words // Ben Sarle

Just confirmed today, Burlington City Arts will be opening a new space called the Vermont Metro Gallery. The new spot will be a commercial-style gallery residing on the 4th floor of The BCA Center. The focus of the Metro Gallery will be to showcase and sell the work of contemporary artists from all over Vermont, in all different mediums.

For over 20 years BCA has been an integral part of Vermont’s visual art landscape, starting in 1982 with the original Metropolitan Gallery in Burlington’s City Hall, and on to the Firehouse Gallery in 1995 on Church Street (currently known as the BCA center) which has exhibited and supported countless artists from Vermont and abroad. BCA’s mission to progress the public’s engagement in art through the arts and art education rather than commercial sales has been a recipe for success for the non-profit, but now BCA expressed they are “well-positioned to expand it’s service to both artists and the community” through their experience in art sales with corporate and private clients. Their non-profit status and overall mission will remain unchanged, and this gallery’s new format will simply serve as another way for BCA to contribute to the local arts ecosystem.

With the announcement of the Vermont Metro Gallery, BCA hopes to “return to their roots” by taking their momentum within Vermont’s arts community to create a connection between the sales potential of local artists and cultivating local collectors. As stated by BCA, “The community will receive a meaningful opportunity to purchase art work that is uniquely local and that supports the perpetuation of new art-makers of all ages through BCA’s extensive education programs.” BCA is also still seeking a small group of founding members to contribute to the growth of this new venture.

Not only will Metro Gallery be another avenue for BCA to continue their amazing work as well as give back even more to the local arts community and arts education, it will serve as another channel for modern Vermont artists to shine.

The grand opening reception for the Vermont Metro Gallery will be Thursday, October 24th from 5:30-7:30pm at 135 Church Street’s Fourth Floor. The reception will be featuring artwork from Bill Davidson, Kathleen Schneider, Don Ross, and John Gonter.