Shaker Museum awarded two-year grant from Henry Luce Foundation
CHATHAM, N.Y. – Shaker Museum, which stewards the most comprehensive collection of Shaker material culture and archives, recently announced it has been awarded a two-year grant of $230,000 from the Henry Luce Foundation. The grant is for the inaugural permanent collection installation, “Shaker Belief, Shaker Life, Shaker Community,” which will be presented at the launch of the museum’s new facility in downtown Chatham, New York, currently in development.
Curated by Maggie Taft, the exhibit will offer a kaleidoscopic view of American Shakerism from the religion’s founding in the late 18th century to its flourishing in the 19th century and decline during the 20th. Using selections from the Museum’s collection, the exhibition will explore how Shakerism’s radical foundational values of equality, inclusion, and accessibility were pursued and experienced by members of Shaker communities. The exhibition underscores the many ways in which Shakers sought to forge equitable and inclusive communal bonds, and the difficulty of making good on those efforts in everyday life.
In 2016, the Henry Luce Foundation supported Shaker Museum with a $750,000 grant to catalog, digitize, and put its collection online. That grant has enabled the institution to engage audiences with Shaker material while it does not have physical home. Moreover, the project was also a critical step in preserving the entire collection for future generations and readying it for its new permanent facility in Chatham.
The Shaker Museum purchased a 19th century industrial building in Chatham that had been closed to the public for more than 10 years and is now in the process of renovating and building an expansive addition to the facility, designed by Selldorf Architects.
—A.K.
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Berkshire Community College to host virtual open house
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Community College (BCC) will hold its Spring 2021 Virtual Open House on Wednesday, April 21 at 4 p.m., followed by a financial aid session at 5 p.m. The open house takes place during most local high schools’ spring break — the perfect time to learn more about the wide variety of academic options at BCC in an informal setting. To register, visit the BCC website or call 413-236-1630.
Prospective students will get the opportunity to meet BCC faculty and staff, and learn about the admissions process from the comfort of their home. After the open house, attendees can get help filling out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, or explore the Fall 2021 course schedule with an academic advisor.
All participants will receive a free gift card to local lunch spots, a discount at the BCC Bookstore, and a chance to win BCC swag. A second open house will be held Saturday, May 8 at 2 p.m.
—A.K.
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Salisbury Bank announces 2021 scholarship program
Lakeville, Conn. — Salisbury Bank recently announced its 2021 Annual Time to Shine Scholarship Program. The Bank created the program in 2009 to assist students who have a proven financial need and are making a difference in their communities. Multiple scholarships may be awarded for up to $1,500 each to assist eligible students seeking a college degree in a variety of programs. Ideal candidates will be students of academic achievement who possess a variety of interests and leadership experience, show consistent community involvement, and have a desire to make their world a better place.
Eligible students must be residents of Dutchess, Orange, or Ulster County, New York, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, or Litchfield County, Connecticut. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a public high school, vocational, technical, or private school, be a homeschool student affiliated with such a school, or be a graduate or GED recipient entering their first year of college.
Applicants must be planning to enter an accredited college or university as a first-year undergraduate student for the 2021/22 academic year. Applicants will be evaluated according to a 100-point system that takes into account financial need, academic achievement, community service, volunteerism, and leadership.
All applications must be submitted online. The Scholarship Committee must receive complete applications and transcripts by 5 p.m. on May 31, 2021.
For detailed information about the scholarship program and documents checklist, visit the Bank’s website, contact Megan Snow at 860-453-3555, or email msnow@salisburybank.com.
—A.K.
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Salisbury UCC offers virtual Sunday School
SALISBURY, Conn. — With props, a fun curriculum, and a dedicated teacher, the Congregational Church of Salisbury UCC has created a virtual, intergenerational Sunday School. The 20-minute class is held each Sunday morning, beginning a little before 9:30 a.m., via Zoom. Each session includes music, story, reflection, and prayer.
“Barbara Collins is a retired music educator, a creative storyteller, and a marvelously inventive teacher of the Bible. She shares her sense of fun, as well as activities that keep everyone engaged,” said Rev. Dr. John A. Nelson, the church’s pastor. “And I say ‘everyone’ because half the participants are adults who love the way Barbara shares stories of our faith.”
The congregation invites curious learners ages 4 and older (no upper limit!) to sign in. For a link to the Zoom class, please contact the church office at 860-435-2442.
—A.K.
