Exhibitions

Since the museum’s inception in 1961, much of its robust collection is a result of donations by women. The Generous Spirit highlights individual donors over the decades, and exhibits numerous objects from each.

This exhibit showcases a selection of gift drawings in the Hancock Shaker collection alongside drawings of contemporary artists Alyssa Sakina Mumtaz, Sue Muskat, and Julia Whitney Barnes.

Local and Land Made: Growing a New Textile Economy featured 19th Century Shaker wool-working tools from the Hancock Shaker Village collection and Laura Sansone's curated selection of contemporary textiles. Exhibition dates: September 19 - November 21, 2021. 

Weaving together the work of artists and performers Our Native Daughters, Brad Wells, Roomful of Teeth, and Allison Smith, Climbing the Holy Hill was conceived as a celebration of the Shaker pilgrimages to the peak of Shaker Mountain—what they sometimes called the “Holy Hill” or “Mount Sinai”. Exhibition dates: September 23 - November 28, 2021