SHELBURNE, Vt. (June 20, 2025) Shelburne Museum officially broke ground today on the Perry Center for Native American Art, a new building and integrated landscape designed for the stewardship and care of the Indigenous art housed within the museum. The Perry Center is designed in close partnership with Tribal Nations and culture bearers whose cultural items are represented in the collection of art from across the continent.

“Groundbreaking for the Perry Center for Native American Art is a milestone to celebrate; it is also a moment to express gratitude to the Tribal members, culture bearers, and experts who we have heard from over the past seven years in planning for this building and gathering space,” said Thomas Denenberg, John Wilmerding Director and CEO of Shelburne Museum. “A chorus of over 90 Indigenous voices shaped the Perry Center’s design and will continue to drive the program in an impactful way to create a national resource for the study, interpretation and stewardship of Native American art.”

The Perry Center is an 11,200-square-foot structure with galleries, an orientation and gathering space, and specially designed housing space that will accommodate private viewing of items in the collection. Architects for the $14 million project are Annum Architects of Boston and Two Row Architect of Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, noted firms with depth of experience in both major museum and Indigenous projects. Landscape design is by Reed Hilderbrand of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a practice with extensive experience designing landscapes that seamlessly integrate with architecture. Construction management is by PC Construction of South Burlington.

“The strength of the Perry Center is that it honors the traditional stewards of the land while being referential to the many cultures whose items will be housed there,” said Annum Principal Steven Gerrard. “Designed with partners Two Row Architect and landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand, the Center’s design—interior, exterior and outdoors—is informed by what we heard in series of Talking Circles with culture bearers and Tribal members.”

The Perry Center for Native American Art will serve as a welcoming space for Tribal members and scholars to study and engage with the collection and will reimagine the museum experience for all visitors. The Perry Center is scheduled to open in 2027.

“Rooted in a process of deep listening, the design honors the host nation through their stories and values, creating a space where cultural belongings can exist in harmony with the architecture that shelters them. It is a place of protection and respect—one that regenerates the surrounding landscape while integrating seamlessly into the broader museum campus,” said Two Row Architect Partner Matthew Hickey.

The Perry Center will be the 40th building on the museum’s 45-acre campus and will house a significant collection that includes items gathered by Anthony and Teressa Perry and recently gifted to the museum. When combined with the Indigenous art already stewarded by the museum, the collection represents more than 500 items from 389 Tribal Nations across the continent.

The project has received early major funding support from private and public sources including; Lilly Endowment Inc.; an anonymous foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the State of Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Department of Economic Development, through the Capital Investment Program; the Henry Luce Foundation; the Institute of Museum and Library Services; the Terra Foundation for American Art; the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Decorative Arts Trust.

 

About Shelburne Museum: Shelburne Museum is the largest art and history museum in northern New England and Vermont’s foremost public resource for programming in the arts and humanities. Incorporated in 1947, the museum comprises 39 buildings and 22 gardens on a 45-acre campus. The museum stewards a collection of over 100,000 objects in unique and unparalleled installations of American art and material culture. Programming includes exhibitions and educational programs designed to creatively engage a broad spectrum of audiences and spark conversation and contemplation about the human condition.

 

About Annum Architects: Annum Architects’ (previously Ann Beha Architects) projects explore the discourse between heritage and the future to establish new identities and settings for arts, education and the civic realm. The firm’s design honors include awards from the Boston Society of Architects, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Society for College and University Planning and the American Institute of Architects. Based in Boston and practicing worldwide, Annum is a minority-owned firm with a diverse and inclusive studio culture. annumarchitects.com

 

About Two Row Architect: Established in 1992 by principal Architect Brian Porter(OnΛyota’a:ka), Two Row Architect is a 100% native-owned business operated from the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation. Since its inception in 1992, the firm has focused on providing services to projects for Indigenous clients as well as those that incorporate Indigenous cultural ideologies and teachings manifested in architectural form. The firm’s focus is on guiding the realignment of mainstream ways of thinking on a journey towards Indigenous ways of knowing, being, design and architecture. The firm’s ultimate goal is to promote architecture that has a positive impact on nature, humanity and our current sense of civilization.

 

About Reed Hilderbrand: Reed Hilderbrand practices landscape architecture as an act of purposeful transformation. Now in its third decade, Reed Hilderbrand is engaged on commissions for Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, Storm King Art Center and Longwood Gardens. Regional projects completed by Reed Hilderbrand include Bennington College and the grounds of the Clark Art Institute. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) named Reed Hilderbrand the 2013 Landscape Architecture Firm of the Year.

About The Institute of Museum and Library Services: IMLS 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 us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

About Terra Foundation for American Art: The Terra Foundation for American Art, established in 1978 and having offices in Chicago and Paris, supports organizations and individuals locally and globally with the aim of fostering intercultural dialogues and encouraging transformative practices that expand narratives of American art, through the foundation’s grant program, collection, and initiatives.

 

IMAGE TOP: Breaking ground on the site of the Perry Center for Native American Art at Shelburne Museum on 20 June 2025. Pictured from left: Vermont Secretary of Commerce and Community Development Lindsay Kurrle; Chief Brenda Gagne, St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Missisquoi Abenaki; Steven Gerrard, principal Annum Architects; Sen. Peter Welch; Heidi Dreymer; Peter Graham, president Shelburne Museum Board of Trustees; Christine Stiller, Shelburne Museum Board of Trustees; Teressa Perry; Thomas Denenberg, John Wilmerding Director and CEO of Shelburne Museum.

IMAGE CENTER: View of gathering circle and north façade Perry Center for Native American Art at Shelburne Museum. Image: Annum Architects.

LINK: to pdf of press release 

LINK: to high res images

For media inquiries, please contact:

Leslie Wright, Director of Communications and Marketing
Shelburne Museum
lwright@shelburnemuseum.org,
802-985-0880

Kristen Levesque,
Kristen Levesque Public Relations
kristen@kristenlevesquepr.com