We are pleased to announce that Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass, founders of Sandglass Theater in Putney, VT will receive Vermont’s highest honor in the arts, the Governor’s Award for Excellence.  The world-renowned puppeteers will be celebrated in a ceremony at the Vermont State House on Thursday, February 11 at 7 PM. 

The event will include performances by: Rob Mermin,  Larry Hunt, Crabtree Puppet Theatre and Sandglass Theater.  Plus remarks by Governor James Douglas, Finn Campman, Richard Edelman, Mara Williams and John Burt.

The event is free and open to the public.  Please RSVP by February 8th.

Get out and see the art, meet the artists, and share some great discussions about the future of Vermont.  

• Through February 14: The Artists' Choice Tour will be at the StAArt Gallery in St. Albans. Opening reception: Friday, February 5 at 5 PM.
• Through February 20:  Half of The Curator's Choice Tour will be at Studio Place Arts in Barre.
• Through February 28: A selection of pieces from the other half of The Curator's Choice Tour will be in the Arts Council's Spotlight Gallery in Montpelier.

For a complete list of events and upcoming exhibitions, click here.   

Join your peers and the Vermont Arts Council for our annual session focusing on arts advocacy, idea sharing, and celebrating the arts across the state.

This year's event is titled "Trends and Truths in 2010."  We'll host an issues briefing meeting prior to lunch dates with legislators.  The afternoon session will include guest speakers sharing trends on the national advocacy scene and models for positioning the arts as a vital component for healthy, vibrant communities.  The reception with legislators will have an Irish flair (it is St. Patrick's Day, after all), and the day will conclude with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra's annual Farmers' Night performance entitled "The Luck of the VSO."
 
Click here for a detailed schedule or to let us know you'll be attending.

100% Essential: We are lucky to have a President, a Congress, and in Vermont, a Governor and a State Legislature who generally agree that the arts matter. But one legacy of the "Culture Wars" is that many ill-informed media pundits continue to assert that the arts are a luxury. Now, with the economy in the shape it's in, I keep hearing that it is time for all "nonessential government expenditures" to be cut, including the arts.

Let's take a long look at why this would be a huge mistake.