VAULT gets state designation
Toolbox
By Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER - Published: December 1, 2009
SPRINGFIELD – Eight years ago, the Gallery at the VAULT was one of many empty storefronts in downtown Springfield.
While that problem continues, the gallery was recognized Monday for years of high quality as it was designated a Vermont state craft center.
The gallery, in a former bank office, hence one portion of its name, is a showcase for local and statewide artists and has grown from a community effort to brighten up vacant storefronts to one of the "brightest lights in downtown Springfield."
Nina Jamison, the retail director for the gallery and one of the driving forces behind its creation, said Monday's official recognition was exciting and gratifying.
"With this designation VAULT hopes to extend our vitality into the larger community while maintaining the high standards that helped us achieve this honor," Jamison said.
Gallery at the VAULT, an acronym for Visual Art Using Local Talent, opened Dec. 15, 2001, with 35 artists and craftspeople represented. Jamison said it now represents more than 150 people, more than 90 percent of whom are from Vermont.
Until Monday, there was only one remaining Vermont state craft center – the Frog Hollow Center, which once had three locations and is now only open in Burlington. The other state craft center, in the Windsor House, closed a few years ago.
Gov. James Douglas, who was on hand Monday to present the plaque to Jamison and others, said he would be designating Artisans Hand in downtown Montpelier as the second of the two new state craft centers.
Douglas said a few years ago he was concerned that there weren't many state-sanctioned craft centers, and he appointed a group to look into it and come up with new guidelines. "This is a great opportunity to grow the Vermont brand," Douglas said.
Christine Werneke, chief marketing officer for the state, praised the local gallery and all the volunteers who made it possible.
Werneke said she hoped the Springfield designation would be the first of several for local galleries that meet the new state criteria for the state craft center designation. She said six galleries applied for the designation, and only Gallery at the VAULT and Artisans Hand were accepted.
"It's a very rigorous process," she said.
"The Vermont brand is powerful," Douglas said, noting that the name adds immediate quality to anything, whether it is Vermont-made food or Vermont-made crafts.
The state wants to use its sterling reputation for quality to expand the creative economy, he said.
"I take this seriously," he said. "It's an important part of our economy."
Douglas was too busy to shop in the gallery, which was filled with paintings, photographs, handmade jewelry, pottery and prints.
But, he said, before his recent visit to China, he visited Artisans Hand in Montpelier and bought gifts for his hosts and people he would meet. Douglas said he bought pewter bowls from Danforth Pewter.
Many visitors come to Vermont in search of its arts and crafts, he said, noting that an exhibit of little-seen Andy Warhol artworks on display at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center drew thousands of people to Vermont.
Jamison said the designation will attract more visitors to downtown Springfield and can be the catalyst for change.
The gallery also offers classes, which is an important part of the designation, and it also offers up-and-coming artists its "Open Wall," said Trish Spence, chairwoman of the gallery's Board of Directors.
"We do this because we love it," Spence said.
Jamison in particular thanked Steve Greene, a local businessman and the gallery's landlord for his support of the project.
The gallery, at 56 Main St., is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com
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