Vermont Arts Council outlines 35 years of public art in state buildings, highlights budget line in capital request

Michelle Bailey, senior program manager at the Vermont Arts Council, told the Vermont Senate Committee on Institutions during a February meeting that the council’s Art and State Buildings program has commissioned work for state-owned buildings for 35 years and is now included as a line item in the state capital budget.

The program "enhances our cultural and working environments, provides artistic enrichment for Vermont citizens and visitors, and supports and promotes the work of Vermont artists," Bailey said. She told senators that arts and culture was a nearly $1,200,000,000 industry in Vermont in 2022 and that public art can stimulate economic development and cultural tourism.

The Art and State Buildings program was created by the Vermont Art and State Buildings Act in 1988, which originally allocated $50,000 annually for site-specific artwork. In 2023…