Category: Grantee Stories

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

Creative placemaking is a growing part of Vermont’s landscape and language. The term, well-defined by Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa in this white paper, refers to projects where “partners from public, private, nonprofit, and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities.” Creative placemaking emphasizes strategic action by cross-sector partners, a place-based orientation, and a core of arts and cultural activities. Read More

“It. Took. Hours.” —Gerry Whitaker , social studies teacher at Miller’s Run School referring to this stop-frame animation made by his students. Miller's Run is a PreK-8 school in Caledonia County. The entire school population, coming mostly from the towns of Sheffield and Wheelock, is about one hundred and twenty. An Artist in Schools Grant from the Arts Council supported, in part, ten days of work with Teaching Artist Evan Premo.The residency was a part of Gerry's and his sixth, seventh, and eighth graders' exploration of place and community; a unit called Thrive or Survive. Read More

“There truly is room for everyone under the big top.” Jennifer Carlo, executive director at Circus Smirkus posits that the history of the circus is a story of inclusion. “Circus really is all about celebrating differences and bringing it all into a cohesive whole.” Often performers excluded from more traditional art forms have been recognized and given a home. Circus, as she describes it, is built on “bringing different talents and different people together to create something that is just magical.” Jen is guiding the organization, with strong support from the board and their newly formed Diversity and Inclusion Committee, in renewed efforts to expand their residency program. The work stems from intentional strategic decisions. From a birds-eye view to feet on the ground, personnel at Smirkus strive persistently to eliminate barriers. Read More

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

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