Clark Art Announces Call for Art From Berkshire County High School Students

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —The Clark Art Institute, Living the Change Berkshires, and Cooler Communities invite Berkshire County high school students to participate in a juried installation of student art about climate change.

Submissions are due March 6, 2026.

The exhibition, "How Shall We Live: Berkshire Youth Artists Explore Their Relationship with the Earth in the Time of Climate Change," is on view April 18–25 at the Clark. In its fourth year, the initiative encourages local youth to pair art with the environment as they consider ways to appreciate and protect the natural world. Following the closure of the show at the Clark, it will be on view at Pittsfield's City Hall and Sheffield's Dewey Hall from late April through June.

Submissions can be 2-D or 3-D but must express students' ideas on climate change and inspire others to care for the environment. Both individual and collaborative submissions are accepted. Students are asked to respond to one or more elements in the following prompt:

In the age of climate change,

• What does nature provide?
• What are the earth's needs?
• What matters most?
• What is resilience?
• Where do you find guidance and inspiration?

For further submission information, visit clarkart.edu/education or call 413 458 0429.

The Clark hosts a free, public reception to celebrate the opening of the show and the work of participating student artists on April 18 from 2:30–5 pm in the Lunder Center's Hunter Studio. Advance registration is encouraged. Register at events.clarkart.edu.

This student art show is co-organized by the Clark, Living the Change Berkshires, and Cooler Communities.

Williamstown Fire District Dedicates New Station

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
06:37AM / Sunday, May 31, 2026

Chief Jeffrey Dias recognizes firefighter Alexandra Riggs, who will graduate from Williams College next week. See more photos here.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Massachusetts fire marshal came to town Saturday to congratulate the local Fire District and the taxpayers of Williamstown for the "amazing" station they have built on Main Street.

 

"I travel around the state, and I've seen hundreds of firehouses around the state — some great, some not so great," Fire Marshal Jon Davine told a crowd gathered outside the station for its dedication. "And I think we saw what the previous station here was in Williamstown. I'll tell you, especially in Western Massachusetts, we have a really big problem with deteriorating firehouses throughout Western Mass. These buildings are collapsing around our firefighters.

 

"And, as the marshal, it's my job to advocate for the departments for more funding. We've been working with our state reps and local reps and the fire chiefs association, trying to come up with different funding streams, so that we can help these departments build new stations, do better, safer stations, so that they have the equipment and the building they deserve to do their job safely."

 

The chair of the Prudential Committee, which governs the Fire District, and the chief of the department both thanked Williamstown residents for the 2023 special district meeting vote that paved the way for the station that went into operation earlier this year.

 

"It's an honor and a privilege to join you today as we celebrate this grand opening of the new firehouse," Chief Jeffrey Dias said. "This facility is so much more than a building that houses fire trucks. It stands as a symbol of our community's commitment to safety, preparedness and public service. It's a place where our members will maintain our equipment. They will learn about our craft. They'll share meals and, yes, from time to time, they're going to share sorrow.

 

"This isn't a fire station. This is a firehouse. And people have heard me say this a million times already. And it houses the very best second family that one could imagine."

 

Dias was joined at the podium set up in the parking lot for the noon ceremony by Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi, state Rep. John Barrett III and the the Rev. William F. Cyr, who gave an invocation.