Last month, two Vermont Studio Center Trustees received nominations to national leadership roles, in the arts and in business. President Obama named Bobby Mandell as one of the newest members of the President’s Export Council at a press conference on July 7th. Mandell, a member of the Studio Center Board of Trustees since 2007, will join business and labor leaders from across the country in offering advice on how to promote U.S. exports, jobs, and growth. Sculptor Willard Boepple was nominated to the National Academy, joining a list of some of the country’s most prestigious artists. Other 2010 nominees include VSC alumna Janine Antoni and VSC Visiting Artists Garth Evans, Melissa Meyer, Amy Sillman, and Lee Tribe. Academicians are elected by their peers, and give a work of art upon their acceptance of the honor of their election. Today, some 350 living painters, sculptors, graphic artists and architects, are active members of the Academy, and the collection has grown to be a unique and important collections of American art since the Academy was founded in 1825.
Long-time board members and honorary founders Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason also hold appointments in the National Academy and The Century Association (respectively). Wolf Kahn is also a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters and Madeleine Kunin is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
