Clark Art Presents Screening of 'Westermann'

07:49AM / Wednesday, October 29, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Saturday, Nov. 1 at 5:30 pm, the Clark Art Institute hosts a 3D screening of "Westerman: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea" in the Manton Research center auditorium.

A Q&A with Brian Ashby, one of the film's producers, follows the screening

"Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea" is a 3D documentary film about the life and work of artist, marine, and acrobat H.C. (Cliff) Westermann. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Westermann's dramatic personal history can be traced through beguiling, surreal artworks. The film reveals ways in which Westermann protected his empathic spirit—and sanity—by "sculpting" his body, artworks, friendships, his hand-hewn house, and his art-filled letters to his dearest friends and family. The documentary explores themes of resiliency, hope, and humor with a script culled from over a thousand of Westermann's letters and one audio-interview voiced by Academy-Award nominee Ed Harris, along with interviews with artist Ed Ruscha, architect Frank Gehry, and many others. The film also includes music by Laurie Anderson (with the Kronos Quartet) and Terry Allen, and a score by Tomeka Reid.

Free. A 5 pm reception in the Manton Research Center reading room precedes the event. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524.

This program is made possible by Jonas and Betsy Dovydenas.

Tags: Clark Art,

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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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