You're Invited:
Vermont Creative Sector Response & Recovery Forum
Join the Vermont Arts Council and the Vermont Creative Network for a Creative Sector Response and Recovery Forum to catalyze and support Vermont’s creative economy during Covid-19.

Panelists will include artists, creative, sector leaders, legislators, and policymakers.

1-2:30 p.m., Monday, May 11 via Zoom

**Unable to attend? Register and we will send you a link after the recording.** 

The arts and creative sector is a necessary component to bringing the Vermont economy back online. Vermont’s creative sector is a substantial component of our state’s economy, providing more than 9% of our jobs, encouraging tourism, and generating substantial revenue for downtowns across Vermont. Arts and culture contributed 3.2% of Vermont's GDP (or $960 million) in 2015, and cultural events leverage more than $44 million in event-related spending annually.

Like every other sector, arts and culture organizations and businesses have been devastated by the financial impact of Covid-19 closures. According to a survey of the field by Americans for the Arts, Vermont’s cultural sector has lost millions of dollars in revenue from lost ticket sales, admissions, fee-for-service programs from schools, summer camp registrations, and more. Expenses mount for organizations that must continue to pay mortgages or rent, collections care costs, and utilities on unused space. Thousands of artists and other creative workers are unemployed.

The forum is an opportunity for state legislators and policymakers to hear from the creative sector and learn more about how arts and culture are essential to Vermont's recovery; and to give people from the creative sector an opportunity to hear from, and share experiences with, legislators and policymakers.

Issues to be addressed include:
  • What are the challenges that Vermont’s cultural organizations, artists, and creative businesses are facing?
  • How is Vermont’s creative sector adapting and responding to the Covid-19 crisis?
  • What economic recovery opportunities are available to Vermont’s creative sector?
  • How can the creative sector collectively plan a responsible and well-coordinated reopening given the complicated logistics of large-scale events and workplace safety?
  • What’s next for coordinating Vermont’s creative sector recovery?


For questions or further information, contact Network Coordinator and Council Deputy Director Amy Cunningham at acunningham@vermontartscouncil.org

The Vermont Arts Council envisions a Vermont where all people have access to the arts and creativity in their lives, education, and communities. Engagement with the arts transforms individuals, connects us more deeply to each other, energizes the economy, and sustains the vibrant cultural landscape that makes Vermont a great place to live. Since 1965, the Council has been the state's primary provider of funding, advocacy, and information for the arts in Vermont.
The Vermont Creative Network is a broad collective of organizations, businesses, and individuals, working to advance Vermont’s creative sector. The Network was established by the Vermont Legislature in May 2016 as an initiative of the Vermont Arts Council with support from the Vermont Community Foundation.