is not just a number on a spreadsheet. It is the experience of our students." 

She said cuts to the high school budget is more than half of the districtwide $1.1 million in proposed instructional cuts. 

Student representative Elizabeth Klepetar said the "Home Under the Dome" is a family and community.  There is reportedly anxiety in the student body about losing their favorite teacher or activities, and Klepetar believes the cuts would be "catastrophic," from what she has seen. 

"Keep us in mind. Use student and faculty voice. Come to PHS and see what our everyday life looks like. If you spend time at PHS, you would see our teamwork and adaptability to our already vulnerable school," she said. 

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