One mission, three branches.

In 2022, we observed several needs in our communities and responded to them by rethinking our programming. Children were best served by meeting them at the schools, greatly reducing the need for transportation. Agencies reached out to ask for our Inclusive Arts programs to return to their spaces, also reducing the need for their clients to secure transportation. WonderArts and GRACE programs now largely take place in public spaces where our clients already spend their time.

Grassroots Arts and Community Effort (GRACE) in Hardwick merges with WonderArts to create one organization with one mission: Rural Arts Collaborative.

WonderArts launches Spark with support from USDA Rural Development. Spark is a hub for creation and innovation centered around creative technology. This program’s goal is to provide regular opportunities for networking and sharing knowledge and experiences to spur innovation and creativity within the Creative Economy.

Wonder & Wisdom and The Art House expand their collaboration into a formal merger of the two organizations. Now known as WonderArts, the community-based nonprofit will be offer more diverse, expansive, and creative opportunities to the communities of Craftsbury, Greensboro, Hardwick, and beyond. With a continuing focus on the cultivation of learning and exploration, WonderArts seeks to enrich our community, schools, and economy through creativity, conversation, and collaboration focused on the arts, recreation, and innovative programming that will serve multiple generations.

Located on Craftsbury Common, a group of community members transform a student-run bookstore, Stardust Books - A Satellite of Galaxy Bookshop, and a former residence on Craftsbury Common, into a 501(c)3 nonprofit. The Gallery, Studio, and School continues to operate the student run bookshop and small cafe through 2015 until director Sarah Mutrux resigns and passes the organization to her successor, Ceilidh Galloway-Kane.

Grassroots Arts and Community Project purchases the Old Firehouse in Hardwick, Vermont. This Historic Fire House becomes the home of the GRACE Artwork Collection, and the community workshops hosted by GRACE facilitators.

Founder Patricia Passmore Alley establishes this year-round licensed childcare facility that includes the Summer Journeys Camps and Senior Trotter programs. Wonder & Wisdom will remain a licensed childcare facility until it closes its licensure in 2017 during it’s merger with The Art House.

Artist Don Sunseri relocates from New York City to West Glover, and takes a job at the St. Johnsbury Convalescent Center as a dishwasher. As he observes the residents, he feels there is a “Great well of untapped creativity” among them, and receives permission from the administration to bring in art materials for them to use. This is the beginning of the Grassroots Arts and Community Effort, which will thrive for another half of a century, cultivating personal art practices among seniors, people with disabilities, and any community member who wants to be an artist.