Artists Reception

Drop in between 4:00 and 6:00 to view Dark Goddess: Sacroprofanity and chat informally with the artists and other guests. Light refreshments will be available.

Daisy Turner's Kin

a Bennington Historical Society presentationVermont folklorist Jane Beck shares the story of the Turner family, a multigenerational saga spanning two centuries, played out across three continents. The saga was related to Jane Beck by Daisy Turner, who had listened to he......More

a Bennington Historical Society presentationVermont folklorist Jane Beck shares the story of the Turner family, a multigenerational saga spanning two centuries, played out across three continents. The saga was related to Jane Beck by Daisy Turner, who had listened to her father, Alec Turner, recount stories of the family past. Her captivating narrative covers the early 19th century British-African trade, shipwreck, birth of a biracial child, slave trading, enslavement, plantation life, escape, Civil War, moving north, battling racism, buying land and settling on a hilltop in Vermont that became a family center. Daisy also shared her own life story, a powerful and rare account of the African American experience in New England from the 1880s forward. Jane Beck founded the Vermont Folklife Center in 1983 and served as its executive director until 2007. During that time, she traveled the back roads of Vermont recording oral interviews of everyday Vermonters, and produced a variety of media productions, exhibitions, and publications. In retirement, she has completed a book, Daisy Turner’s Kin, an African American Family Saga, based on sixty interviews with the daughter of slaves. The Bennington Historical Society is a volunteer-run program of Bennington Museum. The BHS offers its programs at no charge with support from Nexus Consulting. You can support the efforts of the BHS to share the history of our region by making a donation. Daisy Turner’s Kin is a Vermont Humanities Council program hosted by Bennington Historical Society. (Supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the NEH or VHC.)

A Monument Society Event: Hudson

Join Bennington Museum’s executive director on a cultural fieldtrip of Hudson, NY. We will begin with a tour Thomas Cole House at 2pm and then take a quick trip up the road to stop in at the the Carrie Haddad Gallery at 3:30pm.  We will tour the gallery and then take a ......More

Join Bennington Museum’s executive director on a cultural fieldtrip of Hudson, NY. We will begin with a tour Thomas Cole House at 2pm and then take a quick trip up the road to stop in at the the Carrie Haddad Gallery at 3:30pm.  We will tour the gallery and then take a brief walk ending at Swoon. A shuttle is available, departing Bennington Museum at 12:15pm on a first come first serve, basis. Please RSVP below. RSVPJoin the Monument Society

A Summer Celebration

A View of the Future…from the top of the hillan outdoor tented fundraiser Music by the acclaimed Americana roots Carolyn Shapiro Band,Drinks and full seated mouthwatering dinner by Farm to Fire Hudson BBQ,Bonfire, Games Dress in your Vermont finest layers: plaid welcome......More

A View of the Future…from the top of the hillan outdoor tented fundraiser Music by the acclaimed Americana roots Carolyn Shapiro Band,Drinks and full seated mouthwatering dinner by Farm to Fire Hudson BBQ,Bonfire, Games Dress in your Vermont finest layers: plaid welcome, no heels allowed! This event will have alternative access for those with mobility issues.

Michael Finckel: Vermont Composes

Music at the Museum presents “Vermont Composes” with Michael FinckelYoshiko Sato (piano), Nathaniel Parke (cello), and Michael Wimberly (percussion) join cellist Michael Finckel in a celebration of Vermont composition. Featured composers include Louis Calabro, Michael F......More

Music at the Museum presents “Vermont Composes” with Michael FinckelYoshiko Sato (piano), Nathaniel Parke (cello), and Michael Wimberly (percussion) join cellist Michael Finckel in a celebration of Vermont composition. Featured composers include Louis Calabro, Michael Finckel, Derrick Jordan, Lionel Nowak, and Allen Shawn. Michael Finckel enjoys a wide-ranging career as cellist, conductor, teacher and composer. A founding member of the Trio of the Americas and the Cabrini Quartet, he performs as soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S. and with members of his family in the renowned Finckel Cello Quartet. His interest in contemporary music has involved him in performances with New York’s leading new music ensembles including Speculum Musicae, Ensemble Sospeso, Columbia Symphonietta, the Group for Contemporary Music, Steve Reich and Musicians, and the American Composers Orchestra, as well as performances with members of the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein. Mr. Finckel has been Music Director of the Sage City Symphony in Vermont since 1982, and oversees the orchestra’s extensive commissioning program. He is a member of the Hoff-Barthelson faculty, and is a regular summer faculty member of the Chamber Music Conference and Composer’s Forum of the East (Vermont), and the Composers Conference and Chamber Music Center at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Concerts in the Courtyard: midnight choir

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2024. Performances will begin June 7th and run through August 30th, 2024, and will be free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. Please bring ......More

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2024. Performances will begin June 7th and run through August 30th, 2024, and will be free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs! The Avocado Pit will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates, serving delicious tacos, beer and wine. In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates. Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum. midnight choirmidnight choir is a bluegrass adjacent, mandolin/guitar/bass trio. The repertoire firmly straddles bluegrass and swing jazz, blending the genres into a unique experience. Jake, Jeff, and John live and work in the Albany, NY area.

Museum ABCs: Here Comes the Sun

Summertime is coming, and we are ready for the sunshine! Rain or shine, we will look at artwork in the galleries, hear a sunny story or two, and make a bright and cheerful craft to bring home. Museum ABCs is a collaboration between Bennington Museum and the Bennington F......More

Summertime is coming, and we are ready for the sunshine! Rain or shine, we will look at artwork in the galleries, hear a sunny story or two, and make a bright and cheerful craft to bring home. Museum ABCs is a collaboration between Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library, designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. Siblings are welcome! Museum ABCs is FREE thanks to funding from The Bank of Bennington. Join us on the second Saturday of each month, April through November, for artwork, stories, and more! Presented in partnership with The Bennington Free Library Sponsored by The Bank of Bennington with additional support from Stewarts and Vermont Humanities

Concerts in the Courtyard: Danny & The Parts

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2024. Performances will begin June 7th and run through August 30th, 2024, and will be free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. Please bring ......More

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2024. Performances will begin June 7th and run through August 30th, 2024, and will be free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs! The Avocado Pit will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates, serving delicious tacos, beer and wine. In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates. Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum. Danny & The PartsDanny & The Parts are native to the Burlington Vermont area. Taking from local talent, Danny & The Parts holds down an original Honky-Tonk rhythm and feel, reminiscent of Americana at its best. Sweeping vocal and and harmonic melodies twangy tele-caster guitar magic create wildly new atmospheric sound.

Moses Robinson and the Birth of Democracy in Early Vermont

a Bennington Historical Society presentationHe may be an early Vermonter you never heard of, but Moses Robinson played many important roles. A member of the first family to settle in Bennington, he served as town clerk for 20 years. Then he was elected governor and was ......More

a Bennington Historical Society presentationHe may be an early Vermonter you never heard of, but Moses Robinson played many important roles. A member of the first family to settle in Bennington, he served as town clerk for 20 years. Then he was elected governor and was also Vermont’s first U.S. senator and chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Robert Mello’s biography of him is one of Vermont’s most important. Mello will discuss Robinson’s role in promoting the primacy of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, the independence of the courts and the inviolability of elections, all subjects of importance still today. Robert A. Mello has had a life-long fascination with American history and the law, especially the early history of Vermont. He is a retired Superior Court Judge, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a former trustee of the Vermont Historical Society. He is also the author of two books: Last Stand of the Red Spruce (Island Press, 1987) and Moses Robinson and the Founding of Vermont (Vermont Historical Society, 2014). The Bennington Historical Society is a volunteer-run program of Bennington Museum. The BHS offers its programs at no charge with support from Nexus Consulting. You can support the efforts of the BHS to share the history of our region by making a donation.

Concerts in the Courtyard: Duologues Plus

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2024. Performances will begin June 7th and run through August 30th, 2024, and will be free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. Please bring ......More

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2024. Performances will begin June 7th and run through August 30th, 2024, and will be free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs! The Avocado Pit will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates, serving delicious tacos, beer and wine. In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates. Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum. Duologues PlusMegan & Matt honed their musical collaborations on family holiday mix tapes & gigs in Boston, NYC and Canada, and have taken their music together as far as the Shanghai Jazz Festival. Megan is a seasoned veteran of the musical theatre & cabaret scenes, while Matt is a music educator and performer under the moniker Matty Stecks. This evening promises a fresh look at songs from the popular music canons, peppered with originals. The five-piece “Plus” unit is a full rockin’-rendition of this cherished act, featuring the finest musicians in the region.