“From Here to There Fund” protects AVA’s future during the COVID-19 pandemic
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- A line extends out the door for the first show in AVA Gallery’s new location in Lebanon, N.H., in March 1990. (Courtesy AVA Gallery)
Wow! We’ve received $45,500 as of April 25!
We need only $4,500 more to unlock the $50,000 matching pledge!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Donate to AVA’s From Here to There Fund
Dear AVA Family,
The devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts community are sobering. Americans for the Arts estimates there is currently nearly $5 billion in losses across the 120,492 arts nonprofits in the United States, jeopardizing the future of organizations like AVA. The long-term risks of diminished exposure to the arts affects us all. Harvard Health Publishing reflects on the importance of art for physical and mental health, and a University of Chicago study funded by the Art Works program at the National Endowment for the Arts finds “individuals who have both direct and indirect exposure to the arts are more engaged in civic activities within their communities, have higher levels of social tolerance on some dimensions of the measure, and demonstrate higher rates of other-regarding behavior.”
AVA needs your help. Your tax-deductible contribution to AVA’s “From Here to There Fund” will provide our organization with critically important support during this challenging time. The temporary closing of our facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant loss of income from class and camp tuitions, art sales, events, and our most important annual fundraiser, the Silent Auction. We are experiencing a shortfall in revenue that will limit our future capabilities even though we have been approved for a Small Business Administration Payroll Protection Program loan.
Still, we remain more committed than ever to staying connected with the AVA family, including our instructors who are losing valuable income, our non-profit partners, and the larger community. We continue to offer free community programs online (see AVA Online for info and links) and are distributing art supplies and lessons to those who need them. We are dedicating significant resources to launching new online offerings – free tutorials, open studios, inventive classes, artist galleries, themed exhibitions with societal impact, and all-inclusive events (Mudroom Online takes place tonight, Thursday, April 16 at 7pm) as well as methods of delivering that content to remote and isolated individuals and communities. Your financial support will enable AVA to emerge from this crisis with an even stronger ability to address the importance of art in our lives and to carry out our mission to cultivate an openness of space and mind to inspire, nurture and showcase the creative spirit.
Your gift to AVA today will help us get from here to there, and we thank you!
Donate to AVA’s From Here to There Fund
Heidi Reynolds & Bente Torjusen
Executive Director & Strategic Adviser
Carla Kimball: Solitude
AVA Exhibit from Carla on Vimeo.
Solitude
By Carla Kimball, Photographer
AVA Gallery, August 7 – September 11, 2020
Click here to reserve a time to visit.
I have been guided by two themes for this exhibit: The theme of Movement and Stillness reflects the process of creating this art installation, and the theme of Solitude reflects the subject matter. And as in the Yin/Yang symbol, each theme contains an element of the other.
Movement and Stillness
Photography, by its very nature, captures moments of stillness. This exhibit reflects the journey I’ve made moving from still photographic prints to still prints moving to movement captured through video.
My initial inspiration came in 2016 when I was invited to participate in that year’s SculptureFest at King Farm in Woodstock, Vermont (now called LandArt Lab). The challenge for me was how to create an installation in which still photos became sculptural. My response to that was to print still images on fabric and cut them into strips so that they moved and danced in the wind.
I’ve been a life-long dancer, and am most interested in post-modern dance in which simple pedestrian movements can be visually interesting and evoke emotional responses. For the last 10 years I’ve studied with Upper Valley movement teacher and choreographer, Marie Fourcaut.
When Marie first encountered my installation at the 2016 SculptureFest, she was inspired to create multiple movement pieces which ultimately resulted in two public performances, three videos and a several journeys into the woods with other movers/dancers.
This exhibit reflects that process.
Solitude
Recently, I revisited a journal entry from 15 years ago when I first became intrigued by the image of the empty chair. As I reflected on what I had written, I realized that empty chairs have appeared frequently in my images over many years. In this early journal entry, I described the chair as capturing a sense of solitude.
My interest in the empty chair was re-ignited as I was searching for a visual focus for the 2016 SculptureFest. As I explored King Farm, I came across a red chair leaning against the side of a barn. The next time I visited the farm I found the same red chair at the entry of a barn. I began to move the chair around the property, discovering how it could convey that quality of solitude in so many different environments. With that, the Red Chair became the focal point for my first SculptureFest installation.
Since that time, the Red Chair has moved around, becoming the center piece for performances as well as vacation trips, journeys into the woods and top of mountain adventures. Dancers/movers have followed it. In the end, we left the chair behind, and found solitude as a group moving through and responding to an ancient forest.
My deepest gratitude to Marie Fourcaut and the other movers/dancers who have accompanied me on this journey: Eric Gordon, Katherine Moore, David Peart, Anita Rogerson, and Bill Keegan.
Carla Kimball
March, 2020
Visit my website here.
April Classes + Workshops are postponed + April Camps are cancelled
March 21, 2020
Dear Friends of AVA,
Please be aware that AVA’s Spring + Summer Brochure that was distributed in The Valley News today contains class information that has drastically changed since printing. (Boy, is that an understatement!) Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, AVA’s campus is closed to the public. This means all classes, community programs, and events (including AVA’s Annual Silent Auction and current exhibitions) are postponed until a later date. We are accepting online registrations for classes beginning in May, with the understanding that those classes might eventually be postponed, as well.
Those of you who previously registered for an April camp, class, or workshop should already have been contacted by AVA’s Education Manager, Nick Gaffney, (nick@avagallery.org) about receiving a credit for a future class, a refund, or generously offering your tuition to AVA as a fully tax-deductible donation. If you have not seen an email in your inbox, please check your junk or spam folder.
Many, many organizations in our community will suffer significant and crippling losses because of closures. Please consider donating to those entities. Should you wish to donate to AVA, you may do so here: Donate Today! Our staff, instructors, students and community program participants thank you heartily!
We appreciate your patience and support as we all adjust to the daily influx of information and changes taking place. Staff members are busy planning for future classes, programs and events from home. Some of us will be in the office on an as-needed basis and we will return voice messages as we receive them. If you need immediate assistance, we encourage you to reach out via email with questions:
Heidi Reynolds
Executive Director heidi@avagallery.org
Bente Torjusen
Strategic Advisor bente@avagallery.org
Nick Gaffney
Education Manager nick@avagallery.org
Joshua Dacey
Exhibition Manager joshua@avagallery.org
Sheryl Trainor
Office Manager sheryl@avagallery.org
Roger Goldenberg
Sculptural Studies & Facilities Manager roger@avagallery.org
Abbe Murphy
Bookkeeper abbe@avagallery.org
Jan Henshaw Longwell
Development Coordinator jan@avagallery.org
Karl Neubauer
Core Studio Instructor karl@avagallery.org
Maggie Kundtz Joseph
Core Studio Instructor mayfly@avagallery.org
We will have the current Carla Kimball | Solitude exhibition posted in our Off the Wall online gallery, soon. All artwork in AVA’s Off the Wall online gallery is for sale by calling 603-448-3117 or emailing Exhibition Manager, Joshua Dacey, at joshua@avagallery.org. Consider how a piece of artwork makes a great, long-lasting gift for someone in your life. You’ll not only support AVA, but the artists we represent.
Keep an eye on AVA’s website www.avagallery.org, Facebook Page, and Instagram for updated information as well as creative, uplifting and informative content, including The Mudroom storytelling sessions and online classes by some of our most beloved instructors.
Sending light and happy thoughts! ~ The Entire AVA Crew
Further information sources:
Upper Valley Organizations working to keep you connected…
Please visit the below local organizations to find content to keep you informed and entertained, and also consider supporting these organizations to keep the Upper Valley humming!
League of New Hampshire Craftsmen
