Editor’s note: Besides tracking technological advancements and innovations, our author is a Juilliard-trained musical composer. He has created a musical piece titled “Mid East Blues” for you to enjoy while reading this column.
The Berkshires has long been renowned for its rich culture. From the grandeur of Tanglewood to the galleries of MASS MoCA and The Clark, from Norman Rockwell’s iconic images in Stockbridge to the many barns, churches, and small venues scattered across our towns, art and music are woven into everyday life here. People travel from all over the world to experience it. Those of us who live here sometimes forget how extraordinary it is to have world-class creativity in our backyard.
Yet something is changing in how people engage with culture. For centuries, engaging with culture meant showing up in person: buying a ticket, walking through a museum door, sitting in a hall. That will never go away. Nothing replaces the immediacy of being in the room with musicians or standing in front of a painting. But streaming has added a new dimension.
It began with movies and music. Then, during the pandemic, cultural institutions everywhere experimented with digital offerings. Museums created virtual tours, orchestras streamed performances, and schools turned to online platforms to keep students connected. What was once a stopgap has become a permanent part of cultural life
Studies now show that online cultural experiences, even brief ones, can improve mood, lower stress, and increase a sense of belonging. For younger audiences in particular, digital access feels natural. The lesson is that streaming is not a lesser substitute but a complementary form of engagement.
This carries real implications for education. Federal support for the arts and humanities is shrinking, and schools face tough choices. Yet communities can step in with their own hybrid approaches. If cultural organizations expand into radio, streaming, or online galleries, they can fill part of that gap, giving students and families accessible ways to learn and participate.
Here in the Berkshires, we are beginning to see this unfold. MASS MoCA offers online tours of its Sol LeWitt wall drawings and streams performances to global audiences. Chesterwood has developed digital exhibitions that make the legacy of Daniel Chester French accessible well beyond Stockbridge. The Berkshire Museum, even while under renovation, has hosted online exhibit launches and tours. The Berkshire County Historical Society has created digital exhibits that bring Pittsfield’s past to life. And students at Lee middle and high schools maintain a virtual gallery that shares their artwork online with the community.
Local media outlets are also adapting. Public access television stations now regularly stream their programs. Some are beginning to experiment with radio as well, adding new ways to connect with residents who may not have reliable broadband. It is easy to overlook these incremental changes, but together they represent a significant shift. The tools of culture and education are extending beyond walls and screens into new hybrid spaces.
For those of us involved in community programming, this is especially exciting. Shows like Harvesting Infinity, which I host, and Solo Creatives of the Berkshires, hosted by Sherry Steiner, are examples of how conversations and performances can live across platforms. They can be broadcast, streamed, archived, and revisited, making culture both immediate and enduring. More importantly, they create pathways for new voices to join the conversation.
Looking ahead, competitions and community projects could play a bigger role. Imagine a youth storytelling challenge that culminates in a broadcast segment. Or a local music showcase streamed worldwide but produced by students learning media skills. Or a digital gallery contest where young artists learn how to curate and present their work online. Each of these efforts is both cultural and educational, building community while equipping the next generation with skills they might not otherwise have access to in school.
That is the opportunity before us: to utilize hybrid media as a means of extending culture into education, preserving access across generations, and keeping the Berkshires vibrant not only as a destination but also as a living classroom.
None of this replaces the joy of gathering in person. We will always want to hear live music in a hall, to stand with others before a painting, to share food after a performance. But digital tools now allow us to extend those experiences outward and make them more inclusive. Someone without broadband can still hear a concert on the radio. Someone across the world can watch a performance streamed from our hills. A student can participate in a digital competition that sparks a career in media or the arts.
Streaming has changed the way the world consumes culture. Broadcasting brings it back to the local. Together, they make it possible to be in two places at once: at home and in a gallery, in Sheffield and Paris, in Stockbridge and Tokyo. Culture is no longer a one-way broadcast. It is becoming a conversation, a collaboration, and a classroom.
Local media is also part of this transformation. Public access stations such as Community Television for the Southern Berkshires (CTSB) in Lee and Pittsfield Community Television (PCTV) give voice to civic life, cultural programs, and local creativity, while increasingly streaming their content beyond cable. On the radio side, WTBR-FM in Pittsfield and WSBS in Great Barrington provide regional news, music, and conversation, and WBCR-LP, Great Barrington’s volunteer-driven low-power station, offers eclectic grassroots programming. With CTSB now preparing to launch its own LPFM service, the Berkshires are building a layered media ecosystem that connects neighbors without broadband while sharing our culture more widely than ever before.
The Berkshires are already part of this shift. Our institutions and our communities are experimenting, adapting, and learning. If we lean into this moment, we can ensure that our region continues to thrive as a place where culture not only entertains, but also educates, connects, and inspires.
