Lebanon, NH (August 25, 2017) AVA Gallery and Art Center (AVA) announced today that Mila Pinigin has been selected as Exhibition Manager. Ms. Pinigin will officially begin transitioning into the position part-time starting in midSeptember and will assume full-time responsibilities on November 1, 2017.

The announcement came jointly from AVA Gallery Board Chair H. Sloane Mayor and Executive Director Trip Anderson.

“We are elated to have Mila joining us at AVA,” said Mayor. “With her strong background in the arts and exhibitions, combined with her knowledge of the Upper Valley arts scene, we could not have been more fortunate. AVA has such an exciting future ahead, with sculptural programming rolling out in the Bente Building this fall, and new exhibition space in our members’ gallery, the strength of our team is as important as ever. Mila brings the skills to connect AVA with the community through exhibitions that use inventive applications of education, outreach and business associations.”

 

Pinigin has worked at several prestigious institutions in New York City including Gladstone Gallery, ARTNews Magazine, and Blouin ARTINFO. Since moving back to Vermont she has worked as the Administrative Assistant in the Earth Sciences Department at Dartmouth College, as a sales associate at Revolution in White River Junction, and for two years as a volunteer and intern under former AVA Exhibition Manager, Margaret Jacobs. Most recently she has been the Director of the Aidron Duckworth Art Museum in Meriden, NH.

Pinigin commented, “Having long admired the exceptional exhibitions and programming at AVA Gallery and Art Center, I am thrilled to join this team and look forward to working to expand the ways in which AVA exhibitions will engage the community.”

Pinigin’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the organization. In September 2017, AVA will launch public programming in its new 4,000 square foot Bente Torjusen West Sculptural Studies Building, with metal, clay, wood, glass, and stone workshops planned. The Bente Building features solar panels and new energy initiatives to further AVA’s ambitions towards net-zero energy-consumption.

AVA Executive Director, Trip Anderson, added, “Mila has a keen sense of place, and considers architectural and visual flow in her exhibition planning. She will be a solid addition to the AVA team as we seek to better integrate our exhibition and education programming, as well as explore the new opportunities provided by the Bente Building. Mila will be instrumental in nurturing these fledging exhibition concepts to further connect Lebanon’s industrial past to the future of arts in the Upper Valley.”

Mila is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, where she earned a BA degree in Liberal Arts. From Sept 2010 to May 2011, Pinigin attended the Il Bisconte Printmaking Studio in Florence, Italy where she studied art restoration, art history, and intaglio printmaking techniques. Pinigin is proficient in Russian, Italian, and Spanish