Featured Stories

The Vermont Arts Council and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation are partnering to host free grant seeker workshops. Staff from Vermont nonprofit organizations and municipalities interested in applying for facilities grants for the upcoming FY2021 Cultural Facilities or Historic Preservation Grant programs are encouraged to attend. Read More

Are you thinking about applying for an FY2021 Arts Council grant? Attend a workshop between February 24 and March 10. Designed for both new and experienced grant writers, these free workshops focus on Council grant programs opening for application in February: Artist Development and Creation Grants for artists; Arts Impact and Arts Partnership Grants for organizations, municipalities, and schools. Participants will gain an understanding of program guidelines, learn how to construct a competitive application, and have the opportunity to meet and ask questions of Council staff—Meredith Bell, Amy Cunningham, and Dominique Gustin. Read More

Makers can't be stopped from making. But sometimes, they hit significant hurdles when imagining building a business. New entrepreneurs can feel lost, or have trouble creating accountability. Marketing know-how and self-assurance might be in short supply. None of this, however, was apparent at the Holiday Humbug event organized through programs at Generator held December 6. Eight artists vending that evening greeted shoppers with newfound confidence. The cohort sold a diverse selection of work including jewelry, hats, clothing, and knives. They had just completed the Business of Art program—a business boot camp organized by Generator, LaunchVT, and the Center for Women and Enterprise with support from the Vermont Arts Council. Read More

I was invited recently to present with our partners from AARP VT at the national AARP Livable Communities Placemaking Workshop in Denver, Colorado. This was the organization’s first-ever national convening dedicated to highlighting and sharing best practices, insights, and inspiring next steps in placemaking. It was a gathering of AARP staff, community partners, and livability practitioners representing a range of specialties, locations, and perspectives. Read More

Andy Warhol prescribed: “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” Easier said than done. But, Vermont's creative undercurrent remains powerful. Constant output brings art to the surface—to our venues and landscapes—over and over. The Council's Creation Grant cycle rides this wave. As the application opens again in January, the works of last year's grantees are being formed. The art of two grant rounds past has come into being, and is highlighted here, through the words of the artists. Read More

We are delighted to announce that Mary Ruefle will succeed Chard deNiord as Vermont poet laureate beginning October 28, 2019. Nationally acclaimed Vermont author Major Jackson called Mary “one of the best poets in America,” and reflected that “one travels places, inward and outward” through her work. Critic Lisa Beskin of the Boston Review observed “Like John Ashbery and James Tate, Mary Ruefle investigates the multiplicities and frailties of being with an associative inventiveness and a lightness of touch; the purposefulness of her enquiry never eclipses the remarkable beauty of her work.” Committee members commended Mary's originality, imaginative writing, and wit. They agreed that she is a poet “at the height of her powers,” making her nomination as Vermont’s Poet Laureate in 2019 timely and appropriate. Read More