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New exhibits open at BMAC on June 22

Eagle Times Staff
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Eight new exhibits open at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) on Saturday, June 22, featuring intriguing and diverse artmaking techniques, media and themes, from “sci-fi Sufism” to the power of water, from the mythic qualities of animals to environmental wake-up calls. Five different curators have brought these exhibits to life, including BMAC Director of Exhibitions Sarah Freeman, who describes the new line-up of art and artists as “one of abundance and offering.”

The exhibits include “The In Between” by Susan Brearey and Duane Slick, “SpaceMosque” by Saks Afridi, “The River Between” by Ilana Manolson, “Stemming the Tide” by Jessica Straus, “Personal Nature” by Mishel Valenton and Benedict Scheuer, and “From Home/To Home” by Sandglass Theater. Two new outdoor exhibits — “A Night at the Garden” by Vanessa Compton and “The Wounding” by Lee Williams — opened in May.

BMAC closes its doors on June 16 to install the new exhibits and reopens on Saturday, June 22, at 10 a.m. All are welcome to attend an opening celebration with the artists and curators on June 22, at 5:30 p.m. DJ Wooly Mar will spin tunes, Taza Afghan Foods will offer an array of free food and Stone Church will provide beverages. Acclaimed folk musicians Tim Eriksen and Peter Irvine will play a set at 7:30 p.m.

The diversity of work in these exhibits, and the potential for surprise, wonder, and encountering the unfamiliar, is typical of BMAC, according to Freeman.

“I think people will be excited and impressed by the wide variety of media and artistic and curatorial approaches,” she said. “Having multiple curators enables us to bring in more voices and points of view, which means a broader tent and more art to celebrate.”

All six new indoor exhibits will remain on view through Oct. 19, 2024; “A Night at the Garden” will remain on view through April 2025, and “The Wounding” will be on view until Nov. 3, 2024. Throughout the summer and fall, BMAC will present a series of discussions and other activities that invite the public to learn more about each exhibit, including talks with artists Mishel Valenton and Benedict Scheuer and curator Maria Stabio on July 11; artist Jessica Straus and conservation biologist Brendan Reid on July 21; artists Susan Brearey and Duane Slick and curator DJ Hellerman on Aug. 15; artist Saks Afridi and curator Sadaf Padder on Aug. 29; artist Ilana Manolson and Rebecca Todd, executive director at the Connecticut River Conservancy, on Sept. 29; and a performance of Susan Brearey’s “Pumpkintown: Songs, Stories, and Magic Lantern Projections from an Imaginary New England Village” on Oct. 12.

Learn more about these events at brattleboromuseum.org.

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