Press

ALBANY, N.Y. - Shaker experts from the New York State Museum and other local museums and historic sites will gather at the State Museum on October 21, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., to explore the influences that shaped and created the Shaker legacy.

The New York State Museum has played a special role in preserving the heritage of the Shakers. In 1926, with their numbers dwindling, the Shakers embarked on a fifteen year partnership with the museum in an effort to insure that their culture would survive. As a result, the museum possesses a collection of Shaker artifacts unique in the world. For the first time since 1982, portions of that collection are now on display - including the only intact Fountain Stone, used for religious rituals, that survives from any Shaker community. A Shaker Legacy: The Shaker Collection at the New York State Museum is on view in the museum's Exhibition Hall through Sunday, Oct. 22.

In association with the museum's exhibit of Shaker artifacts, the symposium will explore the history surrounding the creation of the Shaker legacy by various museums and collectors. The symposium's speakers include:

• John Scherer, Associate Curator at the State Museum, speaking on the creation of the State Museum's Shaker Collection.
• Jerry Grant, from the Shaker Museum at Old Chatham, doing a presentation on the Shaker Collection at the Shaker Museum at Old Chatham.
• Sharon Koomler, Curator at Hancock Shaker Village, talking about Shaker spirit drawings and the establishment of Hancock Shaker Village Museum.
• Shaker authority Elizabeth Shaver and Craig Williams, Associate Curator, New York State Museum, presenting a program on William F. Winter, photographer of the Shakers.
• Ned Pratt, former Director of Shaker Heritage Society and President of the local chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, doing a program on Shaker Barns.
• Fran Kramer, author and Shaker Collector, speaking on Shaker Collecting in the Twentieth Century.

The symposium will include a catered luncheon at 12 Noon and a gallery tour commencing at 4 o'clock. There is a fee of $46, $40 for Museum members. Pre-registration is required by October 6. The public may call (518) 473-7154 for information.

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