Vermont Business Magazine Four Vermont community organizations will work with artists to animate their environment with public art. Each received a grant through the Animating Infrastructure program, which encourages collaborative partnerships between communities and artists to integrate public art into existing or proposed infrastructure improvement projects. A key goal of the program is to foster unique, inspiring, and attractive landmark communities throughout Vermont.
“Animating Infrastructure projects recognize that art and creativity are woven into the fiber of our communities,” said Vermont Arts Council Executive Director Karen Mittelman. “A village green, a railroad bridge, a hiking trail, or a waterway can become a setting for vibrant public art that connects us to our neighbors. We are proud to support four innovative projects that reimagine public spaces by infusing art into physical infrastructure.”
In 2019, the third year that Animating Infrastructure Grants have been awarded, the following four organizations received grants:
Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, Brattleboro
$15,000 to support a new kinetic public art installation entitled "Ask the River" at the Brattleboro Transportation Center
Middlebury Underground, Middlebury
$15,000 to support a poetry walk with poems engraved in sidewalks around downtown Middlebury
Paran Recreations, North Bennington
$15,000 to support a sculptural kiosk for the town of North Bennington
Wilmington Works, Wilmington
$14,000 to support a work of art to cover the Beaver Street retaining wall
Since the Animating Infrastructure Grant program began in 2015, grants have been awarded to projects in Bethel, Burlington, Jeffersonville, Lincoln, Montpelier, Morristown, Poultney, and Waterbury.
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.
Source: Vermont Arts Council Montpelier -- Montpelier. 6.4.2019 www.vermontartscouncil.org.