Opening Activation: ‘CRADLED’ presented by Make Hauser & Wirth
Please join us for the opening activation of ‘CRADLED’ – an immersive exhibition presented by Make Hauser & Wirth and curated by artist Suzanne Bocanegra and actor/producer Frances McDormand in collaboration with Shaker Museum (Chatham, NY).
‘CRADLED’ expands on the original 2024 staging at Shaker Museum in upstate New York and explores—through objects, sound, and activations—the Shakers’ embrace of caregiving and community from cradle to grave. ‘CRADLED’ invites visitors into an environment where they are immersed, however briefly, in a vision of life shaped by the Shaker ethos of devotion made manifest in communal industry and care.
Thursday 20 November
6 – 7 pm
Shaker Lemon Pie served in our Garden in collaboration with Manuela LA
*Pies will also be available for purchase and featured on the restaurant’s menu during the run of the exhibition.
7 – 9 pm
Rocking of eldresses with Nancy Buchanan, Barbara T. Smith, Suzanne Bocanegra and Frances McDormand
This event is free, however, reservations are recommended. Click here to register.
Photo of Frances McDormand and Suzanne Bocanegra from the ‘Cradled’ installation in Kinderhook, NY 2024 © Kristen Tomkowid
About Make Hauser & Wirth
Make at Hauser & Wirth is dedicated to contemporary making and the crafted object, committed to showcasing a range of the world’s best emerging and established artist-makers. Led by Manuela Wirth, the international program includes exhibitions, residencies and meaningful collaborations with external curators, institutions and craft organizations. Make is a natural extension of the wider Hauser & Wirth gallery ethos—embracing craft heritage, provenance, sustainability, and the value of emotional engagement with the handmade. Since launching in 2018, Make has presented work by over 80 artist-makers and provided valuable insights into the diverse processes and rich narratives of their practices.
About Shaker Museum
Shaker Museum is home to the world’s most substantial collection of Shaker material culture and design, featuring over 18,000 objects as well as a library and archives that trace the aesthetics, ingenuity, faith and history of the Shakers. Since its founding in 1950, the museum has evolved from a single collector’s personal passion to document Shaker life and history into a vital center for preservation, scholarship and creative exploration. Construction is now underway for the museum’s new, permanent home in Chatham NY, a world-class space designed by Selldorf Architects. This new facility will not only house the museum’s permanent collection but will also introduce visitors to a dynamic program of contemporary exhibitions and public events, rethinking what it means to steward Shaker history in the 21st century.
Beyond Chatham, Shaker Museum maintains collections storage in Old Chatham, offers special exhibitions and community programming in Kinderhook and the stewards the landmark Mount Lebanon Shaker Village in New Lebanon. Explore the collection and learn more about ongoing projects, news, and events at shakermuseum.us.
About the Shakers
Officially known as the United Society of Shakers, in 1774 Ann Lee, the charismatic, illiterate daughter of a blacksmith, led a small group of followers from Manchester, England, to upstate New York. From this foothold, Shakers established communities that spread across the eastern half of the US for over two centuries. The group sought to perfect society through hard work, communal living, gender and racial equality, pacifism, celibacy and separation from worldly affairs. Guided by core values of conviction, integrity, inclusion and innovation, the Shakers were successful entrepreneurs known for their various manufacturing enterprises, their creation of beautiful objects, and their significant impact on modern design and architecture.
