Retooled Bennington Museum ready again for public

The Advocate: Thursday, February 23 BENNINGTON, Vt. - At the end of a two-month winter hiatus and "freshening up," The Bennington Museum is busily readying to open its doors to the public on Sunday.
The grand re-opening will feature free gallery admission, a vast show of student artwork, a sculpture exhibition by local artist Daniel Richmond and a grouping of antique chairs, all in addition to the permanent collection."I'm excited about it," said Programs Coordinator Deana Flanders Tuesday, as she hung student artwork. "It should be a fun day."
Yesterday's Bennington Bridal Fair kicked off opening week events, with a fashion show featuring museum staff dressed to the nines in wedding attire. Florists, jewelers, cake-makers and other vendors exhibited their wares, and door prizes were awarded, including a $150 tuxedo rental certificate from Shaffe's Men's Shop.
The bridal fair was a spin-off of the museum's Festival of Trees silent auction, in which a complete wedding package - including a wedding dress from Beautiful Beginnings Bridal Boutique and a reception at the museum - went to one happy couple - Cameron McDonald of Bennington and her fiance.
"When we were organizing the 'ultimate bridal package' for The Festival of Trees, it became evident how hard it is to find wedding information in this area," said Katie Reilly, marketing coordinator for the museum and an organizer of the bridal fair.
The museum can be booked for weddings and receptions throughout the year.
"The museum has a beautiful space and great atmosphere," Reilly said.
Thanks to some winter maintenance - painting walls, updating the sprinkler system and an overhaul of the Parmalee Gallery - along with an early spring-cleaning, the museum's galleries and public spaces are better than ever. Visitors can see for themselves Sunday, when the museum will open at 10 and resume its regularly scheduled hours of 10 to 5 daily, except Wednesdays.
Sunday will also mark the opening of the annual Student Art Show, which runs through March 24 and features artwork by students at Arlington Memorial High School, Bennington Elementary School, The Bennington School, Cambridge Elementary School, Catamount Elementary School, Grace Christian School, the Hiland Hall School, Hoosick Falls Middle and High School, Molly Stark Elementary School, Monument Elementary School, Mount Anthony Union High School, Mount Anthony Middle School, North Bennington Graded School, Pownal Elementary School, Shaftsbury Elementary School, Williamstown Elementary School and the Woodford School.
The show of 350-some pieces, previously relegated to smaller exhibition hallways and lobbies, will be displayed in a large second-floor gallery reserved for changing exhibitions. The work will explore the longstanding relationship between art and education. Along with the art created by current students, the museum will display a selection of works created by local schoolgirls and boys during the 19th century.
"In our decision to integrate the student show into our exhibition plan as a whole, we wanted to include student art created through the centuries in this area," Museum Curator Jamie Franklin said. "It's a way of sharing the interface of art and education."
Pieces from the museum's archives will include needlework samplers and hand-drawn watercolor maps. "The maps, as well as being beautiful paintings, were a way to learn geography," Franklin explained.
The museum hopes the display will demonstrate that art can provide students a creative means to explore topics as diverse as geography, reading and writing, science and the history of art itself.
Of the contemporary pieces, Teru Simon, a ceramics and sculpture instructor at Mount Anthony Union High School said, "I think it's really important for the community to understand the importance of arts in the community. Our own art department at the high school is one of the best in the state."
Referring to several of her students' ceramic work, she added, "The teapots were part of a final exam. I'm really pleased with the way they came out. And the place setting [a soup bowl, saucer and plate] is one of four by my most advanced student. She made a full set with precise measurements."
Flanders said the works encompass an "enormous variety" of grades, talents and interests.
"You can see that some of them were part of a classroom project," she said. "For example, there are African-mask style paintings that probably relate to something they were learning in social studies. From high schools, we got very beautiful ceramic pieces and photography from students who are clearly very interested in art. I hope they go on to study art."
Richmond, a North Bennington sculptor and Bennington native, embodies Flanders' hope.
"I'm psyched about the show because I went to school across the street [Monument Elementary]," Richmond, now in his 30s, said. "I have a history with this place."
His six-week show will feature showing work from a 10-year period, including carved realistic bear and cow skulls and representations of other animals from his "Extinct, Extrapated and Endangered Species" series, large, figurative pieces that were previously exhibited in a New York show and work from time spent in the Navajo Nation in Arizona.
"I'll be showing photographs, earth pigments and carving mallets the kids made," he said of the Navajo segment.
A third new exhibit, "Sitting Around: Chairs from the Collection," will on display in the main lobby through May.
Franklin discovered an assortment of early American chairs when a loft space was cleared to make room for work on the sprinkler system.
"I jokingly said, 'There are all these chairs just sitting around.' Then I realized it'd make a wonderful exhibit."
The nine chairs chosen represent design developments between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries, as well as differences between those found in rural and urban homes.
"The chair is utilitarian, functional furniture," Franklin said. "There were limitations on a craftsman or artisan. A chair basically has four legs, a flat seat and a back; there's not much you can change about that. But they made many stylistic changes, and we chose the ones that were the most interesting."
For more information on upcoming exhibits and events, call 802-447-1571, visit www.benningtonmuseum.org or stop by the museum at 75 Main St.