Label
Janet McKenzie lives in Island Pond and is known for her powerful paintings of women. In the exhibition catalog, Art of Action: Ideas + Action= Change, she wrote about her artwork, "My paintings, created for the Art of Action project, celebrate humanity and speak through our people- Vermonters... This project provided an opportunity to pull back the 'veil of invisibility' that seems to cloak many of our Vermont-born ethnic minorities. Within our cities- and even with our most remote communities- people of all races, many here for generations, continue to contribute to and help define Vermont's diverse cultural reality."
The Art in Action Project was created by Lyman Orton, Janet Izzi, and the Vermont Arts Council to raise awareness and inspire citizen action around issues and challenges that shape Vermont social, political, and economic landscape. Ten artists were commissioned to examine the issues Vermonters deemed critical to our future and create two-dimensional works of art that articulate those issues. The suites of artwork, totaling 105 pieces, were completed in August 2009. The work then embarked on a tour of 27 venues, beginning in September 2009 and culminating in July 2010.