One of the loveliest feelings I get when I pop in and out of Rumble’s Bistro & Bar is seeing the
artwork of locals decorating the foyer walls. It is both warm and inviting, and I love relaxing
with the vibe of Sugarbush.
For the past four years, Sugarbush Resort has been an important exhibition partner of
Mad Arts in Waitsfield. Mad Arts (Mad River Valley Arts) deeply values this relationship
because it demonstrates how a community can be strengthened through connections
between the visual arts, local businesses, and the recreation industry.
If you’ve walked into Rumble’s at all over the last couple of years, you have likely seen that relationship on display. In addition to being a sponsor of our exhibits in our gallery down in Waitsfield, Sugarbush partners with Mad Arts to share the work of local Valley artists just outside the restaurant. The partnership goes beyond simply providing a place to exhibit artwork. It creates a bridge between two vital parts of our region’s cultural and economic life: recreation and the arts.
By bringing Contemporary Visual Art into a resort environment, the partnership introduces new audiences to the work of artists while expanding the reach and visibility of Mad Arts beyond its gallery walls. Most importantly, this collaboration points toward a sustainable model for the future, one in which arts organizations, businesses, and recreation-based organizations work together as cultural partners. We see opportunities for these kinds of relationships to grow into long-term strategic alliances that strengthen the creative, social, and economic vitality of the Mad River Valley.
This partnership also reflects a shared set of values held across the Valley: sustainable
stewardship, health and well-being, and the belief that both the arts and recreation
contribute meaningfully to the vitality of a rural community spanning four towns.
Together, Sugarbush and Mad Arts demonstrate how these seemingly different sectors
can work in concert to strengthen community life, while offering visitors from beyond
region a model of engagement that is grounded in place, connection, and care for the
environment. It is a partnership that points toward a future in which community is
understood not simply as where we live, but as how we engage with one another, our
environment, and the larger world.
We just took down our most recent gallery with the plan to put a new one up later this fall. I can’t wait for you all to see it and in the meantime encourage you to stop by our gallery down on Main Street in Waitsfield. You can also check out our website at www.madrivervalleyarts.org and learn more about all the work we are doing.