Clark Art Institute to Host Spring Scholarly Lecture Series

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute has announced its spring schedule for the Research and Academic Program (RAP) lecture series. The events, which are free to the public, will be held in the Manton Research Center auditorium starting at 5:30 p.m. Each presentation is preceded by a reception at 5 p.m. in the Manton Research Center reading room.

The series begins on March 17 with Luis Vargas-Santiago of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. His lecture, "Sur Marica, A Mobile Cartography of Art, Sex, Affect, and Collaboration in the Americas," examines case studies of artworks from Latin American capitals during the 1980s and 1990s. Vargas-Santiago will discuss how queer artists challenged traditional formations of sexuality, religion, and authorship to redefine national and racial identities.

On April 10, Rachel Lee Hutcheson from the Rochester Institute of Technology will present "Technical Difficulties: Early Color Photography and Conditioned Viewing." The talk analyzes turn-of-the-twentieth-century photographic technologies, such as lantern projectors and screen-plates, which achieved color through red, green, and blue separations rather than hand-application.

Independent scholar Alice Miceli will speak on April 28 regarding "Cities As Battlegrounds: How Urban Warfare Shapes—and is Shaped by—the Lens of History and Photography." Drawing on research from battles in Stalingrad, Fallujah, and Mosul, Miceli will examine the physical and psychological relationship between urban landscapes and military strategy.

The series concludes on May 5 with Ana Lucia Araujo of Howard University. Her presentation, "Global Slavery: A Visual History," analyzes artworks and images depicting human trafficking and enslavement across several centuries. Araujo's work compares the common elements of the institution of slavery from antiquity to the plantation systems of the Americas.

The Manton Research Center provides accessible seating. Interested parties may contact 413 458 0570 for additional information.


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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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