Arts News for September 2020—Covid-19 Edition
2020 Vermont Arts Awards Recipients Announced
The Vermont Art Council is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Vermont Arts Awards recognizing outstanding individual and organizational contributions to the arts. Awards honor educators, artists, performers, advocates, administrators, volunteers, and scholars.

“We are honored to recognize these five extraordinary individuals,” said Arts Council Executive Director Karen Mittelman. “Each one of them has been a trailblazer, in his or her own way. Their creativity moves, inspires, and stretches us – as Vermonters and as human beings.”

You're Invited: VT Creative Sector FutureJam
October 6, 2020
It's ten years from now and Vermont's creative people, businesses, and organizations are thriving. National headlines name Vermont as the nation's most creative state. What does that look like? And how do we get there? Join us and help paint the picture of Vermont's creative future.

The Vermont Creative Network is creating our first statewide creative sector action plan this fall. Join us for FutureJam—a daylong visioning event to kick off the conversation. Choose a one-hour time slot on Tuesday, Oct. 6, and join a fast-paced 'jam session" to describe and shape a vision for Vermont's creative sector. Join the conversation and mix it up with your fellow creatives. Subscribe to VCN news for more creative sector events, meet-ups, creative challenges, prizes, and opportunities to weigh in online.

Vermont Economic Recovery Grants for Cultural Organizations
ACCD is no longer administering Economic Recovery Grants to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.

Starting September 21, to distribute the remaining funds that were earmarked for cultural nonprofits, the Vermont Arts Council opened two different applications: one for new applicants and one for those who have already received funding.

New Technical Assistance Program Now Available
Gov. Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development have announced new resources for businesses navigating the COVID-19 crisis. Free technical assistance is now available through the Small Business Recovery Technical Assistance Program with support in a variety of areas being provided by the state’s twelve regional development corporations, Champlain College, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Northern Community Investment Corporation, and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. The program is now live, and businesses can begin accessing resources immediately.
Meet Tara Lynn Scheidet, The Bridal Seamstress
Creative Zone Profiles: Northeast Kingdom
Tara Lynn Scheidet runs her own brand, Tara Lynn, out of her Sutton, Vermont home. Her brand is based around custom, eco-friendly hemp clothing with a focus on bridal wear. She grew up on Long Island, NY and attended New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology into the early 2000s.

Tara's interest in environmental issues inspired her to incorporate her passion into her work, which was challenging she says because sustainable fashion wasn't trendy at that time. She found a business in hemp that changed her career path. Tara moved to Vermont after college to start her business. She fell in love with the state after seeing the political puppet theater, Bread and Puppet Theatre, as a child. Her dream to make environmentally friendly clothing became a reality and her relationship with the VCN began. She received a grant from the Vermont Arts Council for marketing her art that helped her business through the preliminary stages. Tara started with hemp jackets and has since then expanded to formal wear. She describes her job titles as designer, pattern maker, seamstress, tailor, marketing director, photographer, and content manager of her brand. Read more of Tara's story.

Find profiles from each of Vermont's Creative Zones on our website. The zone profiles were produced by students in the University of Vermont’s Department of Community Development and Applied Economics.
Meet Our 2020 Creation Grantees
A photo collage of all 15 2020 Creation Grant recipients.
On August 18, we announced the 2020 recipients of our highly competitive Creation Grants, which fund new work by Vermont artists of all disciplines. The primary criteria for selection is artistic excellence.

This year's Creation Grant recipients span visual arts, literary arts, dance, music, circus arts, and multidisciplinary fields.

Art in the Time of Covid: Musicians Uncovered
A pre-Covid gathering of students and mentors in the Musicians as Mentors program.
When the pandemic hit Vermont, musician and youth counselor Emily Musty Zanleoni was quick to adapt her work for a digital world. In fall 2019, Emily started working with a new program of the Upper Valley Music Center (UVMC), Musicians as Mentors (M2), to connect youth with professional musicians. Raised in the small town of Piermont, NH (right across the river from Bradford, VT), she knows first-hand how difficult it can be for rural youth to access the contemporary music industry. Connecting young musicians to their dreams is her passion.

Rather than letting Covid get in the way of her bridge-building work, Emily created “Musicians Uncovered,” a 30-minute “Zoomcast” where teens can meet and speak with local and national guest musicians and producers from all around the country. The tools necessary for this “digital pivot” have been double-edged swords to Emily. On the one hand, meeting over live video allows her to reach more people, particularly those in isolated rural communities—on the other hand, there is no substitution for face-to-face connection.

As part of our series featuring creative professionals’ responses to the virus, Emily shared her thoughts with the Council.
Vermont Curators Group: Fall Exhibits
2020 Vision is back! 46 Vermont museums and galleries are reflecting on this world-changing year through a cultural conversation spanning in-person, online, and outdoor exhibitions and events.
 
Support Vermont’s arts and culture institutions by participating in our passport program, with a chance to win fun prizes. Learn more at VermontCuratorsGroup.com.
Through November 21
Fleming Museum of Art
Burlington
Through October 10
Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery
Shelburne
Through October 31
Helen Day Art Center
Stowe
Through Mid-October
Art at the Kent
Calais
New Arts Experiences
Northern Daughters Gallery
Vergennes
Sept 15 - Nov 15
Festival Gallery at Valley Arts
Waitsfield
Sept 16 - Dec 18
Cooper Field Sand Hill Road
Putney
Oct 3
Recent Classifieds
Posted: September 2, 2020
Category: Grants/Funding/Residencies
End Date: October 2, 2020

Posted: September 14, 2020
Category: Calls to Artists
End Date: October 15, 2020

Posted: September 18, 2020
Category: Calls to Artists
End Date: October 23, 2020
Submit Listings to Our Arts Calendar and Classifieds
Are you organizing an exhibit, concert, class, or other arts event? Do you need to list an ad for space, residencies, or a call for submissions? Submit your event listing to our calendar, or submit a classified ad listing.

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.
Subscribe to Our Featured Stories
Who knows the Green Mountain arts scene better than the Vermont Arts Council? Our Featured Stories blog offers a deeper dive into Vermont's vibrant and diverse art world with interviews, feature articles, and special series like "I am a Vermont Artist." Click the button below to receive new posts in your inbox:
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.
Vermont Arts Council | 802.828.3291