The Council received the 2016 Governor's SMART Award for Creative Marketing at the Vermont Tourism Summit earlier this month. The award was in recognition of the Council's video and social media marketing campaign: "Vermont. Arts. Everywhere."

"Each year, we honor an organization that shows us successful initiatives that combine new media with our Vermont brand," said Kyle Opuszynski, chair of the Vermont Tourism Summit. "The winner of the SMART Award exemplifies forward thinking marketing, and we consider them to be the leaders in Vermont for marketing excellence."

The video series was produced by Brattleboro-based Mondo Mediaworks.
Watch a compilation of the four videos.

The Arts Council is partnering with Vermont State Parks and Big Heavy World to support the state's first "Make Music Day VT" on June 21.

Vermont will join 35 US cities and more than120 countries to simultaneously celebrate music across the landscape on the summer solstice. Vermonters of all ages are encouraged to join together and play at parks, on porches, in backyards, along country roads, and on city sidewalks.

Big Heavy World is coordinating the event and welcomes musicians and those who would like to coordinate a concert to register now. Visit Make Music VT to learn more about the statewide celebration.

To learn more about the international celebration visit the Make Music Day website.

Leaders from Americans for the Arts (AFTA), the nation's strongest arts-advocacy organization, visited Burlington earlier this month as part of a national research project called Arts, Culture, and the Future of America's Communities. The meeting underscored the wealth of information on advocacy and community building available through the AFTA website. According to Zon Eastes, director of outreach and advancement, "The growth and influence of AFTA over the past decade is impressive. The Research Hub and Arts U, are fantastic resources for any individual or organization related to the arts."

Beginning May 6,  "Landscapes and Wildlife," paintings and drawings by Gabriel Tempesta, will be featured in the Council's Spotlight Gallery. The Vermont native's work has been deeply inspired by the natural landscape. He works from his own photos and uses a combination of watercolor, charcoal, raw pigment, and powdered pastel.

Tempesta uses terms like "out of focus" and "subtle tones" in describing his recent work. He believes that "impressions received in nature are fleeting and ephemeral and we're often left with a memory that is soft around the edges rather than sharp."

The opening reception will be held Friday, May 6 from 4 to 7 p.m. Find out more about the exhibit.

That's the question inside and around many nonprofit organizations. Creative collaboration can increase the bottom line, but there are challenges as well.

Three theaters in Vermont are making a go of it. We explore that in this week's featured story: Dividing Conquests.