Vermont HCR 188: House concurrent resolution congratulating Milton High School junior Olivia Thomas on her individual track and field achievements

Bill Text

R-229 Page 1 of 1
2026

VT LEG #387496 v.1
No. R-229. House concurrent resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the
Bennington College Visual and Performing Arts Center.
(H.C.R.188)
Offered by Representatives Greer of Bennington, Cooper of Pownal, Corcoran of
Bennington, Durfee of Shaftsbury, Morrissey of Bennington, and Nigro of Bennington
Offered by Senators Bongartz and Plunkett
Whereas, in 1964, the Bennington College Art Policy Committee embarked on the
creation of a unique visual and performing arts center (known as VAPA), and
Whereas, Bennington College selected the distinguished American architect,
Robertson Ward Jr., who studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Design under Walter
Gropius, the famed founder of the Bauhaus School, an innovative German initiative in
modern architecture and design, and
Whereas, in 1919, Walter Gropius, writing in the publication Bauhaus Manifesto and
Program, envisioned an artistic edifice “that will unite every discipline, architecture and
sculpture and painting, and which will one day rise heavenwards from the million hands
of craftsmen...,” and
Whereas, these sentiments encapsulated the lofty design aspirations of the committee
that more tangibly described “a neutral, open, unfettered, well-lighted space that...will
allow large-scale painting and sculpture to be done in comfort...[and]...that will
accommodate the mess and confusion of work in progress,” and
Whereas, in designing the structure, the architect incorporated Japanese elements that
address “the relationship between inside and outside,” and collaborated with Rutgers
University sociologist, Dr. Robert Gutman, “to explore ways in which the behavioral
sciences [could] contribute to the design of more useful and satisfying buildings,” and
Whereas, the building’s structural and mechanical systems remain visible in order to
tell the center’s construction story, and
Whereas, on May 22, 1976, the 120,000-square-foot VAPA, composed of 20 studio
spaces, an annex encompassing four artistic spaces, and other related facilities, was
dedicated with the participation of First Lady Betty Ford, who studied dance at
Bennington College with the noted dancer Martha Graham, and the first lady addressed
the gathering, reminiscing about her time at the college and affixing a plaque to the new
building, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Bennington
College Visual and Performing Arts Center, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
the Bennington College VAPA.