An upcoming exhibit at a downtown Manchester art gallery will be equal parts harvest moon and hocus pocus, if the early submissions are an indication. Mosaic Art Collective holds monthly themed shows. In September, “Full Circle: The Speed of Light” offered works like the eclipse-inspired “Four Minutes of Totality, Twelve Hours of Light” and “Evil Eyes,” a kinetic piece made of metal and stained glass.
Mosaic founder Liz Pieroni hopes this month’s “Spellbound” will evoke the magical and mystical.
“There are a lot of artists that specifically only make creepy, Halloween-y kind of work,” she said. “There’s definitely some very witchy portraiture, a lot of skulls … and a creepy moon landscape pastel by Susan Markham.”
Also contributing is Jackie Hansen, known for absurdist takes on the natural world like “McChicken,” an acrylic on canvas painting of a barnyard bird peeking out from a McDonald’s fries container. “She does almost traditional New Hampshire art, but it always has a little bit of a twist,” Pieroni said. “This one is a chicken riding a broom with a witch hat on.”
Artist submissions will be available for viewing beginning Oct. 7, with a reception set for the afternoon of Oct. 12. In the spirit of the season, a tarot card reader will be on hand to tell fortunes at the event. These Second Saturday gatherings happen every month and in the recent past have included live music and comedy.
As always, the different works on display at “Spellbound” can be purchased and picked up at the end of the month. Mosaic encourages ownership, with prices befitting an aspiring art collector. Helpfully, each piece has its own QR code that links to a web page for interested buyers.
“In some ways it makes it more accessible,” Pieroni said. “People don’t necessarily want to figure out who to approach and how to purchase something, but everyone has a phone on them…. If you’re introverted in any way, this makes it a little bit easier to stomach.”
On any given day, Mosaic is abuzz with activity. Seesaw Art Gallery has its own space in the back corner of the second floor space, and artists work in individual studios. One, Hannah Cole Dahar, makes whimsical works like custom portraits of local women in saintly poses. It’s truly a collective, exactly what Pieroni had in mind when she started it.
Since graduating in 2005, she missed the art school vibe. Opening Mosaic “was about finding my own art community,” she said. “We all have our own separate spaces, but when we come into the gallery, it kind of automatically creates this swirl of conversation, which is comforting … it’s not just a big white room with art on the wall, it has a nucleus feel.”
So far, it’s been a good year.
“We saw a little bit of a slowdown in June, but I think it was just that people were kind of busy and out enjoying the weather,” Pieroni said. “We ended up taking the summer off and just recharging our batteries. September so far has been really great. We’ve seen a good amount of sales and a lot of new artists that haven’t shown with us before, which is really exciting. In general, I’d say things are on the up and up.”
There’s hope that growth is on the horizon, she continued. “We’re building out our program still. We’ve had a few little setbacks as businesses do. I think right now we’re just trying to get all our ducks in a row and find some funding … then build out a couple of bigger programs that hopefully we’ll see early next year.”
These efforts include recruiting volunteers. “The program we’re hoping to put together is volunteering that is kind of educational at the same time,” Pieroni said. “You could learn how to hang a show and host events, stuff like that, then walk away with an understanding of how things function so that you can go and do something similar.”
Spellbound When: Begins Monday, Oct. 7, with opening reception Saturday, Oct. 12, at 4 p.m. Where: Mosaic Art Collective, 66 Hanover St., Suite 201 (second floor), Manchester More: mosaicartcollective.com
Featured image: Mosaic Art Collective. Courtesy photo.
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
• Rom com on stage: The Nashua Theatre Guild will present Prelude to a Kiss, described as “a romantic comedy that explores themes of love, identity, and the extraordinary nature of ordinary life,” on Friday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m. at the Court Street Theatre (14 Court St. in Nashua). Tickets cost $20 general admission, $18 for students, military and 65+. “After a whirlwind romance, Peter and Rita marry and experience a life-changing twist when a mysterious stranger appears at their wedding. This thought-provoking story delves into the complexities of human connection and the essence of true love,” the email said. See nashuatheatreguild.org.
Oliver! It’s the final weekend for Oliver!, the Oliver Twist musical adaptation, at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org). The show will be on stage Thursday, Sept. 26, through Saturday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $35 through $49. See Michael Witthaus’ look at the production in the Sept. 12 issue of the Hippo. Find the digital edition at hippopress.com; the story is on page 16.
• Cabaret Friday: Anselmian Abbey Players will present A Miscast Cabaret on Friday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Dana Center for the Humanities at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. Tickets cost $15. See tickets.anselm.edu.
• Iron melt: The Andres Institute of Art in Brookline will hold its annual iron melt on Saturday, Oct. 19. Buy a mold for the melt for $45 and return in advance to have it prepped for the melt (no later than 10 a.m. on Oct. 19), according to andresinstitute.org. Purchase a mold online or in person and pick up at the welcome center, 106 Route 13 in Brookline, on Tuesdays or Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. (see the website for additional details). Whether you have a mold or not, the public is invited to watch the molten iron be poured into the molds on Oct. 19 — according to the website, “The pour should happen between noon and 1:30 pm. Molten iron can be a little finicky, please be patient.”
Arts Alive, a “nonprofit organization working to sustain, promote and expand access to arts and cultural resources in the Monadnock Region,” according to a press release, will hold a field trip related to the Iron Melt. The two-part trip will include a session on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Keene studio of artist Craig Stockwell when participants can carve a design for the melt. “Designing is completely beginner-friendly and a fun challenge,” the release said. On Saturday, Oct. 19, participants will head to the Andres Institute to explore the grounds and watch the pour. Registration costs $50; see monadnockartsalive.org/artist-field-trips.
Fall Festival The Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road, Hollis, 465-7787, beaverbrook. org) hosts its annual Fall Festival and Art Show on Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s featured artist is Carolyn Maul, whose works include landscapes and Ecoprints, which feature leaves and other nature designs and which you can see at carolynmaulstudioart.com. The festival will feature an adult and children’s art show, a raffle and silent action, local exhibitors, a bake sale, children’s nature crafts, an insect safari, an apple cider press, a fire pit with music, a self-guided story walk and a scavenger hunt, according to Beaver Brook’s schedule. Also slated for the weekend are Wingmasters Birds of Prey (Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.); a history walk (Saturday at 11:30 a.m.); storytime at the amphitheater (11:30 a.m. both days); a puppet show (Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.), and Eyes on Owls (Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.).
• See saws: Woodworker Ted West will present a demo and a project planning topic at the Concord Makerspace (197 N. Main St., Unit 4, Boscawen; concordmakerspace.org) on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. He will discuss air-dried wood versus kiln-dried wood and he will bring Japanese saws, according to an email from the Makerspace, which said the presentation is part of the “Ask An Expert” series and is free and open to the public.
• Shades of black and white: The Manchester Artists Association will present Jim Luckern for “A Demonstration in Charcoal and Graphite Drawing” on Monday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Manchester Police Department Community Room (405 Valley St. in Manchester). Luckern, who grew up in Concord, “creates lifelike images in his charcoal and graphite medium. He will share his techniques in a demonstration for the Manchester Artists Association at their monthly meeting,” according to a press release. See luckernfinearts.com for a look at his work. The event is open to the public.
• Stories from beyond: The Woodman Museum (182 Central Ave. in Dover; woodmanmuseum.org) will host a reenactment event called “Voices From the Cemetery” at Pine Hill Cemetery in Dover on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Sunday, Oct. 13, with tours starting every half hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.. More than a dozen famous and infamous Dover citizens will come to life at their gravesites to tell their stories, according to a press release. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for ages 17 and under online; find the link to purchase tickets at woodmanmuseum.org.
Dan Dailey The work of Dan Dailey, described as “a New Hampshire artist whose creative ideas and innovations in glass have expanded the canon of art,” will be on display at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) in “Dan Dailey: Impressions of the Human Spirit,” which opens this week. A member preview will be held Thursday, Sept. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. (registration required in advance). The show will feature more than 75 of Dailey’s pieces which “span more than five decades and push the expressive boundaries of glass as an artistic medium, drawing on comics, pop art, art deco, and 1960s pinup posters,” according to a Currier press release. Dan Dailey will discuss his craft and career highlights with Kurt Sundstrom, exhibition curator, on Sunday, Oct. 6. The exhibit is on display through Sunday, Feb. 2. The Currier is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dan Dailey, Aquamotion Circus vase, 2018. Photo by Bill Truslow.
An exhibition titled “The Lost Weekend – The Photography of May Pang” that showcases photos of John Lennon and friends will be held at Creative Framing Solutions in Manchester on Tuesday, Oct. 1, from 3 to 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 2, from 3 to 8 p.m.
May Pang was romantically involved and worked with John Lennon during the time period dubbed as the “Lost Weekend” that took place from late 1973 through 1975.
Pang spoke about the photographs and how the exhibit came to life: “I was in the middle of also doing my movie, The Lost Weekend – A Love Story, but no one knew that. And I was using some of my photographs for that, so I just sort of kept it under wraps.”
The documentary can be viewed online now and helps give context to the photographs. Scott Segelbaum, owner of the Rock Art Show, who helps put on the gallery showings, was persistent in getting Pang to display her art.
“I truly didn’t think people would be interested. And he kept saying, you’re wrong,” Pang said.
Ultimately Pang dug out the images, to the delight of Beatles and John Lennon fans everywhere.
“They were sitting under my bed. I have a storage unit and it was always sitting under my bed and I never really thought anything of it. They’re my home photos when I was living with John,” Pang Said.
Some photos will be recognizable to fans. “One of the photos was John’s favorite and when people come to the exhibition I point that out. It is the single sleeve cover for the U.K., because Imagine was being released three years from its initial release of the album, and he wanted to use that particular photo that I took of him for the sleeve,” she said.
Other albums include her artwork too. “And then a couple of years ago, Julian, his son, wrote to me and said, do you have any pictures of me from when I was young? And I never know if I have whatever in my collection, so I sent him a couple of photos, and that became the album cover,” Pang said. The album from Julian Lennon was Jude, which came out in 2022.
Besides the artwork, Pang was involved with recording and producing the songs of John Lennon along with George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, Mick Jagger and more. “And then we did David Bowie with Fame, hung out on that one,” Pang said.
According to Pang, John Lennon would let songs naturally grow in the studio. “It was more organic. John understood what he wanted in the studio. It depends on what part of the process we’re in. He knows what he wants and then at that time he’ll go and figure it out. Like he’ll say, ‘I need a chorus, I need people to sing here,’ or ‘I want this sound.’ He hears it as it goes along. So the first part is him just laying down the basic tracks and then he works it from there,” she said.
Outside of the recording studio Lennon was enthusiastic and encouraging about Pang’s photography. “He was the one that kept pushing me to take more photographs. I think it’s a great thing to see. What you’re seeing is, as I always say, you’re seeing pictures of John and everybody else through my eyes, the way I saw them,” Pang said.
What type of equipment did Pang use to capture what her eye saw in these moments? “Well at the time I was using my Nikon. I mean we had our Polaroids, that was great, but when it came to using the camera I used my Nikkormat, one of the other versions of the Nikon in the Nikon family. And I had a great lens, I used a portrait lens that I was using all the time and that’s what most of my pictures are from. I like using film and I like using black and white, some of my favorite, but then you use color and you get slides and so the film process is really nice. It’s just really dynamic.”
Of all her photographs, Pang could not pick a favorite. “Everybody asks that and it’s very difficult to say, oh yeah, that’s what I want, that’s my favorite, only because they’re like my kids. You know, you can’t show favorites.”
The last photo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from March 29, 1974, will be at the exhibit. “The photo was the first time that they had seen each other in a few years. And then, I never took another photo of the two of them and nobody else did either,” she said.
Pang mentioned that Lennon and McCartney’s relationship was not as sour as it is sometimes represented. “A lot of people think that they were always arguing. They weren’t. They’d come over, you know, chat, we’d go, what’s going on, where did you go, what’s your next project, that’s the type of thing that went on,” Pang said.
Pang is happy to have a chance to share her photographs to the world and New Hampshire. “It’s like a gallery, they can come and see it, it’s all free. I’m just very happy about it and I appreciate all the people that come out and check out the artwork,” she said.
The Lost Weekend – The Photography of May Pang When: Tuesday, Oct. 1, and Wednesday, Oct. 2, from 3 to 8 p.m. Where: Creative Framing Solutions, 410 Chestnut St., Manchester, creativeframingsolutions.com, 320-5988 Note: Pang will only autograph items purchased at the gallery.
Featured image: May Pang with artwork 2023. Courtesy photo.
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s downtown Visitors Center is an oasis for art lovers. New Hampshire Furniture Masters and the New Hampshire Art Association both display works there. Currently, sculpture and otherworldly tables and chairs built by Jon Brooks are streetside, while 11 paintings from Yildiz Grodowski adorn the back wall.
Grodowski was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and studied there before moving to New England; she’s lived in the Boston area for most of her life. Speaking by phone recently, she described herself as “a semi-abstract artist, because there are always recognizable elements in my paintings.”
These include scraps of text: handwritten or from newspapers, magazines or sources, like the Viking cruise ship brochure found in the lively “One Step at a Time.” The latter work is part of a series called “Into The Woods,” which occupies the first half of her exhibit, “Where Will I Take You.” Its four pieces — there are more, she said — are evocative, playful and joyous.
The first, “Ménage a Quatre,” has a bird with bits of sky in its wings rising toward three Dali-esque windows capped by a staircase to the stars. Below this raucous activity is a street scene that looks cribbed from a mid-20th-century European fashion magazine. The next two, “Her Hands Were Watching Me” and “One Step at a Time,” are colorful and animated.
The final painting of the group, “Take Me to Where the Wild Things Grow,” is subdued. It’s also beautifully textured, another characteristic of her work. It’s an important reason why looking at photos of her art online can’t do them justice.
Her overall selection of works for the exhibit, which ends in early November, was done in hopes of holding onto summer as it fades away.
“I like warm weather, I don’t like winter, I don’t like cold,” she said. “That’s the reason I wanted to bring some color, something happy, something joyful, something optimistic.”
That said, Grodowski stressed that her art isn’t born from crunching around in the autumn leaves, even if it arrives in a bucolic place eventually.
“I love nature. I respect it so much, but it’s not my inspiration for some reason,” she said, explaining that the series’ title is “about discovery of a space, of a person, of oneself.”
For Grodowski, the creative process is as kinetic as her works suggest. The first stage, which she calls “the play,” always includes music played at full blast, and a lot of movement. “I don’t even think about creating movement,” she said. “It’s so intuitive, it comes from within, you know? I’m a dancer, so I guess my brush dances on the substrate as I’m painting.”
She often layers on an already prepared surface.
“I start with either collage or my own writings on the substrate,” she said. “Collage pieces can be almost anything. A lot of them have also numbers and writings … or I write myself. If I’m listening to a song, maybe I’m just writing the lyrics, or whatever happened the day before, or what I’m feeling.”
The middle stage is the longest, one she calls The Ugly. “Which is the struggle,” she wrote for artsyshark.com, leading to “refinement — the home stretch. With the exception of the last stage, during which I need absolute quiet, I blast the music, singing and dancing … and of course, painting.”
At that point, after the pasting, the painting and occasionally the sanding of surfaces, Grodowski can bond with the piece and sign her name to it.
“Connection is everything; that’s the foundation of my art, really,” she said. “Connection means … there’s nothing more I can add; it’s all I could give to that piece. Although many artists and many masters say, and it’s true, that no art piece, no painting, is finished … there comes a moment that you know — this is it.”
Hopefully, the viewer will be similarly lifted.
“I want to create something so they can find their own place and connection,” she said, noting that the exhibit title is a question, not an answer. “Rather than giving it to them, saying ‘Here it is, take it,’ I want to ask them what they see.”
‘Where Will I Take You’ – Yildiz Grodowski When: Through Nov. 10, artist reception Saturday, Nov. 2, 6 p.m. Where: Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, 49 S. Main St., Concord More: nhartassociation.org
Featured image: Works by Yildiz Grodowski. Courtesy photo.
The weeklong Manchester Citywide Arts Festival is back, with free art exhibits, free dance lessons for kids, chances to meet artists, an open mic night, demos, tours, and, to cap it all off, a screening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The festival runs Monday, Sept. 16, through Saturday, Sept. 21, at various locations, with two closing events on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Katie Lovell, Director of Operations at the Palace Theatre, talked about the festival that celebrates the community and its artists.
“This is our third year and it’s basically a week-long celebration of the arts in New Hampshire…. It’s a good variety, different things. All the arts are covered,” Lovell said. “We are trying to do community events to bring a lot of people downtown to show everyone all the amazing things that Manchester has to offer and bring in more families and family-friendly events as well.”
Classes and demonstrations throughout the week lead up to a big party on Saturday.
“The main event is the Street Fair,” Lovell said. “On that day we shut down Hanover Street in front of the Palace Theatre and we have over 50 art vendors that will be set up so people can walk around, view their art, make purchases … everything from knitted blankets to handmade stickers.” There will also be food trucks and a stage with live performances, she said.
Lovell said the street fair usually brings 8,000 to 10,000 people.
Before that, during the week, there will be plenty of events at dance studios and art galleries, some free, some not. Not all require signup in advance, but some do.
For visitors on Monday, it’s time to boogie and see some sculpting, with a free drop-in pottery demonstration in the afternoon at Studio 550 on Elm Street and two free dance lessons at Forever Emma Studios.
Tuesday, muralists get a spotlight. “In Manchester we have tons of beautiful murals that have gone up in the last few years,” Lovell said, “so we’re going to have some of the muralists come to the Bookery and Cat Alley and people will be able to meet with them.”
Dimensions in Dance will host a youth ballet class on Wednesday.
Then for Thursday evening, the libations begin to pour. “Dew Collective, which is a beautiful flower shop right on Hanover Street, they just opened up a few months ago, they’re going to host a meet-the-artist cocktail reception. They’ll have a bunch of local artists in the flower shop and then you’ll be able to make floral arrangements in there as well, have a drink and meet with colleagues and network.” That same evening, the Currier Museum of Art will have a free “Art After Work” session. “You can go to the Currier and walk around the museum and then everyone is going to meet after in the museum, have a cocktail, and chat with each other,” Lovell said.
A competition unfolds on Thursday as well: an open mic night at the Rex that Lovell described as “like a ‘Manchester’s Got Talent.’ Anyone can submit any talent and we’ll review the submissions. And it’s also a free event.”
For Friday, the day before the Street Fair, “the Manchester Arts Commision is going to host an opening cocktail party with the Palace Theatre in our Spotlight room,” Lovell said. “We’re going to invite all of our sponsors, the artists, and it’s going to be open to the community as well. The Pop-up Gallery will be open that night also…. You can kind of get a little preview of what you’ll see on Saturday, what you can purchase, and you can meet with them as well.”
Saturday night visitors should be on the lookout for the Foot Clan. “We’re hosting the 1990 version of the Ninja Turtles movie at the Rex Theatre on Saturday night with Granite State Comic Con and we’re going to have the original Ninja Turtles from that movie there for a Q and A as well. We’re all trying to support each other,” she said.
The Manchester Citywide Arts Festival is a great coming together of business and art.
“All the downtown businesses, we’re all trying to work together just getting more people downtown,” Lovell said. She called it “a very positive event and experience.”
Lovell is excited for the Festival and hopes to see everyone on the street. “I love Manchester. I’ve worked at the Palace now for almost 13 years and I just love to see it so busy and the city bustling and so much positivity around it.”
Manchester Citywide Arts Festival
When: Monday, Sept. 16 to Saturday, Sept. 21 More info: palacetheatre.org/manchester-citywide-arts-festival (Some of the Studio 550 Arts and Dimensions in Dance events may require sign-up)
Arts and Crafts Fair When: Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where; the Opera Block of Hanover Street
Arts Festival Schedule Monday, Sept. 16 2 to 4 p.m. FREE Pottery Demonstration Studio 550 Arts Center (550 Elm St.) See how we make our Paint-your-own-pottery items for this live drop-in demonstration. 4 p.m. FREE Intro to Dance (Ages 3-5) at Forever Emma Studios (516 Pine St.) 5 p.m. FREE Dance Technique (Level 1) at Forever Emma Studios (516 Pine St.)
Tuesday, Sept. 17 10 to 10:45 a.m. FREE Ballet and Storytime (Ages 2-4) at Dimension in Dance (84 Myrtle St.) 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. FREE Art Ramp Painting Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St.) 5 to 6 p.m. FREE Meet the Muralists at The Bookery (844 Elm St.)
Wednesday, Sept. 18 10 to 10:45 a.m. FREE Ballet Class (Ages 3-5) Dimensions in Dance (84 Myrtle St.) 10 to 10:45 a.m. FREE Specialty Class AR Workshop (23 W. Merrimack St.)
Thursday, Sept. 19 10 to 11:15 a.m. FREE –Adult Ballet Dimensions in Dance (84 Myrtle St.) 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. Family Sculpting (All Ages) Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St.) 5 to 7 p.m. FREE Art After Work Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St.) 6 to 8 p.m. Meet the Artist Cocktail Reception at the Dew Collective (34 Hanover St.) Featuring Peter Noonan, Laura Braciale, Ron Lohse, Verne Orlosk, and Lauren Boisvert 7 p.m. FREE Open Mic Night The Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St.)
Friday, Sept. 20 3 to 5 p.m. Dew Collective School’s Out Playful Art at Dew Collective (34 Hanover St.) 4:15 to 5:15p.m. Family Pottery (Ages 9+) Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St.) 6 to 9 p.m. MAC Cocktail Party at the Spotlight Room at the Palace Theatre (90 Hanover St.)
Saturday, Sept. 21 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. FREE – Street Fair Opera Block of Hanover Street 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. FREE – Spotlight Room Pop-Up Gallery at the Palace Theatre (90 Hanover St.) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. FREE – Positive Street Art Satellite Gallery at theManchester Chamber of Commerce (54 Hanover St.) 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. FREE – Tours of 83 Hanover Street Red Oak Apartments (84 Hanover St.) 1 to 2 p.m. FREE Glass Pulling Demonstration at Studio Verne (412 Chestnut St.) 7 p.m. Screening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) as part of the Granite State Comicon, screening is at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St.)
Sunday, Sept. 22 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. FREE – Spotlight Room Pop-Up Gallery at the Palace Theatre (90 Hanover St.) 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. FREE Closing Breakfast with MAC at the Spotlight Room at the Palace Theatre (90 Hanover St.)
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
• Series wrap-up: Twiggs Gallery (254 King St. in Boscawen; 975-0015, twiggsgallery.org) will host “Building Creative Communities,” the final discussion in a series with Concord Makerspace, on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The event is free and will “highlight leaders and volunteers from Concord Makerspace and Twiggs Gallery, focusing on their efforts to build creative communities and the valuable lessons they’ve learned along the way,” according to a press release from Twiggs.
• Color in the garden: The Manchester Garden Club will meet at St. Hedwig Church Hall in Manchester on Thursday, Sept. 19, at noon. Willa Coroka, a UNH Master Gardener known as “The Magpie’s Apprentice,” will speak about “Container Gardening for Color and Cuisine” and will share her joy of knowledge of herbs, ecology, gardening and sustainable practices, according to an email from the club.
• Start the season with Paris: The Majestic Theatre kicks off its season on Friday Sept. 20, and Saturday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m. with “Paris! City of Lights,” its fundraiser featuring music and theatrical performances at the Majestic Theatre (880 Page St. in Manchester). The event will also feature raffles, refreshments and silent auctions, according to majestictheatre.net. Tickets for the performances cost $20. The Majestic is selling season tickets for its 2024-2025 season, which will include mainstage performances of Murder’s in the Heir(Nov. 22 through Nov. 24), SH-BOOM:A Christmas Miracle (Dec. 6 through Dec. 8), Last of the Red Hot Lovers(Feb. 14 through Feb. 16), Jack of Diamonds (April 25 through April 27), George Washington Slept Here (June 20 through June 22), Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat(July 11 through July 13 at the Derry Opera House) and Living Together (Aug. 8 through Aug. 10). Season ticket holders also can pick from a selection of other performances and two planned 2025 movie matinees, according to the website.
• On display now: You have about another month to catch “Lou Breininger & Erin M. Riley: Understory” on display now through Saturday, Oct. 19, at Outer Space Art Gallery (35 Pleasant St. in Concord; outerspacearts.xyz). “Riley’s intimate tapestries depicting specific childhood memories are intertwined with Breininger’s abstracted stained glass works, complemented by her floral works on paper and carpet throughout this exhibition,” according to a description of the exhibit on the gallery’s website. The gallery is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• On display now in Dover: The Art Center (1 Washington St., Suite 1177, in Dover; theartcenteronlinegallery.com) will display “Beneath the Colonial Sky,” a new art series by Rebecca Klementovich, featuring “evocative depictions of historical landmarks in southern Maine and the seacoast of New Hampshire” through Thursday, Oct. 31, at Center, according to a press release. An artist reception will be held Saturday, Oct. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m. “Drawing from natural subjects such as flowers, mountains, and seascapes, Klementovich infuses her work with a sharp, contemporary edge that transcends time. Her unique approach creates a dynamic tension between abstraction and semi-realism, evoking nostalgia while pushing the boundaries of traditional landscape painting,” the release said.
Also on display now at The Art Center is the exhibition “Across America,” its first photography exhibition, according to a release about the exhibit, which will run through October. “This visually captivating show features the work of 28 photographers from Maine to California, offering a unique collection that captures the diverse beauty and stories of America,” the release said. The reception on Oct. 5 will also showcase this exhibit, which is sponsored by Photosmith — the Complete Imaging Center, Dover, and guests can meet the photographers, the release said.
From “Beneath the Colonial Sky” at the Art Center.
• September exhibit: The Lakes Region Art Gallery (Suite 300, 120 Laconia Road in Tilton; 998-0029, lakesregionartgallery.org) will present “Fur & Feather Fine Art Exhibit,” a show featuring “an array of artworks that celebrate the beauty and intricacy of wildlife,” according to a press release. The show is on display through Sunday, Sept. 29; on Saturday, Sept. 21, the gallery will hold an artists reception from 2 to 4 p.m. with local chainsaw artist Jim Luckern, light refreshments and more, the release said. The gallery opens Thursday through Sunday at 10 a.m., according to the website.
• Button art: Artist Patty Frasier will present a class called “Intro to Dorset Buttons” at the League of NH Craftsmen Meredith Fine Craft Gallery (279 DW Highway in Meredith; 279-7920, meredith.nhcrafts.org/classes) on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dorset buttons were introduced in the 1600s and were “used to add decor to clothing and to cover small damages and imperfections in clothing,” according to a press release. “Weaving around a small ring with multiple fibers you create buttons that are used for clothing accents, upholstery accents, jewelry, hair accessories, magnets, Christmas ornaments and even framed art,” the release said. Tuition for the class costs $40 plus a $15 materials fee paid to the instructor. Pre-registration is required; call to sign up.
• Notes to the homefront: The Wright Museum of World War II (77 Center St. in Wolfeboro; wrightmuseum.org) will host a lecture and book signing by David Chrisinger about his book The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of WWII on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. Admission costs $10; reserve spots online at wrightmuseum.org/lecture-series or by calling 569-1212.
• Observations from fair Verona: Nurse!, described as “a closer look into Romeo and Juliet’s love story,” will come to The Players’ Ring (105 Marcy St. in Portsmouth; playersring.org) Friday, Sept. 27, through Sunday, Sept. 29, according to a press release. Shows on Friday and Saturday start at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by an informal meet and greet; the show on Sunday is at 2:30 p.m. and will be followed by a talk-back with the artist, the release said. “Written and performed by Ayun Halliday and directed by Spencer Kayden, Nurse!is delivered in a bawdy mix of modern English and Fauxlizabethan. It is a mostly comic meditation on love, death, aging and teenagers,” the release said. Tickets cost $18.
• Save the date for artisans and crafters: Henniker Handmade & Homegrown will take place Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Henniker. The event will feature 88 local artisans, crafters, farms and food makers as well as food trucks (including Colombian street food from Cali Arepa, Somali-inspired food from Batulo’s Kitchen, Taco Beyondo, DeadProof Pizza and a Chicago-style hot dog cart) and live music, according to a press release. The musical line-up will include Peabody’s Coal Trail, the Danny Savage Band, Free Range Musicians, Walker Smith and Collin Nevins, the release said. The event will take place at the Henniker Community Center and Park at 57 Main St. and will feature vendors indoors and outdoors with parking at the Henniker Community School and a shuttle bus, the release said.
• Master public speaking: New Hampshire Theatre Project will present a “Public Speaking Master Class with Artist Laureate Genevieve Aichele” on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 959 Islington St. in Portsmouth. The class is “for all those interested in polishing their public speaking and communication skills, overcoming anxiety and nerves, presenting their best self with confidence, practicing public speaking in an encouraging environment, and engaging their audiences,” according to a press release. “Participants must be prepared to present a memorized three-minute speech or story on the topic of their choice,” the release said. The cost is $60; register at nhtheatreproject.org.
• Art of flowers: The Atkinson Garden Club will feature floral designer Maureen Christmas at the club meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. at the Atkinson Community Center, 4 Main St. in Atkinson. Admission costs $10 and the event will feature light refreshments.
• Spooky season begins:A Haunting in Venice(PG-13, 2023), arguably the best of the Kenneth Branagh Hercule Poirot movies, will screen at the Derry Public Library (64 E. Broadway in Derry; derrypl.org) on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. Register online.
• Write your song: Center for the Arts (centerfortheartsnh.org) will hold a songwriting workshop with Tom Pirozzoli on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 6, from 1 to 5 p.m. at 428 Main St. in New London. Tuition costs $95 for both days, according to a Center For the Arts newsletter. Go online to register.
• Wicked celebration: Tickets are on sale now for the 2024 annual celebration of the New Hampshire Humanities, which has its 50th anniversary this year. The celebration will be Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St. in Derry) and feature keynote speaker Gregory Maguire, author of the novel Wicked. Tickets start at $35.
• 100 Years of “Rhapsody in Blue”: Tickets are on sale for the kickoff to the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2024-2025 season. The first show will feature the New Hampshire premiere of “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue,” a new composition by Peter Boyer, on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. (when livestreaming is available) at the Seifert Performing Arts Center (44 Geremonty Drive in Salem), according to a press release. Steinway artist Jeffrey Biegel will be the guest soloist, the release said. Tickets cost $35 for adults, $30 for seniors, $10 for students and $5 for Salem students, the release said. See nhphil.org.
Jeffrey Biegel.
• Get loud in 2025: Recycled Percussion will return to the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org) for 15 shows between Tuesday, Dec. 31, and Sunday, Jan. 12. Tickets cost $39 to $49 and are on sale now.
