MONTPELIER, VT -- 12/15/09 --
Vermont has long been depicted as an endless
parade of quaint, pastoral images whether on postcards or in genteel
gallery settings. However, a touring art exhibition, presented by the
Vermont Arts Council and underwritten by philanthropist and proprietor of
The Vermont Country Store Lyman Orton, aspires to turn those perceptions on
their ear in every regard: Start with a collection of paintings that
elegantly depict refugees, sprawl and stressed infrastructure and then take
it on the road to downtown venues ranging from a busy automobile dealership
to an abandoned drugstore and you have "The Art of Action: Shaping
Vermont's Future Through Art."
"I was tired of seeing art about Vermont's past," said Orton. "I wanted to
encourage artists to explore Vermont's future. I'm a strong believer that
art ought not to be simply consigned to galleries and museums. I wanted it
to be where people live and work." And so, a quest to secure venues in
downtowns throughout the state began in earnest. 23 Vermont towns are
hosting the tour through next summer along with a stop at the Russell
Senate Office building in Washington, DC this spring.
"More than a little triangulation was required," said Arts Council
executive director, Alex Aldrich. "When you are looking for vacant
storefronts in downtowns on as little as six months' notice, to be used for
only two weeks, it requires finding landlords who are as passionate about
the vision as we are. Local ownership and small-town relationships have
come through for us and people are turning out in tremendous numbers for
these shows," said Aldrich. "And we are finding that folks who have never
set foot in a gallery are flocking to each show."
Opening night at Hand Motors in Manchester saw several hundred guests
perusing art among Cavaliers and Jettas. A public atrium in downtown
Brattleboro hosted a Twitter Town Meeting and became a stop for what was
billed as the "Amtrak Art Train." A former drugstore in Randolph and a
former video store in Montpelier were temporarily transformed into
galleries that drew over 1100 people during their combined four-week run.
"Everybody wins with this arrangement," said Orton. "The host communities
get more people coming to their downtowns to shop and eat. And the
qualities of the exhibition itself are driving conversations about the
future of those communities with towns holding planning meetings and public
discussions in conjunction with the tour."
Some in the 'established arts community' have scoffed at displaying art in
such venues, and Orton and Aldrich feel strongly that there is great value
in the approach. "The work in this collection was based on a statewide
citizen engagement process that resulted in a report by the Council on the
Future of Vermont. Everyday citizens were heard and drove the contents of
the report. It's only natural that the finished work should be shown in
places where Vermonters go."
Contact:
John Zwick
802.288.8111
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