Although he has left AVA Gallery and Art Center after leading it for a little over two years, Paul N. “Trip” Anderson III has moved into a role that will enable him to advocate for the Upper Valley’s arts organizations.
Anderson is working part-time as the director of development for the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, a space and science museum and learning center in Concord. More importantly, at least from the perspective of Upper Valley arts promoters, Anderson has joined the board of the non-profit Arts4NH, a post that will enable him to represent the concerns of the area’s arts community in Concord.
“Frankly, I think I will have an even stronger and louder voice for the Upper Valley arts community” than he did as executive director of AVA Gallery, Anderson said in a phone interview Tuesday.
New Hampshire is not known for its financial support for the arts. The Granite State regularly ranks in the bottom half of states for charitable giving (though it scores much higher in volunteerism). Arts4NH makes the case that the arts are an economic boon to the state.
At the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Anderson will be helping the organization build its fundraising capacity. The center received most of its funding from the federal and state governments, but in 2013 became a private nonprofit. Although it still receives government funding for some of its programs, including from the National Science Foundation, it relies much more heavily on private donations for its operating costs.
While there, Anderson hopes to “gently nudge” the arts into the center’s programs in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). When he worked at Worcester Art Museum, in Worcester, Mass., it teamed with nearby Worcester Polytechnic Institute to create programs mixing art and science.
Anderson, a Grantham resident since 1999, was hired to replace longtime AVA leader Bente Torjusen in November 2016. He stepped down in early February, a mutual parting under which he left the nonprofit visual art center on good terms.
While working in Lebanon, Anderson played a role in the creation of an arts task force for the city. Between his job at the discovery center, and his work with Arts4NH, he said he’s looking forward to continuing to support the arts.
“For me, it’s a very good move,” he said. “I’m very excited about it. And I’m very excited to be a strong voice for arts and culture for the Upper Valley. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Also at AVA, the annual Silent Auction Party takes place Saturday night. That means early-bird bidding is nearly at an end. The party, and final bidding, take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for the party cost $35 for AVA members, $45 for nonmembers and $50 at the door.
Scavenger Gallery opens a show of Claremont artist Sue Lawrence’s oil paintings of floral blossoms with a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 Friday evening. As usual, there will be a tasting of wines from Artisanal Cellars.
Zollikofer Gallery, in the Hotel Coolidge, hosts a show of paintings and inventive Vermont tourism posters by Burlington painter Kevin Ruelle. A reception is planned for 5 to 7 p.m. Friday. On view through June 26.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio hosts a retrospective of prints by Norwich artist Penelope Bennett. Through April.
Long River Gallery exhibits “Through the Trees,” pastels by White River Junction artist Kathryn Detzer.
The arts program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center hosts a talk at 10 a.m. Friday in the hospital’s Auditorium A by southern Vermont artist Collin Leech. She makes encaustic and mixed media paintings and will talk about her work. Leech is among the artists who will have work at DHMC starting next week. The other artists include photographers Joan Crimlisk and John Lehet, watercolorists Nick Mayer and Marion Blodgett, multi-media artist Stacy Harshman, and the hospital’s employees and volunteers.
The Library Arts Center in Newport, N.H., has set a submission deadline for its annual Peeps Diorama Contest. Submissions can be dropped off at the LAC from April 13 to 18 during regular hours, Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 10 to 2.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio is holding a series of workshops led by Upper Valley printmakers through the spring. The next, collagraph and monotype printing with Sarah Amos, is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. The workshop costs $350 per person, plus a materials fee. For more information and to see the full slate of workshops, go to tworiversprintmaking.org.
Matt Brown Fine Art, Lyme. “Considering Kunisada and His Depictions of the Chushingura,” an exhibition of prints by the madly prolific and inventive 19th-century Japanese printmaker. Through Saturday.
Betty Grant Gallery, Converse Free Library, Lyme. Paintings by Liliana Paradiso. A reception is planned for 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, and the show is on view through June.
BigTown Gallery, Rochester, Vt. “Bringing the Bull Home,” work on paper and in ceramics and painted shoes by Rick Skogsberg, and “Figures in the Landscape,” recent paintings by Burlington artist Peter Fried. Through May 4.
Center for the Arts, New London. The New London Inn shows photographs by Marc Beerman; at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, abstract work of Roger Wells and sculptures by Loren Howar; Blue Loon Bakery, photographs by Rick Stockwell; Whipple Hall Gallery shows work by Proctor Academy students; and Emil Nelson Gallery and Annex shows work by 20th-century artists.
Chelsea Public Library. “Promises of Spring,” watercolors by Brookfield, Vt., artist Marcia Hammond. Through April.
Chew & Co. Design, Hanover. Pastels by former Upper Valley resident Phyllis Orem. Through June 1.
Kilton Public Library, West Lebanon. Artwork by students at Hanover Street School. Through May.
Ledyard Gallery, Howe Library, Hanover. “Color Sculptures,” recent paintings by Alison Palizzolo. Through May 1. A reception is planned for 2 to 4 p.m., on April 13.
Library Arts Center, Newport, N.H. Annual Student Art Show, featuring artwork from students in Newport’s public schools. Through April 25.
Main Street Museum, White River Junction. “Jack Rowell, Cultural Documentarian: Portraits of Vermont People and Other Wildlife.”
North Common Arts, Chelsea. “Glass Onions,” painted glass objects by Chelsea artist Nick De Friez, through April.
Steven Thomas, Inc. Fine Arts & Antiques, White River Junction. Work by Upper Valley “vintage” artists, such as Alice Standish Buell, John Semple and Horace Brown.
Tunbridge Public Library. Woodburning and painting by tattoo artist Tom Ball. Through May 3.
Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.
Correction
Arts4NH is a private nonprofit group that advocates for the arts and is independent of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Its role was described unclearly in an earlier version of this column.
