The Art of Vermont Law & Grad Students

Black History Month Defines an Artistic Moment in Self-Portraits

February 11, 2025

South Royalton, Vermont—Members of the Black Law Student Association (BLSA) at Vermont Law and Graduate School joined together for a Paint ‘n Sip evening on Tuesday, February 4 in the school’s Multicultural Center. They painted self-portraits on canvas and board, and shared an evening of community with one another.

Now, to celebrate Black History Month, these VLGS student paintings are showing this week and next in the Dean Shirley A. Jefferson Art Gallery on the VLGS campus in South Royalton. For the benefit of our community members who are not able to visit the gallery, located just steps away from the Campus Cafe that’s open to the public, and adjacent to our Cornell Library that serves as the research and study hub for the school and as the State’s law library, these student paintings are as fascinating as they are colorful and worth a trip to see.

Above and below are images of several of the paintings. There are more, and they are small, yet powerful depictions of the people who understand the importance of Black History Month and want to share their creative outputs with friends, classmates, and the broader community as potent and powerful artistic statements of who they are.

Above and below is a sampling of some of the student self-portraits showing into next week in the Jefferson Gallery. Enjoy this virtual artistic visit, and please visit our campus art gallery in person if you can. It’s open to the local community every day and makes for a wonderful outing with family and friends.

Dave Celone JD’92 is vice president of alumni relations & development at Vermont Law and Graduate School in South Royalton, VT.