It isn’t for the recognition that AVA makes art happen for the Upper Valley community. But when the honor comes from the community itself, we’re especially humbled.
New Hampshire Magazine recently announced its annual “Best of NH 2018” list, including everything from the state’s best antiques shop to its best martini, as voted on by its readers.
And the readers have spoken, choosing AVA Gallery & Art Center as New Hampshire’s Best Art Gallery.
The acknowledgment highlights how much it means to the community that AVA continue to foster creative expression. From featured exhibits in our gallery space to metalworking classes in the new Sculptural Studies building, from the popular Mudroom storytelling series to the annual High School Exhibition—AVA’s mission to provide everyone with opportunities to connect with art has earned an important vote of confidence.
Those same New Hampshire Magazine readers had even more love to spread to Lebanon mainstays. The coffee artists at Lucky’s Coffee Garage were recognized as “Best Coffee in the Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region.” And on the other end of Colburn Park, Salt hill Pub may now bask in the honor of having the “Best Burger in the Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region.”
Great art, great coffee and burgers—the stuff that happiness is made of. And yet we know these only scratch the surface of the amazing art and music and food and drink to discover and explore in the Upper Valley.
Thursday, June 14 Food at 6:30pm | Storytelling at 7pm
The Mudroom, an exciting initiative modeled after NPR’s The Moth Radio Hour, will hold its next session on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in AVA’s Main Galleries. This live-storytelling event offers an opportunity to meet new people, enjoy a fun evening with live music, and connect with friends.
The evening’s theme The Longest Day will be brought to life as six pre-selected individuals will share personal accounts of what this theme means to them. Open to the public, (ages 18 and over). Delicious Asian food by Pon will be available for purchase before the performance. Advance tickets may be purchased on-line at $7.50 for members and $10 for non-members. Tickets at the door are $20.00 and sold as space permits.
This event is sold out. Our next Mudroom will be held on September 13. Stay tuned!
If you would like to tell a story at this or any other Mudroom, please send a story summary that contains the beginning, a sentence or two about the plot, and the ending by May 25. Please email your submissions to mudroom@avagallery.org.
The AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon Recreation and Parks and the Mascoma River Greenway Coalition have partnered in a program to commission two winning artists to design, fabricate, and install public sculptural artworks for long-term display along Lebanon’s new Rail Trail. Submitting artists were encouraged to select themes related to Lebanon’s history, geography, natural environment, recreational activities, or railroad activities, and to incorporate salvaged railroad spikes.
The jury convened at AVA Gallery and Art Center on Saturday morning, April 14, 2018. The jury included: Rainey Kelly, leader in the Mascoma River Greenway Coalition; Charlet Davenport, Director of Sculpture Fest in Woodstock, VT; Rob Taylor, Executive Director of the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce; Jessica Giordani, Co-founder of Art City NH and co-owner of Scratch on Lebanon Mall; and Annie Zhao, junior at Lebanon High School and exhibitor in AVA’s 2018 Annual High School Exhibition. Paul Coats, Director of Lebanon’s Dept. of Recreation and Parks and Trip Anderson, Executive Director of AVA Gallery, provided technical insights but did not vote in the process.
Two artist teams were recognized as the winning artists for their projects: Steel Umbrella by artists Justin O’Rourke and Margaret Jacobs; and Wheels by artist Susan K. Johnson.*
From the jury: “The Steel Umbrella is absolutely joyful. It nods to Lebanon’s past as the City of Fountains. Its polka dots hint at the endangered spotted turtles discovered along the rail trail. It whimsically celebrates the promise of brighter days ahead. Bravo!”
From the artists: “This piece follows in the tradition of honoring everyday objects. We chose an object that would be a fun and enjoyable landmark for the people using the Mascoma River Greenway. An umbrella alludes to the idea that the Mascoma River Greenway is a recreational opportunity that the public can use year-round, rain or shine. Also it is natural to relate umbrellas to rain and water, which brings up the discussion of climate change, environmental protection, and human impact on both.”
From the jury: “Wheels encapsulates Lebanon’s history in a neat bundle – from water wheels to railroads and bicycles, with subtle references to the Mascoma River and the Greenway Rail Trail.”
From the artist: “The waterwheel represents Lebanon’s first sawmill, built in 1763 on the river in the western end of town. The steam engine wheel recalls the railroads that arrived in the 1840s. Today, we walk and bike the paved path which reclaims the beautiful views of the river and connects our city. The waterwheel encircles the train wheel, which supports a spin-able bicycle wheel. The river and railroad tracks intertwine in a representation of the current MRG, suspended at the top. “
Winning sculptures will be fabricated by June 30th and installed by mid-July in time for the Grand Opening of the Mascoma River Greenway in late July. Juried winners will be eligible for technical and installation assistance by the sculptural studies instructors at AVA Gallery and Art Center and granted access to the metal-working, wood-working, stone-carving and ceramics studios in the Bente Torjusen West Sculptural Studies Building.
Winners receive:
$2,500 award stipend, plus up to $2,000 reimbursement for materials & installation expenses
Technical and Installation assistance as noted above
Exposure in a scenic, well-traveled, pedestrian/bike path
A plaque at each site identifying the artist and his/her contact information
Inclusion in on-line promotions and trail maps
Active engagement with social media audience
Regular press releases to local and regional media outlets
Recognition at a Grand Opening Celebration
Special recognition is also extended to submitting artists for their thoughtful and creative designs:
Historical Collage Poles by Cindy Heath, Margaret Sheehan and Carla Kimball
Lebanon Labyrinth by Allison Zito
Railroad Spike Tree by Greg Stott
Spikes and Spokes by Debra Jayne
Stories to Tell by Margit Berman and Jeremy McDonald
Walking on Nails by Scott Wunderle, Patrick Jarvis, Courtney Venable, Lauren Ingersoll
You could hear violins and the hum of the gathered crowd even before you entered AVA Gallery and Art Center last Saturday, April 7, for its annual Silent Auction Party.
Not much was silent about this year’s auction, nor was enthusiasm in any way subdued among attendees—who included AVA members and volunteers, local artists, and community supporters—plucking hors-d’oeuvres from passing trays and sipping wine while they artfully outbid one another on a range of donated artworks that filled the gallery space.
Violinists Betty Kim and Katie Wee provided the elegant soundtrack to an event that helps to sustain and extend AVA’s mission for the arts in the Upper Valley. Paintings, mixed media works, sculpture, jewelry, and much more went home to the highest bidders, and resulted in over $40,000 raised for AVA.
Those whose walls at home are already full could choose to “Fund A Need” from a wish list of AVA opportunities and initiatives, including sending a kid to camp, hand tools for the new Bente Building, and computers for AVA’s Digital Arts Media Lab. And many needs were funded.
Measured in part by competing bids, the community’s support for AVA seemed only to grow as the night went on. And auction-goers grew less silent about what this arts organization means to them and their experience living in the Upper Valley.
Deborah Sherwood, a ceramic artist in Hartland, VT, is glad to have connected with AVA since she moved to the area two years ago. “This seems to be the place that has the most significant art to offer the area, so I’m very excited about it.”
Casey Villard of Etna, NH, who has taken a handful of art and poetry classes, remembered when he worked next door and could count on a mindful midday visit to AVA to rescue him from a bad day. “I’d come over here and my spirits would be lifted. I’d feel more expansive, the weight lifted off my shoulders.”
Kathy Rines, also of Etna, NH, and a longtime supporter who has participated in AVA silent auctions, she says, “eternally,” reflected on AVA’s place in a community quietly bursting with arts. “I think Lebanon is one of the great undiscovered spots. We have AVA for the visual arts, and for music there’s the wonderful Upper Valley Music Center. We have Opera North in the summers. It’s become an amazing cultural center.”
Roger Goldenberg, an AVA faculty artist who has been integral to the development of the new sculptural studies program, said he moved here from Portsmouth, NH, two years ago because of AVA. “A lot of people will try to tell you that Portsmouth is the arts mecca of New Hampshire,” he says, “but I think it’s the Upper Valley. And I think AVA’s the hub.”
Last Friday evening, AVA’s main gallery space quickly filled up with people of all ages. Some arrived by the yellow school bus-full. All came to celebrate the artists whose work was selected for the 10th Annual Best of the Upper Valley High School Exhibition.
Featuring 140 works of art from 139 artists representing 16 different high schools in the Upper Valley, the exhibition is an impressive showcase of the breadth and depth of creative young talent in our region.
The gallery on Friday was tinged with anticipation as the artists, their families, and friends awaited the awards ceremony, announcing the winners and honorable mentions in each of 14 categories, from analog photography and painting to woodworking and wearable art.
Patrick Dunfey, Head of Exhibitions Design and Planning at the Hood Museum of Art, juried this year’s exhibition. In his remarks, reflecting on how much fun he had spending time with “so much great work,” Dunfey encouraged all the artists, winners or not, to “take a moment to think of the accomplishment of being part of this show.”
And because art is an act of sharing and community, Dunfey urged everyone, “Tonight if you see work you really like, find the artist and introduce yourself and share that with them.”
AVA congratulates this year’s High School Exhibition winners in each category:
BEST OF AWARDS
Analog Photography – Ryan Blackden, Newport High School, Grade 12 Black and White – Rachel Xia, Kimball Union Academy, Grade 10 Ceramics – Yuhe Zheng, Kimball Union Academy, Grade 12 Digital Art – Caleb Hazelton, Lebanon High School, Grade 11 Digital Photography – Mina Nguyen, Holderness High School, Grade 11 Digital Photography – Quinter Johnson, Newport High School, Grade 9 Drawing – Hannah Young, Thetford Academy, Grade 12 Best Environmental Message – Ethan Trombley, Newport High School, Grade 10 Mixed Media – Sean Gaherty, Ledyard Charter School, Grade 11 Painting – Tobias Bannister-Parker, Proctor Academy, Grade 12 Portraiture – Camie Rediker, Woodstock Union High School, Grade 12 Printmaking – Jacob Slaughter, Thetford Academy, Grade 11 Sculpture – Olivia Kinnett, Mascoma Valley Regional High School, Grade 12 Wearable Art – Coreen Carley, Kimball Union Academy, Grade 12 Woodworking/Design – Andrew Harrell, Proctor Academy, Grade 11
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Black and White – Artemis Tangalidou, Thetford Academy, Grade 12
Leah Kaliski, Thetford Academy, Grade 12 Ceramics – Eliza Goodell, Oxbow High School, Grade 12
Eric Hazen, Hartford High School, Grade 11
Megan Jette, Mascoma Valley Regional High School, Grade 12 Digital Art -Emma Duranceau, Hartford High School, Grade 11
Lizzy Pierce, Hartford Area Career and Technology Center, Grade 11 Digital Photography – Evaline Huntley, Hartford Area Career and Technology Center, Grade 11 Drawing – Hannah Zhang, Kimball Union Academy, Grade 10
Ingrid Cole-Johnson, Proctor Academy, Grade 10
Neve Monroe-Anderson, Hanover High School, Grade 11 Best Environmental Message – Carley Malloy, Thetford Academy, Grade 12
Emily Surrell, Woodstock Union High School, Grade 12 Mixed Media – Baylie Ordway, Rivendell Academy, Grade 12
Megan Smith, Hanover High School, Grade 11 Painting – Anna Krajewski, Proctor Academy, Grade 12
Annie Zhao, Lebanon High School, Grade 11
Cameron Eaton, Stevens High School, Grade 11
Poppy Tans, The Sharon Academy, Grade 10
Victoria Tillman, Stevens High School, Grade 10 Portraiture – Emily Lyons, Lebanon High School, Grade 12
Megan Graber, Thetford Academy, Grade 12 Printmaking – Bea Green, Rivendell Academy, Grade 12
Falcon Jaacks, Hanover High School, Grade 10 Sculpture – Alden Sawyer, Holderness High School, Grade 10
Odin Mattern, Hartford High School, Grade 12
Sam Wyckoff, Proctor Academy, Grade 11 Wearable Art – Carly Miliken, Kimball Union Academy, Grade 10
Phoebe Altman, Hanover High School, Grade 11 Woodworking/Design – Alex Kaupp, Proctor Academy, Grade 12
The High School Exhibition runs until March 9 at AVA Gallery and Art Center. Here are just a few of the works to discover and enjoy:
“Fissure” by Yuhe Zheng, grade 12, Kimball Union Academy (Photo: Tom Haushalter)
“Dad” by Camie Rediker, grade 12, Woodstock Union High School (Photo: Tom Haushalter)
“Untitled” by Jessica Gravel, grade 10, Mascoma Valley Regional High School (Photo: Tom Haushalter)
“Untitled” by Poppy Tans, grade 10, The Sharon Academy (Photo: Tom Haushalter)
“Fissure” by Yuhe Zheng, grade 12, Kimball Union Academy (Photo: Tom Haushalter)
“Dad” by Camie Rediker, grade 12, Woodstock Union High School (Photo: Tom Haushalter)
“Untitled” by Jessica Gravel, grade 10, Mascoma Valley Regional High School (Photo: Tom Haushalter)
“Untitled” by Poppy Tans, grade 10, The Sharon Academy (Photo: Tom Haushalter)