For Immediate Release:

March 16, 2023

Bennington Museum re-opens on Saturday, April 1

with a slate of new exhibitions...

For the past three months, the galleries at Bennington Museum have been closed to the public as the curators, the maintenance team, and volunteers worked tirelessly to re-install, clean, and organize our collections. On Saturday, April 1st at 10am, the Museum is thrilled to be opening its doors once more and will be offering half-off of regular admission which will include special talks and events throughout the afternoon.

Read on for more details!

EVENTS

Regional History Room Grand Re-Opening

April 1st, 1pm

For the past three years Historical Society and other Museum volunteers have been working to reorganize and update the existing Research Library to bring the collection up to 21st century standards. Over 3,000 items have been cataloged and organized, along with the addition of on-line resources such as Newspapers.com, Ancestry, Fold3, and American Ancestors. New acquisitions are also being added to round out and update the collection. This will provide the public with a way to research their family, and community at no cost.

We invite local historical societies, teachers, students, and the public to attend this informational event to learn about the resources available for their use.

Curatorial Talk – Nebizun: Water is Life

April 1st, 2pm

Curator Vera Longtoe Sheehan will present Nebizun: Water is Life, an exhibit which explores the Abenaki relationship to water. The exhibit is presented in partnership with the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association and the Abenaki Arts & Education Center. Light refreshments will be served in the Grandma Moses Schoolhouse, adjacent to the exhibit.

Included with admission.

Vera Longtoe Sheehan (Founder, Contributor, and Educator) is a scholar, educator, activist, and artist with almost 30 years of experience developing transformative education opportunities and curriculum materials, as well as being involved in education leadership for more than 10 years. She is currently the Director of the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association (2013 – present). Sheehan is also the Instructor for “Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom” at Castleton University. Previously, she was a Museum Educator at the Smithsonian where she delivered culturally responsive programs for K-12 audiences. Vera is an Executive Board Member for the Vermont Humanities Council and on the ACT 1 Task Force (2019 – present) dedicated to ethnic and social equity studies. The focus of Vera’s art is in traditional clothing and twined woven plant fiber bags which require sustainable methodology.

EXHIBITIONS

A History of Bennington

April 1 - December 31, 2023

Studying history means thinking critically about the world and our place in it. Benningtonians in the past dealt with many of the same issues that polarize society today, including race, gender, sexuality, Indigenous rights, immigration, and addiction. This exhibit invites you to examine how history affects your life. By studying our shared history, we can better understand where we have been, where we are now, and where we want to go next.

Receipt for Margaret “Peg” Bowen

1778 Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers

Nebizun: Water is Life

April 1 - June 16, 2023

Nebizun is the Abenaki word for medicine and the root word Nebi is the Abenaki word for water. The rivers and tributaries of N’Dakinna (our homeland) were highways for traveling and the water itself is important to the species of fish and other wildlife that were necessary to the Abenaki way of life. As stewards of the environment, Native American people know the importance of having clean water and the Abenaki people know and understand the importance of water in everyday activities. Nebizun: Water is Life draws its inspiration from Native American Grandmothers who have been doing water walks to pray for the water, and the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.

Here is the curatorial essay!

Water is Life

Francine Poitras Jones, 2019 Acrylic on Canvas

The Student Art Show

April 1 - June 6, 2023

The annual Student Art Show celebrates the artistic development of our region’s elementary through high school students. The wide range of works on view demonstrates how students move from early explorations of the basic elements of art to the sophisticated skills they can take with them to careers in the arts and beyond.

Dobi Kye, self-portrait

and coming this summer...

For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection

July 1 - November 5, 2023

Bennington Museum and the Southern Vermont Arts Center will jointly present the exhibition For the Love of Vermont: the Lyman Orton Collection. The collection, amassed by Vermont Country Store proprietor and seventh generation Vermonter, Lyman Orton, features over 200 artworks of Vermont or by Vermont artists largely from the early to mid 20th century. The collection, shown publicly for the first time, will be on view in the galleries of both venues. For the Love of Vermont is the account of how one Vermonter’s heartfelt affection for his home state launched him into a decades-long quest to retain the art of Vermont here in his beloved state as well as to return artworks that had “escaped” to other states across America. The collection features well known American artists such as Rockwell Kent, Luigi Lucioni, Mead Shaffer, and dozens of other artists working in oil, watercolor, drawing, illustration, and mixed media.

Bennington Museum presents and explores the rich culture of southern Vermont and neighboring regions from the 18th century to the present. Visit benningtonmuseum.org to learn more about virtual and in-person, year-round exhibitions and programming. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students over 18. Bennington Museum participates in NARM, Blue Star Museum, and the Museums for All initiatives. Bennington Museum is located at 75 Main Street in Bennington, Vermont.

Open Hours for April and May:

10am - 4pm

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday

$15 General Admission, and $12 Student/Seniors

Museum members and Youth aged 17 and under are admitted free of charge