NORTH BENNINGTON — Inside of the new clay studio space of the Vermont Arts Exchange (VAE), Founder Matthew Perry and Studio Manager Rhonda Retray studied a framed photograph from 1993.

The photo was of the "good old days," the young days of the organization, when it partnered with two vastly different groups of people and brought them together – and the strategy was "very successful."

"We did something intergenerational," said Perry. "This was back when the Bennington School was boys and girls. I was the teacher at the Bennington School, and I was also the teacher at [Bennington Project Independence] BPI. So, this was one of our first classes, even before we were a 501C [nonprofit] – the work we always do can get pretty physical. Bringing the two groups together really came out of this s

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