Building Art and Community
Lili Ruane Matching Campaign
The need for the collective creative space that drives artmaking, experimentation, and innovation was well understood by artist and BCA friend and supporter, Lili Ruane. Thanks to Lili’s $1 million legacy gift, we are now are 70% of the way towards our goal of completing our campaign to expand art studio and community space at 405 Pine Street. To honor Lili’s memory, we will rename the studios: THE LILI RUANE STUDIOS AT 405 PINE STREET.
This match could not come at a more critical time. If we are successful meeting the remaining $500,000 of this match, we will be able to keep our construction team on site this fall with the renovation of the Community Room, with completion slated for late spring 2025.
At our September 12 donor appreciation event at 405 Pine Street, we were very moved to announce that Lili’s family has launched a $1 million match and pledged $500,000 to honor Lili’s commitment to this project, and her lifetime of commitment to the arts.
“I’m so excited to see this project come to fruition. To have a community room, and one that is supported with city resources and philanthropy, is an incredible gift to the community.”
—Lucia Campriello, Parent & South End resident
Dear Friends,
Creating space for artists and community to gather—to build connections around shared ideas, and to celebrate—is central to both Burlington City Arts’ mission and to my life’s work and passion. It’s been concerning in recent years to see opportunities to practice cultural expression and engage in informal learning dwindle as large spaces for creative pursuits disappear. This capital campaign will help reverse these trends and so much more.
Like many of you, our friends and supporters, I am motivated to succeed in this campaign by the pressing needs of our youth. It has never been more important to make creative space for the next generation of thinkers and leaders, and to ensure that the arts are accessible to help young minds develop the critical thinking skills needed to build a more just, safe, and equitable future.
The BCA Foundation has made great strides advancing this campaign to date, raising over $8.5 million of the $12.5 million goal to invest in improvements at 405 Pine Street. We are now in the home stretch of the campaign—to raise a final $4 million to develop the interior space for programming and public use.
Once complete, this community-defining art center at 405 Pine Street will embody our City’s commitment to environmental responsibility, make the arts more accessible for all ages and abilities and strengthen community life for years to come.
Doreen Kraft Executive Director, Burlington City Arts Director, Burlington City Arts Foundation
Building for the Future
We believe that access to the arts makes our community stronger.
Burlington City Arts imagines a city in which everyone experiences the power and joy of the arts. For 40 years, this vision has driven us to create opportunities for artists to learn, create, and thrive. To help people of all ages, races, abilities, and incomes access highquality arts experiences. To foster dialogue and showcase different points of view, and to meet our community’s most pressing needs through the arts.
Today, Burlington City Arts’ Studios at 405 Pine Street host state-of-the-art facilities for clay, print, photography, metalsmithing, and painting available to all community members in an easily accessible South End location. From providing artists with space to incubate their small businesses to introducing the next generation of visionaries and leaders to
fundamental concepts in our camps, classes, and workshops, BCA Studios are a critical resource to help nourish the strong local arts community we all know and love.
Unfortunately, BCA’s current education and studio programs are at capacity and have long waiting lists. At the same time, spaces for large community gathering are closing. When the City of Burlington conducted a survey of infrastructure priorities in 2022, the desire for affordable space for arts, food, and community gathering emerged as one of the top three priorities.
We
need to expand at 405 Pine Street to meet today’s needs as well as to anticipate tomorrow’s.
With the building envelope improvements and site work on the development project at 405 Pine Street complete, the BCA Foundation is now dedicated to raising the funds needed to expand art education studios and community space in the building.
“As an artist originally from Kenya, I deeply understand the power of diverse voices and cultures coming together to create something extraordinary. The new community space at 405 Pine Street will be a vibrant hub for artistic expression in Burlington.
I believe that it will offer a unique opportunity for artists from all backgrounds to share their stories, celebrate our community’s rich diversity, and collaborate in ways that will inspire and uplift everyone. This space will be a beacon for inclusion and creativity, strengthening the arts community for years to come.”
—KeruBo
Supporting Children and Families
BCA summer camps are a special place where kids can grow, learn, and play.
Through approximately 75 summer camps for ages 6-17, each summer nearly 600 children take part in structured, high-quality art activities while connecting with peers and caregivers. They draw, paint, sculpt, and create. Most importantly, they have fun.
Art-making helps kids engage with the world around them while deepening emotional skills such as empathy and understanding. The arts and education are just as valuable throughout life, encouraging participants to strengthen relationships with neighbors and the environment, and to engage more deeply in civic life.
Making the Arts Accessible
In Burlington, 25% of residents live below the poverty level, and 28% of students speak a language other than English at home. Generally, BCA program participants align with these demographics. More than 25% of our participants identify as low income, and a greater percentage identify as BIPOC individuals than Burlington’s census demographics.
Many BCA programs are free of charge and more than 25% of BCA summer camp students receive a scholarship.
“BCA is not just an art studio, it’s a community. It’s become a huge part of our lives and the reality is that we wouldn’t be able to continue to offer as many experiences to our kiddos if it wasn’t for the scholarship program.”
—Beth, education program parent
Today, BCA Studios typically serve more than 1,900 adults and 1,700 youth annually.
Demand for BCA programs has increased dramatically in recent years; seats fill up within minutes of availability, and many young people are added to summer camp waiting lists in hopes that a space will open. Staff set aside seats in classes and camps to ensure accessibility to scholarship applicants, but there is simply not enough space to meet the need.
The expansion will double the number of youth who can participate in BCA summer camps and the number of scholarship seats available to help address this community challenge.
Welcoming Community
A key part of the expansion will be the new community and event space. Able to accommodate up to 250 people, the Community Room will be equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system, projection, video and lighting for events of many scopes, all adjacent to a flexible-use outdoor patio and performance stage.
Multicultural communities often associate creative gathering with shared food, making the fully-equipped kitchen a priority feature of the expansion. Large, flexible space provides a place for families and children to gather and make art or music or dance together. The space will be available to rent for community groups, non-profits and businesses, offering a much-needed space for community cohesion and civic dialogue, as well as earned-income for BCA.
405 Pine Street will build community through the arts by bringing together thousands of people annually to engage with events inside and outside the building, and expand access to economic opportunities.
Investing in Vermont’s Creative Economy
The arts and creative sector is a significant contributor to Vermont’s economy, making up over 9% of Vermont jobs and generating $93,482,735 in economic activity in the Greater Burlington Area alone, $930,831 in Local Tax Revenue and $3,149,219 in State Tax Revenue.*
The development project at 405 Pine Street repurposes an industrial warehouse into a cultural asset that contributes to the ecosystem of our region’s economic development—from generating direct economic impact and creating new jobs to helping local businesses retain and recruit employees.
The expansion project will increase opportunities within the creative sector for training and professional development, and enhance networking opportunities. Expanded space will also increase capacity for small business incubation, made possible by BCA’s specialized equipment—like kilns and pottery wheels, printmaking equipment, traditional and digital photography processing equipment.
“BCA has been the catalyst in cultivating and promoting the arts and entrepreneurship and was instrumental in creating a unique creative community identity in the South end of Burlington. The repurposing and redevelopment of the Farrell property at 405 Pine Street will add significant physical space to continue to attract and support the creative community in Burlington. Building upon Burlington’s creative culture, this area holds tremendous potential for the future of Burlington.”
—Frank Cioffi, GBIC
Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
The redevelopment of 405 Pine Street integrates environmental sustainability into every aspect of design, construction, and programming. The project has established a netzero-ready future, completing energyefficient exterior building improvements including insulated roof, walls and siding and installing new energy-efficient windows and skylights.
Healthier, new outdoor space is also a new feature of the 2.2 acre site thanks to a statefunded brownfield remediation, enhanced storm water management, and landscape improvements, including a platform for public art with installations already underway.
A new sculpture by artist Stephen Roades is powered using electricity that is solargenerated on-site with a demonstration system by Verde Technologies. The sculpture highlights the critical advancements in technology that are urgently needed to help mitigate our climate crisis and illuminates the beauty and possibility of renewable energy. An art bike rack designed by artist Nancy Dwyer adorns the sculpture court along the Champlain Parkway’s multi-modal path.
Campaign Progress
The BCA Foundation has raised $8.5 million of a $12.5 million goal to invest in improvements and purchase of the 405 Pine Street property, made possible by the generosity of many private donors, government funding, and a favorable New Market tax credit loan.
The final phase of the campaign to create programmatic and community space in the building is now underway.
405 Pine Street Floor Plan
August 2024
Rendering: TruexCullins, Architecture & Interior Design
CLAY THROWING WORKSHOP 1
VEST
ILN ROOM
PHOTO LAB
ROOM
Campaign Leadership
CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP
BCA FOUNDATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Doug Griswold, President
Billi Gosh, Vice President
Michael Metz, Secretary
Sandy Berbeco
Greg Danford
Jeffry Glassberg
Jennifer Kaulius
Doreen Kraft
Amanda Hemley
Barbara Perry
CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
Billi Gosh, Chair
Sandy Berbeco
Peter Clavelle
Jen Kaulius
Michael Metz
Katharine Montstream
Lori Rowe
Win Smith
HONORARY COMMITTEE
Bobby Miller†
Pat Robins
Lili Ruane†
Lisa Schamberg
Nancy Schoenfeld
LEAD
& EARLY CAMPAIGN DONORS
Lili Ruane t
City of Burlington
State of Vermont:
Vermont Brownfields Program
State of Vermont: Vermont
Department of Economic Development
LEAD STAFF
Doreen Kraft
Sara Katz
Scott McArdle, Campaign Counsel
Christine Graham, Campaign Counsel
Kelsey Barrett
Lucy Barrett
Sophie Barrett
Julie Bromage
Sandy Berbeco and David Coen
Jane’s Trust
Robin Lloyd
Diana McCargo and Peter Swift
Holly t and Bob t Miller
Onda Foundation
Pat Robins and Lisa Schamberg
Win Smith
Lisa Steele
Trout Lily Foundation
It Takes a Community
Thanks to the generosity of our early campaign individual donors and government funding, we are well on our way—almost 70% towards the project goal—to making the dream of a community arts facility a reality in Burlington.
We are reaching out to you—our community— to help us cross the finish line by contributing. We are graciously accepting charitable gifts large and small towards the final phase of the campaign. Once complete, 405 Pine Street will embody our City’s commitment to make the arts accessible for all and create a community resource for generations to come. We invite you to join us!
“I
don’t make a distinction between addressing homelessness and supporting the arts—it’s all important. This creative space you have at 405 Pine Street is so powerfully relevant.”
—Ann
Jones-Weinstock, Trout Lily Foundation
BCA 2023 Impact
164,510
people participated in BCA’s broad offerings of programs and events
23,141 visitors came to BCA center exhibitions
2,289 community members made art with BCA education programs
25% of all youth and adult learners benefited from scholarships to BCA’s arts based learning programs
*Based on latest data available from FY23 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023)
For more information or to discuss making a gift, please contact Sara Katz at skatz@Burlingtoncityarts.org 802-865-5356
BURLINGTON CITY ARTS 135 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401 BURLINGTONCITYARTS.ORG