Construction of the Center for Art and Education at Shelburne Museum officially got underway Wednesday with a ceremonial groundbreaking held at the construction site on the museumâ s 45-acre campus.
In attendance were state and local officials as well as representatives from the museum, the architectural firm and the construction company. Shelburne Museum Director Thomas Denenberg announced three major gifts for the project totaling $4.5 million.
â The Center for Art and Education will transform Shelburne Museum from seasonal to year-round operation, broadening the museumâ s offerings and boosting its educational mission with space for exhibitions, a classroom and an auditorium. It will ensure the museum remains a vibrant, relevant part of the arts and cultural landscape into the 21st century,’Denenberg said.
The 17,000-square-foot center includes galleries, an auditorium and classroom and is designed to meet LEED standards for environmental sustainability. The cost is approximately $7 million.
â Shelburne Museum plays a vital role in the stateâ s vibrant cultural economy, fueling tourism and contributing to the enrichment of Vermonters. This new center, with year-round arts and educational programming will have a huge positive impact on Vermont students and the Vermont economy for years to come,’said Secretary of Commerce and Community Development Lawrence Miller. â When we talk about the jobs of the future, we recognize a need for both deep understanding and creativity, that is why we talk about STEAM education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. Exposure to a world-class collection like this is a major opportunity.â
Ann Beha Architects, a Boston-based firm with extensive expertise in museum and sustainable building design, was selected to design the new building. PC Construction of South Burlington is the construction mananger.
The Center for Art and Education is part of the Campaign for Shelburne Museum, a $14 million capital campaign. The campaign also includes an endowment to sustain the ongoing operation of the center and installation of a fiber optic communications network throughout the museumâ s 45-acre campus. To date $11.2 million has been raised.
Plans for the Center for Art and Education include:
5,000 square feet of gallery space that will be used for temporary exhibitions. New galleries will provide for special exhibitions on a year-round basis, while Webb Gallery will be reprogrammed to exhibit the museumâ s permanent collection of over 500 American paintings. Today, due to space limitations, only a small percentage of the paintings collection is on exhibit.
An auditorium with seating for 130, allowing the museum to offer lectures, presentations and symposia.
2,000 square feet of flexible classroom space designed to be programmed in a variety of ways for different activities and group sizes.
Design that meets the LEED certification standards of the United States Green Building Council including: use of local materials â such as Adirondack stone, Vermont slate and beech wood floors ‘to reduce required transportation of materials and to support the local economy; wood products selected from sustainably harvested forests and energy efficient heating, cooling and lighting.
AboutShelburne Museum:Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont is one of North Americaâ s finest, most diverse and unconventional museums of art, design and Americana. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in a remarkable setting of 37 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the museum grounds. The museumâ s collection includes works by the great Impressionists Claude Monet, Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas as well as a prized collection of folk art including trade signs, weathervanes and quilts.
SHELBURNE, Vt. (May 16, 2012)