Volunteer Opportunities for Western Connecticut

In partnership with United Way of Western Connecticut

It is the mission of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum to be a national leader in the exhibition of significant and challenging contemporary art with an emphasis on emerging and mid-career artists, a world-class innovator of museum education programs, and a vital cultural resource for our community.

Description:
The Museum’s core programs concentrate on two areas:

Exhibitions: The high standard The Aldrich maintains for its exhibitions has been attained through years of identifying and presenting the best of the world’s contemporary art. It is recognized internationally for its thematic group exhibitions, always based on clear, straightforward ideas with the potential for bringing together diverse works of art and placing them in a context that facilitates their understanding; and

Education: Our overall education program has garnered support from the Hearst Foundation, while the IMLS has funded our Family Learning Initiative. Other ongoing programs include the intensive teen program Art Lab; and the Museum’s nationally-acclaimed Student Docent Program, now in its thirteenth year. Aldrich educators this year inaugurated two new programs, the Art & Writing Institute seminar for educators, and ART/WRITE for classroom teachers and their students, both of which are working to improve writing skills through the use of gallery images.

History:
In 1964 dress designer and passionate collector of contemporary art Larry Aldrich (1906-2001) purchased the historic 'Old Hundred' building on Main Street in Ridgefield, Connecticut to house his growing collection of art. Mr. Aldrich selected the eighteenth-century house because of its ample, high-ceilinged rooms and the extensive backyard that would be perfect for the year-round sculpture garden which he hoped would occupy the Museum's grounds. The Larry Aldrich Museum opened on November 7, 1964, one of the nation's first museums devoted solely to the exhibition of contemporary art, with a Board of Trustees that included Alfred Barr, Joseph Hirshhorn, Philip Johnson, and Vera List.

Foremost in Mr. Aldrich's vision was that the Museum be entirely accessible, enabling visitors to feel comfortable with contemporary art, and perhaps even inspiring them to live with the 'new art' in their own homes. Over the course of its first twenty years, the Museum developed a reputation for the presentation of outstanding new art and the cultivation of emerging artists. To better concentrate on its mission to show only contemporary art, the Museum's Board voted to deaccession its permanent collection in 1981.

The Aldrich’s galleries reopened in June 2004 after a renovation and expansion which provided 25,000 square feet of new and redesigned space, with twelve new galleries, including a screening room, a sound gallery, a 22-foot-high project space, a 100-seat performance space, a dedicated education center, improved visitor amenities, and a redesigned sculpture garden.

Today, The Aldrich continues its founder’s vision as a non-collecting museum mounting exhibitions of artwork by emerging and mid-career artists, and educating adults and children about the importance of connecting to our world through contemporary art.

Contact people:

Deirdre Ayala, Volunteer Coordinator, (203) 438-4519, (email) Robin Phillips, Internal Affairs Director, (203) 438-4519, (email) Harry Philbrick, Director, (203) 438-4519

Address:

258 Main Street Ridgefield, CT 06877 (See a map)

Directions:

The Aldrich is located at 258 Main Street, two blocks south of Ridgefield center on Route 35. Access from New York is via the Sawmill River Parkway North or Interstate 684, and Route 35 East. Access from Connecticut is via. . . (more)