Road trips, playlists and artwork

The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Knoxville’s historic Old City. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Long road trips were made for hours of music and family memories, seeing each state as a square in a quilt, with the highways as the thread that sews them together. We were treated to lots of great tunes that served as the backdrop to our trip as we made our way West last week crisscrossing 15 states. That's thanks to the Chuck Worrell playlist on Spotify, grounded in distinct guitar-picking Texas country music — a classic (thanks, Perrin!). What better way to make the trip?

Each day of the trip was the beginning of a new adventure with twists and surprises. As we pulled into the historic Old City of Knoxville, Tennessee, there was no plan except exploring with an open mind, and being curious. I recently learned one of Chuck's favorite novels was Lonesome Dove. And it so happened, we were greeted in the Old City by a restaurant named Lonesome Dove Western Bistro — you never know what you'll find when you travel. This historic area had a number of interesting architectural specimens, including the bistro building layout spanning the block. It was a moment in history, just waiting for the camera lens to happen by.

One of the greatest gifts of traveling is taking in each place with a fresh perspective — one that sees things others may miss. I took that perspective into Knoxville’s downtown, where the arts are alive. Amid the hustle and bustle of the city, I discovered some artwork in a place I didn't expect to find it just a block from the famed Tennessee Theatre.

A mural of Dolly Parton in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Walking by the alleyway of a one-way street, some brilliant colors caught my eye. I looked back to see country music icon Dolly Parton smiling back, from what would otherwise be a non-descript brick wall. This artwork was part of brightening up an alleyway in Knoxville which had been an eyesore for some time, until a local effort to enliven this alley took place about 5 years ago. It’s further proof that art, and the inspiration accompanying it, can always surprise you, by showing up where you might not usually look for it.

However, there was also plenty of art out in the open, where you would expect it. A major example is "Postcard from Knoxville", a mural created in 2013 to honor the "artists, musicians and visionaries that continue to make Knoxville a great place to work, live, play and visit." Crafted by artists Bobbie Crews, Ken Britton, Walt Fieldsa, Curtis Glover and Randall Starnes, the mural adorns the side of the Knoxville Visitors Center building. It was indeed an inspiration to capture this piece of the city's creative soul. And I love the opportunity to bring this postcard home and share it with all of you. The world's creativity, and its unlimited reflections, never cease to amaze.

— Gareth Henderson

“Postcard from Knoxville,” created by artists Bobbie Crews, Ken Britton, Walt Fieldsa, Curtis Glover and Randall Starnes. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Venue grants awarded to Pentangle, VINS

A view of the mountains surrounding Woodstock, Vt. (Gareth Henderson)

As reopening efforts continue, more financial help is on its way for the many local venues that closed their doors during the pandemic. That’s thanks to the latest round of federal shuttered venue grants. 

Among the 59 Vermont recipients are Pentangle Arts Council in Woodstock, which will get a $96,969 grant, and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) in Quechee, which was awarded a grant of $248,419. Overall, $18.7 million in grant assistance will go to eligible live music venues, movie theaters, and performing arts organizations in the Green Mountain State.

Alita Wilson, executive director of Pentangle, said the local nonprofit plans to reopen its theater this Saturday for a three-night run of the movie “In the Heights” — the theater had closed in March 2020. Wilson said the federal grant will be a huge help in covering reopening expenses, including the higher wages needed to pay projection staff, after some former employees moved on. 

“We’re thrilled we got this money,” she said.

It also helps add a financial buffer, Wilson added, since it’s not clear how many people will show up or if restrictions may happen again in the future. So far, Vermont officials have kept things as they are — statewide restrictions were lifted in June, including all capacity limits.

As for VINS, the Quechee organization closed for three months in 2020, and went through the winter with all indoor spaces closed. It reopened to full capacity after the state lifted all restrictions last month. Like Pentangle, VINS has used other federal relief, including the paycheck protection loan program, to stay afloat through the many challenges of the past 18 months.

“The whole range of programs designed to help organizations make up for revenue loss have been tremendously helpful,” said Charlie Rattigan, VINS’ executive director. 

With the generosity of many friends and supporters, along with the federal money, Rattigan said VINS was able to avoid layoffs or program cuts. Now, they’re able to run the usual summer schedule of four programs, daily, including camps. 

“It’s fun every day to hear the shouts and laughter of children through the open windows,” Rattigan said. 

Other nearby venues receiving the shuttered venues operators grants (SVOG) include JAG Productions Company, of White River Junction; Northern Stage, of White River Junction; Chandler Center for the Arts, of Randolph; Friends of the Historic Playhouse Theater, of Randolph; and the Paramount Theatre, of Rutland. Click here to access the full list of grantees and amounts.

The support of the Vermont Congressional Delegation was vital to the legislation containing the grants. The money was part of the Save Our Stages Act, which was introduced last year by U.S. Rep. Peter Welch. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy played a key role in getting this legislation signed into law and funds appropriated for the grants. In a joint statement, Welch, Leahy and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders noted the importance of these venues to local communities.

“What began as the ‘Save Our Stages’ movement over a year ago, has now materialized into meaningful relief for the venues we know and love,” the delegation said. “Our independent live music and entertainment venues not only bring joy and energy to our downtowns and communities, they are economic engines that help make Vermont such a special place to live and visit.”

— Gareth Henderson

Ushering in the spring, with ‘MUD (season)’

At right, "Bernie" by Marilyn Syme is shown at ArtisTree Gallery's "MUD (season)” show. At left are Syme's "Classic Jeans Jacket" and "Muck Boots" and Sarah Wesson's "Spade." (Gareth Henderson Photo)

ArtisTree Gallery’s annual springtime show is ushering in the light of spring as the region enthusiastically salutes this hopeful new season.

In this year’s “MUD (season)” exhibit, artists are also reflecting on the pandemic, portraying what they’ve missed most and what they’ve learned. The show at the Pomfret, Vermont, gallery runs until April 17 and is open for public viewing, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Art enthusiasts can also experience the show online. It features paintings, drawings, mixed-media collage, photographs, sculptures and ceramics from 65 local artists, for a total of 180 pieces.

Deborah Goodwin, exhibits coordinator at the gallery, said not all the work is related to COVID-19, and bright, spring-themed work has the strong presence it always does. But it's a year that drove lots of creativity among all artists.

"I think most people would say it's a solace to them, to make artwork during this weird, terrible time," Goodwin said.

The theme of looking back during this spring of hope is alive and well at this brilliant new show, which notes several topics that will be very familiar. Marilyn Syme's pieces include three works of trompe l'oeil (French for "fool the eye") acrylic painted on masonite, one of which shows U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders wearing his world-famous mittens. "Meet Me on Zoom", by Amy B. Schachter, reflects the all-too-familiar Zoom experience, from happy to tired faces, portrayed with acrylic paint and graphite on a wood panel. Photographer Nicholas Gaffney shows memories from the Tunbridge World’s Fair, juxtaposed with a picture of the empty, sunlit fairgrounds from 2020.

Part of the “MUD (season)” show at ArtisTree Gallery in Pomfret, Vt. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Being several weeks into the new season, MUD also beautifully presents the spring flowers we all love, adding to the many bright expressions of life, ranging from the realistic to the abstract. Christine Hawkins, showing her work at ArtisTree for the first time, has several abstract paintings on paper with the varied colors of spring.

"It really does make you smile," Goodwin said of the show. "It's very cheery, the colors are wonderful. In general we've seen artists get extremely creative this year."

Speaking of creativity, the recent months have also brought some great artistic successes: Katie Runde, whose work "What I Miss" is part of the ArtisTree show, was recently selected to paint a portrait of Alexander Twilight to hang in the Vermont State House. Twilight was the first African American elected to a U.S. state legislature; he was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1836.

While many of these artists have displayed work at ArtisTree before, Goodwin said, a number of new artists have also submitted their creations since ArtisTree reopened last June. Many people have come by to see the work displayed in the gallery as well, though the typical openings for shows have not been possible during the pandemic.

"We've had a lot of traffic and a lot of newcomers to the area," Goodwin said.

Given this very welcome start to the spring season, it's fitting to echo the announcement for the show: "Come see more than 180 pieces of remarkable and varied artwork — you will leave with a smile, feeling more-than-cautiously optimistic!"

— Gareth Henderson

ArtisTree Community Arts Center & Gallery is located at 2095 Pomfret Road in Pomfret, Vermont. For more information, call 802-457-3500, email info@artistreevt.org, or go online at www.artistreevt.org.

The year of our creative soul

A stream quietly runs near Cloudland Road in Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Creativity has soared to new heights over the past nine months, as more quiet, reflective moments led many people to discover new creative abilities within themselves. In some cases, those discoveries prompted new hobbies, while for others, they prompted a reinvigorated career path, or a new one altogether.

Whatever the case, creative energy runs deep in human beings — we all have it. This quality is certainly not a novelty brought into existence by the happenings of 2020. Rather, it's been unveiled like never before, in part because of the numerous opportunities to witness creativity online, from across the world. The great beauty is that different individuals express creativity in different ways, adding to the richness of this collective life experience as a global family.

We've all experienced the inspiring abundance of music, art and creative talent through Zoom or Facebook, which keep bringing us these fulfilling experiences amid current restrictions. This has led to more people taking part in those special audience moments only the arts can provide. But the significance of this creative boom is likely to go beyond expressions of art and culture. The confines of business and government may find creativity to be a useful path toward groundbreaking solutions to major issues. Indeed, today’s obstacles require going far beyond the routines and habits of thought involved with more conventional approaches. We'll have to break the mold, and challenge ourselves.

Thankfully, that creativity is alive and well within us, and ready to be harnessed. We can take that brilliant creative spirit we all have, break through barriers, and use it for the greater good. Despite current circumstances, there is hope, and it shines out from the creative soul we all share.

— Gareth Henderson

Arts centers look to the future

The marquee is shown outside Woodstock Town Hall Theater, which is operated by Pentangle Arts and currently closed due to the pandemic. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

When the state clamped down on public gatherings in late March, one of the hardest-hit sectors was the arts. Now, two months into the shutdown and with Vermont abuzz about reopening, arts centers are confronting survival in an economy that was leveled by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On Tuesday, that conversation was brought to the masses as part of a series of online forums organized by the Montpelier-based Community Engagement Lab.

Six leaders of local arts centers joined the discussion, facilitated by engagement lab co-founder and arts educator Eric Booth. The panelists: Jody Fried, executive director of Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury; Doreen Kraft, executive director of Burlington City Arts; Danny Lichtenfeld, executive director of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center; Steve MacQueen, artistic director of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington; Hope Sullivan, executive director of Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe; and Alita Wilson, executive director of Pentangle Arts in Woodstock. 

From the start of the shutdown, these organizations have explored ways to engage with their communities and offer some entertainment through online platforms like Zoom, while keeping their doors closed. Now, as budgets grow tighter and summer looms, the question is how to do business with smaller gatherings, or none at all, when most revenue has stopped. Planning is also a hurdle, as arts centers weigh what to schedule, or not, with this year half-gone and all or most of 2021 booked out.

Alita Wilson, executive director of Pentangle Arts in Woodstock, noted the challenge of balancing the need to run programming with the ability to afford it. And of course, state restrictions are in play. 

“Are we safer staying dark? That’s what keeps me up at night,” Wilson said.

Each of these centers are weighing what can be done with smaller crowd sizes, which Fried said may be the reality for some time. Catamount Arts’ board is led by a doctor, Fried said, who has warned the pandemic’s impact will last beyond summer. 

“He’s saying we’re going to be limited to very small groups for the foreseeable future,” Fried said, adding that means until 2021.

Sullivan wondered about the public’s response once reopening is possible. 

“Even once things open up and are allowed to, what’s the public’s comfort level to gather?” she asked. 

All organizations are looking for solutions, and panelists agreed the key to future success, now more than ever, will be partnerships. 

“Our survival is really dependent upon all of us,” Kraft said. “One of the things I’m feeling is that the community has really re-valued the role of the arts.” 

Some have begun exploring that. 

“We started reaching out across sectors, for business leaders to start weighing in,” Sullivan said. 

Overall, any new partnerships with other sectors will need to be financially beneficial for arts centers, too, panelists noted. 

“I’m hoping the other sectors will work to find a way it can benefit both of us,” Wilson said.

Fried thought the creative sector could certainly complement education in the fall, with schools also facing a changed world. Some of that interaction has occurred at the student level, with local families taking part in online events from their homes. 

As the quarantine period took shape, online activities and events have enabled these centers to reach new and bigger audiences. MacQueen said that presents an opportunity for arts organizations to explore models beyond the longstanding donor-and-member system.

“How do we make the arts affordable and accessible to people, instead of doing these old paradigms?” he said. 

Coming out of the first two months of shutdown, people are thinking about events very differently. For example, Catamount Arts created an online film slam, in which families made and submitted their own content, and they ended up with 80 films and numerous interactions. Fried said this “hybrid” model, pairing online engagement with home-produced content, could be the wave of the future.

“I think that’s the balance we’re going to have to find,” he said. It could also cut through the “Zoom fatigue” many experience from just watching a screen, he added. 

Lichtenfeld said he is exploring the possibility of mixing local art with outdoor experiences, since it blends two aspects of the state locals and visitors enjoy. 

“I think there’s room for us all to get incredibly creative with programming we can do outdoors,” he said. 

Like many sectors, the arts face many challenges and are trying to quickly discover new possibilities for fulfilling their mission. Tuesday’s discussion was fruitful and gave hope. It also highlighted some of the biggest hurdles Vermont faces, such as the need for more access to broadband and the need for more federal aid. However, it also put the spotlight on how creative we are as a state. With collaborative energy, innovation and creative resources, our communities can make progress through this challenging time, with the arts being at the forefront.

— Gareth Henderson