Here Be Dragons: Learning to Slay at VACDaRN Day

Participants from arts, culture, and Vermont's creative sector gather to learn about emergency preparedness and disaster resilience at the VACDaRN Day of Learning on Sept. 17, 2024. Credit: Noel Clark, Vermont Humanities

Flood prep checklist: pour white vinegar and warm water solution over sump pumps, remove electric cords off basement floor, check engine room for oil or other toxic substances accidentally left behind.

These and other key steps are mandatory for Sue Higby at the three-story Nichols Block building in Barre, which houses Studio Place Arts, the community visual arts center that Higby has been running for more than 20 years. She has learned a lot in those decades, especially about how to prepare for the all-too-frequent times when their Main Street building becomes an island surrounded on all sides by swirling, brown flood waters.

Sue Higby of Studio Place Arts explains how flood waters inundated Studio Place Arts before significant remediation work took place. Credit: Catherine Crawley, Vermont Arts Council

Higby was among the two dozen presenters who shared their experiences and knowledge at last week's Day of Learning hosted by the Vermont Arts and Culture Disaster and Resilience Network (VACDaRN).

Attending were staff and volunteers from arts and cultural organizations, such as theaters, museums, archives, libraries, creative businesses, and more; artists and cultural workers; local and state emergency managers, municipal officials, and first responders interested in learning more about how to protect their records and work with cultural organizations in the community.

The day was intended to provide inspiration, a sense of community, and practical tips for building disaster resilience. It included sessions on emergency planning, collections salvage, arts and culture programming for disaster recovery, equity in response and recovery, and more. Tours and behind-the-scenes looks at flooding response and mitigation efforts of several Barre cultural institutions, including Studio Place Arts and the Old Labor Hall, were also offered.

Sue Higby's How-To for protecting the Studio Place Arts building in Barre

"It's really through the arts that democracies can flourish," announced Vermont Deputy Secretary of State Lauren Hibbert in kicking off the day's events. The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA), which is a division of the Secretary of State's office, is the co-lead of VACDaRN.

Keynote speaker Anna Glover, who directs theater safety and occupational health at Yale University's David Geffen School of Drama, framed the day's discussions with a charge to participants to ditch aspirations of "safety" and instead embrace "beautiful uncertainty."

In planning events, Glover encouraged the audience to think less about ways to make events safe but more about ways to make them less risky and offered several ways of doing so.

"Uncertainty and risk can be embraced and harnessed to help build resilience and community," Glover said, offering the playful phrase, "Here be dragons," as a way to look to the future and plan for uncertain outcomes.

Anna Glover delivers the keynote, "Beautiful Uncertainty-How to Live (and Thrive) with Risk." Credit: Noel Clark, Vermont Humanities

Sessions were held throughout the day at the Elks Lodge, Aldrich Library, and the Vermont History Center.

A partnership of the Vermont Arts Council and VSARA,VACDaRN was formed in 2019. The Network enables artists, creative workers, and cultural organizations to share expertise and resources; mobilize response for mutual assistance during emergencies; and engage collectively with first responders and government emergency management agencies.

For more information about VACDaRN, visit the website.

Check our our photo album from the day. Thank you to Noel Clark at Vermont Humanities for help with photography.

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