Jillian Kalosky is a criminal defense investigator based in Concord, investigating state and federal criminal cases on behalf of the accused.
Explain what your job is and what it entails.
After someone gets arrested, they either hire an attorney or one is appointed by the court. I’m then hired by the attorney to help prepare the defense. I start by reviewing the investigation conducted by the police. Then oftentimes I talk to people who have information about the case and document what they know. Sometimes they’ve already spoken to the police. Other times, I’m the first person they speak to. If there’s relevant information on social media about the case, I track it down. If my client has an alibi, I track it down. If it makes sense to check out the scene — and it often does — I do that. My work on any given day is driven by the needs of the case.
How long have you had this job?
Over 10 years.
What led you to this career field and your current job?
I was always that weird kid fascinated by crime. When I was fairly young, I saw a TV show about a child who had been murdered. The killer had hidden the body by rolling a huge log on top of it in the woods. It blew my mind. I grew up in a safe, normal, loving household; I couldn’t imagine that sort of thing happening to a child. That always stuck with me. I so deeply wanted to understand it.
What kind of education or training did you need?
I studied sociology and justice studies as an undergrad at UNH. Then, in grad school there, I earned a master’s degree in sociology with a focus in criminology. Nothing compared, though, to the hands-on training I received at the New Hampshire Public Defender. I was an intern there during the summer between undergrad and grad school. Then I was offered a full-time position after my master’s program. I spent almost seven years at the Public Defender. That time was invaluable. I now run my own PI business.
What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?
I dress for the occasion, whether that’s going to court, knocking on doors to try to find a witness, going to the jail, or sitting down for a Zoom meeting with an attorney. You can most often find me in a turtleneck, jeans and Doc Martens.
How has your job changed over the last year?
Throughout the pandemic my work shifted to mostly phone interviews and Zoom meetings. Now that I’m fully vaccinated I’ve been able to resume in-person meetings, visiting clients in jail and interviewing people in their homes.
What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?
How to meditate.
What do you wish other people knew about your job?
I wish people knew that miscarriages of justice do happen. Eyewitnesses get it wrong. People plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit. People confess to crimes they didn’t commit. About a third of people exonerated through DNA testing gave false confessions. Criminal cases are complicated. It’s rarely ever black-and-white like on TV.
What was the first job you ever had?
I started at the Gap when I was 15. I still fold my clothes the Gap way.
What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t take it personally.
Five favorites Favorite book: The Power of Now Favorite movie: The Grand Budapest Hotel Favorite type of music or musician: Classic soul/motown Favorite food: Indian Favorite thing about NH: Birdwatching
Nashua to host its second pandemic-era Sculpture Symposium
After a successful rescheduled and pandemic-adapted event last summer, the 2021 Nashua International Sculpture Symposium will resume its traditional time in the spring, with sculptors starting work on Monday, May 24.
“Last year, we were able to provide a model for a safe, community-oriented program within a pandemic setting,” artistic director Jim Larson said. “[Having a model] that easily met all of the safety requirements, combined with the amazing and exciting artwork we saw produced, meant that we were excited to try [the symposium] again this year, even while we’re still within a pandemic scenario.”
Started in 2008, the Nashua International Sculpture Symposium was inspired by the Andres Institute of Art International Sculpture Symposium, a similar event held in Brookline every fall. It is the only international sculpture symposium in the U.S. that is held in a city, with the sculptures being placed on public property.
“More public art — and more accessibility to public art — is the name of the game,” Larson said
The symposium invites three experienced sculptors to spend three weeks in Nashua, creating outdoor sculptures for permanent installation in the city. Historically, it has welcomed sculptors from all over the world, but with the pandemic increasing restrictions on international travel, the symposium will, for the second time, feature three sculptors from the U.S. Aside from the discrepancy it creates with the event’s name, Larson said, the absence of an “International” component, though not ideal, doesn’t diminish the impact of the symposium. There’s even an upside, he said: Hosting U.S. sculptors allows Nashua to “build connections with local and somewhat-local similar-minded organizations and artists,” ultimately strengthening the arts community in New Hampshire.
“What’s really exciting about inviting local artists to the symposium is that the resources we collect through grants and donations to support our artists stay right here in our community through that artist and their work,” Larson said.
The sculptors — Gavin Kenyon from New York, Sam Finkelstein from Maine, and Nora Valdez, from Boston, Mass., originally from Argentina — are all mid-career, Larson said, and were chosen based in part on how the symposium could benefit them and their artistic growth. Finkelstein, for example, has worked in stone for many years but has never made a large-scale piece because he lacks the studio infrastructure needed to move thousands of pounds of stone; and Kenyon, whose 20 years as a professional artist has consisted mostly of commission work and private projects, hasn’t had many opportunities to create public art or art in the public domain.
“We’re supporting them and providing what they need to make work that they couldn’t or wouldn’t otherwise,” Larson said.
This year’s sculptors have been challenged to interpret the theme “Introspection” through their pieces — a theme that has emerged in many artists’ work during these pandemic times, Larson said.
“Artists have been isolated in their own studios, more productive than ever, but not having as much dialogue … about their work and ideas, so, in that way, art has become very introspective,” Larson said. “[For the symposium,] we want to keep art within the context of that introspection while bringing it back out into the public realm.”
Working from cast concrete, white marble, red granite and Indiana limestone, all three sculptors have planned figurative pieces depicting elements of the human form. But, as symposium president Gail Moriarty can attest, it’s not uncommon for sculptors to find new inspiration once they’re able to physically engage with the installation site and materials.
“They come with ideas that they’re ready to begin working on, but nothing is finalized until they [start working],” Moriarty said. “It’s really cool to see how those ideas manifest themselves, because we’re never quite sure how they will.”
The sculptors will work six days a week, Monday through Saturday, outside The Picker Artists studios on Pine Street from Monday, May 24, through Friday, June 4, and relocate to the installation site on Saturday, June 5, where they will resume working for one more week. As always, the public is encouraged to stop by the work site to observe and interact with the sculptors, so long as they wear a mask and keep a safe distance.
This “constant viewership and dialogue” surrounding the sculptors while they work is just as integral to the symposium as the sculptures that are produced, Larson said.
“[The way in which] artists physically enact their intentions on their work becomes part of the piece, and being able to watch that makes it easier to engage with the piece of art,” he said.
Moriarty recommends visiting the work site multiple times over the course of the symposium to follow the sculptures’ transformation.
“The materials look different every single day,” she said. “It’s always exciting to come back and see how much they’ve changed.”
The finished sculptures will be revealed during a closing ceremony (not open to the public, but it will be videoed and available to watch online) on Saturday, June 12. The sculptures will be installed collectively in the courtyard at the corner of Church and Court streets in downtown. A quiet, low-traffic space that branches a block off Main Street, the site enables an “intimate viewing experience” of the sculptures, Larson said.
“It’s not like looking at the pieces on Main Street, where there’s traffic whizzing by,” he said. “This is a place where someone can have their own personal time with the pieces.”
14th annual Nashua International Sculpture Symposium Opening and closing receptions: The opening reception will take place on Thursday, May 20, and the closing reception will take place on Saturday, June 12. Neither event is open to the public, but both will be videoed and available to watch online. Visit the sculptors: Sculptors will work Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., outside The Picker Artists studios (3 Pine St., Nashua) from Monday, May 24, through Friday, June 4, and at the installation site at the corner of Church and Court streets in downtown Nashua from Saturday, June 5, through Saturday, June 12. More info: nashuasculpturesymposium.org
Featured photo: A previous Nashua International Sculpture Symposium. Courtesy photo.
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
Howling Wolf by Francine Poitras Jone featured in “Alnôbak Moskijik Maahlakwsikok: Abenaki People Emerging from Ashes” exhibit. Courtesy photo.
• Celebrating Abenaki culture: “Alnôbak Moskijik Maahlakwsikok: Abenaki People Emerging from Ashes,” an art show and sale presented by Two Villages Art Society, Abenaki Trails Project and Vermont Abenaki Artists Association, is on view now through Friday, May 28, at the Two Villages gallery (846 Main St., Contoocook). The show features traditional and contemporary art created by tribal members of the Abenaki people and their community partners, including beading, pottery, birch bark building, fabric art, basketry, print making, painting, jewelry, painted gourds and leather work. “We are excited to amplify the voices, culture, history and present experiences of the Abenaki people … and provide professional development to Abenaki artists,” Alyssa McKeon, Two Villages president, said in a press release. Twenty-five percent of the art sales will be donated to the Abenaki Trails Project and Vermont Abenaki Artists Association to help further their mission of raising awareness about present-day Abenaki people and culture. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday, from 1 to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit twovillagesart.org.
• Excellence in NH literature: The New Hampshire Writers’ Project is accepting nominations for its biennial New Hampshire Literary Awards now through Monday, June 21. The awards recognize recently published works written about New Hampshire and works written by New Hampshire natives or residents. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s picture books and middle grade/young adult books published between Jan. 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2020, are eligible. All entries will be read and evaluated by a panel of judges assembled by the NHWP. Visit nhwritersproject.org/new-hampshire-literary-awards.
• Youth art on mental health: In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest Celebration will take place on Thursday, May 20, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Tupelo Drive-In (10 A St., Derry) and virtually via livestream. Now in its third year, the contest invites middle school and high school students in the state to submit original artwork that expresses their experiences with or observations of mental health. “Art lets children express themselves in a way that they may not be able to do in a conversation,” said Michele Watson, family network coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire Chapter, which co-sponsors the event with the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate and other mental health- and youth-focused organizations throughout the state. “It’s good not only for them to be able to share their voice, but also because it gives [adults] a better understanding of what they are feeling.” The celebratory event will feature an on-screen display of all 43 works of art submitted this year. Ten finalists chosen by a panel of judges will each be awarded a framed certificate and a $250 cash prize, and the audience, including those watching the livestream from home, will have a chance to vote for their favorite of those finalists to win a People’s Choice Award. Additionally, there will be information booths for around a dozen local organizations involved with youth mental health, as well as a series of presentations by guest speakers, including mental health awareness advocate and former New Hampshire Chief Justice John Broderick; 10-year-old New Hampshire Kid Governor Charlie Olsen, whose platform is childhood depression; and Dr. Cassie Yackley, a specialist in trauma-informed mental health care, discussing the importance of art in mental health. Visit sites.google.com/view/magnify-voices and facebook.com/magnifyvoicesexpressivearts.
• A family issue: The New Hampshire Theatre Project’s Elephant in the Room Series, in partnership with the Seacoast Mental Health Center, presents a reading of A Wider Circle virtually over Zoom on Thursday, May 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. Written by local playwright and social studies teacher Mary Ellen Hedrick, the play centers on the family of a woman in the aftermath of her opioid overdose death. There will be a panel discussion on the opioid crisis’ effect on families with Hedrick, Rebecca Throop of Seacoast Mental Health Center and other opioid addiction and recovery experts following the reading. The event is free, but registration is required. Visit nhtheatreproject.org.
New dates set for Miriam premiere
After being on hold for more than a year, Miriam: First Woman Prophet is ready for the stage. The Manchester Community Theatre Players’ Second Stage Professional Company will present the musical’s world premiere, originally set to run in March 2020, Friday, May 21, through Sunday, May 23, at the MCTP Theatre (North End Montessori School, 698 Beech St., Manchester). The show will be open to a limited live audience and livestreamed for a virtual audience. The musical follows the biblical story of Miriam, a prophetess and the sister of Moses and Aaron, from when she was a young woman who rescued Moses from the river when he was a baby, to helping lead the Israelites out of Egypt and through their 40-year journey to the Promised Land. It features a book co-written by local playwrights Alan Kaplan, MCTP artistic director, and Tom Anastasi, MCTP vice president, and music by Debbie Friedman, a prolific Jewish singer-songwriter who recorded 22 albums of Jewish liturgy music that has been adopted by churches and synagogues throughout the world. According to Kaplan and Anastasi, the idea for Miriam was born out of a conversation between Kaplan and Friedman while they were chaperoning a Jewish history youth trip in Israel in 2002. Friedman, who admired Miriam as a spiritual role model, told Kaplan there were no musicals that centered on a Jewish biblical woman. Knowing that Friedman’s musical catalog contained a number of pieces about notable women from Jewish history, Kaplan volunteered to write the book for a musical about Miriam that would feature Friedman’s music. When he returned home, he invited Anastasi to co-write the book, and they and Friedman collaborated on the musical until Friedman’s death in 2011. Kaplan and Anastasi spent the next several years acquiring the rights to Friedman’s discography and consulting experts on the Bible and on Friedman’s music to ensure that the musical was biblically accurate and that the songs they selected fit the story. They recruited internationally known composer Or Oren to arrange Friedman’s songs for a four-part vocal harmony and full orchestra to give the musical more of a Broadway feel. Miriam is a full-scale production with a 17-person cast, high-tech digital scenery, elaborate costumes and more. “Many people know parts of the story, but being able to experience it live with music … and choreography … will make for an unforgettable night,” Anastasi said in a press release. Showtimes are on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20 per person at the theater or $20 per device for the virtual show. Visit manchestercommunitytheatre.com or call 327-6777
Art
Exhibits
• “ALNOBAK MOSKIJI MAAHLAKWSIKIK: ABENAKI PEOPLE EMERGING FROM ASHES” Art show and sale presented by Two Villages Art Society, Abenaki Trails Project and Vermont Abenaki Artists Association. Features traditional and contemporary art created by tribal members of the Abenaki People and their community partners, including beading, pottery, birch bark biting, fabric art, basketry, printing making, painting, jewelry, painted gourds and leather work. On view now through Friday, May 28. Two Villages gallery (846 Main St., Contoocook). Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday, from 1 to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit twovillagesart.org.
• 35TH ANNUAL OMER T. LASSONDE JURIED EXHIBITION The New Hampshire Art Association presents a group art show featuring works in a variety of media by NHAA members and non-members. NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth). On view now through May 30. Call 431-4230 and visit nhartassociation.org.
• DUO ARTIST EXHIBIT Features oils by Jim Ryan and watercolors by Lorraine Makhoul. On view during May. Seacoast Artist Association, 130 Water St., Exeter. Call 778-8856 or visit seacoastartist.org.
• “GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION THROUGH CUT AND PASTE” City Arts Nashua and The Nashua Telegraph present an exhibition featuring the works of Meri Goyette, including statement collages and collectible greetings cards that she crafted from paper, fabric and glue during the pandemic. On display in the windows and lobby of the Telegraph offices (110 Main St., Suite 1, Nashua). Now through June 11. Visit cityartsnashua.org.
• “TRANSFORMATIONS: NATURE AND BEYOND” The New Hampshire Art Association presents works by digital artist William Townsend. Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Gallery, 49 S. Main St., Concord. On display now through June 17. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.
• “RETABLOS RECONSIDERED” Exhibit features works by 12 artists inspired by retablos, the honorific art form of devotional paintings that relate to miraculous events. Twiggs Gallery (254 King St., Boscawen).On view now through June 6. Gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Call 975-0015 or visit twiggsgallery.wordpress.com.
• “THE BODY IN ART: FROM THE SPIRITUAL TO THE SENSUAL” Exhibit provides a look at how artists through the ages have used the human body as a means of creative expression. On view now through Sept. 1. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.
• GALLERY ART A new collection of art by more than 20 area artists on display now in-person and online. Creative Ventures Gallery (411 Nashua St., Milford). Call 672-2500 or visit creativeventuresfineart.com.
• “TOMIE DEPAOLA AT THE CURRIER” Exhibition celebrates the illustrator’s life and legacy through a collection of his original drawings. On view now. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.
Theater
Shows
• A WIDER CIRCLE The New Hampshire Theatre Project’s Elephant-in-the-Room Series, in partnership with the Seacoast Mental Health Center, presents a reading of the play, written by local playwright and social studies teacher Mary Ellen Hedrick. Virtual, via Zoom. Thurs., May 20, 7 to 9 p.m. Free. Registration is required. Visit nhtheatreproject.org.
• FUN HOME The Seacoast Repertory Theatre presents. 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. Now through May 28. Visit seacoastrep.org or call 433-4472.
• GODSPELL The Seacoast Repertory Theatre presents. Virtual and in person at 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. Now through May 30. Visit seacoastrep.org or call 433-4472.
• QUEEN CITY IMPROV The Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord). Fri., May 21 and June 4, and Thurs., June 17, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $22 for adults, $19 for seniors and students. Call 715-2315 or visit hatboxnh.com.
• COMEDY OUT OF THE ’BOX The Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord). Sat., May 22 and June 5, and Thurs., June 24, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $22 for adults, $19 for members, seniors and students, and $16 for senior members. Call 715-2315 or visit hatboxnh.com.
• TRUE TALES LIVE Monthly showcase of storytellers. Held virtually via Zoom. Last Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m., now through June, and September through December. Visit truetaleslivenh.org.
• ROTARY PARK PLAY FESTIVAL Presented by Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative and Community Players of Concord. Features short original plays by New Hampshire playwrights. Sat., May 29, and Sun., May 30. Outdoors at Rotary Park, 30 Beacon St., E. Laconia. See Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative on Facebook or email [email protected].
In April, the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs opened a new Outdoor Recreation Industry Development office, making New Hampshire the 16th U.S. state to do so. Its director, Scott Crowder, talked about the office and its mission to maximize the economic benefit of New Hampshire’s large outdoor recreation industry.
Why was this office created? Why is it needed in New Hampshire specifically?
Outdoor recreation is ingrained in our way of life here. … Because of how we’re positioned geographically, we have a diverse set of amenities and assets and places you can go for outdoor recreation, from the White Mountains to the Seacoast to the Lakes Region, to the Monadnocks to the Great North Woods. The natural beauty and the outdoor recreation experiences in New Hampshire, whether it’s the fall foliage or skiing in the winter, are a big part of why people visit. … Our communities have developed around [and] put value on outdoor recreation. … Thirty-seven thousand jobs are filled in the outdoor recreation industry sector in the state … and it spans into a lot of other different industries, [such as] hospitality, food and beverage and travel and tourism. … 3.2 percent of our GDP is directly correlated to outdoor recreation. It’s a huge contributor to the state’s economic positioning … but we didn’t have anyone looking at outdoor recreation from an economic and workforce development standpoint. … We want to make sure we’re capitalizing on New Hampshire’s outdoor recreation assets to enhance the quality of life for our residents and the experience for our visitors.
What’s on the agenda?
Some of the line items in the legislation include helping to develop [outdoor recreation] workforce development; leveraging New Hampshire’s natural assets and outdoor amenities for economic development and economic vitality; conservation and stewardship, making sure that these outdoor amenities are being well-preserved so that they can be used in the same way tomorrow and in 100 years from now; entrepreneurship and promoting businesses; and collaborating with different departments — whether it’s Fish and Game, the Trails Bureau or State Parks — to create an outdoor recreation collective that will work together to elevate New Hampshire’s outdoor recreation.
How does the pandemic impact outdoor recreation in the state?
Covid gave a lot of people an opportunity to be introduced or reintroduced to outdoor activities … and the trend is going in the direction of more people spending more time outside. In the last year, businesses in the outdoor recreation [industry] and in resort towns were so busy it was crazy. They saw [profit] numbers they had never seen before. … Coming out of Covid, we have a great opportunity, because there’s a lot of pent-up demand [for] and excitement to do things with friends and family again, and outdoor recreation is a focal point of how people want to be spending their time. We need to make sure we’re taking advantage of that interest to benefit our communities.
What is your background in this kind of work? How did you come into this position?
I’ve always kind of had my finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the world of travel and tourism, sports and outdoor recreation in the state. … I grew up in Nashua and would spend my summers on Lake Winnipesaukee. I studied sports management and marketing in college and have [worked within] the world of traditional, organized sports as well as outdoor recreation. … I started an outdoor recreation shop on Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith. … I’ve worked in events and sports tourism. … I’ve been on the Lakes Region Tourism Board for a decade now. … A few years ago I was put on a little committee to look at the viability of creating this office. … When the [director] position was posted, I put my hat in the ring for it.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve been going on a little bit of a listening tour across the state, having conversations with municipalities, nonprofit groups, private businesses — all the stakeholders that exist within the outdoor recreation space here in New Hampshire — to figure out the lay of the land, put the pieces together and see how this office could be the most impactful. … Over the next three [to] six weeks, we’ll be able to put more pen to paper about how to move forward with a strategic vision … and set goals for one year, three years and five years down the line.
What is your personal vision for the office? What would you like to accomplish as director?
I think it’s [building] that collective effort of outdoor recreation [collaborators]. There are a lot of people who are super-passionate about outdoor recreation in our state and a lot of dots that we can connect … at a state level, regional level and community level. … This [office’s mission] is a big task, and in order for it to be successful, I can’t exist in a vacuum; there has to be that collaborative approach.
Mary Sargent is a certified family mediator based in Bedford.
Explain your job and what it entails.
The conflicts I mediate are largely divorce and parenting [issues]. … I help parties dispute and negotiate toward agreements by facilitating healthy, productive conversation that may or may not [end in] an agreement. I make sure that people are hearing and understanding each other, and that they have all the information they need to make a decision. Then, I help them put [their decision] in whatever form is needed, whether it’s a court order or a contract or a simple agreement.
How long have you had this job?
Twelve years.
What led you to this career field and your current job?
Over the years, I’ve held a lot of different positions within family work — Child Protective Services worker, guardian ad litem, case manager — and at the core of all of those positions is identifying areas of problems, disputes and conflicts. … I was seeing a lot of people in a lot of pain because they were trying so hard to avoid an issue when what they really needed to do was resolve the issue. … I realized that mediation allows an opportunity to address a problem head-on … and really drill down to the heart of it, rather than trying to avoid, deny or work around it.
What kind of education or training did you need?
I have a bachelor’s degree, and I’ve had extensive training through certificate programs. In New Hampshire, you have to go through a certification class and an internship to [become certified].
What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?
Business casual.
How has your job changed over the last year?
Prior to Covid, the very idea of doing [mediation] remotely was controversial, industry-wide … but, ultimately, we were forced into it, and I do the vast majority of my work remotely. I’ve found that it actually solves more problems than it creates. It can be difficult for people who are in conflict with one another to sit at a table in the same room. It’s a little easier for them and mitigates some of the anticipatory anxiety if they can be in the comfort of their own home where they aren’t in close physical proximity to each other.
What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?
How hard it would be and how long it would take to build a practice and make a name for myself. A lot of people didn’t even know what mediation was, so getting them to buy into mediation, and then to find me [was hard].
What do you wish other people knew about your job?
Mediators don’t make decisions. … A lot of times people come to me and say, ‘We need your help in deciding what is fair,’ and I tell them, ‘I have no idea.’ We can guide people … [in having] a productive conversation, but we can’t determine what is or isn’t fair for them. The fair and equitable [outcome] is whatever they agree on as being fair and equitable.
What was the first job you ever had?
Summer camp counselor.
What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?
Be mindful of the present, and assume there’s space for an agreement, even if you don’t know what that looks like yet.
Five favorites Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite movie: The Birdcage Favorite music: Showtunes Favorite food: Pizza Favorite thing about NH: Lake Winnipesaukee
Youth artwork celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month
New Hampshire youth speak out about mental health through art at the Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest Celebration, happening Thursday, May 20, at the Tupelo Drive-In in Derry and virtually via livestream.
Now in its third year, the contest invites middle school and high school students in the state to submit an original work of art — be it a two- or three-dimensional visual art piece, short film, essay, poem or song — that expresses their experience with or observations of mental health. The art work is then featured at a celebratory event in May to honor Mental Health Awareness Month and to highlight the need for improved children’s mental health care in New Hampshire.
“I think being able to see what our kids are experiencing in this very visual way can really help us get a better understanding of what they’re going through,” said Michele Watson, family network coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire Chapter, which co-sponsors the event with the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate and other mental health- and youth-focused organizations throughout the state.
Upon arrival attendees will be guided to distanced parking spaces. For the first hour of the event, from 4 to 5 p.m., they will be able to stroll the parking lot, masked, and visit information booths for around a dozen local organizations involved with youth mental health.
“Part of bringing [mental health] awareness is letting people know where they can go for resources,” Watson said. “We want to make sure that, if they ever need help, or if they have a family member or good friend who might need help, they know where to go.”
Also during that time, all 43 art pieces that were submitted will be displayed on a large screen near the stage. They consist mostly of visual art pieces, Watson said, including drawings, paintings and computer-generated images, with a few short films and poems in the mix.
“The art work just completely impresses us,” she said, “and not just because of the messages that they share but also because of the quality of the art work. A lot of [the artists] are extremely talented.”
Watson said that she and the contest judges noticed “a different tone” in this year’s pieces, with more artists opening up about their personal struggles with mental health.
“In the past a lot of the submissions were focused on awareness,” she said, “but now we’re seeing the [artists] who are experiencing [mental health issues] themselves really expose themselves by sharing their own stories and expressing how they’re feeling.”
The awards ceremony and a series of presentations by guest speakers, which attendees can watch from inside their cars or from their own lawn chairs situated just outside their cars, will begin at 5 p.m. Ten finalists chosen by the judges will be named and will each receive a framed certificate and a $250 cash prize. The audience, including those watching the livestream from home, will then have a chance to vote for their favorite of the 10 finalists to win a People’s Choice Award.
Guest speakers will include mental health awareness advocate and former New Hampshire Chief Justice John Broderick; 10-year-old New Hampshire Kid Governor Charlie Olsen, whose platform is childhood depression; and Dr. Cassie Yackley, a specialist in trauma-informed mental health care, discussing the importance of art in mental health.
The event is often “eye-opening” for the audience, Watson said, as it gives youth an outlet to publicly express thoughts and feelings that they may not have wanted or been able to articulate before.
“Our youth really have a lot to say, and [art] helps them deliver it in a different way,” she said. “Now we just need to listen to them.”
Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest Celebration Where: Tupelo Drive-In, 10 A St., Derry, and virtually via livestream When: Thursday, May 20, 4 to 6:30 p.m. More info/register: Visit sites.google.com/view/magnify-voices and facebook.com/magnifyvoicesexpressivearts
Featured photo: Youth art from a previous Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest. Courtesy photo.
