Clark Art Offers April School Vacation Week Activities

07:49AM / Tuesday, April 14, 2026Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.—The Clark Art Institute offers activities celebrating art, nature, and student creativity during the Massachusetts public school system's April vacation week.

From Tuesday, April 21 through Friday, April 24, children are welcome to explore the outdoor sculpture exhibition Ground/work 2025 while using our free Ground/work 2025 activity packs—launching this week. Admission to the Clark is always free for children under 18.

Ground/work 2025 activity packs feature six different artwork-specific cards that invite visitors of all ages to look, draw, write, move, and imagine. While out on the trails, stop by the Lunder Center's Hunter Studio to see the inspiring student art show How Shall We Live: Berkshire Youth Artists Explore Their Relationship with the Earth in the Time of Climate Change (on view from April 18–25, 12–5 pm).

On Wednesday, April 22, make art with natural materials in a special indigo dyeing workshop led by artist and Williams College professor, Junli Song. Learn to dye a silk scarf (that's yours to keep!) with shibori indigo dyeing techniques (recommended for ages 8+. A guardian must accompany children aged 12 and under).

Additionally, Looking Carefully cards and drawing pads are available year-round at the Clark Center admissions desk and are a great way to enjoy the galleries.

The indigo dyeing workshop requires a $10 registration fee, and capacity is limited. Email education@clarkart.edu if the fee is a barrier to your participation. For more details and to register, visit events.clarkart.edu.

Family programs are supported by Allen & Company.

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Williamstown Select Board Evaluates Town Manager

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:39AM / Wednesday, October 28, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — In 2022, the town still was recovering from the twin blows of a global pandemic and a lawsuit that exposed disturbing allegations against the town's police department.

The latter ultimately led to the resignation of the police chief and the town manager. To replace the manager, the Select Board at the time turned to Robert Menicocci.

Menicocci represented a break in style from his immediate predecessor, who was a more prominent voice in town government. That prominence, in part, was a product of the times: When town boards and committees were not meeting in-person and access to town hall itself was limited at the height of the pandemic, the manager's voice in Zoom meetings was more front and center.

In his four years in the corner office, Menicocci has helped shepherd the police department on its path to certification and helped the town weather the fiscal storm of skyrocketing costs linked to inflation – particularly sharp increases in the cost of health insurance that hit hard for a labor-intensive endeavor like municipal government. All the while, he has been a little more taciturn, while always willing to participate, when appropriate, with responsive answers in discussions of the Select Board and Finance Committee.

On Monday, the current Select Board – completely turned over from the 2022 edition – pushed Menicocci to be more of a cheerleader for the town.

"Do you see your role more as a behind-the-scenes guy and our role is to be out in public?" board member Matthew Neely asked Menicocci during the board's review of the manager's job performance. "Or is there more of a role for you in that? So many people, if I say your name, they're like, ‘Who?'

"I would have assumed your role would be more public facing as well, and more, for lack of a better word, leading the charge as opposed to running day-to-day operations. I feel you're strong running day-to-day. But something we all wish is we had a little more of a proactive [manager] …. Since we need development, need all these things in town so much. … I'd love to see more outward energy, I guess.

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