Arts Impact Grant Supports Artistree Outreach

Above: Jamie Hock shows off his paper mosaic.

Artistree wraps up a year of grant-funded art classes with Zack’s Place participants.

Enthusiasm abounds at Zack's Place, a Woodstock, VT enrichment center for people with severe physical, emotional, and cognitive special needs. For many years Artistree has run outreach classes at Zack’s Place, but in 2021 Artistree was awarded the highly competitive Vermont Arts Council Arts Impact Grant to fully fund the cost of this program for one year. With this grant support, Artistree instructors Finnie Trimpi and Fiona Davis taught a total of 34 specialized clay and mixed media classes between September 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022.

Finnie and Fiona love working with Zack's Place. "I always say," comments Outreach Coordinator Finnie, "if you're having a bad day, just go to Zack's Place and you will immediately feel joy."

Dail Frates, Executive Director of Zack's Place, remarked, "Art has become such an important part of our weekly programs and our participants grow and thrive from these classes. We are grateful to the Vermont Arts Council for helping to cover the costs of these programs."

Artistree's partnership with Zack’s Place has been so successful that, even though grant funding ended, we plan to continue this class series into the future and seek other funding sources. The arts play an important role in growth and well-being as well as in building healthy, thriving communities. Our goal is to keep facilitating a stimulating, rewarding, and satisfying creative and social experience for people who typically have limited access to the arts and connecting with others.

Special thanks to Dail Frates, Holly O'Brien, Kitty King, and all the wonderful Zack's Place participants for this special collaboration.