Outreach Programs

Roger Hyndman at Manchester Elementary School.

Rutland Northwest Primary School students make art out of toothpicks and marshmallows.

David Faxon, Churchill Ettinger Memorial Award recipient; Meridyth Burbank, H. Thomas Clark Memorial Scholarship recipient; and Lucas Annunziata, Thomas Riley Dibble Award recipient.

Stratton Mountain School students making pottery during residency with local artist Sue Kramer.

Established in 1995 by Executive Director, Christopher Madkour, SVAC’s Outreach Program annually facilitates a host of interdisciplinary arts initiatives, both on campus and off. Today, under the stewardship of Stacy Gates, SVAC’s Outreach Coordinator, Outreach has become the public face of the Arts Center’s core mission, “to make both the visual and performing arts an integral part of the life of our community…”

The Jonathan Levin Educational Endowment Fund, offered each year by Southern Vermont Arts Center benefactor Barbara Riley, provides Outreach Grants to schools across southern Vermont. The funds are used to help pay for programs that go beyond the receiving schools’ often-limited budget. The far reaching benefits of this program were described recently by Stratton Mountain School’s art teacher. In summarizing their clay-sculpting residency with artist Sue Kramer she stated, “Students were exposed to a talented artist within their immediate community, they worked with an art medium otherwise unavailable to them, and they were introduced to a career lifestyle committed to the arts.”

The 2008-2009 Grant Recipients:
Arlington Area Childcare, Manchester Elementary School, Rutland Northwest Primary School, Currier Memorial School, Mettawee Community School, Shaftsbury Elementary School, Fisher Elementary School, Northshire Day School (Manchester), Stratton Mountain School

CALENDAR OF CHILDREN'S EVENTS

Be an Art Student for the Day
Sunday June 7 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
One of our most popular free children’s art education programs. Participants are able to choose formal art instruction in three different art mediums, such as painting, drawing, printmaking, in one fun art-filled afternoon. This event is specifically for children ages 6 - 10 and pre-registration is required. Parents are encouraged to call early as this event always fills up early.

Father's Day Workshop
Saturday, June 20 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Get some help making a very personal gift for Father's Day: a book all about Dad! We'll provide a wide variety of materials for this project but you are encouraged to bring any photographs, stickers or other small items that you might want to include in your book. This workshop is for children 5 years and older. Preregistration is required. $8/member; $12/non-member

Family Art Day
Saturday, June 27 10:30 am -12 noon
Enjoy a guided tour of an Arts Center attraction and a supervised art activity. Pre-registration is required; parent/child activity. $8 for member adult/child pair; $15 non-member. $4 additional child; $8 additional non-member adult

Call 802.362.1405 or email Stacy Gates, Outreach Coordinator, at sgates@svac.org to register for any of these events.