BY ANITA RAFAEL
focus on
Southern Vermont
Arts Center
I
n an old paint box, somewhere in my
attic, there is a small, bright yellow
button with black lettering on it that
states: you gotta have ART. That was the
catchy, clever slogan in 1976 for the Detroit
Institute of Arts, and to this day, those four
words resonate deeply where the arts are
the warp and weft of a community’s social
tapestry. I cannot think of an attraction where
that is truer than at the Southern Vermont
Arts Center (SVAC) in Manchester. They have
plenty of fine art, they have an abundance
of the arts, and, I’ll say it: everything about
SVAC oozes talent.
SVAC has been the epicenter of both the
arts and art appreciation in the region since
1950. On this venerable estate, the visual arts,
performance, creative learning, and the natural
beauty that is Vermont have been happily
married for decades. It has evolved into a
campus with the addition of modern buildings
in the late 1900s, but in fact this vast acreage
and the 28-room Georgian revival-style
mansion was previously the summer getaway
of Gilded Age socialite Gertrude A. Devine
Webster. It is listed in the National Register
of Historic Places.
12 manchester life | manchesterlifemagazine.com
So much of what is happening at SVAC
between April and December this year is
because of the creative spark the new director
has brought to this nonprofit organization. A
resident of nearby Dorset, Elizabeth Paxson
assumed the leading role at the center in
September 2017. Judi McCormick, president
of the Board of Trustees for the past 18
months and an artist herself, says, “Elizabeth’s
art world is so much broader than her place
at the arts center. It is the way she does
everything in her life. Her energy and vision
bring so much inspiration to our programs.”
Paxson says, “The first few months that I
was here, I spent time at the front desk and it
was such an amazing experience to find out
exactly what it is that connects the visitors
who come here to the arts. I learned so much.
One of the things we want to bring to the
forefront is that SVAC is a very warm and
welcoming place for everyone.”
Art in spectacular settings such as SVAC
makes people happy and everyone seems to
chat up the one thing they like best about
the venue. For many, there’s delight in
simply taking that steep, slow drive up and
down the hillside on the narrow road that
winds through a striking display of outdoor