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Working to advance and preserve the arts at the center of Vermont communities.
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 WHAT IS IT?
Art Fits Vermont is a statewide community arts project open to all Vermonters, and modeled on the Arts Council's 2006 Palettes of Vermont project.
Beginning in May 2008, the Council will distribute 11,000 wood and 50,000 paper puzzle pieces free of charge to individuals, arts organizations, schools and community groups. The goal is to encourage Vermonters to create, connect and celebrate the arts.
There are no "rules" for participation in Art Fits Vermont. Organizations and communities decide how to use this opportunity to benefit local needs or interests. Many will showcase puzzle pieces at festivals, exhibits and local events. Some will sell or auction the art to benefit a community cause or program. Visit the Vermont Arts Calendar for a list of upcoming Art Fits Vermont events.
HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?
Order your FREE puzzle pieces today!
If you’ve already ordered puzzle pieces, you’ll be contacted at the beginning of May with a delivery date and location. If you have an event planned in May 2008, contact us and we’ll expedite delivery.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The Arts Council only requires two things of Art Fits Vermont participants:
1) GET REGISTERED. Once you have a wood puzzle piece in hand, it is important that you let us know you are taking part. You can mail in the post card attached to your puzzle piece or register online. This information is necessary to count participants and to keep you informed of Art Fits Vermont events and opportunities to display your puzzle piece. We promise we won't share your contact information! (Registration is not necessary for paper puzzle pieces.)
2) LIST YOUR ART FITS EVENTS IN THE VERMONT ARTS CALENDAR. A special "Art Fits Vermont" category has been added to the Vermont Arts Calendar to highlight puzzle-related events. Use the calendar to promote meetings, calls to artists, exhibits, auctions and other activities by selecting the "Art Fits Vermont" category. If you're new to the Vermont Arts Calendar, here's how to enter your events.
If you would like the Arts Council to consider attending your community event with our ArtMobile, display of puzzle pieces and craft tables, you must be listed in the Arts Calendar. Note that the Council will not be able to attend every Art Fits Vermont event listed but will visit as many communities as possible during the length of the project.
UPCOMING ARTMOBILE VISITS:
WHEN DOES IT START?
Art Fits Vermont events will begin in May 2008 and continue through 2009. The statewide celebration, PuzzlePalooza, will take place during the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration in July 2009.
MORE INFORMATION:
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| » ADD YOUR ART FITS VERMONT EVENT TO THE VERMONT ARTS CALENDAR |
The Vermont Arts Calendar is the Council's FREE, comprehensive database of arts and cultural events in the state - indeed, the only events database that covers the regions of the entire state.
It is dynamic, allows users to plan and save travel itineraries, and includes complete mapping features to event locations as well as information on nearby restaurants, accommodations, and other facilities.
The Vermont Arts Calendar will allow us to keep others informed of your Art Fits Vermont events.
Click here to enter an event, or register for an account.
VERY IMPORTANT: When you enter your event in the Vermont Arts Calendar, be sure to add "Art Fits Vermont" as your event category (you may choose up to 3 category options).
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| » LOBBY YOUR LEGISLATORS FOR ART FITS VERMONT FUNDING |
 The Vermont Arts Council is requesting a $90,000 appropriation to fund community participation in Art Fits Vermont. This appropriation will allow the Arts Council to create a grant program to support community organizations planning Art Fits events. It will also leverage similar funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The cultural organizations, community groups, schools and social service agencies that took part in Palettes of Vermont reaped numerous benefits. Most raised valuable funds for local projects through sales of the art and many towns saw a boost in local tourism. The legislative appropriation the Arts Council is requesting will fund a grant program to help organizations participating in Art Fits Vermont capitalize on the community and economic development opportunities the project presents.
The National Endowment for the Arts has increased its support to the Vermont Arts Council by $103,000. This increase requires a 1:1 state match. The Governor has offered a $13,000 increase so we need your help convincing the legislature to allocate $90,000 more. The Arts Council will use the combined state and federal funding as follows:
- $90,000 in grants to support community organizations taking part in Art Fits Vermont.
- $50,000 to restore community arts organizations project grant support which has suffered from cuts from previous years
- $40,000 to support Local Arts Service Organization Grant
Contact your legislators today! Phone, write, e-mail or stop them in the grocery store or at the gas pump. Make your message personal. Tell them about your interest in having your community take part in Art Fits Vermont. Share an experience or tell a story demonstrating the benefit of the project to your community or even specific individuals. Be persuasive in explaining how this funding will make a difference. Ask your legislator to share your message with the appropriate committee.
The request for Art Fits Vermont funding will be considered by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees:
Senate Appropriations Committee 2007-2008
House Appropriations Committee 2007-2008
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| » PROJECT BACKGROUND FROM PALETTES TO PUZZLES |
The statistics alone were impressive: nearly 40,000 Vermonters from 247 towns took part in the Palettes of Vermont project. In 2006, the Vermont Arts Council distributed 7,000 wood and 30,000 paper palettes to 180 organizations and 145 schools. As a result, about 280 palette-related events took place across the state and the sale of palette art raised more than $300,000 for Vermont communities.
Beyond the level of participation or even the body of work that was created, Palettes of Vermont demonstrated the significant community and economic impact of a successful statewide arts project.
For 2008-09, the Arts Council is creating a project that will take this concept to the next level. Piece by piece, ART fits VERMONT will (literally) make a connection between the arts and community and economic development across the state. By partnering with the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, ART fits VERMONT will draw visitors to Vermont communities from well beyond the state’s borders.
The Arts Council will broadly distribute 8,000 wood and 50,000 paper puzzle pieces but how they are used will be left to the participating communities. Community events will begin in summer 2008 and continue through 2009. Money generated by and for the project will stay with the organizations and communities that raise it.
A number of puzzle pieces will also be given to artists in New York State, Quebec and possibly France. The culminating event, puzzlePALOOZA, will be held in conjunction with the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration in July 2009. Puzzle pieces created in Vermont and the other regions will form a massive visual display signifying the creativity, history and lake that unites us all.
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| » PROJECT TIMELINE |
May – December 2008:
- Distribute puzzle pieces, tool kits, marketing materials
- Events take place in communities across the state
- Broadly promote puzzle related events taking part across the state
- Visit community events with displays of selected puzzle art
January – December 2009:
- Host puzzle exhibit in Council’s Spotlight Gallery Organize PuzzlePalooza in July in conjunction with Lake Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration
- Visit community events with displays of selected puzzle art (potentially visiting New York and Quebec LCQC events)
January 2010: Project finale at Vermont State House at Arts Lobby Day
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