“Only in Vermont,” one might say, could you find eight working farms, twenty commercial maple sugar operations, a 300-acre town forest, a cooperative pre-school, a nationally recognized elementary school, school budgets that pass on the first try, a monthly newsletter delivered to every mailbox and 30 volunteer organizations—all in a town of 2,000 people.

Located within 20 miles of the State’s largest city of Burlington, Starksboro, Vermont seemingly has it all. But, as with many small towns, it feels the strain of integrating newcomers and old-timers, commuters and farmers, population growth and a rural lifestyle, rising real-estate prices and limited economic opportunities. Residents recognize that it will take effort and creativity to sustain the best of their community and adapt to changing times.

The Foundation and the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) hypothesized that, by getting in touch with deep community values and connections to place, citizens could improve on traditional planning approaches and make better decisions about the future of their town. With help from the non-profit organizations Americans for the Arts (Animating Democracy program) and the Vermont Arts Council, the Foundation and VLT developed an Art & Soul Civic Engagement initiative, which would use the arts to involve citizens in shaping their own future and translating shared values into actions. The Foundation and VLT invited communities from Addison County, Vermont to apply through a competitive process, and Starksboro was chosen.

The Art & Soul initiative employs a variety of tools to engage residents in storytelling, art, conversation and action. In the first phase, Middlebury College students interviewed 50 local residents and presented some of their stories to townspeople in a community-wide event. Next, artist-in-residence Matthew Perry began working with residents of diverse ages and backgrounds to build on those stories through art-making. In the final phase of the project, townspeople will identify concrete actions, policies and choices to build a future based on the values that emerge throughout the project.

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