By Polly Mikula
KILLINGTON—The Killington Arts Guild, founded in 1998, will close its doors after an unsuccessful search for a president of the guild. The state of Vermont requires at least three directors to qualify as an active nonprofit organization. The stipulation will forced the organization to lose its non-profit status, according to Alice Sciore, a founding member of KAG. The board of directors decided it had not choice but to close. Outgoing president Mike Young had held the head post for the past two years in addition to serving as the treasurer of the organization since 2003.
Young took the reins as president of KAG from Sally Curtis, who had run the organization for the four years prior “from 2010-11 to 2014-15,” she said. Curtis took on the role from one of the founders of the guild, Ann Wallen, who had held the post for 10 years.
“When I stepped down, Mike agreed to take over as interim president until we could find a more permanent replacement,” Curtis explained. “He’s not even an artist, he just really supports art in our community and wanted to see it continue… Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anyone to step up, so this was the only alternative the board had.”
The guild was formed by a variety of artists, aspiring artists, and art lovers/supporters to enhance and broaden their direction by being involved with the creative exchange of ideas and possibilities, according to the KAG website.
“The Guild endeavors to develop cultural advancement and awareness that the arts are present and enrich every moment of our daily lives, not exclusive to museums, symphony halls or academia; to foster understanding that the arts put adults and children in touch with their abilities to think, imagine and grow; and to help impart and enjoy the many facets of the arts knowing that without its many forms, much of what we know and have would not exist.”
“If we don’t have art in our life we’re missing a lot, we’d lack enrichment,” Curtis said of the impact the guild closing may have on the community. In addition to gallery shows in the display space on the second floor at Base Camp Outfitters, over the years the guild has held painting workshops, “meet the artist” evenings at the Birch Ridge Inn, kids’ art programs at the library with healthy snacks, as well as monthly public artistic meetings at library.
“Such programs will be missing now that we’re not operational,” Curtis continued, adding that she hopes Liquid Art and the Art Garage in town will be able to fulfill some of those needs for the community. “Those organizations did not exist when the Guild was first founded,” she said.
