Arts News for June 2020—Covid-19 Edition
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House Approves $5 Million to the Arts Council
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As of press time today, the Senate is debating approval of House bill 966—a multi-million dollar relief bill to support Vermont nonprofits using the Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars that Vermont received via the CARES Act. Among the funding, the bill sets aside $5 million to the Arts Council to provide grants to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. Throughout the policymaking process, the Arts Council
advocated for additional grant funding
for Vermont’s creative sector, and we will continue to do so. We greatly appreciate our legislators' recognition that the very survival of our arts and culture organizations and creative businesses, which historically have been both the economic anchor and the heart of Vermont communities, is at stake.
Visit our Creative Sector Response and Recovery page where we will post updates.
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Vermont Organizations to Receive Nearly $1 Million from NEA
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Nine Vermont organizations will receive grants totaling $972,800 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through its second round of funding announced June 10 for FY2020.
"We are proud that the NEA awards recognize Vermont's outstanding and diverse arts landscape," said Vermont Arts Council Executive Director Karen Mittelman. "These federal grants will support some of Vermont's major cultural organizations, across a wide range of disciplines, from theater and opera to arts education and folk art traditions. Vermont is so fortunate to have champions in Congress - Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders, and Representative Welch - whose strong support of the arts is especially vital in these challenging times."
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I am a Vermont Artist: Jericho Parms
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Jericho Parms is an old pro at living “between extremes”—between urban and rural, Black and white, art and life. In “On Touching Ground,” the first essay in her 2016 collection,
Lost Wax
, an exhibit of Degas’ horse sculptures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a ticket to memory, family, and identity, to a young Jericho visiting her grandfather’s Arizona ranch all the way from New York City.
Jericho uses language and writing to make connections that build, that “repair our understanding of experience,” and show us truths like how a wild mustang, a sculptor, and a little girl are all teachers of resilience and grace.
Born and raised in New York, life has seen Jericho in the Southwest, Central America, and Europe. Since moving to central Vermont in 2012, Jericho—now of Middlesex—has dedicated herself to forging meaningful connections for the arts community here, working as faculty and as Director of Alumnx Affairs & Diversity Initiatives at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
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Six-Word Quarantine Stories from the Creative Sector Forum
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Do you have a six-word story about your quarantine to share? Tell yours on social media with the hashtag #quarantinesix, and tag us so we can share your story, too (@vermontartscouncil on
Facebook
, @vtartscouncil on
Twitter
and
Instagram
).
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Art is Essential! Vital Cultural Institutions Speak Out
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JAG Productions launched in 2016 in White River Junction with a mission to produce classic and contemporary African-American theater that challenges hierarchies of race, gender, class and sexuality. Without JAG, the Vermont arts scene would not be the same.
As part of a new video series produced by the Arts Council and Vermont Humanities featuring vital cultural institutions, Jarvis Green, JAG's Producing Artistic Director, spoke about JAG's role in the community and how the pandemic has affected them.
Watch Jarvis' full video
, or
watch others in the series on YouTube
. If you’re interested in submitting a video or would like to suggest a cultural organization that we should feature, contact Communications Director Catherine Crawley at
ccrawley@vermontartscouncil.org
.
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Honoring Our Poetry Out Loud Finalists and First Original Poetry Award Winners
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Few events bring the country together in the name of poetry like Poetry Out Loud. Each year, in every state, high school students compete to recite poems of every style and era for panels of judges from the local poetry scenes. The students who recite most faithfully and evocatively go on to compete at the national level in Washington, D.C. In 2020, however, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted this tradition like any other.
The national championship was canceled. Some states moved forward with in-person finals while others went virtual or canceled their events. The Vermont Poetry Out Loud finals were among those canceled, despite our best efforts to quickly adapt our processes for a virtual competition. For all those who know the magic of poetry and its power to connect, these cancellations are disappointments—but there is still much to celebrate.
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Art in the Time of Covid: Shanta Lee Gander
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Artists everywhere have felt the social, economic, and cultural pressure of the pandemic since quarantines first began rolling out around the country. For many artists, however, the alone time has not been so unwelcome, or at least unfamiliar.
Like the poet Mary Ruefle
, fellow Vermont writer Shanta Lee Gander does some of her best work in isolation. To her this is an “auspicious time,” an opportunity for artists to dig deep into the work of bearing witness.
Shanta Lee has been making her mark on the Vermont arts scene for a decade now, working with organizations from Sandglass Theater in Putney to The Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte.
She has served on the Brattleboro Selectboard and was a strong advocate for the establishment of
Brattleboro’s Town Arts Fund
. In 2019, she co-curated and was featured in the Spotlight Gallery’s
I AM… exhibit
, which showcased works by artists from our ongoing “I am a Vermont Artist” series.
Read Shanta Lee’s own “I am a Vermont Artist” feature here
. Currently Shanta Lee is the Director of Outreach and Publicity for
Mount Island
, a Vermont publisher of rural LGBTQ+ and POC voices, and through the Vermont Humanities Speakers Bureau
she presents on the life of Lucy Terry Prince
, a Guilford woman remembered as the first known African-American poet in English literature.
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Vermont Curators Group: Summer Reopenings
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Vermont’s museums & galleries are beginning to re-open to in-person visitation. Follow Vermont Curators Group on
Facebook
or
Instagram
for updates on the options available to you.
Whether in-person or online, our state’s culture sector still displays endless creativity. You can still enjoy virtual tours and art activities at
www.VermontArtOnline.org
, and visit your favorite cultural institution’s website to see what they have planned.
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Opened June 1
American Precision Museum
Windsor
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Opened June 22
Studio Place Arts
Barre
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Artist Development grant applications close July 13.
For this additional round of funding we particularly encourage projects that help artists adapt and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, whether by learning new digital skills, attending virtual residencies, digitizing collections, or any number of ways.
Learn more and apply today.
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The deadline for our Cultural Facilities grants is July 27
. These grants
enhance, create, or expand the capacity of an existing building to provide cultural activities for the public
. See examples of projects eligible for funding in our list of
FY2020 Cultural Facilities grantees
, and
start your application today
.
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Sandglass Theater
Online
Through August 31
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Flynndog Gallery
208 Flynn Ave, Burlington
Through August 31
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Southern Vermont Arts Center
Online
July 6 - July 31
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Posted: June 20, 2020
Category: Calls to Artists
End Date: July 31, 2020
Posted: June 16, 2020
Category: Grants/Funding/Residencies
End Date: June 30, 2020
Posted: June 6, 2020
Category: Space Wanted/Available
End Date :July 10, 2020
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Submit Listings to Our Arts Calendar and Classifieds
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Listings are free and seen by thousands of people throughout and beyond Vermont. Once submitted, eligible listings are reviewed, categorized, and published within two business days. Council staff may contact you for more information.
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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.
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Vermont Arts Council | 802.828.3291
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