Although not an artist, Émile Goutière-Vernolle played an active role in Nancy’s cultural scene. A contemporary of the artists of the École de Nancy, whose aesthetic and social convictions he shared, he worked alongside them to promote art in Lorraine in all its forms: decorative art, fine arts, music, literature, poetry and theatre.
 
A member of numerous committees and associations, Goutière-Vernolle helped found the Université Populaire with Charles Keller, Emile Gallé, Emile Nicolas and Jean Grillon. As a journalist, he wrote articles for several Nancy magazines and newspapers. He became editor of the magazine Nancy-Artiste in 1886 (to which he occasionally contributed drawings), editor-in-chief of the magazine Art et Industrie in 1909 and of the daily newspaper L'Étoile de l'Est in 1918.

Émile Goutière-Vernolle was a member of the École de Nancy's steering committee from 1901.