Friday, March 25, 2016

BETHEL WOODS REOPENINGS



RIGHTS, RACE, REVOLUTIONS & REOPENINGS

The Museum at Bethel Woods Re-opens for the season April 2nd

BETHEL, NY (March 25, 2016) –  On April 2nd, The Museum at Bethel Woods will open for the 2016 season, featuring a new special exhibit, Rights, Race & Revolutions: A Portrait of LIFE in 1960s America by Grey Villet. The exhibit will feature the work of LIFE magazine photojournalist Grey Villet, whose photo essays helped to document the events of a world in transition during the 1960s. On display through December 31st, the special exhibit is included in the price of admission to the Main Exhibit, or just $5.00 to view it separately.

The Museum at Bethel Woods explores the social, political, cultural and musical transformations of the Sixties while drawing connections to the issues that continue to affect our world today, making history relevant to a new generation. It features continually evolving exhibits and moving film and lecture series. Visit bethelwoodscenter.org for hours and programs.

This year’s special exhibit, co-curated by Barbara Villet, the photographer’s wife, illustrates the complexities of the ‘50s and ‘60s with a truth that in his own words were “as real as real could get.” From his images of presidents like John F. Kennedy, to revolutionaries including Martin Luther King, Jr., and Fidel Castro, to sports heroes and everyday people struggling for their rights, this exhibit tells the emotional stories of a past that continues to shape the present.

In an era long before digital photography, Villet’s technique required intense concentration, patience, and understanding of his subjects, joined with a technical skill that allowed rapid use of differing cameras and lenses to capture and compose the “right stuff” on film as it happened.

The Museum will also present WoodsTalk: Live with Barbara Villet and Friends. This free, hour-long presentation in the Museum Theater features a conversation with Barbara Villet, and New York Times photojournalists and Pulitzer Prize winners Stephen Crowley and Todd Heisler to discuss how they were influenced and inspired by Villet’s work. Working side by side with her husband, Barbara experienced the emotion of the compelling LIFE magazine assignments that defined Villet’s photojournalistic career. Space is limited, so please reserve your space at bethelwoodscenter.org.

The museum will also open two additional gallery exhibits and an outdoor exhibit on opening day. In the Corridor Gallery, 3 Days of Peace & Music: The Performers of the Woodstock Festival will feature vignettes on each of the 32 groups that performed at Woodstock. From Richie Havens' opening performance to Jimi Hendrix's rousing closing performance, this exhibit will tell the story of each group, pre- and post-Woodstock, and how each of the bands left a lasting impact on music and popular culture. New this year, the Crossroads Gallery will feature Tonight on the Pavilion Stage: The First Ten Years, an exhibit of photographs of each Bethel Woods Pavilion Stage concert since 2006 along with a number of eye-catching Hatch Show Print posters to celebrate Bethel Woods’ tenth anniversary. And for fine art lovers, the outdoor sculpture exhibit for 2016 will be Unfurling: Sculpture By David Boyajian, on view through October.

Museum Spring Hours:
April 2-April 29
Thursday-Sunday, 10:00am-5:00pm
Museum Summer Hours:
April 30-September 5
Open every day, 10:00am-7:00pm
Museum Early Fall Hours:
September 6-October 10
Open every day, 10:00am-5:00pm
Museum Fall Hours:
October 11-December 24
Thursday-Sunday, 10:00am-5:00pm
(Home for the Holidays hours: December 26–31, open every day, 10am–5pm)

NOTE: Please call ahead to verify museum hours on concert days. Access to the grounds is closed on Pavilion concert days. The Monument continues to be open to visitors seven days a week, all year long via West Shore Road. The museum will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve day, and Christmas Day. The museum will be closed to the general public Saturday and Sunday, June 11–12, for Mysteryland.

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