Annual Meeting and Arnold Ricks Award

Start: Saturday, September 6, 2025 2:00AM
End: Saturday, September 6, 2025 4:00PM

A Celebration for a Community Leader Saturday, September 6 2pm – 4pm Ada and Paul Paresky Court Refreshments and light hors d’ouevres will be served. Silverback Swing will be playing in the galleries from 12:30 – 2:30pm. The annual report will be available at this meeting, and will also be available for download and viewing online. RSVP requested below, donations welcome. On Saturday, September 6th, the Bennington Museum Board of Trustees invites our Museum supporters to come together to review all the successes of Bennington Museum in fiscal year 2025 that you have helped to make possible. At this meeting, which is open to members and non-members alike, we will also present the Arnold Ricks Award to an individual in recognition of exceptional contributions to the Bennington community and Bennington Museum. About the Awardee This year we are pleased to honor a leader in the arts community, Joe Chirchirillo. Joe moved to Vermont 20 years ago and since then, he has focused on creating outdoor sculpture. Locally, his work can be seen on permanent display at Bennington Museum and in downtown North Bennington. Additionally, Joe has had his work shown in NBOSS for over 20 years and has been its curator for over 10 years. During this time the show has grown in size and popularity, bringing thousands of viewers to North Bennington each year. This year marks his last year in this role and he will be passing this torch to the next generation. “Joe’s deep connection with the Bennington Community and his drive to see NBOSS not only continue, but to thrive, have been tremendous in gathering and maintaining support for the arts in this community,” says Martin Mahoney, Executive Director of Bennington Museum. “We want to recognize and thank Joe for his willingness to collaborate and expand NBOSS during the pandemic which helped the Museum activate its grounds by encouraging guests to wander and interact with art and each other in a COVID-safe way. The program has been so successful that the Museum has continued this partnership and the NBOSS collaboration has become a visitor favorite at the Museum.” Suggested donations of $20 will support our exhibition and collection program so that we can continue to engage with contemporary artists, like Joe, and bring their work to the foreground in Southern Vermont.