Our attention is turning relentlessly towards the holidays. I keep wishing it were last April and that I still had a good eight or nine months to complete all the things I set out for myself this year, but no. It's coming on late November. Thanksgiving is around the corner. And I am as far behind as ever.
In truth, the things I am behind in are personal rather than work-related. I still haven't gotten to re-roofing my porch, or losing 15 pounds, or fixing the floor under the freezer in the basement. I haven't ordered next year's firewood or put the winter tires on our cars.
But at work, looking back over the year, I can honestly say there have been some amazing accomplishments.
Though it seems but a distant memory now, it was only a few months since we finished our last commitment to Art Fits Vermont (the Puzzle Project) which, like its predecessor Palettes of Vermont, engaged thousands of Vermonters, and several dozen New Yorkers and Quebecois on a creative, shared, exploration of the cultural ties that bind us. It was only 10 months ago that we selected the 10 artists whose creative output, combined with Lyman Orton's generosity, gave us the 103 works known collectively as "The Art of Action." Similarly, we have enjoyed keeping track of the "Art of Vermont" as it coils its way around the state showing Vermonters in all parts of the state a significant portion of the State's accumulated art collection. (All of these projects are easy to find by noodling around on the Arts Council's website).
But to be honest, one of the most heart-warming things we are doing is going to launch in about two weeks. As of today we have nearly 90 works of art and craft donated to "doing our pART"--the Council's auction to benefit the Vermont Food Bank.
It has been so great to meet so many artists as they bring their works in to the Council; to talk to them about their experiences and to hear how nice it is for them to be able to share their work to support a good cause.
Listening to their stories, it seems like an appropriate time of year for us all to share some of our stories. Please consider this posting to be an invitation to anyone reading this (especially if you are in Vermont) to share some of the great things you are doing/or have done over the course of this past year. It can be an organizational or personal story; it can be about something you have participated in directly, or something you know is happening in your community. Or it could be a really cool idea that simply should be shared.
Scroll down, leave a comment, and depending on the response, I'll revisit some of your highlights in a future post.
In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!
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1 comment:
As Events Coordinator at the Vermont Foodbank, I'd just like to express my gratitutde to the Vermont Arts Council for the time and affort that they put in to this fantastic fundraiser. Last year, doing our pART" raised over $10,000 for the VFB. These funds allowed us to provide nearly 20,000meals to hungry Vermonters during the winter months- a critical time of year for those who can not afford to feed their families balanced meals.
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