CONNECT WITH SVAC About Us
The mission of SVAC is to promote and nurture the arts.
We do so by creating an inviting environment for our community to meet, enjoy, and participate in the arts. The SVAC community includes our children, young adults, our full time residents, our summer residents, our visitors, our donors, and our artists.
We do so by offering quality programming which reaches the many segments of our community at Yester House, the Wilson Museum, Arkell Pavilion, and our workshops and summer camps.
We do so by providing our artist members an opportunity to grow through instruction, a place to exhibit their work, and the opportunity to sell their work.
We do so by being stewards of our assets – our endowment, our permanent collection, our campus, and our legacy.
Join us on our beautiful 100-acre campus at the foot of the Taconic Mountains. Connect with SVAC today!
Staff & Board
STAFF
Amelia Wiggins
Executive Director
awiggins@svac.org
802-367-1300
Connie Blatchford
Deputy Director
cblatchford@svac.org
802-367-1311
Seth Dopkins
Facilities Manager
sdopkins@svac.org
Erin Kaufman
Manager of Education and Programs
ekaufman@svac.org
802-367-1306
Dorie Morgantini
Finance Manager
dmorgantini@svac.org
Colleen Palmer
curATE café and Events
cpalmer@svac.org
Gallery & Sales Associates
Abigail Daley
Nancy Hoffman
Phyllis Morgenstern
Frances Shaw
Ella Workman
Facilities & Security
Kyle Gulley
Gus Stannard
Kim Van Olpen
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Bob Van Degna, President
Debbie Wight, First Vice President
Peggie Telscher, Secretary
Allison Piper Kimball
Maxine Linehan
Brian Maggiotto
Cindy Marshall
Judi McCormick
Gillian Munson
Wenke Thoman
Through the Years
August 1922
An exhibition of five local artists was held. Those artists, Edwin B. Child, Francis Dixon, Wallace W. Fahnestock, John Lillie, and Herbert Meyer, would come to be known as The Dorset Painters and would form the nucleus and beginning of the renowned Southern Vermont Artists.
August 1924
Ten artists show their work at the Equinox Pavilion. Seventy paintings, mostly scenes of Manchester and Dorset, were enjoyed by hundreds of people who came to the admission-free event.
August 1929
The “Southern Vermont Artists” held an annual exhibition at the Equinox Pavillion.
December 1933
The Southern Vermont Artists was incorporated.
September 1934
The Southern Vermont Artists, Inc. held their first meeting after that year’s annual exhibition.
Fall 1949
Dean Fausett reported for the Building Committee that the first positive steps were being taken toward finding a permanent home for the Southern Vermont Artists.
June 1950
The Southern Vermont Artists, Inc. purchased the Gertrude Webster estate.
August 1950
The 21st Annual Exhibition of the Southern Vermont Artists, Inc. was held Yester House. The exhibit contained 737 works of art by 286 artist, lasted a week, was viewed by more than 8,000 people, and sold thousands of dollars worth of art. The Vermont Symphony Orchestra performed at the opening on August 26, 1950.
May 1952
Southern Vermont Arts Center became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
1956
Sculptor Simon Moselsio shows his work in an outdoor in the meadow adjacent to SVAC’s winding driveway and the Sculpture Garden is born.
July 1, 1956
The Music Auditorium (Shelter) opened at SVAC.
July 1958
Louis Armstrong and His All Stars played at Southern Vermont Arts Center.
May 1964
The Botany Trail on the property, maintained by the Manchester Garden Club, was unveiled.
1966
The Pavilion was expanded through the efforts of Louise Arkell.
June 28, 1970
After Louise Arkell’s death in January of 1970, a memorial concert was held that summer and in her honor the Louise Ryalls Arkell Pavilion was dedicated at SVAC.
June 1972
The first Beaux Arts Ball was held. Tickets were $12.50 and $2,000 was raised.
1988
Yester House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1974
Southern Vermont Arts Center became the home of the Manchester Music Festival.
2000
The Elizabeth de C. Wilson Museum opened. Designed by Hugh Newell Jacobsen, the Wilson Museum & Galleries provide a contemporary, state-of-the-art exhibition space for visiting artists and exhibitions. The Wilson also serves as a secure repository for our Permanent Collection, featuring over 900 works by Luigi Lucioni, Ogden Pleissner, Grandma Moses, Lorenzo James Hatch, to name a few.
2000
The Joan Hay Madeira Education Center opened offering two modern studios, each with ample natural light and courtyards looking to Equinox Mountain.