From paintings to puppets: A guide to museums that are keeping Vermont weird
Summertime in Vermont is often revered for its rolling Green Mountains perfect for hiking or its warm lakes and rivers fit for all types of water recreation. However, Vermont’s cultural scene is just as rich as the outdoor activities that draw many people to the state.
Vermont is filled with museums ? small and large, art and science and everything in between – one often being more unique than the rest. The museums on this list have different and quirky showcases so that you can visit them all and see something new every trip.
The Kent Museum
Officially named Kents Corner State Historic Site, the Kent Museum is owned by the state of Vermont. Although it has been closed to the public since the 1990s, the building and grounds are reopened each fall to feature contemporary work by Vermont artists from all over the state, New England and beyond.
Co-curator Nel Emlen said that the brick building was built in the 1830s, and marks where Ira and Abdiel Kent operated several businesses, including a hotel, shoe shop, general store, blacksmith shop, starch factory and post office. Later it became a family home and in the 1950s was turned into an art museum by local author Louise Andrews Kent.
Emlen said the Kent’s goal is to feature work that makes the extraordinary visible, while also comparing the new and old ? specifically with a dynamic duality of the historic space combined with contemporary work by Vermont artists.
“Art at the Kent sheds light on wondrous, curious, and unfathomable spaces and the plants, creatures, and stories that inhabit them,” Emlen said.
Every year the Kent puts on a show. The 2024 show “Illuminated Worlds” runs Sept. 6 to Oct. 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays to Sundays. It will showcase over two dozen Vermont artists “who draw inspiration from infinite realms – interior and exterior, real and imagined, known and unknown.”
Location: 7 Old West Church Road, Calais.
The Museum of Everyday Life
This roadside, self-service museum is open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. All you have to do is turn the lights on and help yourself to the various exhibitions around the barn.
According to the website, the museum's mission is a "heroic, slow-motion cataloguing of the quotidian – a detailed, theatrical expression of gratitude and love for the minuscule and unglamorous experience of daily life in all its forms. We celebrate mundanity, and the mysterious delight embedded in the banal but beloved objects we touch every day."
The museum is not filled with exotic or rare items, but everyday items presented with the intent of looking at something you may see often from a different viewpoint.
The museum is collaborative, with a focus on outreach to help curate and participate in exhibitions and with the installation. The museum is currently soliciting submissions for its upcoming exhibition, “Stains,” which opens July 28. Information on how to be involved can be found here.
Make sure you turn the lights off on your way out!
Location: 3482 Dry Pond Road, Glover.
The Main Street Museum
The Main Street Museum considers itself more than just a museum, but a venue and gathering place for the community. This is apparent by the many events the museum holds, including piano concerts almost every Friday night.
The website characterizes the museum as "a repository of artifacts and a public performance space, significant in its ability to educate, and entertain. Each component tells some kind of story about human beings and the complex ? sometimes baffling ? universe of which we are a part."
Funding is mostly donation-based, and volunteers are always welcome. More so, the lineup of events is to welcome people into the space and get the most out of it besides just being a static museum. Museum tours are by appointment and by event.
Location: 58 Bridge St, White River Junction.
The Bread and Puppet Museum
Founded as a "politically radical puppet theater" the Bread & Puppet has put on a notable number of theater shows since the 1960s, along with stocking a maximalist museum of all thing's puppeteering. The name Bread & Puppet is derived from the theater's practice of sharing its own fresh bread, served for free with aioli.
The theater has an extensive history and operates somewhat similarly today. The website states they still operate on a "shoestring budget," and have had success with the summer program, which has evolved into a "highly organized operation," including larger than ever intern and volunteer participation, and plays to growing audiences.
Located in a 19th-century barn, the museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and just requires visitors to turn the lights on and off themselves. According to the website, there are two floors of puppets that span six decades of history at Bread & Puppet, "the result of a half-century of creativity and hard work."
Location: 753 Heights Road, Glover.
Birds of Vermont Museum
A brown building sits among the trees like a big nest, welcoming visitors inside to learn about an essential creature in the Vermont ecosystem - birds.
According to the website, the nonprofit Birds of Vermont's mission is to "provide education, to nurture an appreciation of the environment, and to study birds and their habitats using woodcarvings and other museum resources."
There are multiple permanent exhibitions of art and science open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday, May through October. There are various trails, picnic spots and a treehouse on the grounds, where visitors are welcome to sit and enjoy the gardens and ponds around the museum, or sign up for a bird walking tour.
Location: 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington.
The Estey Organ Museum
You may have never thought to visit an organ museum, but here's your chance. The Estey Organ Company ? makers of reed organs, pump organs, melodeons and pipe organs ? has operated for nearly a century. The company became the largest and was the longest-lived manufacturer of reed organs in the world during its century of production in Brattleboro.
The museum was established in 2002 to "collect, preserve, and interpret the physical and cultural heritage of the Estey Organ Company and to promote the continued use and enjoyment of Estey organs." The museum is unique in the way that they encourage visitors to play the organs, a very hands-on experience, said trustee Sally Seymour.
The Estey Organ Museum is open to visitors from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, May through mid-October. It is located in the original factory complex built in 1872.
Location: 108 Birge St., Brattleboro.
The Museum of the Creative Process
The Museum of the Creative Process was founded by Albert Levis, a psychiatrist and author. It was established on the grounds of the Wilburton Inn, which Levis purchased with his wife Georgette Wasserstein in 1987. The museum is influenced by Levis's work, specifically his research in behavioral analysis and internal conflict resolution. He has had several books published on this research.
While the museum includes art made by many Vermont women artists, including Piper Strong, Barbara Kaufman and Judith Brown, which can be enjoyed independently, according to Levis, the museum introduces a new way of looking at art. Instead of looking at isolated aesthetic statements, it examines a series of interrelated pieces, like a permanent exhibit of over 100 canvases of Henry Gorski's work. Another exhibit is a sculptural trail that looks at the process of religions developing and evolving, and the impact that had on society.
"The most valuable and unique part of the Museum of the Creative Process is not just the art, though, it is the concepts and vision behind it, integrating the religions, mythology, cultures and morality," Levis's daughter Melissa said.
The museum offers weekly guided tours at 11 a.m. on Sundays, weekly classes on Zoom and a three-day workshop July 29 to Aug. 1 for “Healing the Person and Healing the World.”
Location: 257 Wilburton Drive, Manchester.
Sydney P. Hakes is the Burlington city reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Where to find unique Vermont museums off the beaten track
