Shaker Museum and Library

Historic site preservation and conservation - since 2009, the Museum has undertaken historic preservation projects at mount lebanon. In 2014, the Museum completed a 2-year project of approximately 2 million to stabilize the walls of the great stone barn at mount lebanon. The barn, gutted by fire in 1972, was the largest stone barn in america when build in 1859. It is a testament to the financial and technological sophistication of the shakers' agricultural operations, and to their communal stewardship of the land and animals. Funding for the project was assembled over several years, and included federal grants from the departments of the interior, housing and urban development, and transportation: the new york state office of parks, recreation, and historic preservation; the world monuments fund; and contributions from over 100 private foundations and individuals. The project stabilized the stone walls of the building, with the goal of making the building available for interpretation as part of the Museum's operation of the historic site. In 2015, the Museum executed a grant contract of 500,000 with the new york state office of parks, recreation, and historic preservation to continue preservation of this building. The Museum capped the barn walls to prevent further erosion and to ensure long-term stability. In 2016, the Museum completed work on a contract to restore elements of the brick shop, with funding from the new york state office of parks, recreation, and historic preservation and a line of credit with the preservation league of new york. In 2014, the Museum purchased a 61-acre parcel of historic Shaker lands adjacent to the mount lebanon site. In 2016, the Museum completed the funding contract with the open space institute and completed negotiations for a conservation easement with the state of new york. In 2018, the Museum cleared eight acres of new growth wood from the above-mentioned parcel, restoring a significant view shed and restoring wood areas to the open field and crop land that would have existed at the height of the shakers' occupancy of the mount lebanon site in the latter half of the 1800s. This work exposed original Shaker stone walls, which had been obscured for decades, to public view. In 2019, over two miles of hiking trails were completed through this cleared land and the remaining wooded areas. Following an approval process from the new york state historic preservation office, the Museum installed six new interpretative educational signs at the site in 2019. This signage, made possible with supplemental education aid funds from new york state, allows visitors to more fully utilize the newly available self-guided tour brochures to visit the site and immerse themselves in Shaker history year- round and regardless of ability to pay. Despite the many challenges of 2020, the trails, pastures, and grounds at the historic mount lebanon site provided the general public an accessible location for passive recreation.

Collections care - in 2015 the Museum started a major effort to assess and improve as needed the care of its object collection. The Museum continues to work to make its collections and information available through electronic media. The gladys knieble delmas foundation and the tianaderrah foundation funded a digitization project of mount lebanon manuscripts. Digitization of historic photographs continued, and the Museum made available about 2,450 photographs to the public in early 2015. The Museum was awarded a 750,000 grant in 2016 from the henry luce foundation to support a 2 1/2 year project to document the entire collection online; photograph a significant portion of the collection; and present all the information and images in an online database that is free and fully publicly accessible. This project was completed at the end of 2018 with the launch of a new website showcasing more than 16,000 objects from the Museum's collection. The Museum's extensive collection and archive of Shaker manuscripts, imprints, photographs, ephemera, and secondary Shaker Museum and Library research materials continued to attract researchers from the united states and abroad. The Museum encourages and supports study and research in the collection, as well as its interpretation, through exhibitions organized by the Museum and in collaboration with other institutions, an online blog, and through loans to other institutions. Museum staff also respond to inquiries from researchers and the public about Shaker history and object provenance.

Site tours, workshops, and exhibitions - in 2022 Shaker Museum continued to emphasize inclusive programming, offering opportunities for participants to come together remotely and in- person for various events regardless of ability to pay. Throughout the year, the Museum explored sustainability and considered how the shakers offer contemporary inspiration as society navigates a rapidly changing world. Shaker Museum provided both scholarly offerings such as an online panel exploring innovation in sustainable design as well as participatory programming such as shaker-inspired craft workshops. Recurring series such as community building with elementary school-aged participants from the hudson youth department and the ever-popular knit-a-long, which this year explored the work of sister elvira hulett and the knitted rugs she made in the late 19th century, enabled participants of all skill levels and abilities to share in the hands-on joy of making. Despite the fact Shaker Museum is without a permanent, publicly accessible space to welcome visitors, during 2021, even as the world was still emerging from a state of pandemic lock-down and isolation, Shaker Museum provided a slate of public programming inspired by the collection, historic site, exploration in Shaker craft such as textile work and ethics, and opportunities to learn about the Shaker scholarship and inspiration informing the design of Shaker Museum's future home. The events - many of which were free or pay what you wish - were offered as a mix of virtual and in-person to support different levels of health and safety comfort, as well as expand our reach beyond the immediate area and our pre-existing audiences. In 2021, the Museum also presented physical pop-up exhibitions hosted in donated space in downtown chatham including fringe selects: an exhibition of Shaker objects curated by katie stout (december 2020 - march 2021) and the future is a gift (may - october 2021), and continued to facilitate onsite collections research. As a result of these activities, the public engaged with the Museum's collection in person on 129 days between january 1, and november 15, 2021. Additionally, the Museum hosted 15 virtual programs and six other in-person events that did not directly utilize the physical collection and provided resources for self-led exploration of the historic site every day of the year. In 2020 Shaker Museum focused its programming on inclusion, honoring the idea that all individuals have the right to be respected, valued, and to participate fully in society. During the period of isolation necessary to slow the spread of covid-19, Shaker Museum invited artists of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to explore the Museum's collection online and create artwork inspired by the Shaker example. This community engagement project, "call for art: in union remotely," comprised a series of events which enabled participants to join a remote community while working on individual projects inspired by the Shaker legacy. The resulting exhibition was available to view online at shakermuseum.us. As conditions permitted reopening of public venues, Shaker Museum opened a temporary exhibition in downtown chatham entitled "shakers: in community," which was the outcome of a sustained initiative funded by the henry luce foundation's theology program and curated by maggie taft. Through an array of photographs, furniture, prints, apparel as well as other objects in the permanent collection of Shaker Museum, this pop-up experience examined the different ways in which the shakers sought to forge equitable and inclusive communal bonds. Shaker Museum ended the year with a second temporary exhibition in downtown chatham, "fringe selects" in collaboration with artist/designer katie stout. Through a selection of Shaker material chosen by stout from the Museum's permanent collection, the exhibition explored the breadth of Shaker objects by taking a closer look at the objects on the "fringe" - colorful, ornamental, and less well-known than the minimalist, iconic Shaker pieces. Also on view were two new chairs by stout created as a response to her exploration of Shaker material culture. Throughout the year, the Museum hosted remote and/or socially-distanced low and no-cost programming and demonstrations in partnership with artists, craftspeople, and local experts. In 2019 the Museum continued its seasonal programming from may through october at mount lebanon with guided tours of the site as well as two on- site exhibitions and a host of educational workshops for children and adults. A grant from the new york state council on the arts provided funding for a first-ever artist residency in the historic forge building at mount lebanon. Artist-in-residence, amie cunat curated quiet march to a warring song, an exhibition of work by nine contemporary artists whose work challenges or reveals headstrong histories or existing socio-political establishments. Cunat also created a solo exhibition entitled granary, which was installed in the historic granary building at mount lebanon throughout the 2019 summer season, reimagining the granary's historic function by reconstructing its storage structures and elevator with paper materials and vibrant color choices. Throughout the season, cunat organized and conducted educational workshops with artists who led school and community groups in various activities exploring the Shaker legacy of craft. The Museum also hosted low and no-cost programming and demonstrations in partnership with artists, craftspeople, and local experts. The Museum hosted a bagpipe concert, jam-making and various woodworking demonstrations, knitting activities, and birdwatching during the 2019 summer season. In 2018 the Museum worked with the jeff bailey gallery in hudson, ny to mount an exhibition titled "line and curve: the ellsworth kelly and jack shear Shaker collection from Shaker Museum | mount lebanon with prints by ellsworth kelly." The exhibition traveled to the new britain Museum of american art, where it was on view through june 30, 2019. In 2018 the Museum also partnered with the columbia county historical society on an exhibition titled durable beauty: Shaker baskets from Shaker Museum | mount lebanon. In 2017 the Museum mounted an exibition funded largely by the new york state council on the arts "break every yoke: shakers, gender equality, and women's suffrage" to celebrate the centennial of women's suffrage in new york state, as well as two installations, one of Shaker stoves and the other of Shaker tools. The Museum operates on two campuses -the historic site at mount lebanon and an administrative campus in old chatham that houses collections storage, the Library and archives, and staff offices. The collections are accessible online, through private member tours, and in exhibitions. Shaker Museum has purchased a 19th century building in chatham, ny and is in the process of renovating and building an expansive addition to the facility designed by seldorf architects. The physical building will embody Shaker values of inclusion, innovation, and equality to create a Museum that both tells the Shaker story and is responsive to the needs of the community.