To participate in this important challenge, please contact AVA Gallery and Art Center by phone at 603-448-3117, or by email at info@avagallery.org.
AVA Gallery and Art Center (AVA/Alliance for the Visual Arts) is pleased to announce that a $10,000 challenge grant for operating support from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation (NHCF) will be awarded upon the completion of the grant’s matching requirement. This generous grant will support and enhance AVA’s education, exhibition, and community programming, including numerous free and low-cost programs, while the organization simultaneously works to reach its $3.5 million capital campaign goal.
This challenge grant will help AVA achieve its primary goals of reaching more diverse audiences, increasing membership, and broadening opportunities for artists, while sustaining current programs and operations during AVA’s capital campaign. In addition to rotating exhibitions of work by local and regional artists, AVA offers a comprehensive year-round art education program for adults and children of all ages and abilities, as well as vacation art camps for children and teens. Scholarships are available for all ages, and internship opportunities are in place for high school and college students.
AVA also a offers a number of free and low-cost programs for all ages, including CAOS (Community Arts Open Studio), CAOS for Toddlers, a Senior Art Class in collaboration with the Upper Valley Senior Center, Art Lab in conjunction with the Special Needs Support Center, Art for Kids in collaboration with students from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and ART STOP!, a free after-school program for students in grades 5 – 8. Films, artist talks, and The Mudroom (live storytelling) are all part of AVA’s extensive community programs.
In awarding this grant, The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation recognized the challenges of sustaining ongoing operations during a capital campaign period, while also acknowledging the positive impact that AVA’s rich programming has on the community.
AVA’s $3.5 million capital campaign—”Branching Out, Deepening Roots”— will make possible a new facility dedicated to the pursuit of three-dimensional studies and explorations, thus offering increased opportunities for artists and community members alike. The campaign will also fund the creation of a new exhibition space to accommodate a broader variety of art; the expansion of AVA’s environmental initiatives, including the installation of solar panels and efforts to become carbon neutral by 2017. The establishment of a reserve fund to help position AVA for a vibrant future is also among the goals for the capital campaign.
One of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s goals is to help the community maximize its support of AVA by doubling the dollar value of each donation. Supporters who have recently given to AVA may direct an additional gift to go specifically toward the challenge. New and upgraded memberships and first-time contributions, as well as donations that exceed previous gift levels, also qualify for the NHCF’s challenge grant.
To participate in this important challenge, please contact AVA Gallery and Art Center by phone at 603-448-3117, or by email at info@avagallery.org.