It’s tough to turn down an opportunity. Intrigued by the job title, I applied, and was called in for an interview. I learned a lot. While the position was new, I was surprised to discover that Vermont, along with five other state arts agencies under the auspices of New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), have been engaged in research projects over the past 37 years. They sought to demonstrate the economic force of the cultural sector.

Defining what was actually meant by “the creative economy” was challenging. The NEFA released a comprehensive 64-page report that included a national taxonomy that used the North American Industrial Coding System (NAICS) for job classification. Job titles gave some clarity to the economic and business potential, such as NAICS #511130 Book Publishers and #512120 Motion Picture And Video Distribution, and #711510 Independent Artists, Writers And Performers.

New England states were perceptive, seeing the synergy between creativity and the economy. This awareness, not embraced universally, is a growing global phenomenon. To quote the British Council, the U.K.’s international organization for educational and cultural exchanges: “Governments, and creative sectors across the world are increasingly recognizing the importance of the ‘creative economy’ as a generator of jobs, wealth and cultural engagement… At the heart of it are the cultural and creative industries that lie at the crossroads of arts, culture, business and technology.”

I didn’t get the job. The new director, Lars Torres of Cabot, has a background in technology; he includes film and traditional arts, but also software and games in the definition of Vermont’s creative economy.

But this experience deepened my sense that Vermont is not just a home for contented cows, grazing on lush green hillsides, or a place where skiers enjoy their sport 10 months a year. It is also fertile ground to set down roots and live a creative life.

Most artists or creative types I know work incredibly hard, are entrepreneurial, and often generate enough income to support larger enterprises. Artists form educational organizations, organize film festivals, build orchestras, galleries, and community events, which in turn create jobs, support tourism’s draw, and encourage economic growth.

People who come for a festival or art show need places to stay, food to eat, a place to hang out and talk with friends. Often they shop. And if they like it, they come back.

The lingering image of the artist as a lone wolf, living in isolation, producing masterpieces that will only be recognized as such after her death, while not completely mythological, is certainly not the norm. Artists, by necessity are problem-solvers. And one aim of Vermont’s initiative is to showcase the state as an incubator, not only for arts and culture, but also as a generator of new ideas to solve old problems.

A Wealth of Art Experience

One of my first commitments as a new Vermonter was volunteering as an advisor to the Vermont International Film Festival (VTIFF), located in Burlington. I had been involved with the festival at various times in years past, the result of my prior work in film distribution.

The festival had fallen on hard economic times, was lacking strong leadership and vision. The festival board, while well meaning and supportive, faced an uncertain future.

Orly Yadin had just been appointed the new festival Director. An outsider by Vermont standards, Yadin had moved here from New York City with her husband. She had only become a U.S. citizen in 2010. The new task before her was daunting, but she was prepared for challenges.

Her first real job, as a student in Israel, had been working in a film archive in Jerusalem. She went on to do film research, started a Ph.D. in England, but her own creative drive sent her into filmmaking.

In the 1990s Yadin produced animated documentary films, a genre that was only beginning to be explored at the time. One of her films was shortlisted for the Oscars. In 2001 she and her husband founded Footage Farm, a company that specializes in licensing film in the public domain.

By the fall of 2012 the VTIFF was coming back to life. Yadin was learning the ropes, honing the programming. She engaged local venues for screening, including major commitments from ECHO Aquarium and Science Center, Burlington City Arts and Main Street Landing. By 2013 a real, positive change could be felt. Audiences were growing. Ticket sales were up. Funders were taking notice.

In early 2014, the Vermont International Film Festival merged with the Burlington Film Society and became, officially and impressively, the Vermont International Film Foundation. Their vision is to create a film center, with a physical, permanent home.

In a recent interview with Vermont Woman, Yadin was upbeat about the future. She clearly has a viable long-term plan that is becoming a reality. She understands how to balance risk with fiscal responsibility.

The newly minted Film Foundation is forging partnerships to create an on-line platform for Vermont filmmakers to showcase their work, a database of all Vermont films, an eventual repository, an archive for film conservation and restoration. Orly Yadin already has become an important contributor to Vermont’s growing creative economy.

Green Writing Arts

Writing has been an essential part of my working life, and is now the focus of my creative life. In my search for a community of writers here in Vermont, I joined the Burlington Writers Workshop and through them met another creative powerhouse, Dede Cummings, who lives in the Brattleboro area.

Cummings attended Middlebury College in the 1970s with the intention of becoming a writer. She published poetry, and throughout the 1980s worked at Little Brown and Company. Her sensibilities as a poet and visual artist led to her eventual position there as Senior Book Designer, where she worked with such well known authors as Thomas Pynchon, Mary Oliver and Andre Dubus.

When Cummings and her family left New York City, they headed north, back to Vermont where her college years had been happily spent. They now live in West Brattleboro.

Vermont was the perfect place for Cummings to give birth to Green Writers Press (GWP). And I do mean “give birth,” as the business seems to have sprung out of her, whole, incorporating the sum total of Cummings’s past experience in the publishing industry, as well as her passion for words, art and design and the environment.

Dede Cummings never stands still. She gives the impression that there is a constant flow of barely contained energy, bubbling in her brain. The results can be seen in the explosive growth of Green Writers Press.

On the well-designed GWP website you can explore all the initiatives of the company to foster a sustainable environment. All their printing is done locally in Vermont. (Most books today are printed in China). To quote Cummings, “What the localvore movement did for the food industry, we want to be for publishing.”

Within a few short months, GWP has published eight books, with two more scheduled for release this fall. She has also successfully acted as an agent for authors whose books are a better fit for other publishers. She has gotten 5-figure advances for writers, in an age when many writers pay for the privilege of publication. She is launching both a print magazine and an e-zine this fall as well.

In her role as occasional VPR commentator, and in her public presentations and workshops for aspiring writers, her modesty is balanced by her professionalism. Ultimately, her seemingly boundless energy makes Green Writers Press very promising. With so many writers flourishing here, it should grow to become a major player in Vermont publishing, generating revenue for writers and a localvore book industry for a long time to come.

Celebrating Diversity

Rebecca Cummins (no “g” and no relation to Dede) is also a writer. And her interests also go far beyond writing. Her skills as a programmer and presenter led her to founding The Celebration of Expressive Arts (CEA). She describes it as: “A forum for writers, visual artists, musicians, humorists, dramatists, dancers and other expressive artists to share their own original work in an appreciative, responsive community without distraction.”

She organizes diverse cultural events with her creative partner and husband. In previous years the CEA events were a bit nomadic, hosted at various sites in and around her home in Montgomery Center. This year the CEAs will take place monthly from April to November, and are hosted by The Inn in Montgomery Center.

The town sits closest to Enosburg Falls in the Northeast Kingdom, still 20 minutes away, population 1200. Until recently, it’s been best known for its six covered bridges, all within the town limits. Rebecca Cummins informed me that the place also has a rich history of welcoming artists, who find it an inspirational place to live and work.

Meeting her, I was struck by her quiet strength and resolve. She is originally from Illinois, with a background in education. She earned a living as a teacher and school principal there and then later, in New Hampshire and Vermont. In 1996, she came to Middlebury College to study at the acclaimed Bread Loaf School and found it a “life-changing” experience.

When she returned to Illinois, she, along with six creative friends, started the first CEA based on the Bread Loaf Friday night “Coffee House,” where writers and musicians would share their talents and “The Blue Parlour Readings,” where students presented work in a supportive environment. Bringing the CEA back to Vermont returns the event to its roots.

Cummins enjoys being the facilitator. And while she reminds me that the CEA is not an incorporated non-profit, their events do generate enough income and in-kind support to remain a fixture in the community. Her success here in Vermont is measured by the quality of the talented artists who travel to Montgomery to perform, and by the size of the audiences that now frequent The Inn.

Featured artists use the CEA as a platform to promote themselves and sell their work. Cummins has contributed immeasurably to the cultural life and economic activity in and around Montgomery, bringing audiences from across the state to see and hear established artists, as well as introducing new favorites. Her vision created an economically sustainable structure that will go on supporting a community of artists and will be supported by and contribute to local businesses and the spirit of the community.

Valuing Artists

Being the director of art sales at Burlington City Arts (BCA) clearly ties Kerri Macon’s role to economic development and the state’s creative economy. It is literally Macon’s job to generate income for artists from the sale of their work. In turn, artists underwrite the BCA through commissions on their sales.

The BCA walks a delicate line, and has for 30 years. It is at once a place where the community can take classes and practice the arts. It is also a sophisticated venue for the exhibition of fine art that challenges our perception and definition of what constitutes “Art” with a capital “A.” And it actively promotes the sale and exhibition of Vermont artists within the local community with three well-established, commercially oriented programs.

Their art sales and leasing program caters to the needs of the corporate and business community, statewide. There are currently about 130 artists in their leasing program, and 20 sites where they hang Vermont artist’s work. Their corporate clients include Fletcher Allen, Hotel Vermont and Hilton Garden Inn, among others.

BCA’s artist market supports artists and artisans in the greater Burlington area. Artists go through a selection process to participate. Their market is held outside the BCA on Church Street, in conjunction with the Burlington Farmers Market every Saturday, from Mother’s Day through the last Saturday in October.

While these two programs covered the high end and the lower end of the art market, Kerri Macon saw a gap in their services. With the support of the BCA board and staff, she has created a new gallery with smaller curated events. An established “brand” by now, BCA wanted local artists and local collectors to have an easier way to meet in the middle. Art at the gallery can be appreciated for its aesthetic appeal, but may also be considered by mainstream Vermonters as an investment, something that could potentially increase in value.

The BCA launched Vermont’s Metro Gallery up on the 4th floor in October of 2013; all its shows are curated by Macon.

Four women artists who had never been shown together before were selected for 2014’s inaugural exhibit. Women are usually outnumbered by male artists in museum shows; so when I pointed out to Macon that she had curated an all-woman show, she was surprised. It was not a conscious decision. She had selected these four, because of the synergy of their work collectively, and the overall quality of their individual efforts. “Textured,” featuring the work of Karen Hendersen, Gowri Savoor, Mary Zompetti and Jennifer Koch, won great critical reviews.

The BCA sales and leasing program currently includes 130 Vermont artists. Of the approximate $130,000 in sales for the most recent fiscal year’s sales from BCA’s programs, 30 percent has been done through the new Metro Gallery.

The plan is to expand those sales by cultivating more local collectors and by marketing “Vermont Made” work outside of the state, through art fairs, gallery contacts and online. This promising new venture has had a great start, thanks to Kerri Macon and her team, supported by BCA’s Executive Director Doreen Kraft, and BCA’s board.

OrlyYadin, Dede Cummings, Rebecca Cummins, and Kerri Macon, each unique in personality and character, are just four examples of exceptional women drivers of Vermont’s creative economy. They are united by their energy, their sound business sense, and their belief in the power of the arts to create community, generate income, solve problems and keep joy in our lives.

Cynthia Close is a contributing editor at Documentary Magazine and a regular contributor to Art New England. We’re happy to welcome her artful writing to the pages of Vermont Woman.