OLLI University Day to explore 1968 around the world
Great Barrington — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College will explore the global impact of 1968 at its University Day Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
The day will begin with registration and refreshments in the Daniel Arts Center lobby. At 9:30 a.m., the day’s program will begin with a dramatic performance of “Global Voices of 1968,” co-directed by Daniel’s Art Party founder Ken Roht and award-winning director and actor James Warwick. After a break, an eyewitness panel will feature Berkshire International Club members who witnessed groundbreaking events in Panama, France and Czechoslovakia in 1968. The panel will be moderated by OLLI instructor and retired Foreign Service officer John Dickson.
Over lunch, William Paterson University professor emeritus Martin Weinstein will deliver a talk titled “Latin-America 1968: Revolution or Counter-Revolution.” After lunch, Simon’s Rock film studies professor Dien Vo will present a curated series of international films clips from the late 1960s. The final panel will feature Simon’s Rock history professors David Baum and Justin Jackson, who will speak about Italy and Cuba and the Philippines. Retired lawyer and OLLI member Bernadette Brusco will talk about the genocide in Biafra, the first post-war genocide to garner international reaction and shape responses to similar crises.
Tickets are $40 for OLLI at BCC and Berkshire International Club members, and $55 for the general public. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the OLLI at (413) 236-2190 or olli@berkshirecc.edu.
–E.E.
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CATA exhibit highlights North County artists, students with disabilities
North Adams — Community Access to the Arts presents an exhibit of artwork by visual artists with disabilities at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Window Gallery, 49 Main St., through Sunday, Dec. 2. The exhibit features a series of large-scale paintings created by artists from BFAIR using the Artistic Realization Technologies technique. The paintings are accompanied by an installation of three-dimensional hanging “CATApillars” that were constructed by Berkshire county students with disabilities.
The paintings in this exhibit were created by North County artists with disabilities using the A.R.T. adaptive technique, developed by artist Tim Lefens, that gives full artistic control to people with profound physical disabilities who do not have the dexterity to apply paintbrush to canvas. Through this technique, artists use a laser pointer and the aid of a trained “tracker” to create art.
The colorful “CATApillar” sculptures suspended throughout the gallery space were created by students with disabilities at Lee Middle and High School and the Pittsfield High School Transition Program at the Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires through CATA’s programs in the schools. CATA provides dynamic and intensive arts workshops to students in special education programs in seven school districts throughout Berkshire County.
All paintings in the exhibit are professionally framed and available for sale, with proceeds supporting commissions for individual artists.
–E.E.
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Hoffmann Bird Club to present ‘Why Do Birds Sing?’
Pittsfield — At its monthly meeting Monday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. at Guardian Life Insurance, the Hoffmann Bird Club will present “Why Do Birds Sing? How Do They Learn Their Songs? And How Can Birders Learn Them, Too?” with Tom Stephenson.
Stephenson, author of “The Warbler Guide” and several birding apps, will present an overview of the kinds of vocalizations that birds make, how they are acquired and how the song-learning process unfolds. Stephenson will also cover the many different kinds of vocalizations one individual bird might make and what they may mean, and discuss species that sing only one song across the U.S. compared with other species that have hundreds of different songs. He’ll also discuss general memorization theory and outline a simple and very effective technique for memorizing many bird songs.
Stephenson has been birding since he was a kid under the tutelage of Arthur Allen of Cornell University. His articles and photographs are in museums and many publications including Birding, Bird Watcher’s Digest, “Handbook of the Birds of the World,” “Handbook of the Mammals of the World” and others. He has lectured and guided many groups across the U.S. and Asia, where he trained guides for the government of Bhutan. He has donated numerous recordings of eastern Himalayan rarities and other Asian species to Cornell’s Macaulay Library of natural sounds. His latest book, “The Warbler Guide,” won the National Outdoor Book Award. His BirdGenie app helps bird enthusiasts identify over 150 common vocalizations in the eastern and western U.S. by recording them on a smartphone. He is also working on a new book and app project for Princeton University Press on identifying and learning all North American bird songs.
The presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Hoffmann Bird Club at hoffmannbirdclub@gmail.com.
–E.E.
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Pittsfield Photo Challenge accepting entries through Friday, Nov. 30
Pittsfield — Downtown Pittsfield Inc. is holding a photo challenge to find the photo that best captures why downtown Pittsfield is the “Heart of the Berkshires.” Entrants are encouraged to submit photos that showcase the beauty and personality of downtown Pittsfield, keeping in mind the “Heart of the Berkshires” theme. Creativity is encouraged.
The first-place winner, as determined by a panel of local judges, will have their photo featured in Pittsfield’s 2019 Downtown Guide and a DPI social marketing campaign. The first and second place winners will take home prize packages donated by local downtown businesses. In addition, select entries will be exhibited at Downtown Pittsfield Inc. in 2019 during First Fridays Artswalk.
DPI will accept photo submissions through Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Winners will be notified by Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019. One image submission will be accepted per person, and the image must be taken in downtown Pittsfield. Entrants must fill out a Google form and email their photos to kgritman@downtownpittsfield.com. Full contest rules and entry information can be found online.
–E.E.
