Bennington Museum Receives Highest National Recognition

Awarded Re-Accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums
Bennington, VT (4/9/2024) – Bennington Museum has again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded to the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, roughly 1,100 are currently accredited. The Museum has been continuously accredited by the AAM since 1983, and is one of only a few accredited museums in the state of Vermont. All museums must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status.

Alliance Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for over fifty years, the Alliance’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability. It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable to provide the best possible service to the public.

“Receiving re-accreditation from AAM is a testament the high levels of professionalism and dedication of both the staff and the Board of Trustees,” said Martin Mahoney, Bennington Museum’s Executive Director. “It confirms that we are following best practices in the Museum field, affirms the success of our mission, and validates the significant community outreach that has taken place in recent years. We have worked hard to achieve this recognition and are proud to have earned the AAM seal.”
Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation, a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.

“Accreditation is the gold standard for museums—a significant achievement of which the institutions and their communities should be extremely proud,” said Brooke Leonard, AAM Interim CEO and Chief of Staff. “By undergoing reaccreditation, these museums have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to maintaining this distinction and have demonstrated their ongoing commitment to excellence.”
About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward. For more information, visit aam-us.org.