WHAT WE DO
Our Vision
Be the key collaborative partner driving Vermillion’s cultural future.
Our Mission
To make Vermillion the creative center of the region by developing and supporting cultural opportunities for the community
Our Values
Access to art opportunities. The VCA is committed to the inclusion of the arts in everyday public life. We host and promote events aimed at entertaining and enriching our community.
Support for arts & culture partnerships. The VCA uses its spaces and resources to facilitate programs and partnerships that respond to the cultural needs of our community.
Mirrored Medicine Wheel by Mark Hall sits at the corner of Elm & Main Street in downtown, as part of the Vermillion SculptureWalk.
Current Goals
Artful growth. In 2024, we are in strategic discussions about expanding our mission and growing our role in the community and the state. Toward that end, we are partnering with the Vermillion Area Arts Council this year on the Messy Hands Summer Arts Camp in preparation for taking over that program, and in 2023 VCA accepted stewardship of the Vermillion SculptureWalk. We stand ready to further expand our umbrella of support according to emerging community needs.
Keep movie magic alive. As the nonprofit, independent owner of the Coyote Twin Theater, the VCA is both steward of an anchor downtown business and operator of the only cinema within a thirty-mile radius of Vermillion. We are dedicated to keeping the Coyote Twin doors open and screens lit to provide area residents with everything from first-run summer blockbusters to community screenings of old favorites. In 2023, VCA invested $50,000 in upgrading our concessions area to better serve our community by improving theatergoer traffic flow. Movie-going is a rich and irreplaceable experience, and we’re committed to keeping it affordable, safe, and fun for everyone.
Arts advocacy. Art has a tangible impact on the character of a town, the contentedness of its residents, and the vibrancy of the local economy. Our advocacy goal has two parts: (1) to uplift the Vermillion community through access to art and (2) to raise awareness that art is good for all civic life. And by art we don't just mean Art—the Mona Lisa is cool, but so are watercolor painting clubs and local bands and community theater and public sculptures and film festivals. We do and have SO MUCH art in Vermillion; it’s a core of who we are as community and it’s an industry in itself. In fact, in South Dakota arts & culture is a $1.4 billion industry—that’s 2% of the state’s economy. Vermillion is well positioned to capitalize on that industry as an arts tourism destination, and our job as arts advocates is to promote and provide unique, appealing arts and cultural engagement opportunities that will draw visitors and enrich citizens, as well as make the case that arts organizations and artists are credible resources for civic problem solving and community engagement.
What We've Achieved
Generated $31,500 in Clay County restaurant revenue during the July 2023 Burger Battle—a program so successful the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company has taken it up from us for 2024.
Renovated the Coyote Twin concessions area for the first time in 40+ years, including a new popcorn machine!
Administered a $75,000 CDC Foundation grant for The Barn Quilt Project, which has received national recognition as part of the Trusted Messengers exhibition in the CDC Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
Survived the pandemic. Many thanks to the community for supporting us through popcorn purchases and auditorium rentals while our screens were dark for 13 months.