WCMA Berkshires Satellite Reef Project

06:00PM / Wednesday, July 30, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) and Williams College Gaudino Fund invite the community to take part in the Berkshires Satellite Reef Project.

The next public Coral Crochet workshop will be held on Friday, Aug. 1, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Berkshire Art Center at the Brothership Building at 141 North St. in Pittsfield.

The Berkshires Satellite Reef, a Gaudino Creative Residencies initiative, is part of the worldwide Crochet Coral Reef, a participatory art project that responds to climate change through the creation of crocheted coral reef sculptures. Conceived by artists Christine and Margaret Wertheim in collaboration with the Institute for Figuring, the project invites individuals of all ages and skill levels to contribute to a community-sourced coral reef installation. The completed reef will be presented at Williams College in the ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance as an immersive exhibition in the spring of 2026.

The Berkshires Satellite Reef will be hosting monthly workshops throughout the year at the Williams College campus and in locations throughout Berkshire County. No experience is necessary; crochet kits and instructions will be provided, and instructors will be on hand for small-group guidance.

Additionally, weekly drop-in Coral Crochet Circles will be held at Williams College and in partner locations throughout the Berkshires. Summer Crochet Circles are currently scheduled for Fridays from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Milne Public Library.

Community members are invited to contribute crocheted coral reef pieces by dropping them off at one of several locations in Williamstown: the Milne Public Library, WCMA, or the ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance, Department of Theatre. Coral pieces may also be mailed to Amy Holzapfel, Professor of Theatre, Williams College, 1000 Main Street, Williamstown, MA 01267.

The Berkshires Satellite Reef project also encourages participation through donation of crochet hooks, yarn, or yarn remnants. Drop-off bins will be located at several sites on the Williams College campus, including the ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance (in Centerstage Lobby), WCMA (Lobby), and the Class of 1966 Environmental Center (Entryway). Additional drop-off sites include the Milne Public Library and the Berkshire Art Center’s brothership building in Pittsfield.

For more information on the Berkshires Satellite Reef, contact Amy Holazapfel at ash2@williams.edu or visit https://gaudino.williams.edu/berkshires-satellite-reef/.

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Mount Greylock School Committee Hears Budget Requests, Pressures

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:32AM / Wednesday, February 18, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee Thursday heard the final rounds of fiscal year 2027 budget requests and heard why those — or any — discretionary increases in spending will be difficult in the year that begins July 1.

Williamstown Elementary Principal Benjamin Torres and middle-high school Principal Jake Schutz each presented the spending priorities formulated by their respective school councils. The requests followed a presentation by Lanesborough Elementary Principal Nolan Pratt at the January meeting.

Superintendent Joseph Bergeron then told the School Committee that state and federal aid to the district is going to be slightly lower than FY26 and reminded the panel that the district spent the last two years spending down its reserve accounts, as requested by the member towns, to the point where those reserves — School Choice, tuition and excess and deficiency — cannot be applied to the operating budget.

"Spending the exact same amount of money from this year to next year — that alone will mean a 4 percent increase [in appropriations] to each of our towns," Bergeron said. "That's the baseline on top of which everything else will happen.

"We know we're seeing an 8.75 percent increase in health insurance, but we also have an increasing number of employees who are taking our health insurance, so that health insurance line is increasing substantially. When it comes to out-of-district tuition as well as transportation, both of those are seeing marked increases as well."

District staff and the School Committee will further refine its FY27 budget over the next five weeks, with a budget workshop scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, and a public hearing and final budget vote on March 19.

The district's appropriations to Williamstown and Lanesborough, which each pay a proportional share of the prekindergarten-Grade 12 district's operating expenses, will face an up-or-down vote at each town's annual meeting, in May and June, respectively.

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