Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative Awarded Cultural Facilities Grant

10:45AM / Wednesday, July 17, 2024Print Story | Email Story

Executive Director, Diane Pearlman and Senator Paul Mark

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative (BFMC) has been awarded a $200,000 Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF) Capital Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and Mass Development.

BFMC will use this grant to begin build drawings for the new international film education center proposed for the north end of the Elayne Bernstein Theatre complex on the grounds of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox.

BFMC Executive Director, Diane Pearlman, attended the celebration to hear the

announcement of the CFF Capital Grant in Easton.

"We are thrilled with the continued support we have received from MCC/Cultural Facilities Fund for the KSS project – first for the feasibility study, then for architectural drawings and now to finish Phase 2 of the project and to plan and begin the final renderings of the build drawings," said Pearlman. "Their support has been significant in garnering interest and contributions from other individuals and organizations."

Kemble Street Studios is a mixed-use studio, lab, and classroom environment dedicated to education in the art and craft of filmmaking and media development. The center will offer hands-on learning for the young people in the region interested in training in the industry. It will also be a resource for local nonprofits and companies to become "video literate" and incorporate video in their branding, marketing, social media, and training.

To date, BFMC has raised well over $500,000 dollars for this initiative.

Tags: grants,

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Pittsfield's Christian Center Seeks Community Input on Services, Name

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:57PM / Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Worker Dionisio Kelly, left, board member Kenny Warren, Executive Director Jessica Jones, and Food and Services Director Karen Ryan.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It's a new year, and The Christian Center is looking at how it can serve the area in 2026 and beyond.

This includes a possible new name fueled by community forums in late January and early February.

"We're hoping people will come in and talk about the name, talk about what programs, what services they would like to see from us. What would be most meaningful," Executive Director Jessica Jones said.

"Because the population in this area has changed quite a bit, and we no longer serve just the West Side. We serve people from other parts of Berkshire County. So the hope is just to make it more inclusive."

The Christian Center was a stop on Berkshire Community College and NAACP Berkshires' Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

The nonprofit will hold three input sessions at 193 Robbins Ave. to inform future programs and branding, and ensure that West Side voices are heard.

The sessions will be held on:

Saturday, Jan. 31, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, Feb. 5, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

The center dates back to the early 1890s, when it was the Epworth Mission started by the Methodist Church to serve newly arrived immigrants and help them assimilate. The Christian Center was incorporated in 1974.

Over the decades, it has drifted away from a faith-based organization to a space for anyone who needs a meal, a warm jacket, a place to bring their child, or a meeting place. A space for everyone.

This is what center officials wanted reflected in the name.

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