Applications for four FY2015 programs are open now. FY2015 grants support activities beginning no earlier than September 1, 2014 and ending no later than August 31, 2015.

The Operating Support and Arts Partnership programs have been combined into one this year (Arts Partnership Grants). The application deadline will be Friday, May 9, 2014. Project, Creation, and Cultural Facilities Grants are also available. The application deadline for Project Grants is Thursday, May 22; Creation Grants Tuesday, May 13; Cultural Facilities Grants Thursday, May 1.

Visit the Grants Deadlines and Information page to learn more.

Grant seeker workshops will be offered for artists and organizations on March 26, 27, and 28, 2014.

Watch the final 40 Vermont high school students (out of almost 5,000 participants) recite the work of noted poets at the Vermont Poetry Out Loud Semi-Finals at the Barre Opera House March 12 and 13, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 802-828-3778. Can’t make it to the Barre Opera House March 12 and 13? You can stream the Vermont Poetry Out Loud Semi-Finals on almost any device!

The most compelling and accurate reciters will be declared winners and will then compete in our statewide finalist contest at Vermont Public Television.

Find the details and schedule on the Vermont Poetry Out Loud page.

We are pleased to announce the launch of CreativeGround, the New England Foundation for the Arts’ newest online tool to connect and promote New England's creative economy. We are also excited that within the next six months, CreativeGround will become the Vermont Arts Council's directory, offering new, more robust listings to Vermont artists and arts organizations. New features will include the upload of high-quality images, videos, and references as well as the ability to reach a wider audience.

Search and explore the 30,000 profiles already in the directory, including artists of all disciplines, cultural nonprofits like libraries and theaters, and creative businesses like recording studios and design agencies.

Get listed by adding or updating a profile for your creative enterprise. (You could win a 32GB Nexus 10 tablet!). Get involved by sharing CreativeGround with your community, or read the full press release.
 
Questions? Contact any of the Council’s program staff (Michele Bailey, Ben Doyle, or Sonia Rae).

The Council convened a summit on the arts on Saturday, October 26, 2013. Nearly 200 people were engaged throughout the day in workshops, panel sessions, and speaker presentations, including a plenary by Arts Educator Eric Booth (see the video here ).

Vermont can be so proud of this year's Arts Awards recipients. On October 1, the Arts Council travelled to the Brandon Town Hall to celebrate the accomplishments of four fine Vermonters: folk artist Warren Kimble received the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, presented by Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott; writer Jay Parini of Middlebury received the Cerf Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts; and Bruce Bouchard of Middletown Springs and Carol Driscoll of Rutland each received an Arthur Williams Award for Meritorious Service in the Arts. Read more about the evening, look at pictures, and watch a video here.

Join the Vermont Public Radio project, "Art Hounds!"
Art Hounds creates the opportunity for you to rave about each others' work on the radio and shine a light on the arts scene in your community. All you have to do is click here and let VPR know about a concert, performance, exhibit or event that you want to rave about and recommend. No event is too small or too large to be considered. It can be happening this week, this month or all season - in Vermont, the Upper Valley, New York or Quebec.

The only stipulation is that it can't be your own work or work you're professionally, financially or personally associated with in any way. Use this form to tell VPR who you are and post your recommendation. It can be an art exhibit, a local theater production, a dance performance, CD release or a festival. And you can call the VPR Art Hounds hotline at (802) 778-9585 to record your suggestions, too! Each week, VPR will select nominations to be recorded for air.

Hear Art Hounds on Thursday afternoon at 4:50 as part of VPR's weekly arts segment and again on Friday mornings at 7:55, during "Morning Edition." You can also find the episode information each week at VPR.net.

Publicize your events by listing them in the Vermont Arts Calendar. The Vermont Arts Calendar is not only a FREE way of reaching thousands of people, but it also gets your events distributed to dozens of publications in the Northeast and throughout the country. To get the broadest exposure for your event you should list no later than six weeks before the event. Click here for more information about the Arts Calendar, or to enter your event.

Have you checked out our online classifieds recently?  We like to think of it as a sort of a "craigslist" for the arts in Vermont.  You can both search and list information on jobs, calls to artists and workshops.  There's a section for materials available or wanted, and another for studio space.  The listings are always changing so check it out today.