Events
We sponsor a handful of events each semester related to our collections and temporary exhibitions.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Members Event: Artist Studio Visit
The Creative Process, with Jim Westphalen
Friday, January 16th | 10:30am (tour one) and 1:00pm (tour two)
417 Bostwick Road, Shelburne, VT 05482
RSVP by Monday, January 12
Join the Friends of the Art Museum for the first in a series of four local artist studio visits available to members this winter and spring. This first visit takes us to Vermont photographer Jim Westphalen’s Shelburne studio where members will have the opportunity to tour the artist’s work space and hear about his latest body of work, his process, and his path to becoming one of the premier fine art photographers in Vermont.
Group size for this visit is limited to 8 people, so Jim has kindly agreed to offer two tours, one in the morning (10:30) and one in the afternoon (1:00). Sign up is on a first come, first served basis (please indicate whether you have flexibility to join either tour, or only one) by either email or phone to Francisca Drexel: fdrexel@middlebury.edu or (802) 443-2369. A final list of participants will be shared with the group so that those wanting to carpool can make arrangements.
After the morning visit, the group is invited to join us for a complimentary snack or lunch at Le Marche, 5597 Shelburne Road, Shelburne. The afternoon group will enjoy tea and sweet treats at Jim Westphalen’s studio.
About the Artist
Fine art photographer Jim Westphalen’s current body of work focuses on rural New England and the iconic structures that inhabit this rugged landscape. Westphalen strives to provide a visual history of these structures as they slowly decay and disappear and to honor their beauty and importance in our landscape. His unique process and presentation of each photograph allow the viewer to connect intimately with each piece and to feel the dramatic impact of the composition. Jim has worked as a professional photographer for more than thirty years. His work is exhibited widely throughout the United States and is held in both private and corporate collections nationally.
Spring Exhibits Opening Reception
Thursday, February 12 | 5:00–7:00pm
Mahaney Arts Center, Lower Lobby and Museum
Celebrate the opening of our three new spring exhibits with hot hors d’oeuvres, a card bar (cash no longer accepted), and the company of friends. Exhibit curators will be in the crowd to provide conversational insights.
Museum Lecture + Lunch Series: Damian Stamer
Friday, February 13 | 12:00pm Lecture, 1:00pm Lunch
Mahaney Arts Center, Lower Lobby and Museum
Artist Damian Stamer will speak about the partnership between human creativity and artificial intelligence which forms the basis for the evocative oil paintings in the Museum’s spring exhibit Damian Stamer: Angels & Ghosts. Afterward, stay for conversation over a light lunch in the MAC Lower Lobby.
This event is free and open to all, but $5 donations are welcome.
Museum Lecture + Lunch Series: Looms, Linen, and Luxury—The Art of Weaving Damask
Friday, February 20 | 12:30pm Lecture, 1:15pm Lunch
Mahaney Arts Center, Lower Lobby and Museum
Carrie Anderson (HARC) will discuss the Museum’s latest textile acquisition: a seventeenth-century damask linen. Carrie will be joined by Justin Squizzero, Director of the Newbury School of Weaving, who will explain the complexities of weaving damask. Summer Jack (THEA) will be available to talk informally about linen items in the Middlebury College Antique Clothing Collection. Afterward, stay for conversation over a light lunch in the MAC Lower Lobby.
This event is free and open to all, but $5 donations are welcome.
Members Event: Artist Studio Visit
Timothy Clark, Furniture Maker
Friday, February 27 | 10:30am
2111 Green Street, Vergennes, VT 05491
RSVP by Friday, February 20
Join the Friends of the Art Museum for the second in a series of four local artist studio visits available to members this winter and spring. This visit takes us to the Vergennes studio of furniture maker Timothy Clark.
More information coming soon.
Sign up is on a first come, first served basis by either email or phone to Francisca Drexel: fdrexel@middlebury.edu or (802) 443-2369. A final list of participants will be shared with the group so that those wanting to carpool can make arrangements.
About the Artist
From Tim: “A graduate of Middlebury College in 1985 with a B.A. in Spanish Language and Studio Art, I began making furniture professionally in 1986. The building process is very enjoyable to me, and hand-tools are an important part of that. Spoke shaves and hand-planes leave me ankle-deep in shavings as I shape chair parts or plane a table top flat. Building cabinets satisfies engineering inklings, while building chairs quenches the desire to work sculpturally. I design and build case pieces such as dressers, cabinets, and tables, as well as Windsor chairs, which I have designed to be comfortable, pleasant to look at, enjoyable to build, and only of solid wood. I work alone or sometimes with one assistant, so each piece that I build gets my full attention. My work is very much influenced by Shaker furniture and traditional building techniques. Hand-cut dovetails, hand-planed table tops, and hand-shaped chair parts are examples of this. These and other traditional building techniques make the building process more enjoyable as well as yielding a higher-quality finished piece of furniture.”
Museum Lecture + Lunch Series: Beyond Boundaries—Rethinking African Art at Middlebury
Friday, March 6 | 12:30pm Lecture, 1:15pm Lunch
Mahaney Arts Center, Lower Lobby and Museum
Assistant Professor Marguerite Lenius (HARC) will discuss the Museum’s current exhibition Beyond Boundaries. Participants in her Fall 2025 seminar Exhibiting African Art: History, Theory, Praxis contributed to the exhibition design and content to challenge imposed boundaries which have long influenced global views of Africa. Afterward, stay for conversation over a light lunch in the MAC Lower Lobby.
This event is free and open to all, but $5 donations are welcome.
Members Event: Artist Studio Visit
Jane Davies, Abstract Painter
Friday, April 3 | 10:00am
66 Main Street, Rupert, VT 05768
RSVP by Friday, March 27
Join the Friends of the Art Museum for the third in a series of four local artist studio visits available to members this winter and spring. This visit takes us to the Rupert, VT studio of abstract painter Jane Davies.
More information coming soon.
Sign up is on a first come, first served basis by either email or phone to Francisca Drexel: fdrexel@middlebury.edu or (802) 443-2369. A final list of participants will be shared with the group so that those wanting to carpool can make arrangements.
About the Artist
Jane Davies is a full-time painter. Beginning as a potter in the early nineties, Davies transitioned into freelance art, using painting and collage as her medium. Since 2010 she has been teaching abstract painting workshops in North America and online, as well as making art full time. She has written five instructional books, produced one instructional DVD, and offers many demonstration videos on social media.
Members Event: Artist Studio Visit
Bonnie Baird, Landscape Painter
Friday, April 3 | 2:00pm
65 West Road, North Chittenden, VT 05763
RSVP by Friday, March 27
Join the Friends of the Art Museum for the last in a series of four local artist studio visits available to members this winter and spring. This final visit takes us to the Rupert, VT studio of landscape painter Bonnie Baird.
More information coming soon.
Sign up is on a first come, first served basis by either email or phone to Francisca Drexel: fdrexel@middlebury.edu or (802) 443-2369. A final list of participants will be shared with the group so that those wanting to carpool can make arrangements.
About the Artist
Raised on a 730-acre dairy farm in Vermont, Bonnie Baird and her husband Robert are the third generations to own and work their dairy/maple farm. This outdoor experience has given her a deep connection with the land. Working in the natural environment every day in every kind of weather allows her to truly feel the horizon; warm or cold, dark or light, intimate or expansive. Baird’s paintings are filled with an emerging fullness of heart. In her paintings, light infuses life into atmosphere, becoming the magic that conjures a personal memory. Her paintings simultaneously evoke a simple lament and heartfelt joy. Using limited palette and large simple shapes, Baird composes more than a visual observation. Her work is a perceptual experience: an intrinsic, vivid memory.