BRATTLEBORO — The most common misconception people have about River Gallery School, located in the Wilder Building in the heart of downtown Brattleboro, is that it is a private institution.
So believes Donna C. Hawes, the Development Coordinator/Administrator at the School, who wants to make clear that it is a nonprofit dedicated to serving the community of Southern Vermont.
“Too many people are afraid to come through our doors,” she says. “They won't take any classes or workshops because they believe they are not artists. A lot of folks carry the wrong-headed idea that they are not good enough to make art. Our job here is to break those barriers. We believe everyone has the potential to becoming an artist, and he or she can join us to explore the world of color and shape without anybody passing judgment.”
All sorts of people discover their creativity at the School, from the very young to the old, from the experienced to the novice, from the well-heeled to those on disability.
'A fantastic journey'
The River Gallery School is celebrating its 40th anniversary during the month of September.
“It has been a fantastic journey, and it continues to be,” Hawes writes in a news release. “Our mission has remained the same throughout the school's history: to help people access their creativity. We work with individuals of all ages and value their unique way of expressing themselves.”
To celebrate this anniversary, a 40th Birthday Bash/Pop-up Auction is planned for Saturday, Sept. 17, at the SIT/World Learning Campus. Items such as experiences and trips will be on auction, and refreshments and dancing to the Butterfly Swing Band promise to make it a memorable evening.
The school will also honor the School's co-founder, Barbara Campman, that evening.
“We have an annual auction every year, but this time we decided to combine it with our birthday bash,” Hawes explains. “There will be drinks and good food at the auction, which supports the school's programs and scholarships. It is an evening of bidding on fabulous items donated by local artists, craftspeople, businesses, restaurants, students, and friends of the school.”
The River Gallery School has offered high-quality arts education since 1976, when founders Barbara Campman and Ric Campman began to develop their vision of nurturing creativity with children's classes at the Ingenuity Shops on Putney Road.
Classes were offered to all ages with a move downtown to 127 Main, and now the school continues to grow at its expanded premises on two floors of the Wilder Building.
“The move to the Wilder Building has been a monumental event for us,” says Hawes, who has been administrative director since she started working at the school in 2004. She took on the additional role of development coordinator a year and a half ago. “With a Main Street presence, suddenly the community knew who we were and began to get involved,” Hawes says. “Even though we have been around for 40 years, now we were much more familiar to people.”
Classes for all levels
The School serves approximately 400 registrants each year, and employs about 20 faculty and staff. There are also dozens of workshops taught by teachers on a contract basis. On top of that, there are many volunteers. Classes are held year round for all skills and levels.
The Main Street Studio houses the Printmaking department, and offers area artists the chance to learn new processes and develop their skills. Classes in Watercolor, Bookmaking, Mosaic, and other disciplines are also housed here, as well as the School's popular Ability Arts program, which offers art-making and camaraderie to adults with various disabilities.
“We have recently opened on the ground floor our Gallery 34, named after our address,” Hawes says. “It is a wonderful place for students and community members to have a chance to exhibit their work without the usual trouble and expense.”
For minimal or no expense, the space is also available to the community for things like artist talks or meetings.
“People in the community can also use the space for private art making,” Hawes says. “People are now renting it for a couple of hours for private workshops. For instance, a science teacher from the Green Street School recently brought his class over for an afternoon of printmaking. Or you might rent the space for the weekend and bring friends and family to stay at the Latchis and have the time of your lives.
“We are striving to be a community center of inspiring creativity for our community that is getting more into collaboration than I have ever seen it.”
Besides the full schedule of art classes and workshops for tots, children, teens, and adults in many media, the River Gallery School has a vigorous outreach program. Its teachers bring art-making to seniors in various settings, women in a low-security incarceration setting, and various other groups and venues.
Art trips combining art making with cultural and culinary riches have been sponsored to Mexico, Italy, Spain, and other inspiring places.
Generous scholarships
Through generous community involvement and underwriting support, free workshops have been offered for families, caregivers, and teachers in the new space.
The School's scholarship percentage is generous; its policy is to work to enable everyone with a sincere interest to participate in classes.
“River Gallery School is constantly working to reach people in its quest to enrich community life with the joy of creativity,” Hawes writes.
Since River Gallery is a nonprofit, it isn't surprising that grants and donations make up almost half its budget.
“But it is tuition from students taking our classes that makes up the backbone of how we financially survive,” Hawes says.
While there are many classes and workshops for artists of all ages, of special interest is the Sequencing Workshop with Lydia Thomson, offered at the School Oct. 9, from 1 to 4 p.m.
“Sequencing lies at the center of what we do here,” Hawes says. “The concept was developed by co-founder Ric Campman, who died around the time [the School] moved to the Wilder Building.”
Sequencing is an approach to painting developed as a way to enter the process at a deep, direct level. In this workshop recommended for both novice and experienced art makers, the intent is to keep the connection between the eye, the hand, and the painting direct and nonintellectual.
As explained on River Gallery's website, “Sequencing quickly identifies important elements in our creative work, momentarily suspends part of our thought process, and allows us to begin work without the burdens of self-doubt, memory, and desire. It helps to free us from the idea that quality artwork is wholly dependent on technique. Specifically, it emphasizes metaphor, color, light, the horizon, the physical encounter with the paint, and of course awareness and its counterpart, looking.”
“River Gallery School is open every day, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m,” Hawes says. “And one guy who pretty obviously is, if not homeless, at least living marginally, comes in every day. He brings his own materials and works for an hour and a half on the table in the center of the room. As he leaves every single day, he gives me a positive affirmation of what this means to him. That is part of what makes my job for River Gallery so wonderful.”
Hawes clearly loves her job. “40 years of nurturing creativity has provided a wealth of experiences,” she writes, “from the simple joy of a child watching a work of art coming into reality, to the transformation of a person from fearful and uncertain to confident and happy in the process of making art.”