Artistic excellence, challenge, and excitement describe this two week Institute that is designed to celebrate and explore the creative experience.

The Arts Institute will enroll about 130 students in 2012. It is the largest Institute conducted by The Governor’s Institutes of Vermont* and is held on the campus of Castleton State College in Castleton.

This Institute has evolved into a lively artistic community, bringing together outstanding artists and curious, motivated students to explore the process of creativity.

A typical day contains time for community chorus, a morning class and and afternoon class (each running the entire two weeks and led by a teaching artist focusing on a particular discipline such as dance, writing, theater, music, visual art…), workshops led by students, staff and faculty, as well as time to hang out and get to know other artists from around the state. In addition, visiting artists give seminars and workshops while the evening performance series introduces you to locally- and nationally-known artists.

* The Governor’s Institutes of Vermont offer seven summer Institutes and a winter weekend Institute, which offers a taste of several of the summer Institutes.  If you are a Vermont high school student interested in Arts, Asian Cultures, Current Issues & Youth Activism, Engineering, Information Technology, Mathematics, or Environmental Science & Technology, check out GIV!

GIA Mission Statement

The Vermont Governor’s Institute on the Arts seeks to enrich the lives
of a diverse group of Vermont high school students by providing a positive, empowering learning environment that engenders artistic growth
and an awareness of how to work together in a community.

By challenging students to take risks and view familiar subjects
in new ways, we encourage growth in three specific areas:

the creation of…
1) art for art’s sake
2) art in relation/reference to the world
3) art as a member of an artistic community

GIA strives to offer classes unlikely to appear in VT high schools’ art curricula while providing students the opportunity to study and collaborate with professional artists and their peers in these diverse fields.