Canterbury Shaker Village has been awarded a $293,760 grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to enable the Village to catalog and inventory approximately 25,000 objects and develop a Museum Lab, which will aid in the Village’s initiative to expand access to its museum collection and increase public understanding of the societal impact of the Canterbury Shakers.
Over the course of two years, the project team will complete inventory and accessioning of the objects in its collection, while updating conservation priorities and storage for vulnerable materials, as well as finishing systemic photography and digitization of physical objects. Additionally, the museum will establish a Museum Lab that will not only support improvements in collections care but will allow for further public engagement with museum visitors. This upcoming work is the second phase in a three-phased initiative to improve the management and access of the Village’s collection.
Project Director and Curator of Research and Collections, Shirley Wajda is grateful to IMLS for this opportunity to document and preserve the Village’s nationally important collections while expanding opportunities to share the collections with the public. “Every day we hear from visitors wishing to know more about the Shakers by seeing and understanding more of the objects they made and used. With this grant, we will be able to offer visitors more access to the Canterbury Shakers’ extensive material world.”
Furthermore, Grants Administrator and the Village’s Executive Director, Erin Hammerstedt, sees this as an opportunity to make significant progress on the priorities stated in the museum’s new strategic plan. ” This grant enables us to improve our stewardship of this tremendous museum collection and offer more compelling experiences to our visitors.”
This grant is part of IMLS’s Museums for America program, which invests in museums via project-based efforts to serve the public through educational programs and exhibitions, community partnerships, and collections stewardship activities.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services: www.imls.gov
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy
development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit
www.imls.gov and follow on Facebook and Twitter.
Canterbury Shaker Village: https://www.shakers.org/
Canterbury Shaker Village, Inc., is an internationally-known nonprofit museum founded in 1969 to preserve the heritage of the Canterbury Shakers. Designated as a National Historic Landmark for its architectural integrity and significance, the Village has 25 restored original Shaker buildings, 4 reconstructed Shaker buildings, and 694 acres of forests, fields, gardens, nature trails, and mill ponds under permanent conservation easement. Tours, programs, exhibitions, and events help visitors chart their own journey of simplicity, caring, and community.