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 the legislature updated the statute and funding process to include the program as a capital budget line with a minimum request of $75,000, Bailey said. Committee chair Wendy Harrison and senators in the room confirmed the line appears on the capital budget as "line 5" and that it is shown at $75,000 in each of the two years listed as "26 and '27" on the materials presented to the committee.

Bailey described examples of works commissioned through the program: a trout sculpture at the Vermont Fish Culture Station in Roxbury, glass banners at the Department of Public Safety forensics lab in Waterbury, kinetic sculptures at the Bennington courthouse complex, a plow-themed steel sculpture at the I-89 Williston rest area, stone carving and etched glass at the Family and District Courthouse in Brattleboro, and a marble floor installation in the Addison County Courthouse lobby. She said permanent works by more than 60 artists are installed in 35 state-owned buildings and public spaces.

Bailey explained that commissions are site-specific and often developed with community input. She described a community brick-carving project completed after Tropical Storm Irene that became part of a public plaza, and a mural at the River Valley Therapeutic Residence Center intended to support residents’ outdoor activity. Bailey said some artworks are integrated into architecture and that once installed, works become part of the state collection overseen by the state curator, Forrest.

On upcoming projects, Bailey said the council is in the middle of a selection process for a Windsor courthouse project in White River Junction, with five finalist artists recently oriented and scheduled to present concepts in publicly observable sessions, likely in March; she said the council hopes to select an artist by April. She also named future work in Rutland at the Ace of Warner building and referenced approved projects at correctional facilities in St. Albans and a youth recovery residence (exact project name not specified).

Bailey invited committee members to a reception hosted by the council and noted the Arts Council maintains a public art map on its website with locations and project details. "We are actually celebrating 35 years of commissioning artists through this program," she said, and encouraged senators to view the map and attend the reception to see examples of the work.

No formal motions or votes on the program were recorded during the briefing; discussion focused on program history, examples of installed work, selection processes for commissions and the capital budget line item status.