Hilde Ojibway’s tenure as interim executive director of AVA Gallery and Art Center ended on Friday.
When she signed on to lead the Lebanon nonprofit art center, it was with the aim of having a new director in place by Sept. 1. The process has taken longer than expected because AVA held an open call for candidates, which resulted in an applicant pool of 33 names, said Bente Torjusen, AVA’s former longtime executive director, who has stepped in now that Ojibway has moved on.
The 2016 search to find Torjusen’s replacement, Paul N. “Trip” Anderson, was conducted by a consultant.
The current search “is moving ahead very systematically and very smoothly,” Torjusen said Tuesday. She is not a member of the search committee, but is aware of its work. She said the committee has selected two finalists for AVA’s board to consider. The board should come to a decision by mid-September and the new director should be in place by the beginning of October, Torjusen said.
Ojibway, of Hartford, took over in February after AVA parted ways with Anderson, of Grantham, who had replaced Torjusen in 2016. She and Torjusen, who lives in Lebanon, oversaw a campaign to raise $450,000 to fill a gap in AVA’s budget, and cut three staff positions to bring spending down.
This episode is the first hiccup for AVA, which experienced consistent growth for three decades under Torjusen’s leadership.
“We hit a bump in the road,” Torjusen said, but AVA’s supporters have rallied to steady the organization.
The Chelsea Arts Collective hosts the Chelsea Arts on the Green Market and Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, with live music, an art auction and activities for children. Contact North Common Arts for more information.
Chelsea Public Library. “Sadie’s Fancy Work,” embroidery by Sadie Kennedy, of Chelsea. Through Friday.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio hosts “Land on Paper,” a group show of landscape prints, through Friday.
Norwich Public Library. “Catching the Eye,” photographs by Rosamond Orford. Through Friday.
Long River Gallery, White River Junction. “Landscape Meditations: Pattern, Texture, and Line,” ceramics by Sheilagh Flynn, through Monday, as well as paintings by Kathy Detzer.
Aidron Duckworth Art Museum, Meriden. “Exhibition XXXIV — The Multitudes Contained,” the museum’s final exhibition of Aidron Duckworth paintings and drawings, is on view through Sept. 27. “Lush Surface,” new paintings and works on paper by Boston-area artist Anne Johnstone; “Sharp Focus,” new sculptures by New York City artist Dan Waller are on view through Sept. 8. “Tactics/Being Close” a site-specific, interactive sculptural collaboration by Lucy Pullen and Tom Butter; and “Bugs About/Diagonal Science,” recent sculptures in a variety of media by Langdon Graves, are on the grounds through Sept. 8.
Betty Grant Gallery, Converse Free Library, Lyme. “How’s it gonna end?” drawing and paintings by Lyme artist Carl Mehrbach. Through Sept. 28.
BigTown Gallery, Rochester, Vt. “East to West: A Ceramic Dialogue,” ceramics by Mark Pharis, Liz Quackenbush, and Cappy Thompson. Through Sept. 28.
Center for Art + Design, Colby-Sawyer College, New London. “Coming Home: The Ceramics of Vivika and Otto Heino.” Through Oct. 15.
Center for the Arts, New London. Tatewell Micro Gallery shows oil paintings by Charlotte Thibault and photographs by Garrett Evens.
Cider Hill Gardens and Gallery, Windsor. Outdoor sculpture by William Ballantyne and paintings in egg tempera and gold leaf by gallery co-owner Gary Milek.
Collective — the Art of Craft, Woodstock. Ceramics by Andrea Trzaskos, as well as works by jeweler T. Breeze Verdant, glass sculptor Alissa Faber and fiber artist Jennifer Johnson. Through September.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon. The shows feature Elliot Burg, Jane Masters and Mark Washburn, photographs; Bruce Conklin, oil paintings; Sherry Saint-Germaine, botanical drawings; Sara Goodman, textiles; Hartford High School Art Students and the Cardigan Mountain Arts Association.
Hall Art Foundation, in Reading, Vt. Shows include “Made in Vermont,” works by Vermont artists; exhibitions by Richard Artschwager and the super-realist artist Malcolm Morley. On the grounds: “English Sculptors in New England.” Admission is $10, except on the first Friday of the month, when it’s free.
Kilton Public Library, West Lebanon. Lebanon native Sam Wiebkin is the current artist-in-residence at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. An exhibition of her work is on view through September.
Ledyard Gallery, Howe Library, Hanover. Recent work by members of the Cardigan Mountain Art Association. Through Oct. 2.
Library Arts Center, Newport. The “Selections Exhibit,” work by Debbie Campbell, Rod Keller, Susan Lirakis, Gillian Martlew, Meg McLean, Susan Parmenter, Adele Sanborn and Ann Saunderson. Through Sept. 19.
Local Buzz Cafe, Bradford, Vt. “Feathers, Fur & Flowers,” photographs by M.L. Gitchel. Through Sept. 5.
Matt Brown Fine Art, Lyme. Paintings by Marcie Maynard and handmade furniture by Peter Maynard, a husband and wife duo from South Acworth, N.H. Through Oct. 12.
North Common Arts, Chelsea. Abstract encaustic collages by mixed-media artist Athena Petra Tasiopoulos, of Barre, Vt.
The Roth Center for Jewish Life at Dartmouth College, Hanover. “Antigua Revisited,” photographs by Mort Wise. Through Sept. 6.
Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Cornish. Works by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. In the Picture Gallery: “Augusta Homer Saint-Gaudens: Stepping Out of the Shadows,” a show of paintings and personal artifacts that illuminate the life of the woman who created the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, the forerunner of the national park. Through Sept. 2. Admission to the park is $10 per person age 16 and above.
Sculpture Fest, Woodstock. Contemporary sculpture in outdoor settings at the Prosper Road home of Charlet and Peter Davenport, at the nearby King Farm, and at the Woodstock History Center, which hosts “Vermont Carvers & Sculptors Exhibition,” work by 15 Vermont sculptors. Both the King Farm and History Center shows are open through the end of October. The work at the Davenports’ is on view year-round.
Steven Thomas Inc. Fine Arts & Antiques, White River Junction. Work by Upper Valley “vintage” artists, such as Alice Standish Buell, John Semple, Horace Brown, Neil Drevitson and Robert Caulfield.
Tunbridge Public Library. “The Tunbrige Fair,” paintings by Bridgewater Corners artist Rae Newell. Through Sept. 5.
White River Gallery, South Royalton. “Scattered Geometry,” ceramics by Jenny Swanson and Holly Walker. Through Sept. 6.
Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.
