November 2011
Dear Vermont Craftspeople and Visual Artists,
We would like to introduce (or perhaps reintroduce) ourselves to you and invite you to become a member of the Vermont Crafts Council.
We are a statewide arts organization, 22 years old in 2012. We provide information about the Vermont visual arts community to three important groups: the general public, artists and craftspeople, and divisions of state government that promote Vermont's products and tourism.
The Vermont Crafts Council is a unique resource & voice for Vermont's visual artists:
- We have a searchable website with a high number of page views (1456 per day).
- We publish two Vermont Studio Guides a year, a valuable resource that provides locations, directions, websites and other contact information for those participating in an Open Studio Weekend. These are distributed through galleries, inns and all sites in the Vermont Information Center network. Last year we printed a total of 50,000 copies of this 32-page booklet. With these guides, we drive business to you, all year round.
- We partner with small business networks to ensure that arts businesses are included in Vermont tourism planning.
- We support our community through low-cost or free professional development.
- We value the entire Vermont visual arts community - individual makers as well as events, galleries, and educational organization. We work to improve possibilities for all.
You will benefit when you become a member of the Vermont Crafts Council:
- As a member, you are eligible to participate in our two Open Studio Weekends.
- As a member, you will get a page on the VCC website, vermontcrafts.com, a valuable web resource for searches of Vermont craft and visual art.
- As a member, if you teach (workshops, private lessons etc), you'll be listed in the Education section of the VCC website.
- As a member, your fee will be discounted for our Spring Marketing Conference held in April.
- As a member, you will support the work the VCC does for the Vermont crafts and visual arts community.
Please return your 2012 membership today. Put our resources to work for you and help us continue to work for the Vermont crafts and visual arts community. To learn more, please visit our website, vermontcrafts.com.
Thanks!!
Martha Fitch, Executive Director
Vermont Crafts Council at a Glance
Mission: We are dedicated to the advancement of Vermont crafts and visual arts within Vermont and nationally, through education and advocacy.
Founded: 1990
Annual membership fee: $60 for 12 months from when you pay your fee.
Membership Guidelines: Vermont residency.
Member Profile: Three main groups:
Visual artists and craftspeople including novices and professionals working with clay, wood, metal, fiber, glass, painting, drawing, printmaking, and paper.
Craft and visual arts organizations.
Galleries and shops, crafts events organizers.
2012 Important Dates
January 6 - Spring Open Studio 20th Year Registrations Due
April 11 - Open Studio Seminar and Materials Distribution Day
April 25 - Spring Marketing Conference, Annual Meeting and 2nd Open Studio Materials Distribution Day
May 15 - Fall Open Studio Registrations Due
May 26 & 27 Spring Open Studio 20th Year
September TBA - Fall Open Studio Seminar and Materials Distribution Day
October 6 - 7 Fall Open Studio Weekend
Vermont Crafts Council History and Special Projects
1990 The Vermont Crafts Council is founded by a group of representatives of Vermont craft organizations.
1991 – 1993 VCC publishes a seasonal newspaper with information from and about the crafts community.
1993 Open Studio begins as a section in the back of the Vermont Crafts Guide, a booklet listing craft businesses.
1993 Vermont State Craft Center Overview Commission appointed by Governor Dean to oversee the designation of Vermont State Craft Centers.
1994 Open Studio has its own publication, switching to a tabloid style newspaper with maps.
1996 Open Studio changes to a folding map with locations on one side and directions on the other.
1996 VCC premieres its website, vermontcrafts.com
1999 VCC works with the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM) on several cultural heritage initiatives resulting in local cultural heritage guides.
2000 Vermont Downtown – VCC, Craftproducers Markets, Cabot Creamery, VDTM collaborate to bring a show of Vermont products to Manhattan.
2005 VCC helps Cabot Creamery and the Vermont Maritime Museum to bring another showcase of Vermont products to Manhattan.
2006 VCC wins a $15,000 grant from the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design to begin research for State of Craft, documenting fifty years of the Vermont studio craft movement.
2009 Vermont Craft Center Overview Commission designates two new State Craft Centers (VCC instrumental in the continuation of this commission and represents the crafts community on it).
2010 State of Craft exhibit opens in Bennington and State of Craft Showcase events begin.
2011 First Fall Open Studio Weekend - October 1 and 2.
State of Craft Outcomes
Forty-three oral histories from the Vermont craft movement are conducted, compiled, and housed at the Vermont Folklife Center.
The first major historical exhibit of Vermont studio craft is presented at the Bennington Museum.
Timeline of events in the history of the studio craft movement is compiled.
VCC creates a new website to house research from State of Craft – stateofcraft.org.
24 State of Craft Showcase Events take place.
For more details about membership and Open Studio options read “Your Choices”.
Still confused? Check out our website, or call or email Martha Fitch, Executive Director.
E-mail HYPERLINK "mailto:vt1crafts@aol.com" vt1crafts@aol.com (802) 223-3380 Fax (802) 223-7479
VCC Board: President - Sandy Lance, Co-Vice Presidents, Ellen Spring and Marion Stegner, Secretary - Judy Dales, Treasurer - Anne Majusiak, Jim Fecteau, Eve Passeltiner, Ruby Leslie, Jenny Hermenze |
