A portion of the museum's general operating funds for this fiscal year has been provided through grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a Federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will celebrate this year's Discover Our Berkshires Week with a lunchtime gallery talk by area artist Julia Erickson and a 10% discount in the Museum Shop for Berkshire residents and employees. Erickson, whose exhibition, Julia Erickson: Remedies, is currently on view at the museum, will speak about her work on Wednesday, June 13, at 12:30. This event is free and open to the public. The exhibition will remain on view through August 19, 2001.

Erickson creates mesmerizing patterns using hundreds of actual medicine pills, from Bayer to Zoloft, as her templates. Painstakingly filling in the negative space around each tablet with rich, opaque black ink, the artist allows the contrasting white of the Duralene paper to show through in elaborate configurations. With humorous, yet provacative titles such as Fifty-Two Weeks of Happiness and Tabloid, the drawings investigate the role of medication in a society that has become increasingly dependent on its transformative abilities. The artist says about the series, "Remedies are somewhat meditative for me due to the repeated patterns and quiet nature of the process; thus the title, Remedies, refers to more than just the subject matter."

Julia Erickson: Remedies has been organized by WCMA Curatorial Assistant, Lisa Dorin, in collaboration with the artist. The museum's summer exhibitions will be celebrated at a free public reception on Saturday, July 21, 2001, from 5 to 7 pm.

The Berkshire Visitors Bureau's annual Discover Our Berkshires Week takes place June 9 through June 17, 2001. This yearly promotion, for residents and employees of Berkshire County, features special values at area attractions, lodging facilities and restaurants. Details appear on a flyer, which is widely available throughout the county. The full schedule will also appear in area newspapers. Those who wish to take advantage of these offers must simply present identification that proves they reside or work in Berkshire County.