Each year the Council recognizes outstanding individual and organizational contributions to the arts in Vermont through a variety of awards presented at public ceremonies, which provide an opportunity for the recipient to be honored by colleagues, friends, family and members of the communities where they live and work.
To nominate a Vermont artist or cultural organization for any of our awards, please send a letter of recommendation with a description of the nominee’s qualifications. Be sure to include contact information for yourself and for the candidate. Letters can be sent via e-mail or postal mail to Vermont Arts Council, 136 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633. Nominations can also be faxed to 802-828-3363.
This award is presented annually to a Vermont artist who has achieved national or international stature for making a significant contribution to the advancement of his or her chosen art form. The 2007 Governor's Award was presented to Edward Koren on October 26, 2007.
Watch a video of Koren's acceptance speech by clicking the play button at right. (Click the play button TWICE to stop or start playback).
ABOUT EDWARD KOREN:
Edward Koren has long been associated with The New Yorker magazine where he has published close to 1000 cartoons as well as many covers and illustrations. He has also contributed to many other publications, including The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, GQ, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Fortune, Vanity Fair, The Nation and The Boston Globe. Koren's cartoons, drawings and prints have been widely exhibited in shows across the United States as well as in France, England and Czechoslovakia.
Koren received a Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Union College, and been a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. He is also a captain of the Brookfield, Vermont Volunteer Fire Department.
View Past Award Recipients
Governor James H. Douglas appointed Ruth Stone of Middlebury as Vermont’s Poet Laureate, beginning July 2007 and serving for a term of four years.. Watch a video at right of Stone reciting her work at the award ceremony. Press the play button TWICE to stop or start playback.
The Vermont Poet Laureate is appointed by the Governor and serves for a term of four years. The Council, at the direction of the Governor, conducts the selection process for the State Poet by convening a nomination process and an advisory/selection panel.
The Vermont Poet Laureate is a person whose primary residence is in Vermont; whose poetry manifests a high degree of excellence; who has produced a critically acclaimed body of work; and who has a long association with Vermont.
ABOUT RUTH STONE: Ruth Stone was born on June 8, 1915, in Roanoke, Virginia, and has been a resident of Vermont since 1957. She is recognized around the world as a major American poet, and has been described as “Mother Poet” to many contemporary writers. Ruth Stone has published poems and fiction in numerous anthologies and literary journals, and is the recipient of the 2002 Wallace Stevens Award.
Among her other awards are two Guggenheim Fellowships, The Bess Hokin Award from Poetry magazine, the Shelley Memorial Award, the Kenyon Review Fellowship, the Whiting Writers’ Award, the Eric Mathieu King award from the Academy of American Poets, the Vermont Cerf Award for lifetime achievement in the arts, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the National Book Award. She is the namesake of the Ruth Stone Prize in Poetry Award, given by Vermont College each year since 2004.
She served for many years as Bartle professor of English at Binghamton University, and taught previously at various schools including the Universities of Wisconsin, Indiana, and California, and Harvard University. Her books of poetry include In the Dark (2004), In the Next Galaxy (2002), Ordinary Words (1999), Simplicity (1997), Who is the Widow's Muse (1991), Second Hand Coat (1987), Cheap (1975), Topography (1971), and In an Iridescent Time (1959).
Ruth Stone is the sixth Vermont State Poet, and the fifth since Governor Madeline Kunin re-established the position in 1988. Robert Frost became Vermont’s first State Poet in 1961, and was followed by Galway Kinnell, Louise Glück, Ellen Bryant Voigt, and Grace Paley.
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The Cerf Award is named in honor of the late philanthropist Walter Cerf. Walter Cerf’s generous gifts, exceeding $5 million, have benefited numerous Vermont institutions including the Arts Council. Mr. Cerf was instrumental in establishing the Arts Endowment at the Vermont Community Foundation, and his contributions have created a $1 million fund to assist Vermont’s artists and arts organizations.
Sculptor Charles Ginnever is the 2007 recipient of this award.
Charles Ginnever was born in San Mateo, CA in 1931. He is best known for his large-scale, open-form works for the outdoors. The first of these was started in 1958 with abandoned railroad ties and structural steel. The result was a deconstruction of prevailing sculptural spatial concepts that has continued to the present. Since 1965 purchased materials have been used to create works placed throughout the U.S. & Australia.
He currently resides at his studio farm in rural Vermont.
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These awards are presented annually to artists, organizations, educators and others in recognition of distinguished service to the arts in Vermont. The following awards will be presented at Arts Achievement Day on April 16, 2008:
Sabrina Brown, Pentangle Council on the Arts
Sabrina Brown has been the Executive Director of Pentangle Council on the Arts in Woodstock since 1998. Under her leadership Pentangle has become a pillar of the community and the organization has flourished through increased membership, growing attendance and a strong financial foundation. Sabrina's expertise in linking diverse groups, individuals, businesses, schools and organizations has helped create a better community through the arts.
Paul Costello, Vermont Council on Rural Development
Paul Costello has served as the Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development since 2000. VCRD's programs help rural communities build priorities, set action plans, and develop connections to resources. VCRD recently launched the Council on the Future of Vermont, a statewide program seeking to ascertain Vermonters' understanding of their state.
Mary Prior, Community Advocate, Danville Transportation Project
Mary Prior has been a tireless advocate and community representative for the Danville Transportation Enhancement Project. This nationally recognized project is a partnership between artists, community members and engineers. Their goal is to redevelop the section of Route 2 which runs through the center of Danville with a safe and attractive pedestrian environment while maintaining the community’s unique historic and natural features.
View Past Award Recipients