WCMA Announces Closure of Upper Galleries

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will close its upper galleries as it prepares for a new purpose-built facility. The closure marks the end of nearly a century of exhibitions in Lawrence Hall, which has undergone multiple renovations and additions over the years.
 
To commemorate this transition, WCMA will host "Last Chance Glance" events on the following dates: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 3-5 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 12, noon-2 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2-4 p.m.; and Thursday, Dec. 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Visitors can view the current exhibitions, including "Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art," "Pallavi Sen: Colour Theory," "SO–IL \ WCMA: Building A New Museum," "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art," and "Remixing the Hall."
 
The events will also feature light refreshments, opportunities to talk with staff, and slideshows showcasing the history of the museum's galleries.
 
WCMA is open daily through Sunday, Dec. 22, with holiday hours listed on its website. The museum will reopen on Jan. 6 with a limited footprint featuring "Object Lab," an interdisciplinary exhibit that highlights selections from the collection. Updated visitor hours and programming information are available at artmuseum.williams.edu.

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Williamstown's Cost Rising for Emergency Bank Restoration

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The cost to stabilize the bank of the Hoosic River near a town landfill continues to rise, and the town is still waiting on the commonwealth's blessing to get to work.
 
Department of Public Works Director Craig Clough was before the Finance Committee on Wednesday to share that, unlike the town hoped, the emergency stabilization work will require bringing in a contractor — and that is before a multimillion dollar project to provide a long-term solution for the site near Williams College's Cole Field.
 
"I literally got the plans last Friday, and it's not something we'll be able to do in-house," Clough told the committee. "They're talking about a cofferdam of a few hundred feet, dry-pumping everything out and then working along the river. That's something that will be beyond our manpower to do, our people power, and the equipment we have will not be able to handle it."
 
Clough explained that the cofferdam is similar to the work done on the river near the State Road (Route 2) bridge on the west side of North Adams near West Package and Variety Stores.
 
"We don't know the exact numbers yet of an estimate," Clough said. "The initial thought was $600,000 a few months ago. Now, knowing what the plans are, the costs are going to be higher. They did not think there was going to need to be a coffer dam put in [in the original estimate]."
 
The draft capital budget of $592,500 before the Fin Comm includes $500,000 toward the riverbank stabilization project.
 
The town's finance director told the committee he anticipates having about $700,000 in free cash (technically the "unreserved fund balance") to spend in fiscal year 2027 once that number is certified by the Department of Revenue in Boston.
 
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