Summer in Burlington is a work of art in itself. Just as the landscape bursts into bloom, the creative energy that makes this place so special comes alive too — from new public sculptures and immersive gallery exhibitions to murals, music, and community celebrations around every corner.
For over 40 years, Burlington City Arts (BCA) has filled the city with free art experiences that invite locals and visitors alike to experience the magic of this place in new ways. Whether you’re wandering Main Street, stepping into the BCA Center gallery on Church Street, or discovering beautiful murals and sculptures throughout the city, summer is the perfect time to experience Burlington through art.
Monumental New Public Art Transforms Main Street
With Burlington’s Main Street revitalization project wrapping up this July, the city is unveiling more than just an improved streetscape. Four major new public sculptures commissioned by BCA are transforming the heart of the city into an open-air gallery.
Anthology Lights up City Hall Park
At the edge of City Hall Park, Anthology by Lydia Kern is a vibrant welcome to downtown. A twelve-foot arch made from hundreds of preserved flowers suspended in multicolored resin, Anthology changes with the sun, the weather, and your perspective — making every visit feel brand new.
Lakebone Takes Root in June
Three more new sculptures will be installed this June, starting with a chance to be a part of Burlington history when Lakebone, by local artist Nancy Winship Milliken, makes its debut on Wednesday, June 3 at 9:30 am. Join the community parade as Lakebone, created from a massive 48-foot-long Black Locust tree, travels through downtown to its new home on Main Street, just up the road from Pine Street. The tree will be suspended on its side, twenty feet above the street atop a pollinator meadow, transforming a sidewalk into a reflection on ecology, history, and environmental stewardship.
Telling the Story of Burlington
Also coming in June is Block by Block by Noa Younse of Pixel Patch Creative, which celebrates how Burlington has been shaped by collaboration, creativity, and community. Inspired by the evolving and interlocking identities of Burlington’s neighborhoods and residents, Block by Block explores how distinct experiences, cultures, and perspectives come together like a mosaic or patchwork quilt to create something larger than themselves.
Magnus by wowhaus will inspire you to slow way down, featuring a trio of oversized stone snails inspired by the natural fossil history and carved granite architecture of the region. These playful sculptures, complete with glow-in-the-dark trails, reinterpret the Beaux-Arts details of Burlington’s historic courthouse building through a whimsical, surreal, and contemporary lens.
Take a Public Art Walk Through Burlington
These new installations join Burlington’s growing collection of murals, sculptures, and public artworks spread throughout downtown and beyond. Exploring public art is one of the best ways to experience the city — revealing stories about Burlington’s history, creativity, and community spirit along the way. From waterfront sculptures to hidden alleyway murals, art is part of the fabric of your daily life in Burlington.
Gallery Exhibitions at the BCA Center
Things are just as vibrant inside as out this summer, with BCA Center exhibitions that will expand your world with thought-provoking contemporary art from regional, national, and international artists.
Through June 20, visitors can experience three exhibitions that explore environment, perception, and identity.
Human Impact: Contemporary Art and Our Environment
On the first floor, Human Impact examines our evolving relationship with the environment during a period of rapid ecological change. Featured artists Diane Burko, Adriane Colburn, John Gerrard, Renée Greenlee, Kari Greer, Nicolei Buendia Gupit, Sallie Dean Shatz, and Rebecca McGee Tuck reflect on the complex social, political, and economic forces behind our shared ecology and consider both our power to influence the natural world and how we might reimagine our place within it.
What’s the Difference? Sculptural Ideas
Upstairs, artists Lee Williams and Cathy Della Lucia challenge viewers to reconsider how sculpture shapes our understanding of space. Through line, color, and form, What's the Difference? reveals how contemporary sculpture actively changes the way we move through and perceive the world around us.
Maedeh Asgharpour
Across the hallway, Iranian artist Maedeh Asgharpour explores the psychology of displacement, migration, and the feeling of being uprooted through a combination of painting and printmaking.
New Summer Exhibitions Arrive in July
Immersive new summer exhibitions that invite you into vibrant dreamscapes roll into the gallery on July 10.
Everything is Everything: Will Kasso Condry
Just like the July weather, Will Kasso Condry’s distinctive vibrant Afro-surrealist style comes in hot, with vivid paintings 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 practice centered on celebrating the lives and stories of the African Diaspora. Visit the gallery and then hit the streets to spot more Juniper Creative Arts’ distinctive public murals around town.
Everything is Everything coincides with a four-week youth artist apprenticeship program at the BCA Center, where you can witness the Juniper Creative team and apprentices creating a new mural that explores Burlington’s water systems and their connection to Lake Champlain.
Dream / Mộng : Veronica Pham
In Dream / Mộng, Veronica Pham combines folklore, humor, and imagination to explore identity and the subconscious through delicate cut-paper works that embody the ephemeral nature of our dream lives. Don’t miss the chance to meet the artist and do some papermaking when Pham joins BCA for Art Amplified on Wednesday, July 15, from 5-8 PM. This new after-hours series lets you experience the gallery in a whole new light once a month—alive with projections, DJs, live music, fun drinks, and summer vibes.
Experience Summer in the City with Burlington City Arts
From monumental sculptures and immersive exhibitions to murals and community celebrations, BCA is filling Burlington with opportunities to connect through creativity this summer.
Whether you’re planning a weekend visit or simply looking for a new way to experience downtown, BCA’s Summer in the City invites you to explore and discover how art can transform the everyday.
