TRUSTEES OF THE BERKSHIRE MUSEUM

EXHIBITIONS:FOLLOWING ARE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE EXHIBITIONS PRESENTED BY THE MUSEUM IN 2024 - PAINTED PAGES: ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS OF THE 13TH TO 18TH CENTURIESINCLUDING MORE THAN THIRTY-FIVE WORKS-SOME WITH ELABORATE GOLD LEAF DECORATION AND INTRICATE, ORNAMENT- FROM MEDIEVAL BIBLES, PRAYER BOOKS, PSALTERS, BOOKS OF HOURS, CHOIR BOOKS, MISSALS, BREVIARIES, AND LECTIONARIES DRAWN FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE READING PUBLIC MUSEUM IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA, WHO ORGANIZED THE EXHIBITION. ALSO FEATURED IN THE EXHIBIT ARE EXAMPLES OF THE MATERIALS- PARCHMENT, VELLUM, GOLD LEAF, AND MINERALS WHICH WERE GROUND INTO PIGMENTS AND USED BY ARTISTS BEFORE THE AGE OF PRINTED BOOKS TO CREATE THESE EXTRAORDINARY PAGES. PAINTED PAGES: ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS, 13TH - 18TH CENTURIES, IS ORGANIZED BY THE READING PUBLIC MUSEUM, READING, PENNSYLVANIA.120TH: PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE - 1979-2024THE THIRD AND FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE MUSEUM'S 3-PART EXHIBITION SERIES HIGHLIGHTING THE HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM IN CELEBRATION OF THE INSTITUTION'S 120TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2023. THE FINAL INSTALLATION OF THREE EXHIBITIONS CELEBRATING THE 120TH ANNIVERSARY OF BERKSHIRE MUSEUM, THIS EXHIBITION WILL DETAIL THE LAST 45 YEARS OF THE MUSEUM. THEMES INCLUDE A SPOTLIGHT ON HOW THE 1903 MUSEUM HAS REMAINED RELEVANT FROM THE 1980S TO TODAY, THE DEPARTURE OF GENERAL ELECTRIC AND THE SUBSEQUENT IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY OF PITTSFIELD AND ITS CITIZENS, THE SALE OF ARTWORKS TO PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN THE MUSEUM, AND THE MUSEUM'S PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. THE WORKS ON VIEW WILL BE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COLLECTION - HISTORIC OBJECTS, PAINTINGS, AND CONTEMPORARY ART. BLACK WOMAN AS MUSEBLACK WOMAN AS MUSE CONTAINS FORTY LARGE-SCALE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, POSED AND PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE STYLE OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD. PHOTOGRAPHER JERRY TALIAFERRO HAS SELECTED THESE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM HUNDREDS HE HAS TAKEN FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES.IMAGING WOMEN IN THE SPACE AGEIMAGING WOMEN IN THE SPACE AGE SHOWCASES THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICA'S PIONEERING FEMALE ASTRONAUTS AND HIGHLIGHTS ACHIEVEMENTS OF PIONEERING AND CURRENT FEMALE ASTRONAUTS. FROM THE EARLIEST MOON GODDESSES TO TODAY'S GALACTIC FASHIONS, VISIONS OF FEMALES IN SPACE HAVE SPARKED THE CREATIVE IMAGINATION. ON DISPLAY IN THE EXHIBITION ARE VINTAGE AND CURRENT IMAGES OF FEMALE SPACE TRAVELERS IN TELEVISION SHOWS LIKE LOST IN SPACE AND STAR TREK, PHOTOGRAPHS OF SPACE-INSPIRED FASHIONS INCLUDING PUCCI'S DESIGNS FOR BRANIFF AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANTS AND CHANEL'S 2017 FUTURISTIC DRESSES, AND SCREENSHOTS FROM FILMS LIKE BARBARELLA (1968) STARRING JANE FONDA AND GRAVITY (2013), WHICH STARRED SANDRA BULLOCK. THE EXHIBITION REMINDS US OF THE GROUNDBREAKING ACHIEVEMENTS OF PIONEERING ASTRONAUTS WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF SALLY RIDE, AMERICA'S FIRST WOMAN IN SPACE; MAE JEMISON, AMERICA'S FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE ASTRONAUT; AND ELLEN OCHOA, AMERICA'S FIRST HISPANIC WOMAN TO GO INTO SPACE. THE EXHIBITION ALSO REFLECTS A WORLD WHERE IMPORTANT CHANGES ARE UNDERWAY AS MORE AND MORE WOMEN ARE PARTICIPATING IN NASA'S SPACE PROGRAM AS ASTRONAUTS AND AS ASTRONAUTICAL ENGINEERS. IT REVEALS INNOVATIVE NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SPACE SUITS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR WOMEN.THE WILD INDOORS: THE ANIMAL ART OF JULIE BELLAFTER STUDYING ART IN COLLEGE, JULIE BELL DABBLED IN CHILDREN'S BOOK ILLUSTRATION AND RAISED TWO CHILDREN, ANTHONY AND DAVID PALUMBO (SUCCESSFUL ARTISTS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT). LATER, BELL PURSUED A CAREER IN BODYBUILDING, BECOMING A NATIONALLY RANKED COMPETITOR. IN 1989 SHE BEGAN MODELING FOR WELL-KNOWN FANTASY ARTIST BORIS VALLEJO AND WAS INSPIRED TO RETURN TO ART. IN JANUARY 1992 HER WORK APPEARED ON THE COVER OF HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE. SINCE THEN, BELL HAS CREATED ADVERTISEMENTS FOR NUMEROUS COMPANIES, DESIGNED VIDEO GAME PACKAGING ART, AND FOUND WORK IN THE COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY, WHERE SHE BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO ILLUSTRATE CONAN THE BARBARIAN FOR MARVEL COMICS. THE ANIMAL ART OF JULIE BELL IS THE FIRST EXHIBITION TO SHOW A DIFFERENT SIDE OF ONE OF TODAY'S MOST SUCCESSFUL FANTASY ARTISTS.CALL OF THE SEA: MARITIME ART AND NAVIGATIONTHIS EXHIBITION CONTAINS MARITIME OIL PAINTINGS FROM THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION SUPPLEMENTED WITH NATURAL SCIENCE AND HISTORICAL OBJECTS RELATED TO SEA LIFE AND NAVAL NAVIGATION TECHNOLOGY. SINCE THE EARLIEST DAYS OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION, THE SEAS HAVE DRAWN PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE WORLD. BOTH DANGEROUS AND ALLURING, SEA TRAVEL HAS LONG BROUGHT DIFFERENT PEOPLES INTO CONTACT, EXCHANGING GOODS, IDEAS, CULTURE, AND DEATH. CALL OF THE SEA: MARITIME ART AND NAVIGATION WILL EXAMINE SOME OF THE IMPACTS SEA TRAVEL HAS HAD ON THE WORLD, WHETHER IT BE CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, OR BIOLOGICAL.HOMAGE TO THE GLACIERA COLLABORATIVE EXHIBITION SHOWCASING THE WORKS OF SCULPTOR PETER BREMERS AND PAINTER JIM SCHANTZ, HOMAGE TO THE GLACIER WAS INSPIRED BY A TRIP THE TWO TOOK TO ICELAND IN 2023. THROUGH THEIR WORK, THE DUO GLORIFY THESE COLOSSAL FIGURES, WHILE REMINDING US OF THE EFFECT OF THE WORLD UPON THEM THROUGH CLIMATE CHANGE. SEEKING INSPIRATION FROM THE REMARKABLE ICE FORMATIONS AND LANDSCAPE OF ICELAND, ARTISTS PETER BREMERS AND JIM SCHANTZ TRAVELED THERE IN MAY 2023. BREMERS HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN INFLUENCED BY THE ICY LANDSCAPES OF THE POLAR REGIONS. ICELANDIC GLACIERS HAVE BEEN RAPIDLY RETREATING FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES AND GLACIER DOWN-WASTING IS ONE OF THE MOST OBVIOUS CONSEQUENCES OF THE WARMING CLIMATE. GLACIERS IN ICELAND REACHED THEIR MAXIMUM SIZE AT THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY. RUNOFF FROM THE GLACIERS HAS ALSO BEEN CHANGING, AND NEW GLACIAL LAKES HAVE FORMED OR INCREASED IN SIZE IN FRONT OF MANY OF THEM, WHILE SOME OF THESE MONUMENTAL GLACIERS HAVE COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED. AS VATNAJKULL RECEDES, THESE ICEBERG FORMATIONS ARE VISUAL REMINDERS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE DELICATE BALANCE OF OUR PLANET. THROUGH THESE WORKS, BREMERS AND SCHANTZ INTEND TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THESE MONUMENTAL, ETHEREAL FORMS, WHILE REMINDING US OF THE RESULTS OF GLOBAL WARMING.ART OF THE HILLS 2024ART OF THE HILLS 2024 IS THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT OF BERKSHIRE MUSEUM'S JURIED ART EXHIBITION. CELEBRATING THE RICH, CREATIVE CULTURE OF THE REGION, ART OF THE HILLS 2024 HIGHLIGHTS THE WORKS OF BOTH EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED BERKSHIRE-BASED ARTISTS WORKING IN ALL STYLES AND GENRES. ARTWORKS WERE SELECTED BY JURORS KEN TOMIO AND JESSE KOWALSKI.FESTIVAL OF TREES: AQUATICA BERKSHIRE MUSEUM IS PROUD TO ONCE AGAIN PRESENT FESTIVAL OF TREES: A COMMUNITY CELEBRATION OF CREATIVITY OVER THE HOLIDAYS! THIS YEAR, THE MUSEUM WILL BE UNDERGOING RENOVATIONS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE A FIRST-EVER HOLISTIC REDESIGN AND EXPANSION OF OUR BELOVED AQUARIUM. WHILE WE TRANSITION FROM CURRENT SPACE TO NEW, WE DECIDED TO PUT OUT A CALL TO THE COMMUNITY: LET'S BUILD AN AQUARIUM OF TREES. THIS YEAR'S THEME IS ALL ABOUT THE SEA, RIVER, AND WETLAND CRITTERS THAT WE KNOW AND LOVE. FROM AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES TO FISH AND MOLLUSKS. OUR GOAL: CREATE A COMMUNITY-BUILT AQUARIUM WHILE WE AWAIT THE COMPLETION OF THE NEW SPACE. THE CANVAS: TREES, OF COURSE!

EDUCATION: FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF ALL PROGRAMS WE UNDERTOOK IN 2024 - SCHOOL-AGE IN-HOUSE PROGRAMMING:IN 2024, MUSEUM EDUCATORS DELIVERED OUR PROGRAMMING TO 40 SCHOOLS OVER 60 FIELD TRIPS, TOTALING 1961 STUDENTS AND 3740 EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE 13 PROGRAMS WITH 45 TOTAL LESSONS AVAILABLE: AMAZING REPTILES (PRE-K, EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVELS), ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS (EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS), AQUARIUM EXPLORATIONS (PRE-K, EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS), MAMMAL ADAPTATIONS (PRE-K, EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS), METAMORPHOSIS (PRE-K, EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, AND MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVELS), MOHICANS: THEN AND NOW (EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS), PHYSICS OF FUN (EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVELS), POETRY OF ART (EARLY ELEMENTARY 1-2, EARLY ELEMENTARY 3-4, LATE ELEMENTARY 4-5, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS), ROCK ON (EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS), THE SCIENCE OF EXPLORATION (EARLY ELEMENTARY, LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS), WE SHAPE HISTORY (LATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS).MOBILE MUSEUM UNITS (MOMU'S)IN 2024, EDUCATORS DELIVERED 98 MOMUS TO 25 SCHOOLS AND 16 COMMUNITY LOCATIONS AROUND BERKSHIRE COUNTY. EACH MOMU HAS CONNECTED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING. MUSEUM EDUCATORS RAN 135 PROGRAMS, REACHING 2060 STUDENTS. EDUCATORS ALSO RAN 10 COMMUNITY PROGRAMS, REACHING 2345 ATTENDEES: PITTSFIELD BEACH BLAST, PITTSFIELD, INC'S FIRST FRIDAYS, BERKSHIRE PRIDE AND YOUTH PRIDE, HILLCREST EDUCATIONAL CENTER'S MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL, ARROWHEAD'S COMMUNITY DAY, PITTSFIELD INC'S IT'S ALIVE!THERE WERE 9 MOBILE MUSEUM UNIT THEMES IN 2024: BERKSHIRE HISTORY, BUGS, THE CHEMISTRY OF COLOR, CURRENCY, GEOLOGY, MAMMAL ADAPTATIONS; TEETH VS. FOOD, MATH IN NATURE, MUH-HE-CON-NE-OK: THE PEOPLE OF THE WATERS THAT ARE NEVER STILL, PLANTS, UNDER THE SEA.