Enosburg Falls artist Sarah Amos has received the 2024 Vermont Prize, which recognizes the best contemporary visual art being created in the state, along with a $5,000 award. With 25 years of experience in mixed-media hybrid prints on paper and fabric, Amos pushes the boundaries of traditional printmaking both physically and conceptually. The Vermont Prize, established in 2022 by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Burlington City Arts, the Current in Stowe, and the Hall Art Foundation, selected Amos through a jury that included artist Phong H. Bui. Bui praised Amos’s work for its ability to blend monumentality with intimacy, creating pieces that evoke specific places and memories.

Amos, originally from Australia, holds a bachelor’s degree in printmaking and became a certified master printer at the Tamarind Institute in New Mexico. She later obtained an MFA from Northern Vermont University while serving as the master printer for Vermont Studio Center Press. Her teaching experience includes positions at Dartmouth, Williams, and Bennington colleges.

In her award application, Amos highlighted her use of thread as a metaphorical web that intertwines printing and drawing, emphasizing meticulous detail, materiality, and the passage of time in her creations. She draws inspiration from diverse sources, including Persian carpets, the Gee’s Bend quilt makers, Japanese Kabuki theater, sashiko stitching, and the prints of Katsushika Hokusai, with pattern playing a vital role in her artwork. Previous recipients of the Vermont Prize include Will Kasso Condry and Terry Ekasala.