Woodstock museum seeking objects from fans to add to collection

The Museum at Bethel Woods invites all 1960s and Woodstock fans to contribute to its collection and be an active participant in the future of The Museum. In conjunction with its upcoming special exhibit, Collecting Woodstock: Recent Museum Acquisitions, The Museum today announces an official call for historic objects.

If you own an object that is related to the historic 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair or the decade of the 1960s and would be interested in sharing it with the world, not only at the present time, but for generations to come, then The Museum would like to hear from you.

Please visit
http://www.bethelwoodscenter.org/museum/about/contributeartifact.aspx
for information on the process of submitting artifacts.

Museum director Wade Lawrence explained, “Please don’t send your artifacts to The Museum unless we have seen the item and have asked you to send it to us. We must first see a photo of the item being offered and hear a bit about its history in order to evaluate whether it is appropriate for the permanent collection. We couldn’t possibly accept everything that is offered to us. Some items we already have in sufficient quantity, others are readily available and could be easily borrowed if we needed them for an exhibition, and some items simply don’t fit our collecting mission. Additionally, there are costs to The Museum for each item we add to the permanent collection, including costs to catalog and research the item, to conserve it, and to properly display or store it. These policies are in place to help us build a collection of only the best examples and ones worthy of serious study for years to come.”

The Museum started collecting Sixties and Woodstock festival artifacts while it was being built. Since opening in 2008, The Museum has continued to acquire artifacts. The most interesting and significant acquisitions often come from donors who have a love of the decade and who enjoy knowing that their treasured object will be preserved and enjoyed by others in exhibits at Bethel Woods. Objects associated with the historic 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair are essential to the growth and educational potential of The Museum and are actively sought by its team. Past donations have created the beginning of an outstanding collection that continues to appeal to all generations from varied backgrounds throughout the world. Artifacts provide insight to the past and enhance and strengthen the ability to share history with future generations.

To celebrate artifacts collected by The Museum to date, and the donors who gave them, a new special exhibition Collecting Woodstock: Recent Museum Acquisitions will open on July 29, 2010 and run through January 2, 2011. The exhibit, which includes photographs, objects, and ephemera from the 1969 Woodstock festival, features thirty new festival images from 5 photographers; festival artifacts that have never been previously displayed; and a video compilation of rare Woodstock footage, interviews, home video of the festival, and live music audio from the concert.

Special exhibit highlights include:

· Woodstock festival photographs shot by then 18-year old Doug Lenier – Lenier’s photographs offer a fresh look at the Woodstock festival, the crowds and the artists. Determined to photograph the 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, NY, Lenier grabbed his girlfriend and Nikon to capture the event. Lenier is a professional photographer and currently works in the music industry in California. Upon reading about The Museum at Bethel Woods, he reviewed his old festival photos and contacted The Museum. One photo confirms the existence of the often-mentioned, but never previously seen, Ferris wheel which was located atop the hill near where The Museum is currently located.

· Woodstock festival photograph shot by Richard Gordon – Gordon provides a new perspective on navigating the muddy field.
· Journal of artists and performances donated by John Marvelle - Kevin Marvelle enjoyed the entire festival, from Richie Havens through Jimi Hendrix, and maintained a handwritten journal that documents each act. This journal, donated to The Museum by his brother, is the ultimate corroboration for recent revisions to the history of “who played when.”

· Hog Farm “red rag” - The Hog Farm, the New Mexico commune hired by Woodstock promoters to set up the campground and assist with “public safety,” sent 12 people via bus to Bethel, NY to work the festival. Other communards joined them, and there were as many as 100 Hog Farmers working to develop campgrounds, prepare kitchens to feed the crowds and maintain order prior to the start of the concert. To create an identity for the Hog Farmers and their volunteers, Paul Foster, Hog Farmer and Merry Prankster, made a drawing of a hog with wings. Alton Kelley, one of the decade’s most highly-regarded poster artists, printed the image on red fabric, torn into strips, to be distributed to all Hog Farmers and volunteers. The red rags became both an all-access pass to any area of the site and symbol of the spirit of the festival.

· Yasgur Farm Artifacts - By the late 1960s, Max Yasgur’s dairy was the largest milk producer in Sullivan County. When Woodstock festival promoters tried to find a last-minute location for the festival, Yasgur agreed to lease one of his fields in Bethel, NY and the rest is history. Artifacts from the Yasgur’s dairy farm include a milk crate, creamery hat, bottle cap, and “swag” syrup pitcher that was distributed to his customers.
“It’s thrilling to see the permanent collection continue to grow and flourish,” said Wade Lawrence, Museum Director. “Without the generosity of wonderful fans nationwide, who have donated touchstone pieces of recent history, much of the material witness to our past would be lost forever. We encourage all Woodstock and 1960s fans to go to our website and learn how they too can be a part of The Museum and history.”

Admission to this special exhibition is included in the regular Museum admission. For more information on the special exhibit, The Museum, and Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, please visit www.BethelWoodsCenter.org.

The Museum is also proud to announce two new ways to get involved and be a part of history:

“Connecting Woodstockers” - Join the Woodstock Alumni Association:
Starting July 29, anyone who attended the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair will have the opportunity to become a part of The Museum archive and the permanent history of the festival by joining an exclusive Woodstock attendee database. Once this exciting database is launched, festival attendees may visit the Bethel Woods homepage to access the “Connecting Woodstockers” page and complete a survey about their experience at the festival. All information contained therein will become part of a searchable museum archive about festival attendees, and will be used by scholars, educators, students and the general public to enrich their understanding about the festival and decade.

Special Sale to Support Bethel Woods Collections Care:
The Museum Shop will sell a limited number of beautifully reproduced modern copies of the rare Woodstock souvenir program with all proceeds going towards Bethel Woods’ collection acquisition and care program. Highlights of this full-color program include a vellum artwork frontispiece, artist drawings and photos, diverse Sixties artwork from psychedelia to Art Nouveau used to promote the festival artists, as well as an RCA ad highlighting its difficult relations with Jefferson Airplane, a make-your-own Jefferson Airplane model, poems, and an intriguing article, “Confessions of a Record Company Exec” by Stan Cornyn, then director of creative services at Warner Reprise Records. This unique reproduction collector’s item is a must-have for any Woodstock festival, music, or Sixties enthusiast, and your purchase helps the museum acquire and care for new collection artifacts



Museum Information:

2010 Summer Museum Hours:Saturday, May 29 thru Monday, September 6, 2010 - Open seven days a week, 10:00am to 7:00pm

2010 Fall Museum Hours:Tuesday, September 7 thru Sunday, January 2, 2011 - Open Thursday - Sunday, 10:00am to 5:00pm

Special holiday open hours Columbus Day, Monday, October 11, 2010, 10:00am - 5:00pm and Monday, December 27 thru Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 10:00am - 5:00pm. Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

Museum tickets will be sold each day until 1.5 hours before closing time on regular open days and until 1 hour before concert start time on typical concert days. Please call ahead to verify museum hours on concert days.

About The Museum at Bethel Woods and Bethel Woods Center for the Arts:
The Museum is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation, which is dedicated to the study and exhibition of the social, political and cultural events of the 1960s, including the Woodstock Festival, and the legacies of those times. The Museum is located on lands owned by the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts which is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Sullivan County and the surrounding region by promoting economic development and interest in the region through arts, education and culture. For more information on The Museum at Bethel Woods, or Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, please visit www.BethelWoodsCenter.org. Follow The Museum at Bethel Woods on Facebook and Twitter.

The Museum at Bethel Woods is an integral part of the larger Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a $100 million outdoor performing arts center and complex. Set within 2,000 bucolic acres in Sullivan County, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is a world-class cultural destination whose mission is to enrich, promote and improve the quality of life in our community throughout culture, education, history, and the arts. We are dedicated to bringing diverse, high quality performing arts and educational programs to the region. The Center features a Pavilion Stage with 4,500 seats under cover and another 10,500 on a natural sloping lawn; the Terrace Stage, a 1,000 seat Roman-style amphitheater; and within The Museum building, a 300-seat Events Gallery, all of which present a diverse selection of popular artists, orchestral performances, community events, music, and arts education opportunities. The Museum Shop features a great selection of Sixties and Woodstock-inspired gift items; The Shop is open during museum hours, and online shopping is available all year at ShopBethelWoods.com.