Gallery Guide
An exhibition commemorating the National Endowment of the Arts residency program
January 24—February 1, 2025
Becoming / Vermont features more than 40 works of art by teen artists from the greater Burlington area. The exhibition is the culmination of Burlington City Arts’ 2024 Artist-in-Residence project. From September through October, three residencies hosted current and previous exhibiting BCA artists including ArtLords, Michelle Im, and Sarah Stefana Smith. Through a series of three three-day workshops with these professional artists, high school students explored processes such as hand-building, weaving, and mural painting.
Becoming / Vermont uses artmaking as a means to explore personal and collective identity. During a pivotal period of development, these young artists are defining who they are while discovering their place in the world. Student artists were encouraged to take risks, connect ideas with materials, and experiment with artistic processes through projects inspired by and in collaboration with the artists-inresidence. Featuring painting, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, video, and assorted mixed media, Becoming / Vermont is as impressive as it is expressive—capturing a moment in young adults’ lives defined by growth and self-creation.
The Projects
ArtLords and 9th Grade Cohort,
Burlington High School (BHS)
Abdullah Elhan, Zuhra Nadem, and Sean Kiziltan of Vermont’s ArtLords guided BHS 9th grade students in working collaboratively to create three mini-murals highlighting themes of discovery and transformation. The murals explore themes of self-love and selfreflection, change and self-discovery, and the call for liberation for women across the world.
Michelle Im and AP Art Class,
Burlington High School (BHS)
New York artist and educator Michelle Im worked with BHS AP Art students to create clay vessels that represented aspects of their identity. Students learned how to create pinch pots and coil vessels, and then adorned the ceramic using the sgraffito technique to tell a part of their story.
Sarah Stefana Smith,
Burlington Technical Center (BTC)
Massachusetts artist and educator Sarah Stefana Smith guided students from BTC’s Design & Illustration and Digital Media Lab in exploring concepts of personal and collective identity. Students learned techniques of weaving and knot-making. Applying these techniques using a variety of upcycled and inventive materials, students created literal and conceptual weavings.
The work of Michelle Im and the ArtLords was featured in BCA’s exhibition Passages: Identity, Memory, and Transformation on view September 27, 2024 – February 1, 2025.
Exhibiting Students and Lead Educators
Jory Hearst, BHS English Teacher, 9th Grade Residency Cohort
Dona Bishula, Gavin Bowley, Alexus Comeau, Ana Membrino, Sofia Mendez, Merdi Mambueni, Noah Mitchell, Rahmat Mohammedi, Sasha Monteagudo, Triza Pradhan, Sadaf Rasooli*, Kaya Rubin, and Jillian Stucker.
Lorien Leyden, BHS Art Teacher, AP Art Class
Richie Amerson, Aspa Dieng, Mallory Flynn, Rose Howell, Koi Jones, Josephine Neary, Coretta Ngoulaki, Luca Stanton, Krisha Thapa, Amelia Van Driesche, and Sage Wyndorf.
*Sadaf Rasooli’s participation coordinated by Sarah Childs, Director of the Center for Student Diversity, Empowerment, and Community and Associate Dean of Students, St. Michael’s College, VT.
Jason Raymond, BTC Instructor, Digital Media Lab, and Ashley Stagner, BTC Instructor, Design & Illustration
Richie Amerson, Savannah Cohen, Trudy Farrell, Savannah Gauthier, Nico Listi, Sam Lamonde, Janvier Mbilizi, May O’Neill, Max Olinsky-Paul, Khalil Philie, Ava Roden, Simon Rowe, Samantha Santarcangelo, and Ian Wirtz.
Residency only: Jaidyn-Laren Barrow, Riley Corbo, Leo Cruickshank, Lucy Depper, Mustafa Fadel, Trudy Farrell, Marley Fitzgerald, Brianna Houser, Nico Jastatt, Senturan Jones, Violet Klasen, Amelia Kostell, Kaylee Lavallee, Ryland Leddy, Chaviv Mack-Dev, Kathir Mack-Dev, Isabella Maestas, Kai Mahaffey, Ludo MampouyaLouamba, Josiah Ouk, Karter Place, Maximiliano Portilla-Hoose, Simon Rowe, Margaret Ruben, Theo Wells, and Eslyn White.
Get creative and make art together! Free and open to the public all are welcome
January 25 11 - 1 PM, BCA Center
Join BCA for a drop-in art-making activity inspired by the ceramics of Passages artist, Michelle Im, and Burlington High School students who worked with the artist as part of BCA’s fall residency program Becoming / Vermont.
Becoming/Vermont is a collaboration between BCA and two community partners, Burlington Technical Center and Burlington High School, and is supported in part by the Maslow Family Foundation. Burlington City Arts is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council & the National Endowment for the Arts.
Church Street, Burlington, Vermont, 05401 |
