Featured Stories

Close to twenty boys and girls gather in the cafeteria of the St. Johnsbury School. It's 2:30. Some finish a school lunch, others work in books or on pages of staff paper. In a few minutes, they’ll move to a classroom to play their violins as an ensemble. Learning music this way is a cornerstone of El Sistema, the program that inspired the beginnings of EPIC Music. Free violin instruction is offered after school Monday-Thursday. Read More

The Vermont Arts Council, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, and the Preservation Trust of Vermont are partnering to host three workshops in March. Anyone interested in applying for a facilities grant through either the Cultural Facilities or Historic Preservation Grant programs is encouraged to attend one of the sessions. This is also an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Preservation Trust’s programs. Read More

Vermont’s three most northeastern counties, named the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) back in 1949, make up the state’s most rural and least wealthy region. Therefore, perhaps more than any other region, the Kingdom has had to rely on an unusually rich—some might call it quirky—type of ingenuity and craftsmanship within an equally rich natural environment that is treasured and protected. These factors made the perfect backdrop for an influx of well-educated back-to-the-landers in the 1970s. Leaving 9-5 jobs in the cities and migrating to Vermont, they brought communal and environmental values and artisanal skills that matched and built upon those of many of the long-term Vermont residents. All this gave rise to the Kingdom's creative sector. Read More

Vermont Art Guide Editor Ric Kasini Kadour: "Vermont Art Guide started Artists to Watch last year as a way of taking the pulse of the state’s art scene. This year, we refined the project a little and recruited ten curators to each select one artist and tell us why they were on their radar. Some reached far and identified an artist who they would like to work with but haven’t yet had the opportunity to do so. Others went for an artist from their own organization or gallery who they felt deserved special recognition. Some chose artists for what they have accomplished and others chose artists they felt had great potential and the were on the cusp of doing something great. The ten artists featured here are making remarkable contributions to Vermont art. It is by no means an exhaustive list but a wonderful place to start." Read More

During her sophomore year in college, then eighteen-year-old Rebecca Nase Chomyn showed up to her first welding class in a skirt and flip flops. That was the day they were doing a demo of plasma cutting. “Basically you’re shooting fire toward the ground as you cut metal,” said Chomyn, who graduated from Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, NY, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in sculpture. “And I had flip flops on! I never did that again.” Although her wardrobe choices weren’t great, her metal work was awesome. Read More

THRIVE! was a unique community art celebration presented by Burlington High School students taking part in the new Burlington City & Lake Semester program (BCL) in collaboration with Vermont artist Mary Lacy. The opening on December 12 exceeded all expectations. The students' work was looped, then projected in giant scale on the North facade of the Old North End (O.N.E.) Community Center. The result was striking and beautiful. Or as one student, Isabel, put it in her journal the next day, “It was majestic.” Subsequent showings were hosted at Burlington High School (outdoors), Arts Riot (indoors) and Burlington’s Highlight New Year's Eve celebration (indoors). Read More