Category: Visual Arts

• Visit the Currier: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester) announced on its website that it will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 20, with two new exhibitions, “Open World: Video Games and Contemporary Art” and “Richard Haynes: Whispering Quilts.” Guided tours of museum exhibitions, Frank Lloyd Wright houses tours, in-person art classes and the museum gift shop and cafe will be suspended until further notice. Visitors must wear face masks, and the number of visitors in each gallery will be regulated to allow for social distancing. Museum hours are Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Monday through Wednesday. This month, the hour of 10 to 11 a.m. will be reserved for seniors and museum members. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, $10 for students, $5 for youth ages 13 through 17 and free for children under age 13 and must be purchased in advance online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.

• Sculpture symposium begins: The 13th annual Nashua International Sculpture Symposium opening reception will be held on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 5:30 p.m. at The Picker Artists (3 Pine St., Nashua). During the symposium, three renowned sculptors will spend three weeks creating three new sculptures that will be permanently placed in various spots around the city. This year’s sculptors, all from the U.S., are Taylor Apostol from Massachusetts, Elijah Ober from Maine and Kelly Cave from Pennsylvania. The sculptors will work outside The Picker Artists studios Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from Aug. 24 through Sept. 4, and will then work at their sculpture sites from Sept. 5 through Sept. 12. During those times, the public will be able to watch the sculptors work and interact with them during their breaks. The closing ceremony will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12. Both the opening reception and the closing ceremony will be livestreamed. “Now, more than ever, we need the arts and artists,” organizers stated on the Symposium’s Facebook page. “During this challenging time, we will continue to serve our mission of enriching the quality of life in Nashua with amazing sculptures for all to see, touch and enjoy.” A map of the 36 existing sculpture sites along with suggested walking and biking tour routes is available on the symposium website. Visit nashuasculpturesymposium.org.

• Last chance for children’s theater: The 2020 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester) comes to a close with Peter Pan on Thursday, Aug. 13, and Cinderella on Tuesday, Aug. 18, and Wednesday, Aug. 19. Shows are at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10. Visit palacetheatre.org or call 668-5588.

• Market Month continues: Intown Concord’s annual Market Days Festival, reimagined this year as Market Month, continues in Concord with a series of “Mini Market Days” being held every weekend in August. Thursday, Aug. 13, through Sunday, Aug. 16, is Restaurant Week, when Market Month will highlight downtown restaurants. Then, from Thursday, Aug. 20, through Sunday, Aug. 23, Concord will celebrate its diverse cultures with International Arts Week. That Saturday will include a full schedule of multicultural music and dance performances, arts and activities. Market Month will conclude with a Sidewalk Sale from Thursday, Aug. 27, through Sunday, Aug. 30. “People will be able to get outside with their families and enjoy games and activities, live entertainment and shopping — all the things they haven’t been able to do for a while,” Intown Concord event coordinator Haylie Stoddard told the Hippo earlier this month. Admission is free. Visit facebook.com/intownconcord.

• Photography on display: The New Hampshire Art Association presents its 41st annual Parfitt Juried Photography Exhibition now through Aug. 29 at the NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth). The exhibition features photography from both NHAA members and non-member area artists, juried by Don Toothaker, photographer, photography instructor and director of Photographer Adventures at Hunt’s Photo and Video in Manchester. The exhibition honors photographer and NHAA board member Jack Parfitt, now deceased, who spent his last 12 years travelling abroad, taking photographs in Russia, China, Afghanistan, Morocco, Iceland and Africa, and was given rare permission to photograph the Great Wall of China. Visit nhartassociation.org.

• Authors outside: The Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth) presents two author events this month, to be held outdoors by the theater. Meg Mitchel Moore will discuss her book Two Truths and a Lie on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 6 and 8 p.m. Tickets cost $44.75. Then, Acadia Tucker will discuss her book Growing Good Food on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $38.75. Tickets for both events include a signed copy of the featured book. Visit themusichall.org.

• Financial relief for New Hampshire arts: Sixty-eight nonprofit arts and cultural organizations from all over New Hampshire have been awarded grants through the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts’s CARES grant program, according to a press release from the Council. The grants are intended to provide financial assistance with salary and facility costs to organizations impacted by Covid-19. Thirty-seven organizations were awarded $7,500, 18 were awarded $3,000 and 13 were awarded $1,000. “These funds recognize that cultural organizations are an important sector of the economy, that additional financial support is currently necessary to keep their operations functioning, and that these organizations add creative life to communities,” the press release said. Visit nh.gov/nharts.

Featured photo: The Nashua International Sculpture Symposium begins on Thursday, Aug. 20. Courtesy photo.

Concord’s Market Days converted to a month-long festival

The annual Market Days Festival returns to Concord this summer with a twist. Instead of the traditional three-day event, Market Days will become Market Month, a series of “Mini Market Days” held every weekend in August.

“People will be able to get outside with their families and enjoy games and activities, live entertainment and shopping — all the things they haven’t been able to do for a while — for a whole month,” said Haylie Stoddard, event coordinator for Intown Concord, which hosts the event.

From Thursday, Aug. 6, through Sunday, Aug. 9, there will be a Sidewalk Sale, where downtown businesses will expand their storefronts outside on the sidewalks, talk with customers and promote special items.

Market Month will highlight downtown restaurants during Restaurant Week, happening Thursday, Aug. 13, through Sunday, Aug. 16.

Then, from Thursday, Aug. 20, through Sunday, Aug. 23, Concord will celebrate its diverse cultures with International Arts Week. That Saturday will include a full schedule of multicultural music and dance performances, arts and activities.

Market Month will conclude with another Sidewalk Sale from Thursday, Aug. 27, through Sunday, Aug. 30.

Visitors can also play Market Month Bingo, where for each day on the bingo board they can do an interactive activity to learn about a participating business. If they complete the task, the business will stamp their bingo card. Completed bingo cards can be entered for a chance to win a prize at the end of the month.

“A lot of our downtown businesses are struggling right now, and they need the hype to get people to come spend their money at downtown businesses and support the livelihood and culture of downtown,” Stoddard said.

Plans for Market Month have been mostly “up in the air” and made “week by week” due to the various uncertainties posed by the pandemic, Stoddard said, so it’s likely that events and activities will continue to be added throughout the month. Intown Concord will announce new additions to the schedule on its Facebook page as they are confirmed. Intown’s hope, Stoddard said, is to secure approval for use of the Statehouse lawn to feature more entertainment.

“If we get that approval, we’ll be able to book more musicians, performers and dance groups and have more days with events going on,” she said.

Under normal circumstances the Market Days Festival is central New Hampshire’s largest free community event, attracting tens of thousands of people each year. The shift from the three-day festival to Market Month was made, Stoddard said, “to enhance and ensure the safety and health” of downtown visitors and businesspeople.

“It’s a way to spread things out,” she said. “There will be smaller groups coming into downtown in increments rather than mass crowds of several thousands of people coming into downtown at one time.”

Face masks and hand sanitizer will be provided to attendees, and social distance markers will be set up at performances and other events and activities where a number of people would gather.

Market Month
Where: Downtown Concord
Schedule:
• Week 2 (Thursday, Aug. 6, through Sunday, Aug. 9) — Sidewalk Sale
• Week 3 (Thursday, Aug. 13, through Sunday, Aug. 16) — Restaurant Week
• Week 4 (Thursday, Aug. 20, through Sunday, Aug. 23) — International Arts Week
• Week 5 (Thursday, Aug. 27, through Sunday, Aug. 30) — Sidewalk Sale
Cost: Free admission
More info: facebook.com/intownconcord