Vermont Arts Council Names Susan Evans McClure as Executive Director

Susan Evans McClure Credit: courtesy of Vermont Arts Council

The Vermont Arts Council announced on Thursday the appointment of new executive director Susan Evans McClure. Deputy director Amy Cunningham had been filling in as interim director since October, when former executive director Karen Mittelman stepped down after five years as the arts council’s top administrator. McClure begins her tenure on May 8.

“I can’t wait to get out there and meet more of the incredible artists who work in Vermont, as well as all of the arts organizations who are so vital to our communities,” Evans McClure told Seven Days. “Vermont is kind of unique in the density of artists we have living here. I feel so grateful to be able to work with this community of artists who do amazing things. It’s really a dream job-level achievement for me.”

Founded in 1965, the nonprofit Vermont Arts Council provides funding, advocacy and resources to artists and arts organizations throughout the state.

Evans McClure comes to the arts council after serving as the executive director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes since 2019. Prior to that, she served as the executive director of VSA Vermont, now Inclusive Arts Vermont. She also previously worked as the director of programs and audience development at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

“My academic background is in arts education,” Evans McClure explained. “I’ve tried to take that to all the history-based museums I’ve worked at.” She noted that her focus in past jobs has been exploring how people connect to broader topics such as society and history through art. “I’ve always been sort of secretly working in the arts, even in humanities organizations,” she said. “So it really feels like I’m coming back to my arts roots.”

“Susan brings a wealth of experience to her work,” Vermont Arts Council Board of Trustees chair Rebecca McMeekin wrote in a press release. “That experience combined with her energy, her commitment to diversity, and her connections with the nonprofit and business communities in Vermont will enrich the Council’s work as it moves forward under new leadership.”

Evans McClure will have to grapple with an arts community still reeling from the effects of the pandemic. She said that for all the damage done during that period, one positive that emerged was a new collective understanding of how much the arts are missed when they disappear.

“There’s been a real outpouring of support around sustaining arts in our communities,” Evans McClure said. “I’m passionate about getting state and federal resources out into the community, so anything the arts council can do to make that process easier — and more accessible to all — is something I’m very committed to.”

Once she starts on the job, Evans McClure said her main goal is for the arts council to facilitate building up the entire creative sector of Vermont.

“Art isn’t just the stuff hanging on walls in museums; it’s a wide scope,” Evans McClure said. “And we want to help all artists, whether that’s things like training people to write grants or handle the administration side of the arts. And I’m just so excited to travel around the state and help connect our artists with the resources they need.”