2019 Arts and Culture Programs

Our arts and culture programs are designed to build quality relationships across differences of race and culture through small multicultural community events that will engage you in creativity, participatory learning and the joy of discovery.  Our on-Farm 2019 arts and culture programs begin on June 1 and run through October. 

​Click on the photos and buttons below for quick links to register for upcoming events. Click the calendar to see our scheduled events.

Scroll down on this page for more information on some of our upcoming events that include our 2019 To Sing of Common Things: Making A Way Out of No Way humanities speakers series.  Please keep an eye on this page: we'll be posting more summer arts and culture events soon! 

Saturdays 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., June 29-October 19 at the Barn House

Tours of the Historic Barn House.  Tours include viewing the special exhibit "Travels of the Intrepid Couple" which showcases the hidden story of a remarkable couple and a rare African-American owned family farm in Vermont, and how they helped build bridges across differences of race, culture and geographic settings for nearly 60 years-- through art, community and a sense of place.

The Barn House includes a beautiful collection of art, textiles, panels, photographs and listening stations with audio-recordings of the wonderful storytelling of 96-year-old Lydia Clemmons about her travels with husband Jack, the people they met, and unique art from North, West, East, Central and Southern Africa.

​Tours start promptly at 10:00 AM most Saturdays.  To book a special tour for your group on another day, please contact our tour director at vtcrocks@gmavt.net.

Saturday mornings, starting July 20, 2019, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM at the Authentica Art Gallery

West African Drumming for Kiddos! Saturday morning drumming circles for kiddos at the Clemmons Family Farm start July 20 at 10 AM! Your young citizens of the world will learn a lot about the people and cultures of West Africa, along with mindfulness, musical immersion, and plenty of fun and therapeutic rhythms. Master Teacher Koblavi Dogah will also throw in a few new dance moves from time to time! A SUPER activity for children ages 8-12 that blends art, culture, exercise and the joy of discovery. 

​Saturday July 20, 2019, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM at the Historic Barn House

​Black Fortunes: The Story of the First African Americans Who Survived Slavery and Became Millionaires. Brooklyn journalist and author Shomari Wills will read from selected parts of his book in the historic Barn House at the Clemmons Family Farm. Q&A and discussion moderated by Dr. Wanda Heading-Grant of the University of Vermont. Refreshments and socializing will follow the presentation. Books will be available for purchase!

This is the first of our five-part 2019 speakers series To Sing of Common Things: Making A Way Out of No Way.

About the Book:
Wills' first book, Black Fortunes, shares the untold stories of America's first black millionaires.
​​​Some Discussion Questions:  
What are the lessons that we can learn from these historic accounts?

​In today’s times, what inspiration can we draw from these stories? 

July through October 2019, Saturdays and Sundays from 4-5:30 PM at the Historic Barn House

2019 Speakers' Series- To Sing of Common Things: Making A Way Out of No Way.  Our third annual humanities speakers series focuses on the history of African American resilience and achievements.  The five-part series includes authors of recently published books and two very special speakers, 96-year-old Jack and Lydia Clemmons!  The series is moderated by Wanda Heading-Grant.

Saturday, July 20, 2019 4 PM - 5:30: Shomari Wills, author of Black Fortunes: The Stories of Six African Americans Who Survived Slavery and Became Millionaires.  See the listing above to learn more and register.
Sunday, August 4, 2019 4 PM - 5:30: Rajnii Eddins, author of Their Names Are Mine.  Learn more and register to attend.
Saturday, September 14, 2019 4 PM - 5:30: Emily Bernard, author of Black Bodies: Stories of My Grandmother's Time, My Mother's Time and Mine. Learn more and register to attend.
Saturday, October 12, 2019 4 PM - 5:30: Naima Wade, author of Elbow Dreams: A Black Girl Growing Up in Vermont in the 1960's. Learn more and register to attend.
Saturday, October 19, 2019 4 PM - 5:30: Jackson and Lydia Clemmons, Making A Way Out of No Way: 100 Years of African American Family Storytelling. Learn more and register to attend.

July 28 - September 14, 2019 at the Authentica Art Gallery

City of Hope Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. This multi-media exhibit honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daring vision for economic justice and opportunity for every U.S. citizen. Twenty posters, videos and audio collections document the Poor People’s Campaign—a grassroots, multiracial movement that drew thousands of people to Washington, D.C.  For 43 days between May and June 1968, demonstrators demanded social reforms while living side-by-side on the National Mall in a tent city known as Resurrection City.  City of Hope: Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People's Campaign is part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service developed in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and includes additional curations by the Clemmons Family Farm.

The exhibit will run from July 28 through September 15, 2109 at the Authentica Art Gallery.  Please check back for dates and times of the gallery hours and a special opening reception.
The Clemmons Family Farm's arts and culture events mobilize the power of the people, arts and cultures of African descent to help build a loving community in Vermont. Our programs are made possible with major support from ArtPlace America and additional funding from the Vermont Humanities Council. Of nearly 1000 applicants nationwide, our "A Sense of Place" project is one of just 23 recipients of ArtPlace America's 2017 National Creative Placemaking Fund grants.  We work in partnership with Champlain College, our fiscal Burlington City Arts and the Peace and Justice Center, and a growing number of other Vermont-based organizations.