Brettleboro Museum and Art Center
Artful Ice Shanties
By: BMA - Nov 11, 2026
Artists, ice fishing enthusiasts, and builders of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in Artful Ice Shanties: Illumination, an outdoor exhibition presented by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) and Retreat Farm.
Returning after a one-year hiatus, this signature Vermont event celebrates artistic talent, creative ingenuity, and New England’s rich ice-fishing heritage by displaying creative ice shanties designed and built by imaginative groups and individuals.
Artful Ice Shanties: Illumination will be on display Feb. 13-21, 2027, at Retreat Farm in Brattleboro, Vermont. The exhibition coincides with the town’s famed Harris Hill Ski Jump, which will take place Feb. 20-21, just a short distance away.
Admission to Artful Ice Shanties is free. The exhibition is open daily, 10-4. A panel of local makers and fishing enthusiasts will award three prizes at an outdoor Awards Ceremony at Retreat Farm on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. — Most Artful, Finest Craftsmanship, and Best Use of Repurposed Materials. Audience members will also vote for a People's Choice Award.
The deadline to register an artful ice shanty for inclusion in the exhibition is Dec.15, 2026. Registration forms and details are available at brattleboromuseum.org. There is no fee for entry. Interested parties are encouraged to register soon, as space is limited.
Shanties may be built by individuals or by groups of friends, family members, classmates, work colleagues, or any kind of team. They can be traditional or conceptual, functional or wacky, permanent or temporary, but they must be artful.
“Artful Ice Shanties started in 2021, and it quickly became a Brattleboro wintertime favorite,” BMAC Director Danny Lichtenfeld said. “Shanties have ranged from traditional to wacky. We love how this event expands the possibilities of winter in New England.”
Past Artful Ice Shanties have included a larger-than-life Campbell's Tomato Soup can, a vintage phone booth, a translucent shanty that used recycled lenses to simulate the experience of the northern lights, an enormous black die with moons as dots, a shanty that doubled as a working camera obscura, and Namaskônek, a shanty inspired by the Algonquin ancestors of the region.
Lichtenfeld said each year thousands of people visit the exhibit, which typically includes about 15 to 20 shanties created by people of all ages and experience levels. He added that people are "welcome to create a shanty with this year’s theme — Illumination — in mind, but it is not required."
Artful Ice Shanties: Illumination is generously sponsored by Berkley & Veller Greenwood Country Realtors.
Check out photos of past Artful Ice Shanties at brattleboromuseum.org.
Founded in 1972, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center presents rotating exhibitions of contemporary art, complemented by lectures, artist talks, film screenings, and other public programs. BMAC is open Wednesday-Sunday, 10-4. Admission is "pay as you wish." Located in historic Union Station in downtown Brattleboro, at the intersection of Main Street and Routes 119 and 142, the museum is wheelchair-accessible, with the exception of one gallery. For more information and accessibility requests, visit brattleboromuseum.org, call 802-257-0124 x101, or email office@brattleboromuseum.org.
Located on traditional Abenaki homelands in Brattleboro, Vermont, Retreat Farm encompasses 500 acres of conserved forests, farmlands, trails, and waterways. The Farm’s historic, nine-structure Farmstead sits at the confluence of the West and Connecticut rivers surrounded by wooded hills and rich farmland, cared for by its indigenous inhabitants for countless generations. Retreat Farm isn't your typical farm. Instead of growing vegetables, it aims to grow a community of people who care about the land and each other. As a nonprofit, Retreat Farmworks with farmers, producers, and artists to lift up the agricultural, creative, and land-based businesses and experiences that make Vermont unique. Learn more at retreatfarm.org.
Major support for BMAC is provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Vermont Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the Brattleboro Savings & Loan, Brattleboro Subaru, Brattleboro Food Co-op, C&S Wholesale Grocers, and Holiday Inn Express & Suites Brattleboro..
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