Dear Friends of Vermont Arts,
This year, Vermont’s artists and cultural organizations continued to show their strength, their resilience, and their ability to bring together our communities during the most challenging of times.
Yet even in change and challenge, there is joy and strength. When devastating flooding hit the region, Vermont’s arts community came together, raising funds to support Vermont artists and organizations who most needed them. And artists across the state are creating opportunities for communities to gather and to connect to the most complex parts of our shared humanity.
In May, the Arts Council welcomed its new executive director, Susan Evans McClure. Susan is leading our work to expand access to cultural opportunities for all Vermonters and build the capacity of creative organizations and artists to do their best work in ever-evolving circumstances.
In this annual report, you’ll see just a snapshot of the many ways that our creative community is at the heart of Vermont’s efforts to build for the future, including:
- The substantial impact that the Creative Futures Grant program is having on Vermont’s creative sector, as nonprofit and for-profit creative businesses work to recover from the pandemic
- Our Head Start Arts Integration Program using the arts to connect students in Bennington to concepts of engineering and math, all through hands-on art making that also feeds their spirits
- A community-created mural at Johnson Elementary bringing love to the community, through the arts and creative expression
- A global music residency program in Barnard bringing the community together while connecting them to our broader world
Thank you to the many supporters who believe in the power of the arts to transform our communities. This work takes all of us coming together to build the future that we want to see. Thank you for being part of that future.
With gratitude,
Cover photo: The “wood” element showcased in stained glass by Thea Alvin and painted wood by Meg Reinhold in one of the five, 14-foot timber frame structures in the “Elements of Shelter” exhibit in the Vermont Arts Council’s Sculpture Garden through 2025. “Elements of Shelter” features original works in wood, metal, and glass by faculty and staff members of Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield. Read more about the exhibit at vermontartscouncil.org/sculpture-garden. Photo: Pamela Tetteh for Vermont Arts Council
Across Vermont
A total of $8,009,602 in Arts Council funding was awarded in FY2023. Grants were awarded to 85 individuals and 201 organizations and businesses in every county and 100 towns across Vermont.
The larger the circle on the map, the greater the number of grantees in that location. Visit the map online for an interactive experience.
Building Back Together
The new “Elements of Shelter” exhibit at the Vermont Arts Council’s Sculpture Garden bears witness to twin crises of our time: housing and climate change. Among the sculptures are five towering timber frames that wend along the winding path, each holding exquisite stained-glass pieces illustrating five key elements: earth, wood, metal, water, and fire.
The “wood” element graces our cover, and artist Thea Alvin (pictured) prepares Council grounds in May for the exhibit. Working with material resources that have been used throughout history to create shelter and provide sustenance, the exhibit is meant to teach, engage in conversation, and inspire people to create a better, more sustainable world, according to the artists’ statement. How ironic then that July’s historic floods very nearly swept the exhibit away. While the towers withstood the deluge, one piece, the “Rinse and Repeat” bench, came unhinged and floated down Route 2 only to be rescued a day later.
How do we build back stronger? At the Arts Council, our year has been marked by many new and exciting changes, helping us to set the stage for building the kind of Vermont we wish to see – one with a creative sector that is resilient, inclusive, and ready to lead us into a brighter future.
Photo: Meg Reinhold
Supporting Bright Futures
The $9 million funding that was allocated in the 2022 legislative session to support creative sector pandemic relief made a meaningful difference for numerous creative organizations across Vermont in FY23. The Creative Futures grant program distributed up to $200,000 in support to 233 entities, both nonprofit and for-profit, marking the first time in the Council’s history that grant funds could be distributed to the full creative sector. The program was made possible through American Rescue Plan Act funding distributed to Vermont.
The program was open to all Vermont-based creative economy nonprofits and for-profit businesses including sole proprietors that could demonstrate economic harm caused by or exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among those receiving funding was The MINT makerspace in North Clarendon (pictured). As a makerspace, The MINT depends on in-person gatherings for creative experiences. When The MINT had to close its doors during Covid-19, access to tools and materials wasn’t the only thing lost; the space’s community of makers and artists could no longer engage with each other. While recovering from the financial stress of lost connections, time, and resources, the Creative Futures grant provided stability and facilitated The MINT’s ability to re-connect and re-engage with Rutland’s creative community. Executive Director Kimberly Griffin noted that the grant helped “soothe some of the frayed ends of our financial nerves.”
ZPOTs, a pottery store in Brattleboro, also received a Creative Futures Grant. When the pandemic hit, the business was forced to close for an extended period, as did its distributors – small shops, boutiques, and galleries. “The creative futures grant helps us to continue to offer well-paying jobs for local artisans and create art that supports and inspires our every day,” said co-owner Noelle VanHendrick.
Sole proprietors also received funding, like Una Lee who runs a design studio called And Also Too in Johnson. “The pandemic took a huge toll on our well-being,” Lee said. “The inequities that Covid exposed and exacerbated hit us both personally — as a team of people from Black, racialized, immigrant, and disability communities — and professionally — as a studio working within these same communities. And like many other creative sector organizations, the cancellation of all our in-person engagements was financially devastating. This grant has helped us breathe a sigh of relief.”
Photo: The MINT
Illuminating Artistic Paths
“If the work is going to be good, I believe you have to put yourself into it.” So says award-winning author Kekla Magoon of Montpelier, who received an FY23 Creation Grant to support her new memoir project. And so it is in the arts–everything begins with the individual artist, and the Council works to expand access to arts opportunities so people of all backgrounds can bring their full selves to creative work. In FY23, we supported individual artists like Kekla Magoon and like Angelica Aguilera (pictured left), who received an Artist Development Grant to hire videographers for her musical storytelling project, “La Femenina Divina.”
The storytelling project from Aguilera, who lives in Waterford, fuses poetry, soulful beats, and arrangements by an all-woman, Latina orchestra. Aguilera hired professional videographer Miguel Martinez to document the writing process, behind the scenes of album production, and dialogues between the women on what the work means to them.
“After making this video, two different journalists from [National Public Radio] reached out about our project, we negotiated a better deal with our record label, and we received over 500 new followers on social media,” said Aguilera. “This funding exceeded our expectations, as it furthered our reach and artistic practice drastically in a short amount of time.”
Kekla Magoon's new memoir will be composed of personal essays about significant non-romantic relationships. Acclaimed for her books for children and young adults, the grant has allowed Magoon to experiment with writing in a new genre and for a new audience. “Part of why I applied for the grant was that I wanted to try things that I haven’t done before,” said Magoon. “I don’t always have time to experiment. I don’t always have time to expand.”
Multidisciplinary artist Jonathan Gitelson of Brattleboro also found the Creation Grant allowed him to “dream a little bigger.” Gitelson’s grant supported the creation of a new series of interactive installations for the “Sonic Blanket” project in Brattleboro. “I would’ve pursued this project regardless, but I would’ve been much more limited in what I could achieve,” said Gitleson. “My practice has permanently shifted from this experience. I have more ideas about how to engage with audiences, and I look forward to creating future public programming using the knowledge I gained this past summer.”
Cultivating Creative Places
After working with FY23 Animating Infrastructure Grant recipient Juniper Creative Arts to install a community-created mural at Johnson Elementary School, a school representative said she hoped more people would do these types of activities in their community. Why? “Because it brings nothing but love.” Cultivating creative placemaking means bringing more love into Vermont’s communities, and in FY23, the Council supported placemaking projects like the Johnson Elementary School mural and the installation of nature-inspired art by Carol Langstaff of Sharon and Kathryn Wiegers of Rutland at the Vermont Department of Mental Health River Valley Therapeutic Residence in Essex.
Brandon-based Juniper Creative Arts has led 11 community mural projects around Vermont since 2017. A Black and Dominican family collective consisting of parents Jennifer Herrera Condry and Will Kasso Condry and their daughter Alexa Herrera Condry, they enter schools, neighborhoods, and other communities to facilitate the creation of a unique mural from concept to installation. The Johnson Elementary mural (pictured right) takes inspiration from the school mascot, the Jaguars, and depicts a figure wearing a jaguar pelt emerging from a dark portal into a bright valley.
“The youth wanted a portal with a being coming out of it bringing light to their world,” said Maria Davies of Lamoille North Supervisory Union. “They wanted butterflies, pollinators, in bubbles protected from our environment, they wanted our wonderful life-giving rivers and mountains in their mural. They specifically asked for dandelions, and we created a separate workshop to show them pointillism so they could create their dandelions. We had so many people come out to paint with us on Community Paint Day, it was such a lovely welcoming community day.”
An Art in State Buildings Grant funded the new art installations at the River Valley Therapeutic Residence, a new 16-bed facility designed to feel like a home rather than an institution. Langstaff created a series of 14 nature photographs for the interior common areas. Wiegers created a large-scale forest mural to cover an exterior wall, and an eight-by-eight foot heron mural for another exterior wall.
“The link between the arts and mental health has been well established,” said residence director Troy Parah. “Artwork can have a powerful impact on an environment and one’s experience in that environment which can be instrumental in one’s recovery.”
Taking a Stand
Building new relationships and engaging elected officials about the power of Vermont’s creative sector was a key priority of the Vermont Creative Network during the legislative session.
The session culminated in increased appropriations for the Vermont creative sector, which were widely supported across the legislature. This support demonstrated the role that arts and culture are playing in statewide conversations about economic recovery and community revitalization. Included in these increased appropriations was expanded funding for the Vermont Art in State Buildings program, which has not seen an increase since it was established more than 40 years ago.
Our Creative Sector Day in February was a success, with creative sector supporters testifying in numerous House Committees and sharing with lawmakers the ways in which the arts, culture, and humanities transform individual lives, bolster the economy, and sustain the vibrant community and cultural landscape of our state. Notably, lawmakers learned how Creative Futures pandemic relief funding is helping creative enterprises to rebound and build resiliency as a result of the historic level of investment in Vermont’s creative sector during the 2022 legislative session.
In support of the event, Burlington’s Generator makerspace brought over 100 wood-crafted phone stands for legislators to take home. Each was specially designed with laser cuts of the Vermont Statehouse and other creative elements by two high school students enrolled in Generator’s Digital Modeling & Fabrication program.
“The arts, the humanities, and creativity are all key to helping Vermont to recover from the pandemic and to address the challenges of racism, climate change, and affordability,” read Rep. Stephanie Jerome from resolution H.C.R.28 supporting the state’s creative economy.
“It was inspiring to see the Statehouse filled with creative spirit today. Poets, filmmakers, curators, musicians, designers, and creative sector supporters from around the state turned out to demonstrate how arts, culture, and creativity are a vital part of Vermont’s identity,” said Vermont Arts Council Deputy Director Amy Cunningham.
Creative Sector Day provided an opportunity for legislators to speak with supporters directly, facilitating an open dialogue and a deeper connection between the local creative landscape and state legislators.
Investing in Communities
Arts and culture organizations contribute to the economic, social and cultural vibrancy of Vermont by providing arts services to communities for people of all ages across the state, such as the drumming workshop held at Tunbridge Central School. Sanba Zao (pictured) was part of the Global Music Residency program offered by BarnArts Center for the Arts in Barnard, which was supported by an Arts Project Grant.
Among other projects supported by Arts Project Grants were a free after-school therapeutic theater program for children at Eden Central School, a Creative Aging Celebration highlighting the artistic work of older adults in North Central Vermont, a youth-led storytelling performance in South Burlington focused on narratives of African refugees, and the third annual Cabot Village 12th Night Celebration.
In total, 23 cultural organizations were awarded Arts Project Grants, which range from $1,000 to $4,000 in funding.
Arts Council grants also helped to fund multi-year operating costs for organizations, such as Middlebury New Filmmaker Festival in Leicester, Northern Stage in White River Junction, the Flynn Center for Performing Arts in Burlington, and Inclusive Arts Vermont.
Cultural Facilities Grants provided critical funding to enhance, create, or expand the capacity of an existing building offering cultural activities for the public. Up to $30,000 in capital improvements were available to town halls, theaters, library buildings, museums, community centers, and other public spaces where Vermonters gather for arts and cultural activities. Qualifying improvements include bringing public buildings into compliance with fire codes, supporting the installation of new HVAC or ventilation systems, and increasing accessibility through elevators, assistive listening systems, and ramps, among others.
One funded project was the construction and installation of custom exhibit cases and associated lighting for displaying American Abenaki artifacts at the Vermont Indigenous Heritage Center, located at the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington. The project was part of a larger building renovation, designed to enhance community gatherings, ceremonies, educational programs, and workshops.
Among other organizations receiving Cultural Facilities Grants were the Ruth Stone House in Goshen, the Barre Historical Society, and town libraries in Randolph, Thetford, and Windsor.
Photo: Myra Hudson
Prioritizing Art Access for All
Addressing systemic racial and cultural inequities in the arts and culture sector remains central to the Council’s inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) goals. In FY23, we held staff readings and discussions on subjects including power dynamics in nonprofit funding and going beyond land acknowledgements. Meetings of our IDEA Advisory Network focused on equity in Council communications and inclusive governance and strategic planning. A special Council grant supported professional development activities for the Clemmons Family Farm’s Vermont African-American/African Diaspora Artists’ Network (VAAADAN).
The Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte is one of the few African-American-owned farms in Vermont, and it also operates as a nonprofit cultural heritage center offering support to Vermont’s African-American and African-diaspora artists and culture bearers with programs like VAAADAN. With support from our special grant, the Clemmons Farm provided VAAADAN member artists with photoshoots to create professional headshots for their portfolios, assistance in writing artist bios, and practice recording on-camera interviews. The recorded interviews were produced for the “Artists on the Farm” video series which describes the artists’ experiences of the photoshoot, how they will use the photos, and what the Clemmons Farm means to them.
The Council’s IDEA Advisory Network gathers artists, cultural leaders, and community organizers from across the state twice a year to discuss and advise on special topics. In FY23, we consulted the group on diversity and equity in Council communications, leading us to retire the longstanding “I am a Vermont Artist” series so that we can focus on diverse representation in all our artist interviews and feature stories, rather than siloing it into a single series. The group also helped us prepare to begin our strategic planning process by discussing equitable nonprofit board structures and meaningful ways to include constituents in strategic planning.
Michael Dyke plays music on the Clemmons Family Farm. Photo: SC Visuals, courtesy of Clemmons Family Farm, 2023
Expanding Classroom Walls
Arts experiences expand the walls of school classrooms by connecting students with local artists and arts organizations while fostering creative, critical thinking, social, and emotional skills. In Bennington, through a Head Start Arts Integration Grant to Vermont Arts Exchange (VAE), artist Dana Schildkraut worked with teachers to develop a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) curriculum with a focus on how they interconnect. Students enjoyed stories, songs, and drip painting (pictured) inspired by the forces of gravity. VAE’s multi-week residencies served seven classrooms in both Bennington and Rutland Counties.
Among the 23 school residencies this year through the Artists in Schools program, choral students at Burlington High School worked with opera singer Sarah Cullins of the Vermont Youth Opera to learn, modernize, recreate, and perform a unique version of the 17th century opera “Dido and Aeneas.”
“Without a project that reached them in their own classroom during the school day, most of these students would likely never have chosen to participate in an opera or ever believed that they could understand one, enjoy one or sing one! Their pride was palpable (particularly in the unusually fancy concert attire that the chorus members donned for performances) and I believe that the breaking-down of any stereotype, be it artistic, social, economic, or cultural, is a step towards the open-mindedness and acceptance the world so desperately needs,” Cullins reported.
Another teaching residency supported by an Artists in Schools grant was a project at Wolcott Elementary where students created functional ceramic bowls inspired by visits to a conserved forest in their community. The project culminated in a community luncheon attended by 50 people who were invited to view the bowls and enjoy soup prepared by the school’s head chef. “This residency, with its gallery show and soup luncheon, provided an excellent entry point for student families to engage and see the good work happening within school walls,” said project coordinator Annie Houston.
Among other teaching residencies, students participated in an Indie Music Bootcamp at Burlington Tech Center, printmaking at Capstone’s Brook Street High School in Barre, and a waterways map-making project at Academy School in Brattleboro.
In Closing
We hope you’ve enjoyed this snapshot of our journey through FY2023. The support we were able to provide sustains the vital creative work of thousands of artists, performers, and arts education programs like the one hosted by the Vermont Arts Exchange in Bennington. The organization was awarded a Head Start Arts Integration Grant to support a partnership with Bennington and Rutland County Head Starts through multi-week residencies in a total of seven classrooms. The summer program concluded with a joyous community celebration. Otha Day (pictured) led an interactive concert in which students learned various rhythms with their teachers and family members. “I use drums to help people talk about sensitive issues like race, racism, gender violence… We use drums to connect people and then make it easier to feel like we have a relationship and then talk,” Day told the Bennington Banner.
Photo: Stewart Cairns, Bennington Banner
Grantees
Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023)
Animating Infrastructure Grants support community projects that integrate art with infrastructure improvements.
Albany Community Trust, Albany, $15,000
Fairlee Community Arts, Fairlee, $3,000
Lamoille North Supervisory Union, Hyde Park, $10,000
Revitalizing Waterbury, Waterbury, $15,000
Town of Worcester, Worcester, $15,000
Vergennes Partnership, Vergennes, $15,000
Vermont River Conservancy, Montpelier, $15,000
Art in State Buildings Grants promote the work of Vermont artists and enrich the state’s cultural landscape through public art installations.
Vermont Department of Mental Health Recovery Residence, Essex
Design Grants
Carol Langstaff, Sharon, $1,000
Kathryn Wiegers, Rutland, $1,000
Fabrication Grants
Carol Langstaff, Sharon, $15,000
Kathryn Wiegers, Rutland, $22,000
Artist Development Grants support professional development for artists at all stages of their careers.
Matt Aeberhard, Lyndon, $2,000
Angelica Aguilera, Waterford, $2,000
Wilder Alison, Milton, $2,000
Gordon Auchincloss, St. Johnsbury, $2,000
Carling Berkhout, Dorset, $2,000
Christal Brown, Middlebury, $2,000
Jennifer Brown, Montpelier, $1,800
Gail Carrigan, Montpelier, $320
Joseph Castillo, Bennington, $1,439
Markeith Chavous, Essex Junction, $1,000
Sophia DiMatteo, Brattleboro, $260
Nathaniel Eddy, South Burlington, $1,000
David Feurzeig, Huntington, $2,000
Nye Ffarrabas, Brattleboro, $2,000
William Forchion, Brattleboro, $1,600
Lucia Gagliardone, Sharon, $1,310
Adam Glazer, Middlebury, $1,000
JuanCarlos Gonzalez, Bridgewater Corners, $2,000
Estela González, Middlebury, $2,000
Jarad Greene, White River Junction, $2,000
Cleopatra Griffin, Chester, $706
Erica Heilman, East Calais, $2,000
Kelly Holt, Burlington, $650
Patty Hudak, Underhill, $1,500
Jake Jemas, Burlington, $2,000
Andreas John, Calais, $2,000
Carla Kimball, Norwich, $1,000
Daniel Kruglak, Winooski, $1,200
Elizabeth Kurylo, Corinth, $1,000
Alan Larsen, Burlington, $400
Jen Lazar, Burlington, $1,000
Katherine Leung, Milton, $2,000
GennaRose Nethercott, Brattleboro, $2,000
Janice Obuchowski, Middlebury, $1,886
Rik Palieri, Hinesburg, $500
Jamal Reid, Warren, $1,908
Amber Roberts, Arlington, $800
Hanna Satterlee, Burlington, $2,000
Andric Severance, Burlington, $2,000
Moira Smiley, Bristol, $2,000
Ian Steinberg, Winooski, $1,586
Angela Talbert, South Barre, $2,000
Katrina Vahedi, Hardwick, $600
Misuk Weaver, Underhill, $2,000
Pamela Wilson, Barre, $1,500
Artists in Schools Grants help schools develop in-class residency relationships with Vermont artists.
Academy School, Brattleboro, $3,000
Bakersfield Elementary Middle School, Bakersfield, $3,000
Burlington School District, Burlington, $3,000
Burlington Technical Center, Burlington, $2,650
Burlington Technical Center, Burlington, $2,780
Capstone Community Action, Barre, $3,000
Champlain Elementary School, Burlington, $3,000
East Burke School, East Burke, $3,000
Hannaford Career Center, Middlebury, $900
Hinesburg Community School, Hinesburg, $3,000
Horizons Alternative Program, Burlington, $2,250
Hyde Park Elementary School, Hyde Park, $2,650
Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler, Burlington, $3,000
JAM Junction Arts and Media, White River Junction, $1,840
Montessori School of Central Vermont, Barre, $3,000
Mount Abraham Union Middle/High School, Bristol, $1,100
Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District, Jericho, $2,700
OnTOP Alternative Program, Burlington, $2,250
Tamim Academy of Vermont, Burlington, $2,590
The INSPIRE School, Brattleboro, $3,000
The Schoolhouse Learning Center, South Burlington, $1,500
Waits River Valley School, East Corinth, $3,000
Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, Brattleboro, $2,210
Winooski Middle School, Winooski, $3,000
Wolcott Elementary School, Wolcott, $3,000
Woodbury Elementary School, Woodbury, $3,000
Arts Impact Grants support nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and schools in their efforts to add vibrancy to Vermont communities and provide general operating funds to arts nonprofits.
Operating Grants
Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, $3,000
Lyric Theatre Company, South Burlington, $2,000
Main Street Arts, Saxtons River, $3,000
SafeArt, Chelsea, $4,000
Saint Albans Museum, St. Albans, $3,000
Sundog Poetry Center, Johnson, $1,500
The Aphasia Choir of Vermont, Milton, $2,000
The Hatch, Brattleboro, $2,000
The MINT Rutland Makerspace, Rutland, $2,000
The Outpost Foundation, North Bennington, $3,500
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, $4,000
Project Grants
BarnArts Center for the Arts, Barnard, $4,000
Cabot Arts, Cabot, $4,000
Central Vermont Council on Aging, Barre, $3,000
Fairfield Community Center Association, East Fairfield, $3,210
Lamoille North Supervisory Union, Hyde Park, $3,950
NFI Vermont – Centerpoint, South Burlington, $4,000
Retreat Farm, Brattleboro, $4,000
River Gallery School, Brattleboro, $4,000
Sandglass Theater, Putney, $4,000
Shidaa Projects, Montpelier, $3,500
Untempered Ensemble, Thetford Center, $4,000
Worcester Historical Society, Worcester, $3,340
Arts Partnership Grants support the annual operations of Vermont arts organizations through three-year grants.
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro, $12,600
Brattleboro Music Center, Brattleboro, $10,100
Burlington City Arts, Burlington, $14,400
Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, West Rutland, $7,200
Catamount Arts, St. Johnsbury, $14,400
Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, $11,300
Dorset Theatre Festival, Dorset, $11,300
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, $14,400
Generator, Burlington, $12,600
Inclusive Arts Vermont, St. Albans, $9,000
In-Sight Photography Project, Brattleboro, $5,400
Kingdom County Productions, Barnet, $8,100
Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, Leicester, $5,400
Music-COMP, Duxbury, $5,400
New England Center for Circus Arts, Brattleboro, $14,400
Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, $7,200
Northern Stage Company, White River Junction, $14,400
Paramount Theater, Rutland, $13,000
River Arts of Morrisville, Morrisville, $9,000
Rural ARTS Collaborative, Greensboro, $8,100
Scrag Mountain Music, Marshfield, $5,400
Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, $13,000
T.W. Wood Art Gallery, Montpelier, $5,400
The Current, Stowe, $7,200
Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, $11,300
Vermont Stage Company, Burlington, $7,200
Very Merry Theatre, Burlington, $8,100
Weston Theater Company, Weston, $13,000
Yellow Barn, Putney, $14,400
Young Writers Project, Burlington, $5,400
Creation Grants support the creation of new work by Vermont artists.
Julian Barnett, Burlington, $4,000
Naomi Bindman, North Bennington, $4,000
Dustin Byerly, Montpelier, $4,000
Thomas Dunn, Bennington, $4,000
Leslie Fry, Winooski, $4,000
Jonathan Gitelson, Brattleboro, $4,000
Ariel Goodman, Waterbury Center, $4,000
Renee Greenlee, Burlington, $4,000
Dylan Hausthor, North Bennington, $4,000
Sarah King, Ripton, $4,000
Rebecca Mack, Burlington, $4,000
Kekla Magoon, Montpelier, $4,000
Jennifer McCandless, Burlington, $4,000
Matt Neckers, Eden, $4,000
Mina Nishimura, Bennington, $4,000
Barbara Paulson, Randolph, $4,000
Alyson Perry, Hinesburg, $4,000
Hannah Regier, Athens, $4,000
José Rivera, Pownal, $4,000
Maria Robinson, Barre, $4,000
Lissa Schneckenburger, Brattleboro, $4,000
Gina Stevensen, Burlington, $4,000
Leath Tonino, Ferrisburgh, $4,000
Kota Yamazaki, Bennington, $4,000
Yanyi, Bennington, $4,000
Creative Aging Grants support skill-based instruction alongside opportunities for social engagement and community building in and through the arts for older adults.
AHA Abenaki Helping Abenaki, Shelburne, $4,000
Central Vermont Council on Aging, Barre, $3,600
Chelsea Area Senior Citizens, Chelsea, $2,000
Estey Organ Museum, Brattleboro, $3,675
Lamoille Neighbors, Hyde Park, $3,900
Main Street Arts, Saxtons River, $2,520
Quahog Dance Theatre, St. Johnsbury, $4,000
Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, $4,000
Creative Futures Grants provide aid to creative sector organizations, businesses, and sole proprietors that continue to struggle financially due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
All Heart Inspirations, Burlington, $7,500
Michael Arnowitt, Montpelier, $5,000
ART, etc., Randolph, $5,000
Artisans Hand Craft Gallery, Montpelier, $45,000
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont, Brattleboro, $5,000
Asian Homestyle Cooking, Lyndon, $5,000
Ballet Vermont, Waterbury, $7,500
Barn Opera, Inc., Brandon, $25,000
BarnArts Center for the Arts, Barnard, $15,000
Barre Historical Society, Barre, $7,500
Barre Opera House, Barre, $65,000
Bennington Museum, Bennington, $95,000
Bennington Performing Arts Center, Bennington, $45,000
Big Heavy World, Burlington, $5,000
Bixby Memorial Library, Vergennes, $35,000
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro, $65,000
Brattleboro Music Center, Brattleboro, $75,000
Burlington City Arts, Burlington, $200,000
C.X. Silver Gallery LLC, Brattleboro, $7,500
Michael Caduto, Reading, $5,000
Cambridge Arts Council, Cambridge, $5,000
Cardboard Teck LLC, Montpelier, $5,000
Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, West Rutland, $45,000
Dana Caspersen, Concord, $5,000
Catamount Arts, St. Johnsbury, $162,500
Center for Arts and Learning, Montpelier, $35,000
Center for Cartoon Studies, White River Junction, $112,500
Central Vermont Community Radio Corporation, Plainfield, $25,000
Chaffee Art Center, Rutland, $15,000
Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, $75,000
Circus Smirkus, Greensboro, $200,000
Clemmons Family Farm, Charlotte, $45,000
Community Art Garden, Chester, $5,000
CraftStudies, White River Junction, $25,000
Dana Walrath Studios, South Burlington, $5,000
Danforth Pewterers, Middlebury, $200,000
Dark Shadows Entertainment, Rutland, $5,000
Michael DiBiasio, Shelburne, $5,000
Dorset Theatre Festival, Dorset, $112,500
ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, $200,000
Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, $15,000
Ethan Allen Homestead Museum, Burlington, $7,500
Evan Webster Ink, LLC, Shelburne, $45,000
Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, $137,500
First Proof Press, Brattleboro, $7,500
Florama Jewelry, Burlington, $7,500
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, $200,000
Friends of Hildene, Manchester, $200,000
Friends of the Vermont State House, Montpelier, $5,000
Fusion 802, South Burlington, $25,000
Jeffrey Gale, Strafford, $5,000
Generator, Burlington, $65,000
Grand Isle Art Works, Grand Isle, $7,500
Hardwick Journalism, Inc., Hardwick, $25,000
Harmony Collective-Artist Gallery, LLC, Brattleboro, $7,500
Haskell Free Library, Derby Line, $35,000
Corey Hendrickson, Middlebury, $15,000
Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, $35,000
High Street & Green, Brattleboro, $15,000
Higher Ground, South Burlington, $200,000
Valerie Hird, Burlington, $5,000
Joan Hoffmann, South Royalton, $5,000
In Tandem Arts, Burlington, $5,000
Inclusive Arts Vermont, St. Albans, $25,000
Island Arts, North Hero, $7,500
JAG Productions, White River Junction, $35,000
JAM Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, $55,000
Woody Keppel, Charlotte, $5,000
Kingdom County Productions, Barnet, $45,000
Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Winooski, $35,000
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, $137,500
Lamoille County Players, Hyde Park, $7,500
Latchis Corporation, Brattleboro, $55,000
Una Lee, Johnson, $5,000
Sarah Letteney, Burlington, $5,000
Lines Vermont Studio, South Burlington, $15,000
Lost Nation Theater, Montpelier, $35,000
Lyric Theatre Company, South Burlington, $95,000
Main Street Arts, Saxtons River, $35,000
Marlboro School of Music and Festival, Marlboro, $200,000
Montpelier Mud LLC, Waterbury, $25,000
Naga Bakehouse, Middletown Springs, $5,000
New England Center for Circus Arts, Brattleboro, $112,500
New England Youth Theatre, Brattleboro, $55,000
New Music On The Point, Leicester, $15,000
Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, $25,000
Northern Stage Company, White River Junction, $200,000
Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, $5,000
Opera Company of Middlebury, Middlebury, $25,000
Orleans County Historical Society, Brownington, $25,000
Paramount Theater, Rutland, $162,500
Janice Perry, Ferrisburgh, $5,000
Polar Productions, LLC, Stockbridge, $5,000
Radiate Art Space, Richmond, $5,000
Raq-On Dance, LLC, Springfield, $7,500
Retreat Farm, Brattleboro, $112,500
River Arts of Morrisville, Morrisville, $35,000
River Gallery School, Brattleboro, $45,000
Rokeby Museum, Ferrisburgh, $15,000
Rural ARTS Collaborative, Greensboro, $35,000
Ruth Stone House, Goshen, $5,000
Sage City Symphony Orchestra, Shaftsbury, $5,000
Saint Albans Museum, St. Albans, $15,000
Sandglass Theater, Putney, $25,000
Savoy Theater, Montpelier, $25,000
Tara Lynn Scheidet, Sutton, $5,000
Lissa Schneckenburger, Brattleboro, $5,000
Seven Stars Arts Center, Sharon, $7,500
Shelburne Craft School, Shelburne, $25,000
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, $200,000
Sign Design LLC, Montpelier, $15,000
Silo Music LLC, South Burlington, $15,000
South End Arts and Business Association, Burlington, $15,000
Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, $55,000
St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, St. Johnsbury, $35,000
St. Johnsbury Band Ltd., St. Johnsbury, $5,000
Stage 33 Live, LTD, Bellows Falls, $5,000
Stone Revival LLC, Stockbridge, $5,000
T.W. Wood Art Gallery, Montpelier, $35,000
The Current, Stowe, $65,000
The Foundry Workshop, Lyndon, $5,000
The Hatch, Brattleboro, $15,000
The MINT Rutland Makerspace, Rutland, $7,500
The Nature Museum at Grafton, Grafton, $25,000
The Stone Church, Brattleboro, $35,000
The Studio Store, Inc., Johnson, $15,000
Theatre Adventure, Brattleboro, $15,000
Tinker & Smithy Game Store, Middlebury, $15,000
Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, $85,000
UVM Lane Series, Burlington, $55,000
Vermont Arts Exchange, North Bennington, $35,000
Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, $7,500
Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, $112,500
Vermont Crafts Council, Montpelier, $7,500
Vermont Evaporator Company, Montpelier, $15,000
Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, $85,000
Vermont Jazz Center, Brattleboro, $45,000
Vermont Stage Company, Burlington, $55,000
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, $200,000
Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Burlington, $187,500
Vermont Tortilla Company, Shelburne, $45,000
Vermont Youth Orchestra Association, Colchester, $75,000
Vermontfare, Inc, Charlotte, $45,000
von Trapp Farmstead LLC, Waitsfield, $75,000
Waterbury Area MakerSphere Cooperative, Waterbury, $7,500
Weston Theater Company, Weston, $200,000
Wild Goose Players, Bellows Falls, $15,000
ZPOTS, Brookline, $55,000
Cultural Facilities Grants support nonprofit organizations and municipalities to improve the safety, quality, or accessibility of public buildings.
Barre Historical Society, Barre, $29,190
Dorset Players, Dorset, $10,286
Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, Northfield Falls, $26,949
Goethe Community Trust, Burlington, $7,198
Kimball Public Library, Randolph, $24,913
Ruth Stone House, Goshen, $18,538
Saint Albans Museum, St. Albans, $4,192
St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, St. Johnsbury, $18,543
Thetford Library Federation, Thetford, $24,913
Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, $30,000
Town of Chelsea, Chelsea, $22,100
Town of Moretown, Moretown, $1,830
Town of Sharon, Sharon, $17,320
Windsor Public Library, Windsor, $30,000
Winooski Valley Park District, Burlington, $30,000
Head Start Arts Integration Grants support arts-integrated experiences for early education students and teachers in Head Start classrooms.
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro, $6,000
Burlington City Arts, Burlington, $5,000
Catamount Film and Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, $2,000
Community Art Garden, Chester, $3,500
Rural ARTS Collaborative, Greensboro, $4,600
SEVCA Windsor County Head Start, Windsor, $3,350
Vermont Arts Exchange, North Bennington, $5,500
Special Project Grants support statewide services or are awarded at the discretion of the Council’s executive director.
Governor's Institutes of Vermont, Winooski, $5,000
Vermont Crafts Council, Montpelier, $3,000
Panelists and Advisors
Accessibility Advisors
Peter Johnke
Katie Miller
Lisa Ryan
Heidi Swevens
Cultural Facilities Coalition
Caitlin Corkins
Karen Mittelman
Steve Perkins
Grant Panelists
Richard Amore
Meghan Asbury
Meredith Bay-Tyack
LN Bethea
David Blevins
Mariah Boyd-Boffa
Melissa Boyles
Amy Brooks Thornton
Jason Broughton
Lindsey Brownson
Lisa Burk-McCoy
Kate Burnim
Eli Cabanas
Ann Dávila Cardinal
Stacie Cassarino
Gabriel Chalfin-Piney
David Cooper
Eileen Corcoran
Christine Costello
Brett Cox
Dede Cummings
Samantha Davidson Green
Jacqueline DeMent
Johanna Dery
Kelley Di Dio
Karen Duguay
Tom Dunn
Jennifer duToit Barrett
Zon Eastes
Alex Escaja-Heiss
Vera Escaja-Heiss
Heather Ferrell
William Forchion
Pamela Lynn Fraser
Hiromi Fukuda
Liz Gamache
Heather Geoffrey
Jordan Giaconia
David Greenham
Meg Hammond
Tori Hart
Suzette Hartsfield-Jones
Anne Havel
Casey Haynes
Marcie Hernandez
Geof Hewitt
Rage Hezekiah
Paula Higa
Kelly Holt
Aurora Hurd
Laurel Jenkins
Ken Jones
Dasha Kalisz
Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup
Rick Kerschner
Khristina Kurasz
Shanta Lee
Ken Leslie
Carol Lighthall
Andrea Livermore
Samuel Lockridge
Ginnie Lupi
Toby MacNutt
Elizabeth Malone
Keith Marks
Justin Marsh
Jessica Martin
Brian McCarthy
Jeremiah McLane
Katie Miller
Dominique Miller
Lara Mones
Tracy Montminy
Rachel Morgan
Larry Morrisey
Victor Morrison
Karen Nevin
Gail Nunziata
Emma Paradis
Jericho Parms
Erin Pesut
Kristin Pleasanton
Gwen Pokalo
Lindsay Pontius
Brittany Powell
Jane Preston
Alia Quart Khan
Sonia Rae
Mariah Riggs
Will Rogan
Michael Rose
Tiffany Saltis
Rebecca Sanborn Stone
Mary Jane Sarvis
Jim Schley
Sarah Schmitt
David Schmitz
Dee Schneidman
Gillian Sewake
Jonathan Shafer
Eric Shelton
Stephanie Shen
Parker Silver
Bronwyn Sims
Scarlet Sims
Isadora Snapp
Barbara Spaulding
Diane Stockton-Breese
Kelly Stoddard Poor
Molly Stone
Kaylynn Sullivan TwoTrees
Randall Szott
Sam Talbot-Kelly
Jessica Taylor
Susan Teare
Claire Tebbs
Corinna Thurston
Betsy Thurston
Amy Tomasso
Patricia Trafton
Katie Trautz
Finnie Trimpi
Jeremy Vaughn
Luis Vivanco
Weiwei Wang
Tamara Waraschinski
Misuk Weaver
Debra Weisberg
Margo Whitcomb
Julie Winn
Jack Zeilenga
André Zhang Sonera
IDEA Advisory Network
Judy Dow
Vera Escaja-Heiss
Samuel Kọ́láwọlé
Vera Longtoe Sheehan
HB Lozito
Toby MacNutt
Justin Marsh
Sha’an Mouliert
Jericho Parms
Heidi Swevens
Tamara Waraschinski
Board of Trustees
Emily Bernard*
Sabrina Brown
Ed Clark*
Sean Clute
Will Kasso Condry
Greg Cutler
Sharon Fantl
Mark Foley
Holly Groschner
Becky McMeekin
Greg Paus
Tony Pietricola
Stephen Pite
Greg Sargent
*term ended June 2023
Staff
Michele Bailey
Meredith Bell
Deirdre Connelly
Catherine Crawley
Amy Cunningham
Johanna de Graffenreid
Anne Gould
Dominique Gustin
Troy Hickman
Susan Evans McClure
Desmond Peeples
Tom Pilon
The Vermont Arts Council is funded, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which requires a 1:1 match from the Vermont State Legislature. Council grants, programs, and statewide arts promotion would not be possible without the critical funding provided by these government agencies.
We could not do our work without the support of our wider Vermont Arts Council community. THANK YOU to the hundreds of generous individuals, businesses, and foundations that made vital contributions to our work in the past fiscal year. View FY2023 Contributors.
136 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633-6001 | 802.828.3291 | info@vermontartscouncil.org