Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

'Gifts for Strangers'

Most of us have gone through the ordeal — or, perhaps, the adventure — of picking out a gift for a stranger. Maybe it was part of a huge, officewide Secret Santa gift exchange. Or at a family gathering with brand-new in-laws. For its winter group show, Art’s Alive asked Vermont artists a simple question: What would you give to a stranger for the holidays? Their answers, rendered in a variety of 2- and 3-D media, are at Union Station and the Wing Building in Burlington. And this exhibit is a gift that keeps on giving — it doesn’t come down until February 15. Pictured: “Smile and Coffee” by Cathy Hartley.