Bennington Museum Receives Funding For Major Gallery Re-installations This Winter

Bennington Museum is pleased to announce that it has just received a $25,000 Celebrate America! grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

This funding will support a re-location, re-interpretation, and exhibit expansion for the Museum’s extensive historic collections relating to the Revolutionary War in Bennington and the surrounding region in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence, July 4, 2026 (1776), and the Battle of Bennington, August 16, 2027 (1777). Through this exhibit, titled The Affections of the Country: Vermont and the American Revolution, and supporting programming, the Museum will interpret and explore Bennington’s position within the context of the entire Revolutionary War for the edification of our community and visitors.

“We anticipate that the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution will be a major milestone for our country, our community, and our Museum,” says Martin Mahoney, Executive Director. The Museum intends to build on this momentum by presenting the events of the past in new and engaging ways and examining them with a broader lens across time and via different perspectives to understand why the American Revolution remains relevant today.

With this move, other spaces within the Museum will be impacted as well. The former Sloane Gallery (or Battle Gallery) will now be home to a new Folk & Craft exhibit. This new installation is directly adjacent to the Grandma Moses Gallery and will build upon the themes of American art (specific to Vermont, western Massachusetts, and eastern upstate New York), and “outsider” artists—i.e. those who were not formally trained, who are not typically considered artists, or whose works exist outside traditional formats. The Museum received a $50,000 gift from an anonymous donor in support of this transition and new installation.

Mahoney elaborates, “This gift provided the required match for the NEH funding and will assist with the de-installation, HVAC, painting, flooring, lighting, and new case-work in both galleries.” The remaining half of this funding will support an installation featuring a broad range of Americans, from schoolgirls and housewives to stone quarry workers and eccentric farmers, as well as creative people living and working in this region today. Some featured pieces are the work of people struggling with addiction or physical or mental disabilities, and many were made by people who did not necessarily see themselves as artists, but who found meaning in creating beautiful objects in their lives through the tools they had at their disposal.

The Museum will begin working on these projects in January while the Museum closes for its winter break. Installation will be complete this coming April 2026 to kick off the new season.

“We are so grateful to have received these complementary gifts that make it possible for us to bring these exhibits to fruition and tell fresh stories through our collections.” Mahoney continues, “The impact is timely in that it will coincide with the groundbreaking for Project 1 of our Capital Campaign (the visitor approach: parking lot, courtyard, and lobby). Inside and out, we hope that our visitors are as excited for the changes as we are, come spring.”

This exhibition has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition and related programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information visit benningtonmuseum.org.