The Reward Is In The Doing

When I listen to one of the many talented musicians who live in our little corner of the world in southern Vermont it makes me realize that there is very little difference between them and others who are more well known to the world. I often wonder how fame and fortune, especially in the arts, figure into the overall scheme of things.

I suspect that many of us want to be recognized for the talents we have, whether they be in music, art, writing or any creative field. But some people decide, early in their lives, that they want to put the effort into not only their art but into the pursuit of fame. It requires a special kind of dedication and it is something that most of us will decide not worth doing.


Guilford Stage GoFundMe

Guilford Center Stage announces a GoFundMe campaign to help improve the space it uses at Broad Brook Community Center, in Guilford. The fundraiser will continue the improvements achieved with the recent renovation of the building, with two acquisitions.

First, the theater group is purchasing four air purifiers, to be used both in the auditorium and backstage, to protect the health of actors and audiences. These Oransi brand purifiers have state-of-the art HEPA filters and will recirculate all the air in the auditorium and stage area twice each hour, removing 99.97% of dust, bacteria, even viruses.


Arts & Humanities Curators Speak at Next Stage Arts in March and April

PUTNEY, VT— 3/8/2023 — Next Stage announces the NXT Curators series, supported in part by Vermont Humanities, offering an opportunity for audiences to hear from curators in various arts/humanities fields. The intent is to shine a light on less known styles and genres, providing a behind-the-scenes look at what curators need to consider when working with their medium.

“For most, the arts are something we interact with as a finished product. We love the musicians we love, but we don’t understand the inner workings of how those mediums create their work,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “This curator series shines a spotlight on some less mainstream mediums to hear from the people who help facilitate the vast body of work, how it gets made, what goes into making it, and how to make sense of it. I hope this series helps people appreciate all forms of art at a deeper level.”


Multimedia Exhibit about Social Justice on Display at Landmark College

A new exhibit in The Fine Arts Gallery at Landmark College explores issues of social justice and injustice through the multimedia works of Lani Asuncion, Nima Nikakhlagh, Vick Quezada and William Ransom.

Curated by Landmark College Associate Professor of Arts Samuel Rowlett, “In the Course of Human Events” opened on February 15 and will be on display through April 21, 2023 in the Fine Arts Gallery, which is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Rowlett says the exhibition title, taken from the first line of the Declaration of Independence, offers a reminder of the deeply human complexities, tragedies, and hypocrisies inherent in the ongoing formation of our “more perfect union.”


NEGINA on “Here We Are”

NEGINA shares stories of the hardships of leaving her home and family in Afghanistan and becoming a refugee, and talks about her peace-building work as an ArtLord, one mural at a time.


Guilford Center Stage Announces Season

Guilford Center Stage returns, after a 3-year absence, with spring and fall productions of plays in its home at Broad Brook Community Center. COVID concerns cancelled the 2020 season, after which the former grange hall was closed for major renovation, now completed. The theater group will remain on COVID awareness as this season progresses.

In a departure from its usual mission of presenting little-known plays, Guilford Center Stage will move in the opposite direction for its return production, with performances of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” the first weekend in May. The group decided this popular, ground-breaking play about typical life in a small New England town would be in keeping with this occasion. The play will be directed by Ian Hefele, a veteran of several Guilford productions. Auditions will be announced shortly.


Sandglass Theater presents “A Rafter of Crankies” at Green Mountain Orchards

Once more, Sandglass’ signature event, A Rafter of Crankies, will take place on Thanksgiving weekend in the atmospheric big hall of Green Mountain Orchard. Performances will take place on Friday November 25 at 7 PM and on Saturday November 26 at 5 PM and 7:30 PM.

This year’s crankie artists include annual favorites Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass, Anna Patton, and Brendan Taaffe. Donald Saaf will be rejoining the crew with something brand new. And, for the first time, Mary Fraser will bring one of her beautiful crankies to the event!


Peter Heller on “Here We Are”

If you’re a fan of PETER HELLER’ s best-selling books, it’ll be no surprise that he has amazing stories of high adventure, suspense and great beauty – which he tells with vividness and generous doses of good humor.

He was kind enough to stop by while he was in town for a very fun show, and talked about his adventures, his writing and………his connections to our community.


“Here We Are” with David Rohn, Artist

From military school to cartooning, to his early years in the NYC art world and onto teaching at Windham College, DAVID ROHN tells the story of his life through art and enjoying himself wherever he is.


Three Major Vermont Arts Organizations Join Forces to Celebrate “Thanksgiving Weekend of Arts” in Putney, VT

Thanksgiving weekend, November 25, 26 and 27, promises to be a big weekend for Putney, Vermont. The Putney Craft Tour, Next Stage Arts Project and Sandglass Theatre have joined forces to promote “Thanksgiving Weekend of Arts”.

Ken Pick, one of the founders of the Putney Craft Tour says: “This will be a great cultural treat for visitors and locals alike. Not only will the craft tour be taking place during the day, but Next Stage Arts will offer an art exhibition— Elemental Abstractions Works on Paper by Joe Norris opening late afternoon on Saturday and Sandglass Theater will present, “A Rafter of Crankies”, with performances scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights.

The collaboration will provide an opportunity to create a bigger and better weekend to draw more people and bring a positive impact on area inns and restaurants and on our respective organizations,” says Pick. “We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors and arts lovers alike. And, with the Putney Craft tour beginning on Friday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the weekend offers perfect timing for visitors to enjoy all of the offerings.”


Landmark College Fine Arts Gallery Hosts Artist Reception for “Forest Composition” Exhibit, November 11

The Fine Arts Gallery at Landmark College will host an artist reception for the “Forest Composition” exhibit on Friday, November 11 from 5-7 p.m.

“Forest Composition” is a multimedia exhibition with works by Brantner DeAtley, Betsey Garand and Gina Siepel. The works by these three artists explore themes of nature and environment, our place within it and our human connection to it.

Landmark College Associate Professor of Fine Art and Gallery Director Samuel Rowlett says the exhibit is inspired by shinrin-yoku, the Japanese practice of “forest bathing”, and the health and wellness benefits of spending time interacting with the natural world and nature’s ability to counteract some of the effects of the “technostress” of our increasingly digital world.


Shoot The Moon Theater Company Presents “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at Hooker-Dunham

Shoot the Moon Theater Company returns to live, in-person theater performances with a production of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” for its 2022 Annual Halloween Spectacular.

Shows take place Fridays and Saturdays, October 21-22 and October 28-29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery. General Admission is $13.00. Tickets can be purchased at the door or reserved in advance by calling 802-451-0523.

“Jekyll and Hyde” will be the company’s first production in front of a live audience since January 2020, according to Shoot the Moon’s Artistic Director Joshua Moyse. “We stayed in contact through COVID-19, did some online readings, and did a digital Halloween show in 2020,” he says. “We’ve mostly been waiting until the time was right to rev back up, and now is that time.”


Hill Journey: October 12 Event on Poet William Mundell

I’m pleased to invite you to this free program at Brooks Memorial Library next Wednesday evening. This is a wrap-up of the Words Project, which has focused on Lucy Terry Prince, Royall and Mary Tyler, and Mary Wilkins Freeman, authors from the past, who lived in Guilford and/or Brattleboro. The Wednesday program serves as a prelude to this year’s Brattleboro Literary Festival, which runs from Thursday through Sunday.

Now we turn to a more recent author, poet William Mundell (1912-1997), lifelong resident of South Newfane. Both his life and his work are of interest. At 6 pm we’ll have our traditional roundtable discussion with his nephews and with Andy Burrows, who worked with the poet on publication of his first book, Hill Journey, by the Stephen Greene Press. We’ll tell you about Mundell’s life as not only a fine poet, but a painter, photographer, town official, ski area developer, State Highway Foreman, stone mason, house builder …. There will also be a small exhibit at the library of Mundell items.


Visual Artist Destiny Palmer Discusses Creative Process at Landmark College, September 27

The Landmark College Academic Speaker Series presents visual artist Destiny Palmer on Tuesday, September 27 at 5 p.m. in in the Brooks M. O’Brien Auditorium, located in the Lewis Academic Building.

The Boston-based artist will discuss her public art and studio-based practice that function as places to create dialogue and make space for investigation. Palmer will also share how her practice has ebbed and flowed to what it has become now, centered around color, abstraction and history.


Rocks, Paper, Scissors – New Exhibit at West Village

Rocks, Paper, Scissors, a multimedia exhibit by six area artists, is now on view at All Souls Church in the West Village Meeting House through October 31.The public is invited to a reception on Saturday, September 24, 2 to 4 pm.

The exhibit, curated by Stuart Copans, focuses on Vermont rocks, both actual ones and those portrayed in works of art by Copans, Maisie Crowther, Don Fitzpatrick, Kip King, Steven Meyer, and Charles Siggins II, Rocks preserve the rich and elaborate patterns that waves and currents create on the floor of the ocean as well in mountain streams, where the water flows in curves and spirals that are reproduced in the flow of molten rock that solidifies to preserve the patterns of both flow and turbulence.


Architecture + Design Monthly Free Film Series Begins Wed, Sept. 21 at 118 Elliot

The Architecture + Design Film Series will kick-off its 10th season of free, monthly films shown in person simultaneously at 6:30 pm at 118 Elliot in Brattleboro, 118 Elliot Street, and at Burlington City Arts’ Contois Auditorium up north, on September 21, 2022 with “M.C. Escher: Journey to Infinity” (2019, Robin Lutz, 81 minutes, Netherlands, mostly English with some subtitles). Doors open at 6:15 pm. Film showings are free and open to all (masking is optional but appreciated) and are also available for virtual viewing all day through the A+D Film website at: www.adfilmseries.org.