Museum seeks locks and keys for exhibition

The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover is soliciting participation in the creation of its upcoming exhibition featuring locks and keys, which will open on Sunday, May 27.

The Museum of Everyday Life is a five-year-old venture whose goal is to explore, analyze, and celebrate everyday life objects. For this exhibition, the museum is seeking contributions consisting of or relating to all aspects of locks and keys, including but not limited to padlocks, door locks, combination locks, lever handle locks, cam locks, rim/mortise locks, profile cylinder locks, wooden pin tumbler locks, double-sided keys, dimple keys, barrel keys, skeleton keys, tubular keys, paracentric keys, abloy keys, key cards, etc.

The exhibit will explore related topics such as imprisonment, escape artists, chastity belts, diaries, safe cracking, locksmithing, and lock picking. Contributions in any form are welcome, from personal artifacts accompanied by an individual narrative; vague, raw ideas for displays as well as fully realized art objects ready to hang; theoretical writings, research, and of course, plenty of raw material so any old keys or locks people would like to get rid of would be welcome as well.

Please be aware that this is a self-service institution and does not always have staff on hand, therefore the safety and security of donated objects cannot be guaranteed, although every effort is made to keep all donations as secure and safe as possible. Sometimes the volume of contributions received means that the museum is unable to display everything; the museum curatorial staff makes the final display decisions.

Please submit proposals by April 15. Finished objects must be received no later than May 10. To contribute to the exhibition, or for more information, contact Clare Dolan via the “contact us” form on the museum website at www.museumofeverydaylife.org. The mailing address is 3482 Dry Pond Road, Glover, Vermont 05839. Contributors who include a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope or box with their entry will ensure that it will be returned upon completion of the exhibition.

For anyone interested in participating in the exhibit installation, community work days will be May 4 and 6, and the weekends of May 12 to 13, and May 19 to 20. Intensive installation week will be from May 21 through May 26. Those who wish to help should use the “contact us” form on the museum website to let museum staff know when they plan to attend. — submitted by Clare Dolan