Arts Advocacy Day 2012

This year's Arts Advocacy Day will take place on February 24th at the Vermont State House.  Please save the date and plan to join us for a day of arts advocacy, idea sharing, and celebrating the arts across the state.

Some important notes for attendees:

• Registration is at the Pavilion Auditorium
• If you do not RSVP prior to the event, you MAY need to provide photo identification when you register.
• Parking is limited! While you can not park in lots or spaces designated for state employees or legislators, shuttles are available!

The State House and Pavilion Auditorium are wheelchair accessible.  Please contact us with specific accommodations you need to facilitate your participation in Advocacy Day.  We will make every effort to honor your requests when they are made at least 3 weeks prior to the event.  Questions about accessibility should be addressed to Michele Bailey, ADA/504 Coordinator 802-828-3294 (Voice) Relay calls welcome. (711)

Schedule of Events

NOTE: The Arts Council will be collecting donations of non-perishable food items to be donated to a local foodshelf throughout Arts Advocacy Day.  Please bring a donation with you!

 ** Be sure to check out these two exhibits while you’re at Arts Advocacy Day!

"Vermont’s Working Landscape", a show of works by three contemporary artists, is sponsored by the Vermont Arts Council. It includes paintings by Heidi Broner, works in various media by Kathleen Kolb and black and white photography by Leslie Bartlett. The show illustrates ways in which many Vermonters continue to make a living by working the land and serving as stewards of our state’s renowned landscapes. Vermont State House Cafeteria Gallery.   Hours: Mon & Fri 8 am - 5 pm, Tues - Thurs, 8 am - 8 pm.

“Sound Proof” is an exhibit of black and white photography celebrates the work of Matthew Thorsen, the go-to photographer for Burlington-area bands during the 1990s. Thorsen took hundreds of portrait, newspaper and magazine photos, effectively chronicling the local music scene of the era. The Governor’s Gallery is the final venue for this show as it concludes a state-wide tour.  The Governor’s Gallery – 5th Floor, Pavilion Building.  Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  A photo ID is required for admittance.

About the Workshops

“Building a Better Safety Net” - Tips and Tools for Emergency Planning
Presented by Craig Nutt, Program Director, CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists’ Emergency Resources)

The widespread flooding in Vermont resulting from Tropical Storm Irene has made us all keenly aware of our vulnerability to emergencies. Yet, you may not know that an organization that is spearheading a national effort to build a better safety net for artists and arts organizations is headquartered in Montpelier, VT. Craig Nutt, Director of Programs for CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists’ Emergency Resources) will tell us about emergency preparedness and recovery resources that are designed for artists and arts organizations, lead a discussion on how artists and arts organizations in the state have been coping with the aftermath of Irene, and discuss ways artists and arts organizations can contribute to recovery.  Craig will be joined by Rick Barron, Technical Director for New England Youth Theatre and Jeremy Ayers, ceramic artist from Waterbury to discuss how they prepared for and survived the effects of Irene.

Since 2010, CERF+ has been developing training opportunities and teaching tools on artists’ emergency planning and business insurance.   These programs are designed to help arts professionals, administrators, consultants, teaching artists and faculty—incorporate these topics in professional practice and professional development programs, technical assistance and counseling activities for artists.

Craig Nutt joined the CERF+ staff in 2006. As a furniture maker, sculptor, and arts activist, Craig’s multi-faceted experience provides him firsthand understanding of the many ways that artists pursue their careers. In addition, Craig has been active with numerous arts organizations including: the Furniture Society, the Board of Directors of Tennesseans for the Arts, the Artists’ Council of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, and most recently serving as interim executive director of the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists (TACA). Craig lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

“Beyond the Numbers: Measuring the Social Impact of the Arts”
Presented by Pam Korza, co-Director, Animating Democracy, a Program of Americans for the Arts. 

“Beyond the Numbers: Measuring the Social Impact of the Arts” The impact of the arts is often assessed based on their intrinsic value, effects on learning and personal growth, and economic benefits. We also witness the power of the arts to build community, broaden public voice, enhance public understanding of complex and often divisive issues, and motivate people to get involved in issues that affect their daily lives. Arts practitioners are typically overwhelmed by the prospect of measuring these kinds of social or civic outcomes. Through stories of impact and evaluation from Animating Democracy’s Arts & Civic Engagement Impact Initiative, learn about setting realistic expectations of social outcomes that arts practitioners and their partners can reasonably gauge to know what difference they’re making. Hear how artists and arts organizations have integrated evaluative thinking into their practices in order to improve their work and make the case for the arts as contributors to community well being and social impact.

“Beyond the Numbers Part 2: Dipping Your Toes in Assessing Social Impact of the Arts"  Building on the morning’s introduction to measuring the social impact of the arts, this session gets to the ground level of assessing social effects of arts and civic engagement projects and programs.  Participants will walk through an evaluation plan and methods for Art At Work, a multi-year initiative of artist Marty Pottenger and the City of Portland, ME.  Art At Work seeks to improve municipal government through strategic art projects between artists, city departments, unions, elected officials, and the community. We’ll work with a tool designed to help you systematically define outcomes and indicators that provide evidence of concern to targeted stakeholders and opinion leaders, as well as strategies for data collection and communication of results.

Pam Korza co-directs Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts that inspires, informs, promotes, and connects arts and culture as potent contributors to community, civic, and social change.  She co-wrote Civic Dialogue, Arts & Culture: Findings from Animating Democracy, and the Arts & Civic Engagement Tool Kit. She co-edited Critical Perspectives: Writings on Art & Civic Dialogue, as well as the five-book Case Studies from Animating Democracy.  She has consulted and offered workshops and presentations on the principles and practices of arts and civic engagement for artists, cultural organizations, funders, and at cross-sector gatherings across the country as well as at colleges and universities. Pam previously worked with the Arts Extension Service (AES) at the University of Massachusetts, a national service organization that promotes community development through the arts. While at AES, she coordinated the National Public Art Policy Project in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Arts, which culminated in the publication Going Public: A field guide to developments in art in public places, a publication she co-wrote and edited. She also directed the New England Film & Video Festival.