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Chester County Press

Brandywine River Museum updates its name and mission

02/19/2014 06:45PM ● By Acl

The Brandywine Conservancy announced on Feb. 11 that it is launching an updated brand identity. 

To connect its dual mission of art and the environment, the Brandywine Conservancy is renaming the parent organization and its two programs, and expanding and connecting its artistic and environmental work. 

The parent organization will become the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art. The environmental program, which works with landowners and government officials to preserve land and water, will now be known as the Brandywine Conservancy. The museum, known widely for its extensive holdings of Wyeth and American art, will now be known as the Brandywine River Museum of Art.

“Our new brand embraces our heritage and legacy while setting a course for a new and exciting future, combining art and the environment in innovative ways," said Virginia A. Logan, executive director of the museum. "As we approach our 50th anniversary in 2017, the centennial year of Andrew Wyeth's birth, there is much to celebrate, including our acquisition of the Wyeth studios and a future campus-wide trail system. It is a new era for our organization as we continue to lead in land and water conservation and expand our art programming for the public."

With the new naming architecture comes a refining of the organization's iconic millstone logo. The lines have been streamlined and, inspired by many of the millstones located around the museum, in the courtyard and along the paths, the center is now squared and slightly turned, creating a sense of motion that captures the renewed energy of the organization.

A new palette of colors connects and individualizes the programs. The parent organization will be visually represented in Brandywine Brown, the conservancy will be represented by a vibrant Evergreen color and the museum in a distinctive Pumpkin color. 

Some of the new projects and programs include:

Trail Network: Development of a network of trails that will link more than 300 acres around the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art and the historic properties that surround it. The trails will be open to the public and let people interact with the land that has inspired generations of artists.
Farmland Preservation: With $2 million recently secured, the Brandywine Conservancy will increase its work to save more farmland in the headwaters in Honey Brook Township (HBT), preserving both family farms and the quality and quantity of the Brandywine as an important source of drinking water. In 2004, 4 percent of land was preserved in the township. In 2013, 19.6 percent of land was preserved. By 2017, it is projected that 25 percent of the land in HBT will be preserved.
Reforestation: On April 5, 2014, the conservancy will plant its 25,000th tree in less than five years. The organization has set a new goal to plant 50,000 trees by its 50th anniversary in 2017. Planting trees enhances water quality, restores natural flows in the Brandywine, and improves while also promoting absorption of rain into the ground, replenishing groundwater supplies, and reducing storm water runoff and downstream flooding.
Expanded Programs: In 2013, the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art introduced 30 new education and public programs. Its programming lineup will continue to grow. In the summer of 2014, “Lure of the Brandywine: A Story of Land Conservation and Artistic Inspiration” will make the connection between art and protected lands by showing landscapes painted on preserved land, further illustrating the organization's devotion to art and the environment.
The Brandywine Creek Greenway: This 30-mile corridor of green along both sides the Brandywine will include a network of privately- and publicly-owned spaces, wildlife corridors, natural and cultural features, parks, trails and creek access points. 

“This is a pivotal moment for our organization as we cherish our past but look forward optimistically to the future," said Frolic Weymouth, a founder and chairman of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art. “To see how the organization has grown over the years is incredible. I know Andrew Wyeth cared deeply about our mission. The organization's connection of art and the environment is unprecedented.”

For more information visit www.brandywinemuseum.org.