Canterbury Shaker Village has received a $2,500,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. The grant will support the Village’s reimagination of its on-site and online interpretive experiences to emphasize the history and culture of the Shaker faith at the core of its visitor engagement strategy.
“This opportunity to share much more of the Village’s unparalleled collections is both welcome and exciting,” stated Curator of Research and Collections Shirley Wajda. “With this grant, the Village will increase both access to and knowledge of the Canterbury Shakers, their religion, and their individual and collective lives.”
Over the next five years, Canterbury Shaker Village will create a “digital Village,” developing an online database of biographies, documents, artifacts, and interactive exhibitions. This accessible database will complement and extend new interactive and immersive on-site exhibitions focusing on the Shakers’ religious beliefs and experiences. “We will enhance visitors’ experiences and understanding of the Shakers and their immense American and world religious history,” added Wajda.
In addition, the Village will design and institute a new staff and guest training program to guide the Village’s rich historical resources. “By creating a new framework for interpretation and engagement, we hope to provide more inclusive and engaging ways,” explained Director of Interpretation and Education Kyle Sandler. “This will place their religious beliefs at the core of the visitor experience here.”
Executive Director Leslie Hammerstedt said the Shakers are among the most important religious experimenters in United States history. “The Shakers’ revolutionary religious ideas shocked and intrigued their contemporaries,” she noted. “They challenged—and continue to challenge—Americans’ thinking about equality, sociality, and religious freedom. We thank Lilly Endowment for their generous support.”
Canterbury Shaker Village is one of 33 organizations across the United States receiving grants through the latest round of the Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. The initiative aims to support museums and other cultural organizations as they strengthen their capacity to provide fair, accurate, and balanced portrayals of the role religion has played and continues to play in the United States and around the world.
“The United States is widely considered to be one of the most religiously diverse nations today,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “Many individuals and families trust museums and other cultural institutions and visit them to learn about their communities and the world. We are excited to support these organizations as they embark on projects to help visitors understand and appreciate the diverse religious beliefs, practices, and perspectives of their neighbors and others in communities around the globe.”
