Bennington Museum is a bastion of Vermont art and culture today, as it was 100 years ago in 1928 when it opened.

In order to maintain momentum as an active and relevant space that serves over 20,000 people each year, the Museum Board of Trustees has recently approved significant investments in the grounds and infrastructure. Windows and roofs have been replaced, HVAC and security systems updated, the sewer system re-aligned, and the trails replanted with sturdy hardwood trees. They’ve also doubled down on the mission: rolling out new programs like Concerts in the Courtyard, the North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show partnership, the Curatorial Internship, and the Teacher’s Institute. Exhibitions like For the Love of Vermont celebrate the history and creativity of this region and draw attention from visitors across the country.

WHAT IS IN STORE?

Over the next 4 years, they are embarking on an exciting capital journey to improve curbside appeal, create new community spaces, comply with modern safety and accessibility standards, and provide long term stability so that the collections and programs will always be within reach of this community and visitors. The goal is to complete a campus-wide transformation by the end of year 2028, the Museum’s 100th anniversary.

“I am so excited by the capital projects that Bennington Museum has planned,” effuses Consie West, board chair. “We are welcoming more and more students and more and more visitors. We started to open up our Museum and make it more welcoming by removing the fence in 2021. Now, we are ready to continue that welcoming embrace of the community. This is so timely as we approach several important celebrations over the next four years: for our country, 250th anniversary of our independence in 2026; for our region, 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bennington in 2027; and in 2028, our celebration of 100 years of stewardship and creativity.”

PROJECT 1:

Accessibility and the Visitor Experience

The “welcome sequence” focuses on the exterior and entryway to the Museum with the goal of directly improving visitor access and curbside appeal.

The courtyard will be leveled and opened, providing a better space to sit and enjoy the scenic views with a good book, a cup of coffee, and friends. The expanded patio/piazza will provide a perfect place to gather for an evening outdoor summer concert or to have lunch at a pop-up chef station.

The Museum will become more accessible with the implementation of a safer, greener, and pedestrian-friendly parking lot. The parking lot will have better directional signage, more parking spaces, and bus parking that will enable visitors to enter the Museum more easily. The pavement will be pulled back from the front of the Museum so the historic building rests in a curated park. The exterior entry and pathways will be well marked and illuminated with new lighting. There will be EV chargers, bike racks, green-scape buffers, and clearly delineated accessible sidewalks to keep visitors safe from traffic on their walk to the Museum.

“We want to be community-minded in all aspects of our operations. That includes how we present ourselves to the public, how our spaces engage with the natural beauty of Vermont, and how each moment on site offers a chance to be delighted and inspired from arrival to departure,” says Martin Mahoney, Executive Director. “Revisioning the front of the Museum into a park-like setting is the first important step in providing a warm, welcoming, and community-friendly environment. Our goal is to have people pull in for a minute because it looks like an interesting place to stop – the exterior should spark some curiosity about what is inside. And,” he continues, “we want our neighbors to be proud of the viewscape that Bennington Museum – this iconic cultural resource – presents at the gateway to town.”

The Museum has contracted with Terrigenous Landscape Architects and MSK Engineering and plans to begin work in the spring of 2025.

PROJECT 2:

Outreach and Education Capacity

The Grandma Moses Schoolhouse will be transformed into a convenient and light-filled education space, with an enlarged entrance for school groups and bus tours. It will also become an education/maker classroom with space for raucous, messy exploration and creativity with a utility sink, separate bathroom, and exterior keypad entry.

“Remaking the Moses Schoolhouse into a modern education center pays tribute to the building’s origins. The schoolhouse will once again become a community center for learning while also maintaining its beloved use as a hands-on exploration area for kids,” says Deana Mallory, Director of Public Programs.

In the winter of 2024 the Museum undertook major renovations of the Grandma Moses Gallery and ancillary spaces to include new lighting, flooring, wi-fi, and HVAC. The Museum widened the corridor between the Schoolhouse and the Museum proper, inserted a window, and installed an automated door at the landing that prevents noise from classes, workshops and events from infiltrating the galleries. We will have the capacity to lock this door so that the Moses Schoolhouse can be available for after-hours rentals and programs once the full renovation is complete. The Museum has contracted with Keefe & Wesner Architects, and will begin work in the winter of 2026.

PROJECT 3:

Staff, Facilities, and Meeting Space

The largest and most ambition piece of the Century Campaign is reserved for last, but the Museum is determined to get there.

“Because of our project-oriented approach, we are able to hold this final and largest piece in reserve until after the initial work on the Museum proper has been completed, but we wanted to give you a sneak peek here just so you can understand why we are so excited!”

-Alexina Jones, Director of Advancement

The Museum has contracted with Goldstone Architecture to develop a conceptual design for a new building and connecting pathway on the vacant piece of property adjacent to the Museum. The new building will be a modern space for staff and board to connect in-person or remotely. Offices will meet post-COVID best practices for health, and will provide private meeting spaces. The Annex will also house a facilities garage, and will be connected to the primary property by a boardwalk. The grounds can hold overflow parking and will serve as a launchpad from which to explore the nature trails. Completion of this project will have a cascade effect with the main Museum building.

In order to make the vast genealogical resources in the Museum’s library more accessible to the public, the Museum intends to renovate the basement of the original church on the first floor of the Museum (where the administrative offices are currently.) This space could accommodate a small café that opens to the courtyard, and would also be the new home for the Regional History Room (currently situated on the second floor of the church). Moving the Regional History Room to this prominent location and providing keycode access will make this resource more accessible to the public, and programs could run even when the Museum is closed. In turn, this will restore the main church cloister above to its original unencumbered architecture, providing another changing exhibition gallery or performance space for the Museum. This transformation will be possible only after the administrative offices have transitioned to the new annex.

The Museum is seeking a total of $2.7M for Project 1 and $500,000 for Project 2. Endowment is baked into the cost of each of these projects to ensure programmatic stability for the next 100 years as well. Fundraising is well underway and groundbreaking dates have been set.

HOW TO HELP

The Museum invites you to help bring these projects to fruition and encourages the public to visit the website for updates or to learn how to make a gift in support of the Century Campaign: benningtonmuseum.org/join-give/the-century-campaign/

ABOUT BENNINGTON MUSEUM

Bennington Museum collects, interprets, and celebrates the creativity and culture of our region across time. Through our collections and programs, people everywhere will come to value the Vermont narrative, the Bennington region, and the achievements of those who have lived here. This Museum is the foremost collecting institution in southern Vermont, with 45,000 objects including primary resources from the Battle of Bennington, pristine 19th century Bennington ceramics, the 1863 Jane Stickle quilt, and the largest public body of work by famed American artist Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses. These significant collections embody a unique sense of place, and although they have been loaned throughout the world, they are best understood by more than 20,000 visitors each year, here, at Bennington Museum, in the context of the very environment in which they were created.