The question of who will replace David Adjaye for the opportunity to design the Shelburne Museum’s expanded Perry Center for Native American Art has been answered by the Vermont institution after it cut ties with the architect in July of last year. 

In lieu of a single architect or firm, the museum now says they are pursuing a “collaborative approach” to designing the square-foot Center. Included in the project team are Annum Architects of Boston; the Indigenous owned Two Row Architect of Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation; and Reed Hilderbrand for the landscaping component. Annum, formerly Ann Beha Architects, designed the museum's Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education in 2011.

"The design of the Perry Center for Native American Art and the many steps that led us to this moment are the result of a collaborative approach focused on communication and relationship building with Tribal Nations to create a national resource for the study and care of Indigenous art," the Shelburne’s Director and CEO, Thomas Denenberg, said in a statement.

The project’s brief had originally called for "a sustainable building with [an] integrated landscape created in collaboration with Indigenous voices whose cultures and people are represented in the works to be stewarded in the space."

The new space will be realized at 11,200 square feet with input from a group of 50 Indigenous partners who have aligned with Shelburne on the project. That includes leadership and culture bearers from the Abenaki peoples, who are considered traditional stewards of the land surrounding the site. The project, the 40th building on the Shelburne’s campus, will break ground in the spring of 2025.