Published August 1, 2022 at 5:34 p.m.
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Six Vermont artists, art educators and arts advocates are the winners of the 2022 Vermont Arts Awards, the Vermont Arts Council announced Monday. Award recipients include an artist and disability rights advocate from Williston; actor, choreographer and teacher in residence at Middlebury College; and Burlington radio DJ.
Two people received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts this year: Larry Bissonnette, an artist and activist from Williston, and Jarvis Green of White River Junction. Green is the founder and artistic director of JAG Productions, an African-American theater company in the Upper Valley and New York City.
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The Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts “is the most distinguished honor bestowed by the State of Vermont,” according to a news release from the arts council. “[I]t’s reserved for Vermont artists who have had an impact on their field within Vermont and beyond.”
In a press release, Gov. Phil Scott spoke directly to each recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
About Bissonnette, Scott said: “Your art and stories are truly inspiring, show strength and determination, and set an example for all.
Speaking of Green, the governor said: “Your work is well-deserved of this recognition. With JAG Productions, you have helped elevate Black voices and expand the culture of Vermont.”
Christal Brown, associate professor of dance at Middlebury, is the winner of the 2022 Walter Cerf Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts. Each year the award is given to an individual who “has made a significant contribution to the arts and has impacted the cultural life of Vermont,” according to the release. Brown is a teacher, performer and songwriter, and founder of INSPIRIT, Project: Becoming.
Brown, who moved from New York City, where he was a dancer, to Middlebury to teach college, said the award was “a unique honor.”
“I understand that Vermont’s cultural structure is very much based on relationships and relationships,” Brown said. “And I feel honored to be woven into the fabric of the people who were here before me and doing amazing work — and honored to be recognized in a peer-to-peer way.”
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In every aspect of his life and work, Brown said he is guided by two important values: love and trust. “I don’t do anything I don’t like, and I don’t work with people I don’t trust,” he said.
The Walter Cerf Medal resonates with Brown, he said, because it recognizes “the greatest expansion of my skill and gift: love, connection, communication and expression.”
Judy Dow from Essex, won the Arthur Williams Award for Outstanding Career. Dow is a basket weaver and teacher of “traditional Abenaki customs and practices,” according to the release. She is the executive director of Gedakina, “an organization that supports Indigenous youth, women and families across New England.”
Artist Robert Resnik of Burlington was the winner of the Margaret L. (Peggy) Kannenstine Award for Art Advocacy. For 26 years, Resnik hosted “All the Traditions,” a Vermont Public radio show featuring folk songs and country music.
Eugene Uman of Brattleboro, jazz pianist and singer and director of the Vermont Jazz Center since 1997, is the recipient of the Ellen McCulloch-Lovell Award in Art Education.
Karen Mittelman, executive director of the Vermont Arts Council, said the art awards are “a testament to how incredibly rich and deep and diverse the pool of creative talent is in the country.”
Describing the scope and breadth of work and interests of the winners, Mittelman said: “Vermont’s creative environment is much more diverse than people think. This year’s professional awards are perfect proof of that.”
