ABOUT US
The Art House is primarily a Studio/Gallery for the visual arts. It is also a Performance Space for music, dance and spoken word as well as a Workshop Space for classes in the Arts and alternative forms of healing.
Located at the Marbleworks in Middlebury, VT, The Art House was started in 2008 by Mary Swanson to house her own Studio and provide her with a place to teach Energy Work. The Art House immediately began its Music Series and began to add classes, workshops and performances.
The Mission of The Art House is to create a kind of community center for artists in Addison County. While we do charge admission for performances and classes, we have many free events, parties, jams & celebrations.
You can call 802-458-0464 if you have any questions or would like more information about any of our programs. Our email address is info@arthousevt.com
You can join The Art House for only $50.00 a year. Besides supporting your local artists, Membership entitles you to free Premieres of Gallery Openings and "Members-Only" events.
Video Piece on The Art House
The Art House Manifesto
The Art House is dedicated to the principle that 'Art' is not a product, it is a way of life. To achieve Art you must be able to bring yourself totally into the present moment with an open heart, without expectations, and be willing to interact with some other.
The expression of Art is not limited to the traditionally understood Arts of music, writing, painting, sculpture or dance but includes every activity known to humans. Thus we can speak of the Art of conversation, the Art of motorcycle repair or the Art of love.
It is a fundamental principle of the Art House that Art heals.
What we don't understand, we fear. What we fear, we attempt to control. There is no such thing as control. It is an illusion. We always fail in our attempt to control. We blame ourselves for the failure and begin to hate ourselves. This self-hatred is the root of all imbalance. Imbalance is the root of all illness.
Art teaches us to come into relationship with what we don't understand. To be comfortable with not knowing. To be an Artist is to willingly interact with what you don't understand. To be an Artist is to include yourself in the dance of life. You effect. You are affected. You create and you change.
Art exists at the midpoint of joy & sorrow, love & hate, black & white. To balance seemingly un-integratable opposites is to create Art and to heal. Light & shadow. Form & emptiness. We dance. We balance. We become aware. We create catharsis. We find compassion.
The Art House is dedicated to further Art in any and all expressions. It is a place of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual healing. It is a place of music, paint, dance, sculpture, poetry, plays, meditation, teaching and learning.
Mary Swanson
San Francisco, CA 2001
The Art House Consecration
Throughout History, throughout all of Time, we humans have been developing the Arts of Dance, Music, Painting, Writing, Poetry, Drama & Song for a reason. By participating in the Arts, we further a process that began in the awakening of human consciousness. By participating in the Arts we discover how to respond to life: we learn to observe, to listen, to move, to imagine, to experience catharsis and release untenable emotions. To live without the Arts is to hold back from Life.
For if we don’t learn to tell a story, how will we learn to create a future that’s different from our past?
If we don’t learn to dance, how will we learn to playfully and peacefully interact with a stranger?
If we don’t learn to sing, how will we learn to express ourselves freely?
If we don’t learn to paint, how will we learn to observe?
If we don’t learn to write, how will we know what we think?
If we don’t learn to use metaphor, how will we express the inexpressible?
Throughout all Time, people have developed the Arts for a reason: they are like roots that connect us to Life.
We consecrate this Art House to our ancestors, may they flower in our generation. We consecrate this Art House to our children, may we sustain their growth. We consecrate this Art House to ourselves, may we continue to awaken. We consecrate this Art House to the Arts, may they come to fruition in this place.
Mary Swanson
Middlebury VT 2008
