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PART XII - ARTS AND CULTURE.
The Northeast Kingdom has a rich historical heritage and is a very attractive place for artists to live and work. The region's lack of wealth, however, makes the Northeast Kingdom a very difficult place to maintain its cultural resources or support the arts. Artistic and cultural organizations sustain themselves by financial means which require constant innovation. Facilities created by philanthropists and community efforts 100 plus years ago are now in need of renovation, yet the philanthropic families are no longer present and municipal budgets are only sufficient to provide basic necessities. Arts programs in schools are often the last to be funded when local budgets are tight. The population is dispersed and the region does not have the critical mass of people to pay for unsubsidized artistic performances. Artists in all genres have no choice but to market their work outside the Kingdom.
1. Cultural Facilities.
The Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury is a natural and
cultural history museum created by the Fairbanks family in the late 1800's.
Actually a museum of Victorian era natural history museums, the Fairbanks also
provides natural sciences curricula for area elementary schools.
The Old Stone House Museum in Brownington is the restored dormitory of a private school built by Alexander Twilight in the early 1800's. The collection houses cultural history exhibits of life in the Northeast Kingdom. The museum also works with area schools to build place based curricula documenting the culture and folkways of the Northeast Kingdom.
The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is a public library and art gallery built by Horace Fairbanks in 1871 to provide a public library for his townspeople and share his art collection, numbering over 100 paintings representing the best of the Hudson River School of Art. The Athenaeum currently has plans to expand possibly into the neighboring municipal building next door where it hopes to develop much needed gallery space for regional artists to exhibit their work.
The Haskell Library and Opera House in Derby Line was built on the U.S.-Canada border in the early 1900's. The border literally runs through the stage and audience. The Opera House offers musical and theatrical arts programming in the warmer months. QNEK is the resident professional community theater company at the Haskell Opera House. QNEK performs three major shows a season with several showcase events with smaller casts interspersed. QNEK also has an apprenticeship program which allows teens to experience theater from many different aspects, such as acting, technical production and stage managing.
Other performing arts spaces include the South Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury, Alexander Twilight Theater at Lyndon State College, theaters at Lyndon Institute, St. Johnsbury Academy, and North County Union High School, the Orleans Village Opera House, Irasburg Meeting House, and Barton Municipal Theater.
2. Regional Arts Organizations.
Catamount Arts is a regional arts agency serving the Northeast Kingdom.
Catamount produces a performing arts series, links artists with schools and
Head Start Programs, and runs an arts film house in St. Johnsbury. Towns can
define themselves as a locus for arts activities supported by the Vermont Arts
Council Municipal Planning Initiatives in partnership with Catamount Arts.
The Burklyn Arts Council, provides arts funding to the schools and communities of the seven towns in Caledonia North Supervisory Union and maintains a local Artists Register to promote in-school residencies and artist involvement in other programs. To support these activities, Burklyn sponsors two juried craft fairs each year.
3. Notable Arts Programs.
The Dance Program at North Country Union High School has trained several
individuals who have gone on to dance professionally. The program has also widened
exposure to dance by incorporating dance in the NCUHS physical education curriculum.
Program participants have performed around Vermont and in New York City.
Bread and Puppet Theater is renowned for linking art and social causes. Regular summer performances take place at the farm/amphitheater in Glover, where there is also a museum of the history of Bread and Puppet. The theater also is a fixture at community parades and gatherings in Vermont, the nation and around the globe.
Grass Roots Arts and Community Effort (G.R.A.C.E.) enables the elderly, residents of nursing homes, clients of mental health agencies, and youth to express themselves artistically and show their work. GRACE has or has had workshops in Greensboro, Hardwick, St. Johnsbury, Newport and Barton.
Kingdom County Productions in Barnet produces regional feature films, documentaries, film making workshops for teenagers, and other film and theater projects.
Circus Smirkus in Greensboro offers apprenticeship opportunities for youth to learn circus related performance and entertainment skills. Youth involved in Circus Smirkus perform throughout Vermont.
Vermont Children's Theater serves up to 200 local children, ages 8 to 18,who are invited to act in one of two productions each summer. The show for younger children is usually created especially for them and features as many children as possible in a full-costume show of singing and dancing. The show for the older children is always a Broadway musical.
For summer music programs, the Craftsbury Chamber Players perform weekly chamber music at the Hardwick Town Hall. Summer Music from Greensboro performs weekly classical music at the United Church in Greensboro. The Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival features contemporary music at its site in Irasburg.
Community bands include the Northeast Kingdom International Wind Symphony based in Newport and the Newport Area Volunteer Band.
4. Historical Societies.
The Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance lists 35 local museums, historical
societies and historic districts in the Northeast Kingdom.
5. Other Historical Resources:
The St. Johnsbury Archives Collaboration is a partnership among the Fairbanks
Museum, the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, the Town of St. Johnsbury, St. Johnsbury
Academy, and the St. Johnsbury Historical Society to ensure the retention and
accessibility of the documentary history of St. Johnsbury. The Archives Collaboration
will arrange and describe the current holdings of the partner institutions,
to current professional archival standards and create and develop professional
management strategies for each archive, including collecting policies, processing
procedures and other core documents.
Residents of the Northeast Kingdom and visitors have access to quality artistic and cultural experiences. The Northeast Kingdom can support a vibrant arts community. Artistic and cultural venues are strong centers of community life and on sound financial footing. Children are able to express themselves artistically. They are exposed to and have interest in quality music, theater, dance, and visual art experiences
The primary challenges for the arts and culture in the Northeast Kingdom are directly related to a lack of financial resources and a critical mass of people to pay for the arts.
1. Support through Sales.
The Kingdom simply does not have the critical mass of people needed to adequately
support the arts through the sale of tickets or the purchase of individual works.
In most cases, visual artists must market their work outside the area. Artistic
performances and showings must be subsidized through other fundraising. This
is despite the fact that the Northeast Kingdom's beauty and rural character
make it a very desirable place for artists to work and live.
2. Maintenance of Artistic and Cultural Venues.
The Northeast Kingdom is home to several significant historical and cultural
resources that remain underutilized. Due to the limited number of visitors to
these institutions, financial maintenance of the facilities and programs requires
constant innovation. The area does not have significant space to exhibit visual
art.
3. Children's Limited Connection to the Arts.
School budgets in the Northeast Kingdom tend to be limited, and the arts are
often the first item to be cut from school budgets. Although there are heroic
efforts by parents and community groups to provide opportunities and transportation
for artistic experiences, most children do not have sufficient access to the
arts.
Support through Sales; Maintain Artistic and Cultural Venues
Children's Limited Connection to the Arts