Of Land & Local
Vermont: Fall 2013 - Fall 2017
Of Land & Local is an annual multidisciplinary, statewide exhibition designed to initiate a dialog about issues surrounding art and the environment that relates to the Vermont landscape.
2013
Shelburne, VT, September 30, 2013—October 4 - October 20 Shelburne Farms will host Of Land & Local, a Burlington City Arts (BCA) and Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing state-wide multidisciplinary exhibition designed to initiate a dialogue about the Vermont landscape. Vermonters’ shared history in land and pride for local lay the groundwork for this exhibition, featuring works from international and Vermont-based artists.
Of Land & Local begins with known connections between culture and place. The projects explore the notion that culture helps define place, but also that place plays a significant role in establishing culture. “Land is intrinsically tied to history and memories,” Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Megan Smith said. “Of Land and Local asks Vermonters and visitors to explore these connections, what formed our perception as well as use of Vermont’s land and landscape, and how that shapes us as individuals and as a community.”
The work of 28 Of Land & Local artists – in a variety of mediums – will be featured at the Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms. “Artists and farmers are key components of our state’s social and cultural fabric,” BCA Curator DJ Hellerman said. “Artists search for new ways to question the world we live in to nourish our minds while farmers search for new ways to enrich the world we live in to nourish our bodies. As an educational nonprofit and working farm, Shelburne Farms is committed to deeply investigating the practical and philosophical issues of land stewardship, sustainable agriculture, and education in the 21st century. I don’t think there could be a stronger partnership between contemporary art and agriculture than at Shelburne Farms.”
Of Land & Local artists featured at Shelburne Farms include Barry Underwood, Bill McDowell, Brian Collier, Carolyn Shattuck, Christopher Griffin, Denis Versweyveld, Don Ross, Duncan Johnson, Elliot Katz, Fran Bull, Gowri Savoor, Janet Fredericks, Jean Luc Dushime, Jessie Pollock, Kat Clear, Kadie Salfi, Mary Zompetti, Meara McGinniss, Michael Mercil, Nori Morimoto, Pamela Fraser, Renee Lauzon, Rob Rock, Rotem Tamir, Susan Wahlrab, Tari Swenson, Tom Cullins, and Wendy Copp.
2015
Now in its third year, Of Land & Local is an annual multidisciplinary, statewide project designed to initiate a dialog about issues surrounding art and the environment. New this year is a partnership with Vermont State Parks, which has allowed artists to be in summer residencies in select parks, as well as at Shelburne Farms and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park.
Artists were in residence at these locations from late June through August, making new work that responded directly to their specific location. Read weekly posts from each location by Project Curatorial Assistant Xian Chiang-Waren on the project blog. The work created in the parks, along with additional work from 14 other artists, will be exhibited at Shelburne Farms, October 1 - 18, 2015, and at The BCA Center on Church Street in Burlington, September 25 - November 14, 2015. Full details about the residencies and exhibitions can be found at www.oflandandlocalvt.org.
Exhibiting Artists: Kaylynn Sullivan TwoTrees, Jeroen Jongeleen, Wendy Copp & Susan Raber Bray, Alyssa Oxley, Angelo Arnold, Elizabeth Nelson, Riki Moss, Lynn Sullivan, Rebecca Schwarz, and Lyal Michel.
Panel Discussion: The New Working Landscape: Renewable Energy and the Aesthetics of Vermont
Tuesday, October 13 | 6:30PM | FREE | Registration required.
The last several years has seen a polarizing discussion among some Vermonters regarding our long commitment to our state's landscape because of different responses to particular, large-scale renewable-energy goals and projects. Join us for a fresh conversation exploring ways artists might help forge a deeper, and potentially more constructive, level of conversation as our values of sustainability move us away from reliance on fossil fuels and change the aesthetics of the Vermont landscape.
Introductory remarks by Gabrielle Stebbins, Executive Director of Renewable Energy Vermont
Moderated by DJ Hellerman, Curator and Director of Exhibitions, Burlington City Arts
Panelists: Nora Mitchell, Director Emerita of the Conservation Study Institute; Ryan Walsh, poet; Pamela Fraser, artist, Assistant Professor of Studio Art at the University of Vermont; Rick Smardon, MLA PhD SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Environmental Studies, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Cosponsored by Renewable Energy Vermont & www.brightervermont.org
2016
The theme for one section of Middlebury College’s senior seminar is Communicating Environmental Issues: Using the Arts for Education, Inspiration and Engagement and project work will center on a collaboration with Burlington City Arts and their partner, Shelburne Farms, as they prepare for their 4th annual “Of Land and Local” Exhibition. The exhibition supports artist-led conversations about social, ethical, and political issues impacting the Vermont landscape and the focus for 2016 will be on water issues.
The theme for the second section of the senior seminar will focus on food systems and sustainability and students will undertake 4 projects, all linked to the Vermont Farm to Plate Initiative and several of their key partner organizations such as Hunger Free Vermont, the Composting Association of Vermont, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, and the Watershed Management Division of the VT Department of Environmental Conservation.