New Britain, CT (September 2025) — The Connecticut League of Museums (CLM) is proud to announce its Awards of Merit for 2025. The awards recognize excellence in museum work by individuals and organizations in Connecticut.

“Since 1959, the League’s Awards of Merit have honored the best work happening at Connecticut’s museums, historical societies, and libraries,” said Amrys Williams, Executive Director of CLM. “This year, we are thrilled to be honoring not only a stellar group of projects from organizations of all sizes and disciplines, but also two individuals who have offered crucial support to the museum field through their work at the state level.”

The 2025 award recipients are:

• Sen. Cathy Osten, Museum Advocate Award
• Lizette Pelletier, Individual Achievement Award
• The American Mural Project (Winchester), for the AMP Regeneration Project
• The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History (Hartford), for The Key to Adventure Book and Exhibit-on-Wheels
• Discovering Amistad (New Haven), for Discovering Amistad's “Voyage for Freedom and Human Rights”
• The Finnish American Heritage Society of Canterbury Museum (Canterbury), for “What We Bring With Us ~ Memories, Tradition, Hope”
• The Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum (South Windsor), for “Complicated Colonial Narratives: Researching Slavery in South Windsor”
• The Greenwich Historical Society (Greenwich), for “Greenwich During the Revolutionary War: A Frontier Town on the Front Line”
• The Housatonic Museum of Art and Interpreting Sports (Bridgeport), for “The Making of an Icon: Walter Iooss and Sports Photography”
• The Mattatuck Museum (Waterbury), for “Modern Women: Georgia O’Keeffe and Kay Sage”
• The New England Civil War Museum & Research Center (Vernon), for “Seth, Joseph, Lizzie, and George”
• Public Art CT (Hartford), for the Public Art CT digital mapping project
• Stanley-Whitman House and Farmington High School (Farmington), for “Tunxis Land and Water Memory Tour”

“The 2025 Awards recognize the dedication of two special people, recently retired State Archivist, Lizette Pelletier and Museum Advocate, State Sen. Cathy Osten, along with projects from 11 Connecticut institutions,” said Rebecca Taber, CLM Board Secretary and Co-chair of the Awards Committee. “The projects forge dynamic community partnerships, explore new ways to share our state’s history and culture, and examine artistic and historical topics from a variety of perspectives. It’s especially exciting to recognize the work of all-volunteer museums and public art and mural projects alongside that of larger museums. The projects receiving awards represent some of the best exhibitions, partnerships, and educational initiatives in our state.”

The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury.

“We are honored to host the Connecticut League of Museums’ Awards of Merit Ceremony,” said Bob Burns, Museum Director. “Institutions like ours play a vital role in preserving history and inspiring future generations, and we are proud to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Connecticut’s cultural organizations. Hosting this event reflects our commitment to fostering collaboration and innovation within the broader museum community.”

The Awards of Merit Ceremony and Reception is a ticketed event that is open to the public. Registration and more information are available at https://clho.org/event-6103339.

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About the Connecticut League of Museums

The Connecticut League of Museums (www.ctleague.org) unifies and strengthens our state’s museums and cultural resources to expand their capacity and community impact. Since 1950, the League has supported its member museums, historical societies, libraries, and other cultural heritage institutions across the state through professional development, networking and community, workshops and training, and an annual conference and awards program. The League also runs Connecticut Collections (www.ctcollections.org), an open-source collections management system and online portal that makes Connecticut’s museum and archival collections accessible to researchers worldwide.

About the Mattatuck Museum

Located in the heart of downtown Waterbury’s architectural district, the Mattatuck Museum (www.mattmuseum.org) is a vibrant destination, known locally and regionally as a community-centered institution of American art and history. The collections at The MATT span the history of American art from the colonial era to the present day with special strengths in Naugatuck Valley history and Connecticut artists, as well as artists from around the world representing the diversity of the community. The collection includes more than 8,000 objects including paintings, unique works on paper, photography and sculpture. The Museum is a founding member of the Consortium of Connecticut Art Museums and is a member of the Connecticut Art Trail, a group of 30 world-class museums and historic sites (www.ctarttrail.org).

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