Alex is on vacation this week so Diane Scolaro, the Council’s Communications & Development Director, has commandeered this space to encourage your membership, advocacy and participation.

The Vermont Arts Council firmly believes that Art Builds Community.  Supporting artists and arts organizations is fundamental to our mission to advance and preserve the arts at the center of Vermont communities.  As the state’s single largest source of arts funding and arts advocacy, the Council plays a crucial role in the development of the arts in every corner of the state.

This spring, we are asking Vermonters to support our efforts—as members, advocates and participants!
Read more.

VERMONT ARTS COUNCIL'S ANNUAL MEETING - The Vermont Arts Council’s Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, May 30th. The day will include a meeting of the Board of Trustees (beginning at 12:30 p.m. at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier), followed by an open house and reception at the Vermont Arts Council at 5 p.m.  Artwork by Arthur Williams will be on display in the Council’s Spotlight Gallery, and there will be music and refreshments.

THE PUZZLES ARE COMING! THE PUZZLES ARE COMING! - A snafu in the cutting process slowed the production of the first wood puzzle pieces and is pushing back delivery by about a week.  We expect to begin distribution after May 5th.

PLEASE BE PATIENT!If you’ve ordered puzzle pieces, you’ll be hearing from the Arts Council shortly with a delivery date and location.  Keep in mind that it may take a while to package and distribute 11,000 wood and 50,000 paper puzzle pieces!  If you have an event planned in May 2008, contact us and we’ll expedite delivery.  If you haven't yet ordered for puzzle pieces, do it today!

WE ONLY ASK THIS…..The Arts Council is thrilled to provide Vermonters with more than 60,000 puzzle pieces.  We only require two things in return:

CREATIVE SOLUTION SOUGHT FOR BELLOWS FALLS MURAL - (From an article in the Brattleboro Reformer) Bellows Falls did not get to where it is today by giving up easily. This gritty, Connecticut River mill town reinvented itself over the past few years, transforming the downtown from a boarded-up, bygone era to a model for the creative economy. So when the state said a mural promoting the village was in violation of Vermont's billboard law and had to come down, supporters were not so quick to go out and buy a few gallons of paint to get rid of it. Read more.

CULTURECOUNT: NEW ENGLAND'S CULTURAL DATABASE -  The New England Foundation for the Arts has announced the public launch of CultureCount, New England's Cultural Database. This online resource is provided as a public service to New England. The database currently houses 22,856 active records and offers a variety of search features and research tools. Read more.

NATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS CONFERENCE IN DENVER - Many major arts service organizations (including the League of American Orchestras, TCG, OperaAmerica, Chorus America, Dance/USA, APAP, and ten others) are holding joint conferences to get 4,000-5,000 leaders together for four days. Read more.

TEACHING ARTIST SURVEY TO ASSIST NECAP AT DENVER CONFERENCE - One way you can contribute, and sort-of be present, is by filling out a one-page survey that will serve as a jumping off place for a three hour session on teaching artists. NECAP wants to be able to present a statement of beliefs from teaching artists to jump start the session toward agreed upon actions. They need as many teaching artists as possible to complete the survey at the following website. Your answers will be well used! This is a survey for teaching artists, not their administrators. Survery completion deadline is May 10.

DON’T MISS OUT...GRANT DEADLINES ARE APPROACHING!

• Teachers: The Arts Learning Grants will have only one deadline this year, so planning now for the next school year is important. The deadline is May 1, 2008 for activities that take place between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009.
  
  
• Organizations: Community Arts Grants will have one deadline, which is June 6, 2008.
  
  
• Artists: Creation Grant deadline is May 1, 2008.

All applications must be submitted online. For a complete list of grants deadlines, and all other grant information, please visit our web site

ARTISTS CIRCLE - Are you a weaver, sculptor, painter, jeweler, or maybe a musician, dancer or song writer? Artists of all types are invited to join the Artists’ Learning Circle on Wednesday, May 7 from 9:30-11:30 at Woodbury College in Montpelier. This event is an opportunity to meet with and share business ideas and challenges with other artists. Free and open to all - just show up! Please contact the Vermont Women's Business Center for more information. 660 Elm St., Montpelier, VT 05602, 229-2181 or 800-266-4062.

APNNE ANNUAL MEETING - Art Presenters of Northern New England (APNNE) invite you to attend their Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at Marlboro College in Marlboro, Vermont. The focus of the meeting is “The Power of Arts And Civic Engagement.”  Barbara Schaffer Bacon will be the featured speaker at this year’s meeting.  Barbara directs Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts that fosters civic engagement through arts and culture. All are invited to attend.  This event is sponsored in part by the Vermont Arts Council.  Click here to register.

GRANTSEEKING BASICS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS - Learn how the Foundation Center's resources can help you become a more effective grantseeker! For nonprofit organizations, this introduction provides instruction in foundation research and identification of potential funders using the Foundation Directory Online and gives an overview of the Foundation Center's resources available at the Vermont Dept. of Libraries for those seeking grants from foundations, corporations, and grantmaking public charities. When/where: Tuesday, May 20, 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the VT Dept. of Libraries, 109 State St., Montpelier. To sign up, email or call Vance Asselin at 802-828-3261.

PUBLIC ART INFORMATION SESSIONS - The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) is pleased to announce a series of Public Art information sessions in New Hampshire and Vermont. Based on a 2006 study of its public art programs, NEFA is expanding its programs and services to serve communities and the field of public art in Northern New England.  Three information sessions will be held to introduce NEFA’s public art programs, plans for future engagement, and grant opportunities.  Come meet public art staff and learn how you can become involved! Read more.

HEALING ARTS CONFERENCE - The Healing Arts Initiative: New Pathways to Health, a partnership program of the Vermont Arts Exchange, is holding a regional conference and training session for artists and healthcare professionals April 28-May 2, 2008 at Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield, NH. Read more.

MAY CONFERENCES & WORKSHOP LISTINGS - Clicking the links below will direct your browser to display listings as they appear in the Vermont Travel Planner (which is connected directly to the Vermont Arts Calendar):

Conferences & Workshops

Lectures & Readings

VERMONT ARTIST RECEIVES GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIP - Edward Hirsch, the president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, recently announced that in its 84th annual competition for the United States and Canada the Foundation has awarded 190 Fellowships to artists, scientists, and scholars, with awards totaling $8,200,000. The successful candidates were chosen from a group of more than 2,600 applicants. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of stellar achievement and exceptional promise for continued accomplishment. Among the recipients was Vermont artist Enrico Riley of Norwich. Riley is a Senior Lecturer and Area Head of Painting and Drawing at Dartmouth College. Congratulations, Enrico! Read more.

IN MEMORIUM - On April 8th, the Beaudoin family announced with great sorrow the death of of Louis Beaudoin's widow, Julie Lacourse Beaudoin, at age 87. Just a few weeks ago, Julie was onstage in Rhode Island. At the Blackstone River Theatre, she stood between daughters Carmen and Nina singing out the songs with them. She took the bows, sang the encores and felt the love on stage and in the audience. The family was fortunate that the entire concert was filmed and will be archived at the Vermont Folklife Center. Says grandson Glenn Bombardier, "Although our pain is immeasurable, Memère and Pepère are at last reunited. There is no doubt that they are smiling with joy and pride at the legacy they've left behind." Condolences may be sent to the family in care of the Vermont Folklife Center, 88 Main Street Middlebury, VT 05753. The Center is the home of the Beaudoin Collection documenting the family's musical heritage.

GET YOUR EVENTS LISTED! Events listed in the Vermont Arts Calendar post at multiple locations, including the kiosks at the state's Welcome Centers, on the Council's website and on the Department of Tourism's website. If you are trying to do outreach about arts events in Vermont, you should be using this free online tool. Here's how to enter your events.

You must first have your events listed in the Vermont Arts Calendar if you would like a shot at having a picture of it featured in the column at right and on our website.

AFTER YOU HAVE ENTERED YOUR EVENT in the Calendar, if you would like us to consider it for inclusion in the right hand column, feel free to email us to ask us to consider it; you may also attach a photo for publication.

• Jobs
• Calls to Artists
• Funding Opportunities

ARTPERK.COM - The owners of DoubleShot Studio today announced the launch of ArtPerk.com, a new website for artists seeking to locate display opportunities and gallery openings. ArtPerk lists opportunities throughout the nation and offers unique features to help artists find show opportunities in a quick, user-friendly way. Read more.

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The Vermont Arts Council makes every reasonable effort to ensure that the information provided herein is accurate. We cannot assume responsibility for any consequences (good or bad, although we love to hear about the good) experienced by readers as a result of the information they obtain from this newsletter. Readers are advised to confirm time sensitive information such as performance dates, deadlines, and requirements with the sponsoring organization.