Catamount Arts is an art center for everyone, from London theatre buffs to the neurologically diverse--all types are welcome here.
I wanted to help get my college students experience making creative messaging videos. In wanting to help a local arts charity it was more that I expected. The class and school ended up getting more insight about film curating and marketing than I could have taught them.
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Catamount Arts is a terrific non-profit in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. The breadth of its programming is amazing with two attractive theaters for film, a Cabaret for live performances, a lovely art gallery, classrooms, and a separate building for arts education. With a small paid staff and an enthusiastic group of board members and volunteers, so much is accomplished. We host the Met HD Live as well as HD theater and ballet performances. Monthly live bluegrass jams and folk music evenings are offered free of charge in our Cabaret. Collaboration with other non-profits in our town allow for a rich experience. For example this week an art opening was held in our gallery with the artist speaking about her paintings which have a theme related to old growth New England forests and ecology. That same evening, Elizabeth Kolbert, correspondent for The New Yorker Magazine and author How fortunate we are to live in this beautiful area with these marvelous opportunities.
The cultural enrichment that Catamount brings to our community is outstanding. Not only do they offer wonderful films, fantastic gallery showings and educational opportunities but they collaborate with community partners to bring arts and culture to the NEK! We are so fortunate to have such an amazing non profit organization serving individuals from youth to elderly.
St Johnsbury is so fortunate to have this amazing organization,located right here.. I have volunteered for a couple years now and look forward to many more..Can't say enough about the quality of ALL their programs and events
Catamount is really exceeding expectations for the services it provides to the community - in serving as a ticketing hub, educational activities provider, performing arts presenter and venue, and more. As a resident of the area who lived for a time in NYC before returning, I'm thrilled to have this as a resource so close to where I live.
A wonderful organization that brings culture and art to a very rural and underserved area of Vermont.
Operating in one of the most rural areas of the United States, and one with fierce beauty but tough economics, Catamount Arts has provided top notch cultural and artistic expression, experiences, and collaboration for many years. World class artists. Inspiring arts. Manages to stay solvent and even thrives. Partners and collaborates readily with others. A model for how an arts organization - even a general non profit - should be.
We are so lucky to have a special place like Catamount Arts in St.Johnsbury that offers Art programs for the children in our community. The Arts build confidence in our kids, whether they have physical, emotional or learning challenges or not, that allows them to blossom and excel in school and at home.
These days when schools are considering taking art education out of the curriculum, it is so important to have a place where they can go and experience creativity and innovation.
Thank you Catamount and keep up the good work!
In the ten years I have resided in St. Johnsbury, I have witnessed Catamount Arts evolve more fully into the role of "community" arts center. It has become a sanctuary for our children, our neighbors, ourselves. The classes teach and expose young and old to new experiences, skills, and passions from tango dancing to watercolor painting to claymation camp. The staff and Board at Catamount Arts are open-minded and receptive to the desires of the community they serve. My three children have all attended classes, camps, movies, gallery openings, and live performances through Catamount Arts. The gallery exhibits and the programming excite and inspire them. I was fortunate to serve as the 27th and 28th benefit auction coordinator. It was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed introducing more people to Catamount Arts.
As a homeschooling parent of 4 children, I am always on the hunt for cultural and educational extra curricular classes for my children that are unique, fun, and exceeding what I can offer to them. Catamount has gone far beyond that consistently. They have a tremendous variety of amazing classes that they offer to everyone in the area. They pull in local community members, teachers, students, artists, and more to nationally acclaimed professionals, all of whom provide a fun educational atmosphere with a very reasonable price. Additionally, the music and movies that are booked at the Catamount never cease to impress us!!!
My husband and I, and now our children, enjoy the great benefits of Catamount Arts-- I am continually astounded by the diversity of arts opportunities that it brings to St. Johnsbury, which at 8,000 people is one of the largest communities in our part of the state. We love going to see the arts films, the HD Opera series, and live music. My children look forward to the Saturday morning arts programs. As classically trained singers, we are very excited the center is now offering a singing ensemble program for children-- something we both enjoyed while growing up while living in far bigger communities, and a program which we know our children will love and will help lead them towards other musical opportunities in the future.
My son had been going to Catamount art classes for a while with his summer day camp. I'd heard about it from him and camp but never been to (camp brought him). When late in the summer I brought him myself to the Claymation camp, I was happily surprised to realize what a fabulous arts home he'd developed at Catamount. The staff all knew him by name and warmly welcomed him. He showed me masks and robots he and his friends had made. He knew his way around and felt completely safe to express himself, try new things, and make art! The Claymation camp was totally awesome both in terms of learning and creativity and in the cool movies they made!!!! Thank you Catamount!!!
I have lived in NYC for a number of years and I have lived in St Johnsbury for a number of years. I had great access to outstanding culture in NYC; I and my family have great access to outstanding culture in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. That is largely the result of Catamount Arts innovative work in this incredibly beautiful region of the world. Not only do we have young people nurturing their artistic instincts and skills through Catamount Arts, but we have direct contact with world-class, world-wide performers of all sorts. I have never seen anything like this organization anywhere, and I have been most everywhere in my life.
Catamount Arts blends creative energy and hard work bringing the Arts to the community, especially exceptional independent films, Arts education for children, and a system of ticketing for most Arts organizations in Northeastern Vermont and New Hampshire. Catamount places important issues at the forefront with its Courageous Conversation series that focuses on knotty community (and wider) problems for all of us to address in a calm comfortable atmosphere. it is a place that houses the best Gallery for Visual Arts in Northeastern Vermont with monthly exhibits, two theaters that offer Live Opera from the Met, special children's movies, vintage films on the big screen and the National Theater broadcasts from London. i came on to the Catamount Arts Board of Directors in the late 90s and i've never looked back. As an art teacher and artist, my excitement about Catamount seems to be growing exponentially.
My wife and I started a non-profit vegetarian group in 2009. We offer a social and educational meeting each month, including a potluck dinner. We started meeting in our home but the size of the group quickly outgrew our ability to host it. Catamount Arts graciously allows us to use their meeting space, asking for only a free-will donation. If not for this arrangement, we would need to charge dues or a fee for each dinner, which would not be affordable for many of our attendees. As a result of Catamount Arts' mission-related generosity we have been able to improve the health of the people that attend, as well as enabling the environmental benefits that accrue from a plant based diet.
Thank you Catamount Arts!
Catamount Arts is a great nonprofit organization, truly bringing the Northeast Kingdom communities together. They invite you to join them in attending events, volunteering, and spreading awareness about local businesses and events. I personally had a great experience with them interning over the course of one year. I learned so much about what it means to be involved in the community. Between educating young children about the arts, to playing film reels, this organization knows how to make a great first impression. If you're looking to get involved or attend some awesome events, I suggest making a visit to Catamount Arts!
The Catamount Art Center is a gem in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. Its focus on independent film, arts education, and service as a regional box office is already adding energy and momentum to a growing arts renaissance in the region. Catamount has also played an important role in bringing the annual Green Mountain Film Festival to the area, giving a boost to our mudseason doldrums and exposing hundreds to the delights of international independent cinema. Thank you Catamount!
There is little fine art in this area; Catamount Arts helps fill that great need.
I've been using Catamount Arts as a resource for films (screenings and CDs) for many years. I've bought things at their annual auction. I have been to social and political forums at their hall. I have participated in functions for various sectors of the population in the arts. I enjoy the month-long gallery exhibits. I've used their public computer and sat on the couch and read Opera News and Rolling Stone.
I am always welcomed by friends who sincerely appreciate any bit of work I can offer.
Catamount Arts has a role in bringing a wide variety of art forms to the Northeast Kingdom.
There is a fine little art house in this area.
Being a board member of Catamount Arts is both a daunting and a rewarding experience. It is daunting because we are active and work hard - "hands on" each month. But we choose to do so because the goals of the Catamount Arts Organization are so meaningful. And that makes the effort rewarding. Catamount Arts strives to provide to a 60 to 100 mile radius area of a generally poor and rural region meaningful, affordable cultural and artistic experiences and presentations of all kinds for all ages including classes, gallery shows, concerts, movies, musical events and more.
I was so excited to discover Catamount Arts when I moved to St. Johnsbury in 2005. Immediately prior to my move to the Northeast Kingdom, I lived in Boston, where I took advantage of the various museums and frequented the Coolidge Corner Theater, a movie theater showing films similar to those of Catamount. I was very hesitant to be moving to what many see as a remote and isolated corner of the state, but was excited to find out that in fact, there is a vibrant and thriving arts and culture community here. I have enjoyed volunteering with Catamount, and attending many movies, performances and events. The arts and culture provided by Catamount and other local organizations are a big piece of the puzzle that makes living in Northern Vermont so wonderful.
Part of our mission at Catamount Arts is to reach out, to collaborate with organizations in our community, to be inclusive. It is incredible how Catamount has been collaborating with and promoting other arts organizations: The Green Mountain Film Festival, Kingdom County Productions, Haskel Opera House in Derby, Northeast Kingdom Classical Series, Peacham Acoustic Music Festival, and Circus Smirkus---just to name a few.
Recently, we hired an Arts Coordinator and are expanding our mission of inclusiveness. We are bringing children into Catamount with art classes this summer, looking ahead to expanding these offerings of art classes for children and adults into the fall, winter, and spring months. We are coordinating these programs for children with the Saint Johnsbury Athenaeum and the Fairbanks Museum. It is exciting. Children are being exposed to varied art classes with many different teachers. At the same time, the children are becoming familiar and comfortable in the Catamount surroundings. Hopefully, their involvement will help to encourage their families to come and get involved, too. Catamount is an amazing resource. It is reaching out and people are coming and discovering what a wonderful place we have right in our back yard!
Just this week (July 16th) I was coming out of one of the theaters after seeing a movie and a man and his wife were walking into the hall for the next showing, popcorn in hand. He looked around and said,"This is our first time here. This is beautiful." Donna Marshall
The range and number of arts events sponsored by Catamount Arts is simply daunting. So much to see and do, and so little time is my constant refrain. But what I do attend is beyond belief for a large geographical area having low-population density.
Everyone has always acknowledged the physical beauty of the Northeast Kingdom with its mountains and lakes, its farms, and its small New England villages. So, too, the fantastic recreational possibilities the landscape offers. But few would imagine the vitality of the arts that brings such cultural richness to the area. From dance, theater, music, opera, arts classes, films, exhibits, discussions of contemporary issues — truly something exciting and mind-expanding for everyone.
If you are visiting from a metropolitan area, you won't miss a beat accessing arts and entertainment in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and northern New Hampshire -- an area the National Geographic Society named the most desirable place to visit in the U.S. in 2006 and the ninth most desirable place to visit in the world.
Recently I overheard a women visiting St. Johnsbury, VT from Boston, MA say she would be hard-pressed to find a community arts organization as uniquely comprehensive, compelling and dynamic as Catamount Arts in Boston, MA.
In 2009, Catamount Arts was awarded the "Best Community Arts Organization in New England" by Yankee Magazine.
It's great to know one can access low-cost and free access to world-class programming, arts education and contemporary arts exhibits while living or visiting the Northeast Kingdom.