The Importance of Listening; Recapping Our Latest Gallery Talks

River Arts is pleased to welcome two new Exhibits: Women and Girls by Kathy Black and Listening Outside the Lines, an Oral History Project which is part of the wider Lamoille Arts and Justice Project. I was privileged to facilitate the conversations with Kathy and with Kiara Cole, one of the Co-Curators of the Oral History Project. There were some very special moments that were shared by those in attendance at our limited capacity opening event.

Kathy Black is the Program Director at the Vermont Arts Studio in Johnson and is a very accomplished painter. I so enjoyed listening to her talk about how she came to this particular exhibit about Women and Girls at this time and place. As always, I find I understand the artists' point of view so much better when I hear about their journey. For example, Kathy’s art always starts with a question in mind and her work emerges from exploring that point of view. Just looking at her art is not the same as understanding it - not for me anyway.

The Listening Outside the Lines project is a hard one to describe without witnessing it. This is the first time that River Arts has attempted to present a multimedia presentation. Oral histories use the QR technology to share audio links that lead to a person's story of their experience in Vermont. Along with each recording is a portrait of the person. The connecting thread of these oral stories are that the narrators all identify at People of the Global Majority (PGM), more widely known by the acronym BIPOC. These stories are profoundly personal and humbling to listen to.

For those who wonder what Morrisville has to do with people of color given we are a mostly white population, they would have been impressed by the diverse perspectives represented by the Listening Outside the Lines Project. Prior to the start of the Opening Reception, River Arts was open for an Affinity hour for the Listening Outside the Lines Project. I was impressed by how many people attended this affinity viewing. Clearly, there is a need and an interest for private time to reflect and prepare for the wider gathering.

These stories were then heightened by the collaborative multimedia pieces that were created by local PGM artists. One poem written by poet Sarah Audsley was inspired by and directly taken from the oral history offered by Miles. Audsley’s completed poem was then recorded and read by Miles in his own voice - closing the loop of collaboration between the oral history narrator and artist paired to interpret his lived experiences. I was touched to my core by hearing his story retold in this new poetic form. Ms. Audsley additionally shared her process of how she found the words for her poem directly from Miles' oral story. She explained that by participating in this collaboration with Miles, she found unexpected enrichment and community - a contrast from her typical experience as a poet who mostly works alone at her desk.

I am inspired to know that River Arts helped sponsor and support the birth of new friendships that did not exist before and helps bring together people who feel isolated with art- especially those members of the PGM community. For the past year, River Arts has supported and sponsored the creation of not only an oral history collection but artwork inspired by these audio pieces. Our opening event felt to many like the culmination of a long project, but in many ways, this exhibition is just a first step for River Arts. We will strive to continue to do the work, to sustain space for PGM individuals, and provide the platform to uplift the voices of PGM individuals in our community.

We recommended that viewers factor in 90 minutes to listen to all of the oral histories. We suggest bringing a smartphone and a pair of headphones to access each oral history story, however we do have accessibility options for those who do not have a smartphone or headphones. We do ask that viewers refrain from taking any pictures in the space, especially of the QR codes to the oral history stories. Narrators explicitly asked for safeguards to make sure their stories are not shared outside of the exhibition, and we'd like to do our utmost to make sure that their wishes are seen to.

-Nan Carle Beauregard, Board of Trustees