Shaker Museum, which stewards the most comprehensive collection of Shaker material culture and archives, held a groundbreaking celebration to mark the commencement of the construction phase on its new museum home in downtown Chatham, Columbia County, NY.
The new facility will exhibit more than 18,000 pieces of Shaker material culture and was designed by Selldorf Architects, the design firm behind the enhancement and expansion of The Frick Collection and the National Gallery in London.
The project encompasses the renovation of an historic building and the creation of an expansive addition to provide the institution with almost 30,000 square feet of space over four floors.
“The design will embody Shaker values of inclusion, innovation, and equality to create a museum that both tells the Shaker story and is responsive to the needs of the community in Chatham, Columbia County, and the surrounding Hudson Valley,” an announcement sent to the press said.
The new facility is part of a comprehensive campus that will include a 5,000 square-foot building at 25 Jones Avenue which will house administrative offices, a lecture and workshop space for public events, a public reading room, and a library and temperature controlled archival facility for more fragile texts.
The museum will also retain and maintain the historic Shaker site in Mount Lebanon, New York. The new facility is expected to open in early 2028. In the meantime, the Museum is continuing to have programming in other spaces.
The Museum estimates that the new facility will draw 30,000 visitors each year who will spend a projected $1.75 million annually in the region and the expansion is expected to have a total economic impact of $18.5 million and support 168 jobs in the Capital Region according to an analysis they commissioned.
The $26 million project was funded by a capital campaign to support the facility, including generous grants from Empire State Development and the New York State Council on the Arts.
The nearly $2.5 million grant from the Council on the Arts was contributed via a program designed to support the recovery of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. Empire State Development has awarded Shaker Museum two grants totaling nearly $2.6 million in support of this project.
Empire State Development Regional Director Michael Yevoli and Council on the Arts Capital Program Director Katie Steger joined Chatham Mayor John Howe, Shaker Museum Board Chair Paul Cassidy, staff, donors and the local community at the ground breaking on Saturday, April 5th. Shaker-style seed packets were distributed to attendees.
The Shaker Museum’s collection can be viewed online at shakermuseum.us.
Illustration: Renderings of Shaker Museum designed by Selldorf Architects (provided).
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