In May 2005, renowned artist Warren Kimble proposed that the Arts Council sponsor a statewide arts project. The idea was to give people of all ages, interests and abilities the opportunity to create, showcase and celebrate art. "Let's give everyone in Vermont an artist palette and tell them to have fun with it," Warren said. Thus, Palettes of Vermont was born.
The idea that became the Palettes of Vermont project emerged over sandwiches at Café Provence in Brandon. Arts Council Trustee Warren Kimble, Board Chair Irwin Gelber and Executive Director Alex Aldrich left their meeting with more than full bellies—they were bursting with enthusiasm for a project Warren had proposed. The concept was to give people of all ages, interests and abilities the opportunity to create, showcase and celebrate art. “Let’s give everyone in Vermont an artist palette and tell them to have fun with it,” Warren said.
So with enthusiastic sponsorship from the Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association, Chittenden Bank, Casella Waste Systems and NRG Systems, the Arts Council offered 7,000 maple artist palettes and 30,000 paper palettes free of charge to any Vermonter who wanted to take part. In a short time, about 6% of the state’s population had 12”x16” palettes in hand and went to work using every artistic medium imaginable. Soon fantastic pieces of palette-shaped art began appearing in schools, libraries, community centers, galleries and downtown storefronts across the state.
The Arts Council couldn’t have foreseen the depth of creativity or the community connections that would result. The statistics alone were impressive: nearly 40,000 Vermonters (6% of the population) took part, representing more than 150 organizations and 145 schools from every corner of the state.
St. Albans and Bristol built gigantic palettes to display on their town greens. Brandon, Bennington and Randolph made slightly smaller palettes to display in their downtowns. Woodstock made palette pins and gave them as prizes in a scavenger hunt called Palette Quest. Communities were formed beyond geographic borders as people bonded in the kinship of taking part in the project. PalettePalooza brought more than 2,000 people and palettes to the State House lawn for a gathering of this creative community. Congressman Bernard Sanders commented on the project, saying “This is, truly, bringing art to the people, encouraging its practice at what in the political world is called the ‘grassroots.’ ”
Beyond the level of participation or even the body of work that was created, the significance was the number of connections that were made. It brought people, communities and the entire state together through a shared artistic experience. It uncovered a need for creative expression and the desire to be part of something larger than oneself.
Click here to read the Palettes of Vermont project summary.