The Vermont Arts Council announces more than half a million dollars in grant awards to 86 Vermont organizations—from arts nonprofits to arts schools, museums to makerspaces, from libraries to community art centers, and more. All are helping to expand arts access through specific programs or are bringing year-round, high-quality arts programs and services to Vermonters across the state.
“Without the generous support provided through the arts grant, our mentorship program would not have the ability to engage our wider school community in our work and our learning,” said Dave Paarlberg-Kvam who teaches at the Sustainability Academy, an elementary school located in the Old North End of Burlington. The school was awarded an Arts Project grant to support research, artwork, installation, and a public event to showcase how the Vermont dairy industry is connected to the students and families of the school.
The grants are a part of two programs: Arts Operating and Arts Project.
See list below.
“Support for arts projects that bring people together and funding for unrestricted operating grants that allow organizations to fulfill their missions are essential for a thriving creative sector. We are proud to support Vermont’s cultural organizations as they work to strengthen the wellbeing of our communities through shared arts experiences,” said Vermont Arts Council Executive Director Susan Evans McClure.
Arts Operating Grants provide unrestricted, general operating funds to arts organizations that offer year-round, high-quality arts programs and services that support the Council’s mission to “cultivate and advance the arts and creativity throughout Vermont.”
A total of $420,000 in funding was awarded to 60 organizations, the highest amount ever awarded, thanks to an anonymous fundholder of the Vermont Community Foundation.
The Council awards three-year and one-year Arts Operating grants. In 2023, the Council awarded three-year operating grants of between $8,000 and $9,000 per year to 40 Vermont organizations. With this year’s funding, these organizations are beginning the second year of the three-year grant. This year’s funding also supports 20 organizations with one-year grants, which are between $3,000 and $4,000.
Applications for one-year funding were evaluated by an external panel based on the quality of arts programming, community and audience responsiveness, and organizational capacity.
One-year grants were awarded to a broad variety of organization types (theaters, museums, community art centers, art schools, makerspaces, and more) and artistic disciplines (visual arts, fine crafts, film, theatre, music, literary arts, and more).
In addition to the support of an anonymous fundholder of the Vermont Community Foundation, the program is supported through the State of Vermont and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information about the Arts Operating Grant and a list of recipients, visit https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/grants/find-a-grant/organizations/arts-operating/
Arts Project Grants support nonprofits, municipalities, and schools in their efforts to add vibrancy to Vermont communities through projects that provide equal and abundant access to the arts and cultural activities. It also includes projects that re-envision public spaces, strengthen community identity through the arts, and addresses issues related to the impact of recent flooding. Grant awards range from $2,500 to $4,000.
Under the Arts Project Grant program, a total of $98,700 in funding was awarded to 26 organizations.
Grant proposals were evaluated by an external panel based on the quality of arts programming and project management.
Among this year’s projects are a documentary film by teens, an art installation and public event to showcase a theme of the Vermont dairy industry, backdrops for an upcoming exhibit about the American Revolutionary War in Vermont, and a theatrical reading to celebrate the creation of a second anthology by the Voices of St. Joseph’s Orphanage Writers’ Group.
The program is supported through the State of Vermont and the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the Vermont Community Foundation’s Arts Endowment Fund.
For more information about the Arts Project Grant and a list of recipients, visit https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/grants/find-a-grant/organizations/arts-project/
2025 Grantees
Arts Operating Grants
BarnArts Center for the Arts, Barnard
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Chaffee Art Center, Rutland
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Island Arts, North Hero
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Main Street Arts, Saxtons River
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Middlebury Acting Company, Weybridge
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Monteverdi Music School, Montpelier
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Montpelier Community Gospel Choir, Montpelier
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
New England Center for Circus Arts, Brattleboro
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
New England Youth Theatre, Brattleboro
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Opera Company of Middlebury, Middlebury
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Reclaimed, Inc, Poultney
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
rePlay Arts, White River Junction
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
SEABA Exhibitions, Burlington
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Sundog Poetry, Johnson
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
The MINT Rutland Makerspace, Rutland
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
The Satellite Gallery, Lyndonville
$3,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Theatre Adventure, Brattleboro
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
TURNmusic, Waterbury Center
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Young Writers Project Inc, Burlington
$4,000 to support operating and administrative costs for one year
Arts Project Grants
Abenaki Helping Abenaki, Shelburne
$4,000 to support the 5th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day Rocks celebration
AMPERSAND, Richmond
$4,000 to support bringing world-class musicians to Vermont to collaborate with local avocational singers for a concert
Bradford Teen Center, Bradford
$4,000 to support teens in the making of a documentary film
Cabot Arts, Cabot
$4,000 to support the 5th annual Cabot Village 12th Night Celebration
Craftsbury Community Care Center, Craftsbury
$4,000 to support creative workshops that spark memory and connection among residents and the community
Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro
$4,000 to support SIREN SUMMIT: A Weekend Conference Liberating Mythology for Women and Non-binary Poets and Authors
Ethan Allen Homestead Museum, Burlington
$4,000 to support artists in creating backdrops for the upcoming exhibit about the American Revolutionary War in Vermont
GNAT-TV, Manchester Center
$3,000 to support filmmakers in creating documentaries or episodic TV series to be broadcast on GNAT-TV
Green Mountain Film Festival, Montpelier
$4,000 to support the Green Mountain Film Festival
Greensboro United Church of Christ, Greensboro
$4,000 to support a collaborative series of arts events in Greensboro
INSTINCT Dance Festival, Burlington
$4,000 to support the INSTINCT Experimental Dance Festival
Montpelier Alive, Montpelier
$4,000 to support an interactive asphalt mural project
Northeast Kingdom Human Services, Newport
$3,960 to support inclusive arts class sessions and art exhibit for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities
ONE Arts, Burlington
$4,000 to support an All Abilities Creative Workshop series for children
Pop-Up Adventure Play, Bellows Falls
$4,000 to support a multidisciplinary outdoor and nature-based art series for community members of all ages
Retreat Farm, Brattleboro
$4,000 to support a live jazz concert series
Rupert Village Trust, Rupert
$3,010 to support a series of three ukulele workshops and performances for the community
Senior Solutions, Springfield
$3,300 to support an intergenerational project of school children working with a textile artist and teachers to create lap quilts for older adults attending memory cafes
Shakespeare in the Woods, Pawlet
$4,000 to support the final week of Shakespeare in the Woods’ 2024 Season
Sustainability Academy, Burlington
$3,480 to support an art installation and public event to showcase a theme of the Vermont dairy industry
The Junction Dance Festival, Corinth
$4,000 to support the 2025 dance festival
Threshold Collaborative, North Bennington
$4,000 to support a theatrical reading to celebrate the creation of a second anthology by the Voices of St. Joseph’s Orphanage Writers’ Group
Town of Lunenburg
$4,000 to support the creation of a mural on the side of a permanent semi-trailer at the Lunenburg Transfer Station
Treewild, Shelburne
$3,450 to support the outdoor theater production of Borderlands
United Church of Fairfax, Fairfax
$2,500 to support three painting classes for older adults, children, and people dealing with substance misuse
Windsor Public Library, Windsor
$4,000 to support recruitment and training of volunteers to collect the voices and stories of Windsor
Animating Infrastructure Grants
Braintree Elementary School
$13,550 to support the fabrication and installation of student-designed sculptures made from recycled materials along an ADA accessible trail at the school
Capstone Community Action, Barre
$12,750 to support the installation of a mural inspired by children’s literature on the Brook Street School retaining wall in Barre
Downstreet Housing and Community Development, Barre
$5,000 to support the design of public art at an affordable housing development in Barre, centered on a stairway that connects the site to the community
Montpelier Alive
$15,000 to support the illumination of the Taylor Street and Main Street bridges as part of Montpelier’s Bridge Illumination public art project
reBHS Corp, Brandon
$15,000 to support the fabrication and installation of eight art bikes as part of the Art Bikes of Brandon micro-mobility project
Retreat Farm, Brattleboro
$15,000 to support the fabrication and installation of a mural that explores connection to land
Cultural Facilities Grants
Barre Opera House
$28,500 to support the installation of exterior lights on the building
Bennington Museum
$20,000 to support HVAC updates in the historic church gallery
Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington
$23,750 to support the installation of heat pumps
Catamount Film and Arts Co., St. Johnsbury
$17,549 to support the installation of a sculpture pedestal and modular mural hanging system on the exterior of the Northern Forest Center-owned building in St. Johnsbury
Dorset Players
$17,779 to support the replacement of auditorium speakers and related sound equipment
Island Arts, North Hero
$14,155 to support the installation of roof insulation
Main Street Arts, Saxtons River
$7,809 to support the installation of heat pumps on the first floor
Maquam Bay of Missisquoi, Swanton
$28,500 to support energy-efficient improvements with a new furnace, ventilation, insulation, air sealing, LED lighting, heat pumps, and electrical upgrades
Northeast Kingdom Arts Council, Hardwick
$14,625 to support the purchase and installation of a lift to make the stage accessible at the Hardwick Town House
Okemo Valley TV, Ludlow
$24,000 to support the expansion to become a multimedia center in the Ludlow Community Center complex
Oldcastle Productions, Bennington
$24,000 to support the installation of audio, visual, and lighting equipment
Park-McCullough Association, Inc., North Bennington
$13,854 to support the installation of fire-stopping between the basement and first floor and four de-humidification units
Rutland Area Art Association
$20,800 to support the installation of heat pumps at the Chaffee Art Center
Shelburne Craft School
$10,098 to support increased electrical services for safety and for the future installation of heat pumps
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, St. Johnsbury
$21,404 to support rebuilding the chancel from four levels to one to improve use as a stage
Westminster West Public Library
$15,200 to support improvements for energy efficiency
About the Vermont Arts Council
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. Learn more at www.vermontartscouncil.org