Burlington City Arts

06/01/2026

🎉Come one, come all to witness the installation of “Lakebone,” a new public sculpture coming to Burlington’s Main St. by local artist Nancy Winship Milliken! Join us on Wednesday, June 3 as we celebrate what will become a landmark piece of public art in the heart of the city.

Meet us on the corner of Main St and Battery at 9:30 AM as we accompany this monumental sculpture made from a 48-foot-long Black Locust tree as it travels through downtown Burlington to its new home on Main Street, just up the road from the Pine Street intersection. The Community Parade will be led by local musicians and residents, artists, families, and visitors are all invited to join us to welcome Burlington’s newest public artwork.

“Lakebone “connects Burlington’s past and future through the story of wood, water, and healthy ecosystems across the landscape while referencing its long history as a lumber and rail hub. Once installed, the work will be suspended above a pollinator meadow designed in collaboration with Bee the Change, inviting reflection on the interconnected systems that sustain our urban and natural habitats.

We’ll see you on the corner of Main and Battery for the arrival of “Lakebone” on Wednesday!

This installation is part of the City of Burlington’s Great Streets: Main Street Project and represents an extraordinary collaboration between artists, engineers, fabricators, transportation specialists, environmental partners, and community supporters. Special thanks to Vermont Rail System, S.D. Ireland, Artisan Engineering, GCB Corp, Industrial Four, and the many partners who helped make this ambitious public artwork possible.

05/28/2026

Join us for Burlington’s 6th Annual Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 20, 2026 from 1 to 9 PM in City Hall Park!

This year’s theme, “Freedom: Yesterday’s Legacy, Today’s Promise, Tomorrow’s Hope,” honors the history of emancipation, reflects on the ongoing struggle for equality, and inspires future generations to continue the fight for justice and inclusion.

The celebration will include:
💚 Community and City department engagement tables
💛 Interactive experiences like double-dutch, face painting, and more!
❤️ Live performances
🖤 A free community dinner

Come celebrate community, culture, history, and hope with us. Find more details at btvreib.com/juneteenth

05/26/2026

🌻The sun is shining, the weather is sweet, save the date for July 10, when our summer exhibitions arrive to bring you respite from the heat!

Coming soon to the BCA Gallery is the distinctive Afro-surrealist style of Will Kasso Condry () with “Everything is Everything”, a riveting exhibition composed of painting and illustrations that weave together parallel journeys of healing and discovery. Condry is the co-founder of Juniper Creative Arts, a Vermont-based Black and Dominican family collective with a mission-driven practice of creating art that celebrates the lives and stories of the African Diaspora.

🧑‍🎨Condry’s exhibit coincides with BCA’s youth artist apprenticeship program. Led by Juniper Creative Arts () this paid four-week public art residency is for Burlington-based youth ages 16-21 interested in collaborative mural-making. Get all the application details when you visit www.burlingtoncityarts.org/event/applications-open-bcas-youth-artist-apprenticeship-program

As you make your way to the 2nd floor inside the Roth Gallery you’ll be enchanted by “Dream / Mộng,” featuring Veronica Pham’s () delicate cut paper collages and wall-mounted sculptures that are enmeshed with her Vietnamese heritage and cultural traditions. Both Summer exhibitions are on view beginning July 10 through September 12!

🗓️Save-the-date and be sure to check out our Spring exhibitions “Human Impact: Contemporary Art and Our Environment”, “What’s the Difference? Sculptural Ideas”, and “Maedeh Asgharpour” before they close on 6/20!

Will Kasso Condry, “Things Fall Apart” (detail), 2025

Veronica Pham, “in the light, shadow, and meadow-we dream, eat, and sleep”(detail), 2026

BCA’s Summer exhibitions are supported in part by the Maslow Family Foundation. Hospitality sponsor, . Burlington City Arts is supported in part by the & .

05/22/2026

🍪Milk, cookies, and conversation are on the menu Wednesday, May 27 when we host Burlington artist and author Barbara Zucker at the BCA Center to celebrate her new book, “The Second Oldest Profession: The Wet Nurse, Revered and Reviled,” published by Abbeville Press.

Zucker uncovers the age-old and forgotten occupation of wet nursing, a line of work reserved for a woman who hired to breastfeed children not her own. Zucker uses an abundance of paintings, prints, and photographs she has collected over years of research, as well as her own illustrations and sculptures inspired by the topic.

Join us for a collective discussion about art making, process, and the fascinating profession of the wet nurse led by Zucker. Sharing personal stories about your experiences or ideas of the wet nurse is highly encouraged and will be paired with a side of milk and cookies. You’ll have a chance to purchase your own copy of “The Second Oldest Profession” and have it signed by the artist too.

🔗Visit https://www.burlingtoncityarts.org/event/second-oldest-profession-participatory-conversation-barbara-zucker-art-authorship-and-history to get more details and to reserve your copy in advance! Save-the-date and we’ll see you at the BCA Center on Wednesday, 5/27 at 6pm!

05/22/2026

Extra Extra! Read all about BCA's 'Summer in the City', bringing 100+ free events to Burlington. Mark your calendars, we're kicking things off on 6/3!

From major music festivals to summer-long concert series, here’s a selection of the best local listening happening around Vermont this summer.

05/21/2026

🧑‍🎨Escape a wet weekend and share an art-making experience with your creative crew at Family Art Saturday on May 23 from 11am-1pm!

Tap into your creativity with us as we gather for an all-ages artmaking activity inspired by our BCA Center exhibitions “Human Impact: Art and our Environment” and “What’s the Difference? Sculptural Ideas”. Make your own masterpiece by exploring with the techniques and materials used by the exhibiting artists themselves.

As always Family Art Saturday is open to all ages! Advanced registration is encouraged and drop-ins are always welcome. Head over to our link in bio to register and learn more and we’ll see you at the BCA Center on Saturday! ⁠
Human Impact: Contemporary Art and Our Environment is supported in part by the Public Humanities Labs Initiative on Migration through the Axinn Center for the Humanities at , , Gund Institute for Environment, , and . BCA's spring exhibitions are supported in part by the Maslow Family Foundation. Hospitality sponsor: . Burlington City Arts is supported in part by & .

05/20/2026

🎸Get ready to expand your musical palette when Downtown Jazz returns to the streets of Burlington on June 3-6! Join us on the Top Block Stage, the College Street Spot, and in City Hall Park for four days of live local music from our Jazz community.

🎵Today we're highlighting the local acts bringing the rhythm and groove down on College Street. Meet us there après work to kick off day one of Downtown Jazz and let the music of contemporary jazz quartet Birdcode move you from 6-8 pm. Thursday’s evening set is brought to you by Trio Gusto and Mike Martin, together they celebrate a joyful fusion of global jazz traditions you won’t want to miss! Friday calls for date night - bring a buddy or beau to dine al fresco at Leunig’s, Sweetwaters, or Ri Ra’s perhaps and enjoy the energetic 17-piece ensemble that is Joe’s Big Band, bringing the blues, jazz, rock, and funk to College St. Closing out Downtown Jazz on Saturday, June 6 is the Randall Pierce Trio, a fixture in the jazz, theatre, and classical scenes around the state!

🔗There's nothing like four nights of sensational music to usher in the start of summer! Check out the full Downtown Jazz line-up from June 3-6 when you head over to https://www.burlingtoncityarts.org/event/downtown-jazz

Downtown Jazz is supported by Zero Gravity Brewery and High Noon. BCA’s Summer in the City is made possible in part thanks to our Underwriters at the Pomerleau Family Foundation; Supporters Burlington Telecom, Myti, Soundtoys, and Lake Champlain Chocolates; and Community Partner American Flatbread Burlington & Mothership Brewery

05/19/2026

✨️Join us as we celebrate local legend, activist and artist Robin Lloyd and her BCA external exhibition “Through Lines” on Sunday May 24!

Known for her activism, film work, and philanthropy, Lloyd is a true modern-day Renaissance woman, but this exhibition highlights her work as a visual artist. “Through Lines” showcases a selection of drawings, paintings, collage, and sculpture that span six decades reflecting her deep commitment to community, the natural world, family history, and feminism.

Swing by City Hall on 5/24 3-5 pm to toast to Lloyd’s enduring legacy in our community and catch screenings of her filmmaking work.

Robin Lloyd, "Women say No to War 1915"
Robin Lloyd, "Sheshell"
Robin Lloyd, "The Golden Key"

05/18/2026

✨️As Burlington's Main Street construction nears completion, we're almost ready to install 3 exciting new public artworks!

These beautiful new sculptures are rooted in place, material, history, and the communities that move through this corridor every day. Before we install them this summer, check out a behind-the-scenes look at the artists and fabricators bringing these works to life.

🔹 "Lakebone" by Nancy Winship Milliken will transform a full-sized tree into a monumental gathering point. Suspended horizontally above a native pollinator meadow, the bleached trunk references the forests, floodplains, and waterways that shape the Lake Champlain watershed. Using local materials and organic forms, "Lakebone" is a meditation on ecological stewardship and interconnection.

🔹"Block by Block" by Noa Younse of Pixel Patch Creative celebrates Burlington as a city shaped by collaboration, creativity, and community. Inspired by the layered identities of the city’s neighbourhoods and residents, the work explores how distinct experiences, cultures, and perspectives come together to create something larger than themselves. Like a patchwork quilt or mosaic, "Block by Block" reflects the evolving collective identity of Burlington.

🔹"Magnus" by wowhaus features a trio of oversized stone snails inspired by the natural fossil history and carved granite architecture of our region. Both playful and monumental, these sculptures reinterpret the Beaux-Arts ornamentation of the adjacent courthouse building through a surreal contemporary lens. Carved from locally sourced granite, the snails will invite interaction and curiosity while creating a dialogue with the historic streetscape.

🗓️Stay tuned for for more behind the scenes and installation updates, and save the date for Friday, July 17, and Saturday, July 18, when we'll bring our community together at the Main Street Block Party to celebrate!

05/15/2026

🎷Get into the groove when Downtown Jazz comes to paint the town red from June 3-6! Burlington City Arts and Church Street Marketplace have joined forces to bring free live jazz to the heart of the city during the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival.

✨️Think four days of local live music accompanying you while you stroll down Church Street, dine al fresco with friends, or perhaps while you take your lunch break in the park. We’re excited to kick off the season with a sweet summer soundtrack that’ll remind you why you love calling Burlington home.

🎸Night two will be rocked by the musical stylings of Andriana and the Bananas () who bring a fusion of indie-pop with heart-ruminations in jazz to the festivities. Closing out the evening is Madaila () featuring some of Vermont’s finest musicians that will be sure to lure you in with their infectious jazz infused psych pop!

🔗See the full Downtown Jazz schedule from June 3-6 at https://www.burlingtoncityarts.org/event/downtown-jazz ! Mark your calendars and get ready to start boppin’ to the sound of summer on the streets.

Downtown Jazz is supported by Zero Gravity Brewery and High Noon. BCA’s Summer in the City is made possible in part thanks to our Underwriters at the Pomerleau Family Foundation; Supporters Burlington Telecom, Myti, Soundtoys, and Lake Champlain Chocolates; and Community Partner American Flatbread Burlington & Mothership Brewery