FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/12/25
Contact: Jess Hyman – jhyman@cvoeo.org, 802 660 3456 X106
More info: www.fairhousingmonthvt.org
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Celebrate Inclusive Communities & the Importance of Home – Everyone Welcome at May 29 Reception
The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), Young Writers Project, A Revolutionary Press, and Burlington City Arts invite the public to a special reception on Thursday, May 29 from 6 to 8pm at Burlington City Hall, 149 Church St., to close out this year’s Fair Housing Month exhibit. RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/FairHousingExhibitReception to be entered to win a limited-edition letterpress print.
The exhibit highlights housing equity and justice with information about Fair Housing rights and responsibilities. The centerpiece is writing and art from the Tomorrow Project, a new civic engagement initiative from the Young Writers Project, a Vermont-based online community for teen writers and visual artists. The creative pieces touch on the themes of home, community, inclusion, human rights, and the meaning of freedom, and offer insight into how the creators view today’s world, as well as their powerful voices and resilience.
Excerpts from the writings have been printed with hand-set type on a hand-operated letterpress, featuring illustrations by local artists Cleopatra Redbird, jen berger, Anna Browdy, Nicoletta Coupe, Jane Ploughman, and students from The Mountain School, thanks to A Revolutionary Press, a nonprofit letterpress studio in New Haven, VT dedicated to spreading radical and revolutionary ideas and supporting organizations working for non-violence and social justice.
The May 29 event, which is free and open to everyone, will feature readings from the authors, a hands-on letterpress activity, voting for the People’s Choice award, limited-edition prints for sale, refreshments, and plenty of time to explore the exhibit.
“This exhibit brings together key themes that affect us all at a critical time for our communities, state, and country,” said Jess Hyman of CVOEO’s Fair Housing Project. “We are grateful for the opportunity to share these powerful pieces and hope the words and images inspire thoughtful connections and action.”
Susan Reid, executive director of Young Writers Project, said, “Teenagers today are coming of age at a time of extreme turmoil and they are acutely aware of the conditions they will be inheriting. The Tomorrow Project asks our writers and artists to speak with urgency but also with hope about the way forward. We are grateful to CVOEO for bringing young voices to the foreground in this conversation.”
“I am so pleased that A Revolutionary Press was asked to be part of this collaborative project,” said Revolutionary Press Founder John Vincent. “The writing by these 11- to 18-year-old poets and writers demonstrate undeniably that they have a clear grasp of ‘What’s Going On’ – that everything is tied to every other thing. That hope is not simply waiting for something better to happen, but that hope is a verb to bring us all to see now what Marvin Gaye sang 54 years ago, ‘We’ve got to find a way to bring some lovin’ and understanding here today.’ Their poems and writings bring me to believe that perhaps no one OVER the age of 18 should be making the important decisions that affect everyone in our society, especially those who are facing today an even longer amount of time living into a very uncertain future.”
Everyone is welcome to visit the exhibit at Burlington City Hall through the end of May and vote for a favorite piece of writing. Everyone who votes is entered to win a limited-edition print. Scan the QR code at the exhibit or go to https://tinyurl.com/FHMvote.
