CLEMMONS FAMILY FARM
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Authentica African Imports and Art Gallery
(a.k.a. "The Shop")

Above:  A 1-minute slide show features one of the original Authentica Tinga Tinga signboards and the new Tinga TInga signboards that will be installed on the Farm in 2022.  The Clemmons Family Farm has had a special connection to Tanzania and Tinga Tinga art since the early 1980's when Lydia Senior first opened the Authentica African Art Imports Shop in one of the Farm's historic buildings on Greenbush Road in Charlotte. 
Jackson Clemmons preserved and upgraded the historic Blacksmith Shop on the Clemmons Family Farm in the 1980's, transforming it first into a building with two full apartments.  Several years later, the building became the location of Authentica African Art Imports, the first African art mail-order import business in the United States. Lydia Clemmons (senior) ran the business while still working as a nurse anesthetist at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Jack and Lydia purchased museum-quality art during their work and travels on the African continent for their Authentica business. Lydia (senior) also received shipments of art from artists and art vendors in Africa.
In addition to the mail order business, Authentica was also often a source of textiles and clothes for local African American/African diaspora fashion shows and cultural events organized by students of the University of Vermont, Middlebury College and other local universities and public schools.

Supported through grants from the Vermont Council of the Arts, Lydia (senior) traveled to grade schools all around the state of Vermont in her old station wagon to bring her favorite pieces of African art that she carried with her in the "treasure trunk" of the station wagon. During her classroom presentations she would introduce students and teachers to the many wonderful cultures of Africa through her stories about her travels, the people, and the art. 

Authentica operated until 2012, when Lydia decided to close the business because she was in her 90's!
LISTEN TO AUTHENTICA STORYTELLING
READ ABOUT THE INTREPID COUPLE EXHIBIT!

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The old Blacksmith Shop, as it was in the 1960's when Jack and Lydia Clemmons purchased the Farm.

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Above left: Lydia Clemmons with a family friend at the Authentica African Art Imports shop in its heyday during the 1990s.  Above right: Lydia Clemmons walks back to the Main house from a day working at The Shop.
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Above left and right: More photos of the shop prior to Jack's renovations. The badminton net (right), which was set up at the south end of the building, was in constant use by the Clemmons children during the summers in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Clemmons Family Farm, Inc.
PO Box 546
Charlotte, Vermont 05445
​​Leave us a message at: 765-560-5445
​Contact us at: contact@clemmonsfamilyfarm.org
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© CLEMMONS FAMILY FARM. COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • What We Do
    • Our Programs >
      • Heritage Celebrations >
        • MLK Day 2023!
        • Kwanzaa 2022
        • Juneteenth 2022!
      • K-12 Ethnic Studies >
        • Field Trips
      • Creating Healthy Communities >
        • Beneath Our Skin
        • Cancelling Miss Rona
        • A Sense of Place >
          • A Sense of Place at NEFA-CCX
      • Art >
        • Farm2Art Program >
          • Summer 2016 Farm2Art Program
        • Culinary Heritage & Arts Program
      • Farm
      • Forest
      • Heritage
  • About
    • Our Team
    • About Us >
      • Our Vision
    • Who We Are >
      • Jack and Lydia's Living Legacy
      • How Jack and Lydia Found and Bought the Farm
      • Holding On to Our Legacies
    • When Are We Open?
    • Press Coverage >
      • Other News >
        • 2019 Visitors Survey: Sneak Preview
        • 2018 Updates
        • 2017 Updates
        • 2016 Updates
    • What Our Community is Saying >
      • 2018 Visitor Survey Findings!
      • Feedback from other Vermont communities
    • Subscribe!
  • Artists' Registry
    • Are You Looking for an Artist?
    • Why, Hello there, Artists!
  • Historic Buildings
    • Venue Rentals
    • Stay with Us!
    • Six Historic Buildings
    • The Barn House >
      • The Barn House Legacy
      • Stay with Us!
    • The Big Barn >
      • "Making History, Creating Place" Videos!
      • The Historic Water Cistern
    • The Main House >
      • About the Black Locust Trees
    • The Shop >
      • The Authentica Library
      • Shop Storytelling Videos
  • Please Donate!
    • Subscribe!
  • 2023 Calendar!!