FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2006
CONTACT: Katie Reilly / Marketing Coordinator
(802) 447-1571 Fax (802) 442-8305
Big Year Ahead for the Bennington Museum
With the New Year just around the corner there is plenty to talk about at the Bennington Museum. With much anticipation for its full 2007 schedule the museum is preparing for a blockbuster year!
With the New Year comes a couple of changes. The Bennington Museum has a new mission statement that reflects the extensive visual and performing arts programs always available to the public. The new mission statement of the museum is:
“To celebrate the history and heritage of the southern Vermont region and to serve as a center for visual and performing arts that enriches our community and our world.” To give more access to the museum’s collections and exhibits, admission for all students k-12th grade will now be free.
In order to freshen up the galleries, the museum will be closed for January. However, make sure you stop by for exciting events! In conjunction with the exhibit Seasonal Selection: Winslow Homer and Thomas Nast, Dr. Russ Hausman will be giving a lecture on Winslow Homer’s work, life, and inspiration at the museum on January 11 at 7 p.m. The talk will encompass many areas, and will include Homer anecdotes from Hausman’s friendship with Winslow Homer’s niece. The Vermont Film Series continues on January 12 at 7 p.m. with a humorous film from Vermont filmmaker David Giancola. His comedy Illegal Aliens focuses on three aliens that morph into beautiful American women in order to stop an intergalactic terrorist from destroying Earth. This film is the third in this year’s series, and is a lighter example of local filmmaker’s work. Admission to the film is $5/person.
The upcoming year at the museum proves to be full of superb exhibits and exciting events for families and individuals of all ages. On February 4 at 2 p.m., the museum will host the second annual Bennington Bridal Fair. This event will showcase area businesses and the beautiful reception space available at the museum. A fashion show, fun door prizes, and refreshments round out the afternoon.
One of the highlights of the 2007 exhibition schedule is Bennington Collects, running from February 24 –April 4. Wildly successful last year, this exhibit once again shows what and why Bennington residents collect. Several collections from area collectors will be on display at the museum, with explanations of the items and the reasons for collecting them.
Instantly evoking thoughts of quintessential New England, covered bridges have inspired many artists. From April 7-June 17 Art of the Covered Bridge pulls works from the museum's permanent collection showing covered bridges from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. The depiction of the beauty of this American Icon in painting and other works of art is the focus of this exhibit running in conjunction with the Covered Bridges: Spanning the American Landscape exhibit brought to the museum from the Smithsonian Institute from April 14-June 10. This fascinating Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit shows the history and engineering behind these increasingly rare utilitarian structures.
In keeping with the rich heritage and culture of our area, the exhibition Rockwell Kent to Norman Rockwell: The Arlington Artistic Community, 1920-1960, running from June 23-August 19, takes a look at the incredibly talented and diverse group of artistic personalities that settled in Arlington, Vermont, in the first half of the twentieth century. With Dorothy Canfield Fisher at its center, this group of artists includes such notables as Rockwell Kent, Carl Ruggles, and a group of illustrators famous for their Saturday Evening Post covers, including Norman Rockwell, Meade Schaeffer, Jack Atherton, and George Hughes.
The Bennington Museum’s foremost exhibit of the year is Masters of Impressionism and Beyond from August 5 –October 31. An exhibition featuring rarely exhibited works from private collections by the likes of Monet, Renoir, and Pissaro. This exhibition is sure to please serious art enthusiasts and casual art lovers alike. A rare chance to see art of this type in our community!
Adding to the museum’s lineup of exhibitions are events for all ages including the Vermont Film Series, musical concerts, children’s educational workshops, lectures, and so much more. With so much going on, make sure to check our website at www.benningtonmuseum.org for updated events. Consider a membership which will allow you free museum admission for a year, and free and discounted admission to events!
The Bennington Museum is located at 75 Main St. (Route 9) one mile west of the intersection of Routes 7 and 9 in downtown Bennington, Vermont. Open daily except Wednesdays from 10 am- 5pm. For more information, visit the website at www.benningtonmuseum.org. or call 802-447-1571