WCMA Berkshires Satellite Reef Project

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/.

Mohican People Honored with Display in South Williamstown

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
08:23AM / Sunday, June 21, 2026

The idea for the installation was inspired by a sculpture installation at Field Farm.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A granite installation in Bloedel Park next to the town's new traffic rotary honors the area's first residents and caps an effort that began five years ago.

 

The large granite wall across from the Store at Five Corners is adorned with emblems inspired by the symbols that decorate baskets of the Mohican people. It provides a testament to the presence of the ancestors of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, who, thousands of years ago, lived in the land now known as Berkshire County.

 

The black and red images of a leaf and bear claw are accompanied by an interpretive panel telling part of the story of the native people who fought with the Americans in their Revolutionary War and later were forcibly removed from the area in the late 18th century. 

 

Today, the Mohican people persist with nearly 1,600 enrolled members on or near a reservation in Wisconsin.

 

But the Stockbridge-Munsee Community has never lost its connection to its ancestral home, and, in the last decade, more of the area's contemporary residents have worked to recognize that link.

 

Bette Craig thought the then-planned roundabout would offer an opportunity to highlight that historic link.

 

"It all started in 2021 when MassDOT was having a Zoom meeting to tell the local community about it and get feedback and so forth," Craig said on Thursday. "At the time, I was the president of the South Williamstown Community Association. I was saying things about [the proposed project], and one of the community people listening was Polly Macpherson, who I knew from the League of Women Voters.