DESTINATION: VERMONT
While Vermont is dazzling all year long, there is something quite magical and mystical about the months bridging summer and winter. Leaves are exploding in a wave of color across the state, sparking creativity and inspiration. Visit Vermont this fall. Add an extra day to your long weekend, visit a few galleries and museums, bring home a piece of art, hike a new trail, and bask in the state’s unwavering hospitality. Art connects us to the land and each other. The following pages will spark your wanderlust.
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts—Brattleboro
Located at Main and High streets in downtown Brattleboro, Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts exhibits contemporary painting, prints, sculpture, glass and ceramics through solo and group exhibitions. Owned and directed by artists Petria Mitchell and Jim Giddings, the gallery also hosts artist talks, literary events and poetry readings aimed at connecting the greater community with artists and their work. Through October 6, Mitchell-Giddings presents Beyond Reason, acclaimed New York and Cape Cod photographer Amy Arbus’s images of circus
aerialists and burlesque dancers, captured midair in impossibly magnificent, athletic, contorted movement. Opening October 26, MitchellGiddings will celebrate its first decade with a curated exhibition of fine art prints by Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Eric Fischl, Stephen Hannock, Wolf Kahn, Emily Mason, Kiki Smith, James Stroud and Dan Welden, among others.
Vermont Artisan Designs—Brattleboro
Vermont Artisan Designs, located on Brattleboro’s Main Street, has been listed as one of the top ten galleries in Vermont for more than fifty years. American-made craft and fine art is the focus of this expansive three-floor gallery. If visitors are looking for a good time to visit, live music, food trucks, pop-up shops and around twenty galleries bring extra life to the town during Gallery Walk on the first Friday of the month. On the main floor of the gallery, jewelry, pottery, blown glass, wrought iron, turned wooden bowls, scarves, pewter, chimes, puzzles, cards, candles and an exceptionally comfortable wooden rocker can be found. On the mezzanine, there is a selection of wood block prints, wire
sculpture and more glass. Upstairs, there are eleven small galleries featuring oil, watercolor, pastel and acrylic paintings, sculpture, handmade furniture and a baby grand piano used for music during the Gallery Walk.
Burlington City Arts—Burlington
For more than thirty years, Burlington City Arts (BCA) has helped cement Burlington’s reputation as one of America’s most livable cities for the arts. Funded by a unique public/ private partnership in which private charitable contributions leverage City funding, BCA is dedicated to supporting artists while expanding access to arts-based education and experiences. BCA provides a national model for centering the arts in community impact, in sectors as varied as education, the environment, civic dialogue and the economy. Physical locations include the BCA Center, a three-level, yearround exhibition space, as well as BCA Studios, which hosts art classes, camps and open studio hours in BCA’s state-of-the-art facilities. BCA also produces city-wide festivals, events, concerts, films, artist markets and more.
Art at the Kent—Calais
Art at the Kent is an annual and much-anticipated exhibit that takes place at the Kents’ Corner State Historic Site, on view every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from September 6 to October 6, with an opening celebration on September 7. This year, two dozen Vermont-based artists responded to the theme (and title of the exhibition) Illuminated Worlds. Visitors can view works displayed throughout the grounds and historic structures of the site. In addition to the exhibition, Art at the Kent offers a variety of programs and events throughout its run. Words Out Loud, a Sunday reading series, is held September 15, 22 and 29 at nearby Old West Church. Join artist Janet Cathey for a printmaking workshop on September 21. On September 22, Art at the Kent and Fairbanks Museum host Sun as Star: Autumnal Equinox Event, a conversation between planetarium manager Christian Bradley Hubbs, meteorologist Lawrence Hayes
and sundial designer Bill Gottesman. These events are only the beginning; see Art at the Kent’s full event calendar online for more. See page 54 for a preview of Illuminated Worlds.
Vermont Studio Center—Johnson
Nestled in the Green Mountains, Vermont Studio Center (VSC) hosts an inclusive, global community of artists and writers. VSC offers two- or three-week residencies for artists and
writers who enjoy private studios, private bedrooms in shared lodging, fresh meals, and access to an esteemed Visiting Artists & Writers Program during their time at VSC. The Visiting Artists & Writers Program is free and open to the public, featuring writers Lars Horn on September 11 and 12 and Jennifer Grotz on October 9 and 10, and artists Wes Taylor on September 18 and Adriana Corral on October 22. VSC was founded in 1984 by Fred Osborne, Jon Gregg and Louise von Weise, and was originally named Vermont Studio School. Initially for visual artists exclusively, the program expanded to include writers in 1992, emerging as the dual residency that it is today. The beautiful VSC campus is made up of many historic buildings along the Gihon River in the village of Johnson.
Edgewater Gallery—Middlebury
Edgewater Gallery is a fine art gallery exhibiting contemporary and traditional fine art from
Vermont artists draw inspiration from infinite realms
both established and emerging artists. The gallery opened in 2009 and has two locations in Middlebury, Edgewater Gallery at the Falls and Edgewater Gallery on the Green. Edgewater now has additional exhibition space at The Pitcher Inn in Warren, Vermont. The gallery represents more than seventy artists between these three locations, including painters, photographers, sculptors, ceramicists, wood workers and jewelry artists. Edgewater Gallery features rotating exhibitions monthly and is set to open a two-person exhibition of paintings by Vermont-based artists Kate Gridley and William Hoyt on September 13. Re-Assembly, a solo show with work by Jane Davies, in on view through September 29 at Edgewater Gallery at the Falls.
Artistree Community Arts Center & Gallery—Pomfret
The Artistree Community Arts Center & Gallery
promotes the creation, exhibition and appreciation of art. Artistree began in Woodstock in 2003 as a music and visual arts center focused on young children and families. The organization expanded programming to include teen,
adult, senior and special needs populations, and added a gallery exhibition space, in response to community needs. In 2024, Artistree moved to its current home, a renovated 1891 dairy barn featuring studio spaces and the Hayloft performing space. The adjoining yellow farmhouse holds Artistree’s gallery. In addition to these, Artistree’s campus includes an outdoor pavilion, performance space and thirty acres of fields and forest for visitors to explore. This non-profit arts organization offers year-round classes, workshops, performances and gallery exhibits that nurture creativity in people of all ages and abilities. Visitors to Artistree experience the joy and vitality of the visual arts in a vibrant and beautiful community setting.
Hall Art Foundation—Reading
In the fall of 2012, the Hall Art Foundation opened its doors to the public, welcoming visitors
to view its program of rotating, temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. Located on a former dairy farm, the campus of converted galleries consists of a 19th-century stone farmhouse, three barns, a reception center and café. The property’s five historic buildings make up approximately 6,000 square feet of museumquality exhibition space. The farmhouse and barns sit next to a waterfall on a tributary of the Black River and are surrounded by approximately 400 acres of idyllic pastures, hayfields and extensive woodland. Outdoor sculptures by world-renowned artists are installed throughout the grounds for visitors to view as they explore the scenic landscape. Exhibitions are held seasonally, from May through November. On view this year are solo exhibitions of work by Barbara Kruger, Ed Ruscha, Sherrie Levine, and a twoman show titled Doomscrolling by Zorawar Sidhu and Rob Swainston.
Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery—Shelburne
Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery is a destination for discerning art lovers seeking a stylistically diverse range of contemporary art by established and emerging artists in a variety of media. Located just fifteen minutes south of Burlington, Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery is housed in a renovated Queen Anne Victorian for a comfortable, welcoming browsing environment. Founded in 1991 by Joan Furchgott and Brad Sourdiffe, the gallery has been under the ownership of Lara Maloy and Nico Sardet since early 2020. The gallery offers painting, sculpture, and mixed media work as well as museum quality, custom framing services, including hand finished frames, design experience, and conservation specialists. Customers may also find a collection of handmade jewelry, glass, and ceramics, plus ready-made photo frames, at this gallery. All visitors are welcome.
Leslie Fry —Winooski
Leslie Fry is an artist whose forty-eight-year career shows incredible diversity of style, media and method. Fry’s work has been widely exhibited and commissioned across the country and beyond. Visit the artist’s sculpture garden next to her studio in Winooski, a tiny city with Vermont’s most diverse population. Fry’s work primarily centers on the female figure, revising and revisiting historical depictions and replacing them with visuals of strength and freedom. The hedged garden integrates concrete and bronze sculptures with a flowering landscape, making it the perfect place to wander, relax and experience her art in a secluded setting. Leslie Fry’s studio is also open for viewing drawings, prints, and works in progress.
