"It requires education and culture to appreciate a quiet place, but any fool can appreciate noise..."
                   Sinclair Lewis
From a speech to the Rutland Rotary Club, 1929. Read the entire quote about living in Vermont.

Sinclair Lewis

Words To Live By brings weekly wisdom from Vermont poets, writers, artists and thinkers and is a project of the Vermont Arts Council and the Vermont Humanities Council.

Stoop Stories Weston Playhouse July 24 - August 3 Weston

Bookstock Literary Festival July 25 - 27 Woodstock

Deerfield Valley Blueberry Festival July 25 - August 3 Wilmington

Jonathan Lorentz Trio Brandon Music July 26 Brandon

Champlain Valley Folk Fesitval July 26 Colchester

Rick and the Ramblers Grand Isle Lake House July 27 Grand Isle

Sole Vermont Metro Gallery July 31 - September 28 Burlington

Southern Vermont Art & Craft Festival August 1 - 3 Bennington

Frieda Post Contemporary Paintings Compass Music and Arts Through August 31 Brandon

Shakespeare in the Park Vermont Shakespeare Company August 9 - 17 North Hero, Shelburne, Burlington,

July 24, 2014

ArtMail

Keeping you informed about the rich arts culture in Vermont

"Unanimous" greets visitors at the entrance to the Courthouse and State Office Building in Bennington. The 12 vertical elements in stainless steel flanking the entry plaza are emblematic of the stewards who guide and support the community through the justice system.

"Unanimous" by Gordon Auchincloss. Photo by Stacey Lindell.

A second sculpture, "Differentia Opinionis," has lyrical, kinetic arms that rotate freely above the sculptural column. This piece honors employee dedication to public service and the community. The two-part installation was created by Hardwick artist Gordon Auchincloss, who was commissioned through the Vermont Art in State Buildings (AISB) program to create the site-specific work for the facility. AISB is a partnership between the Council and the Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services, and is funded by the Art in State Buildings Act.

A dedication of the new art installation is scheduled for Friday, August 1, 2014 from noon - 1:00 p.m. at the main entrance of the building. 

How can art help build community? How does an artist animate infrastructure? These questions will be explored as part of a new Arts Council grant program, Animating Infrastructure.

Animating Infrastructure seeks to foster collaborative partnerships between communities and artists to successfully integrate public art into existing or proposed infrastructure improvement projects. From public bike racks and solar panels to a new bridge, the intent of the program is to renew a sense of pride and connection to place through the development of community-centered public art that reflects the vision, values, and creative spirit of Vermont communities.

Through a two-step application process, the Council will select three to five proposals that demonstrate a collaborative process leading to the successful integration of public art into a community infrastructure project.

Prior to the application deadline on October 1, the Council will hold a series of visioning sessions to give potential applicants an opportunity to brainstorm ideas with other members of the community. These gatherings will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the following locations:

Galway Kinnell, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former Vermont Poet Laureate, will be honored at the Vermont State House at 3:00 p.m. on August 7.

Galway Kinnell

Presented by Back Roads Readings, fellow poets Michael Collier, Mark Doty, Jody Gladding, Edward Hirsch, Marie Howe, Major Jackson, Sharon Olds, and Ellen Bryant Voigt will read their favorite Kinnell poems in the State House Chamber. A reception with Galway Kinnell and the poets will follow the reading. The event is free and open to the public.

The Seventh Annual Festival of Fools will laugh, tumble, and pratfall its way into Burlington on August 1 - 3. This curated festival of street theater is devoted to community engagement through the celebration of circus arts, music, and comedy for family

Big Nazo Band

audiences. The three-day event features the best international performers on four stages surrounding the Church Street Marketplace and City Hall Park. In accord with Burlington City Arts' mission to make the arts accessible in greater Burlington, the Festival of Fools offers free events, open to the public, and appropriate for all age groups.

"I have traveled through thirty-six states and have lived in eight or ten. But Vermont is the first place I have seen where I really wanted to have my home. . . . I have found in Vermont precisely the opposite to that peculiar thing pointed out and boasted of as

Sinclair Lewis

'very American:' the desire for terrific speed . . . I like Vermont because it is quiet, because you have a population that is solid and not driven mad by the American mania - that mania which considers . . . a city of one hundred thousand, fifty times as good as a town of two thousand. It is hard in this day, in which the American tempo is so speeded up, to sit back and be satisfied with what you have. It requires education and culture to appreciate a quiet place, but any fool can appreciate noise. . .You are to be the guardians of this priceless heritage and you are fortunate to have the honor of that task. . ."