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And other ways to help keep the local arts scene afloat

Arts and cultural leaders from throughout the state recently gathered for the first annual Creative Culture Summit at the BNH Stage in Concord, a meetup organized in response to a devastating year that saw arts funding in the state all but wiped out. But it was a day to plan, not lament, said Sal Prizio, who runs the Capitol Center, leads advocacy group Arts4NH, and was a driving force behind the event.

“We got our butts kicked in May and June by this stuff. We didn’t get anything we asked for, and they more or less ignored us,” Prizio said one week after the conference. “So you have two choices. You can either wallow in sorrow and say ‘woe is me,’ or you get back in the ring.”

Arts4NH believes a bigger tent means greater chances for success, so a call went out to groups that are part of the creative economy but often aren’t included in discussions about the arts. This included craft brewers, librarians and a nonprofit devoted to recruiting and retaining young talent, Stay Work Play NH.

“What I do know matters to people is a sense of not feeling alone anymore,” Prizio said. “The argument I keep making to elected officials is that all of us in the creative economy, not just the arts but humanities, tourism, the brewers, you name it … is what makes New Hampshire uniquely New Hampshire.”

The energy shown at the Creative Culture Summit will, he hopes, mean a bigger megaphone to lobby with.

“We’re always operating at the margins just to get through the day, and there’s never enough time for collective action,” he said. “But we matter. We represent billions of dollars’ worth of revenue … hundreds of thousands of people in this state. You need to start listening to us.”

Michael Haley Golden, Executive Director of NH Humanities and a summit keynote speaker, said, “These feel like dark times, because things are hard. We must change the narrative … build a bridge between the arts and humanities. All kinds of areas that we don’t think of as exactly our work need to be exactly our work.”

In his opening remarks at the summit, Prizio was succinct. “Don’t try to change the world, change your world,” he said.

When she’s not preparing for a Theatre Kapow production — the next is What The Constitution Means To Me in February — Carey Cahoon, Arts4NH board member and a panel leader at the Creative Economy Summit, tries to experience as much of the local arts scene as she can. Here’s how she thinks individuals can make a difference: “There are so many different ways that folks can participate. You can go see a show, or a museum. But also think about your local library… go online or stop by and see what they have coming up — there’s undoubtedly a free program that you can participate in… We’re also entering the holiday craft fair season … call a friend and say, hey, there’s an awesome craft fair downtown. Do you want to go? Or, hey, there’s an open mic night at the bar we like to go to, let’s go see what’s up with local music. Or a slam poetry night. There are all these things that we don’t necessarily think of because you have to buy a ticket, reserve in advance. No, you don’t. There’s all kinds of things all around you … right in your backyard. And share what you’re doing. Talk about it.”

To that end, here are some ways for individuals to make a difference to the creative economy, from small acts like letter writing to grander gestures, like turning your apartment lobby into an art gallery.

Ways To Support The Creative Economy In Its Time Of Need

Donations help, large or small

The annual Mural Festival in Manchester was set for August, but it had to be postponed when a major donor pulled out. That’s not the only financial challenge the beloved event faces as it plans (hopefully) to return in the spring. Festival organizer James Chase said tariffs caused cans of spray paint historically ordered from a supplier in Canada to jump in cost. It’s all an uphill battle. “In order for the spring festival to really mirror the impact that we’ve had in the past, I’m still trying to raise $30,000 in the next eight months to be able to support artist pay stipend and raise funds, so financial support directly would help make this vision a reality,” he said. Any amount helps — go to artsbuildcommunity.com/donate.

Chase’s organization is called Arts Build Community, and it lives the name as it seeks ways to bolster the local scene on a budget. In 2010, when empty storefronts dotted the downtown, he began asking proprietors to use them for art shows. The first event, called the Big Takeover, was supposed to last one day, but the response pushed it out. “We had 300 pieces of art by 100 different artists,” Chase said. “That was my way of seeing how art can have that transformative aspect.”

Chase urges folks to get involved. They can join ABC’s mailing list for early notice about their pop-up shows. “We have a drift gallery where we have a U-Haul that shows up at events unexpected. So you kind of have to be in the know to get a preview of where it’s going to be,” he said.

Attend an event

Get festivein the Lake Sunapee region at the Hay Day Fall Festival with live music, local vendors, old-timey games, wagon rides, food, fun activities for kids, and a strolling performance from magician Andrew Pinard. Before moving to magic full-time, Pinard had first-hand experience running an arts organization as the founder of Concord’s Hatbox Theatre. Following that venue’s closure, he ran the Claremont Opera House for two years, along with AVA Gallery in Lebanon.

The Hay Day festival will be held at the John Hay Estate at The Fells, 456 Route 103A, Newbury, on Sunday, Oct. 12, starting at 11 a.m.

Buy local

At the Manchester Craft Market, located in the Mall of New Hampshire (manchestercraftmarket.com), more than 250 sellers have consignment space in the store, even including regional writers, who have a book nook featuring a bevy of new titles. There’s an online component as well. Artisans “hand make all of their items,” MCM owner Jess Moores said. “I don’t let anyone bring in imported things or resell stuff, and no antiques. All handmade in New England.” For those looking to get craftier, there are classes, in things like weaving and illustration.

Find fine art

At the League of NH Craftsmen Gallery in Concord. Juried member works include ceramics, handblown glass, jewelry, prints, textiles, woodwork and more. Entry-level cost is surprisingly low, though demand can be high for items like the annual Christmas ornament, a pewter moose named Theodore. The League hosts a weeklong fair every August that showcases the best of the region’s creators. Many arts lovers plan the summer around the event. The gallery is at 36 N. Main St. in Concord, nhcrafts.org.

Sign up

Bang for buck comes with the purchase of a membership card from one of the four member Manchester Museums in the NH Museum Alliance: the Millyard Museum, the Currier Museum of Art, the SEE Science Center and the Aviation Museum of N.H. Members of any one of these museums can show their membership card at any of the others and receive half-price admission for up to four visitors. Visit manchestermuseums.org.

Appreciate architecture

The Currier is the only museum in the country to steward not one but two Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Both are open to the public for guided tours. The Zimmerman House was commissioned by Isadore and Lucille Zimmerman in 1949 and embodies Wright’s Usonian architectural concepts. The Kalil House is one of only seven easily constructed “automatic” homes and was recently added to the National Registry of Historic Places. Go to currier.org/frank-lloyd-wright to book a tour.

Turn a quiet night riotous

Comic Jody Sloane hosts Warner Comedy Underground every third Thursday in the downstairs room of Reed’s North restaurant in the bucolic town. Recently, a happy crowd enjoyed Kenny Rogerson and Rob Steen along with a buffet dinner. On Oct. 23 national headliner Rafi Gonzalez stops by (6:30 p.m. dinner, 8 p.m. show, simpletix.com), with support from Sloane and regional favorite Matt Barry. These nights help boost the local economy and mirth meter in a myriad of ways. For bonus points, folks can organize one in their town.

New comics get their start at places like the Laugh Attic open mic held every Thursday night at Strange Brew Tavern in Manchester. Show your support for these hopefuls by turning out. Equally important is enjoying a beverage and some food while you’re laughing. Ditto if you’re waiting for your three- to five- minute time slot. As one of the comics who launched the now eight-year-old get-together explained a while back, “Open mics exist to bring in people in the hopes that they buy something. That means you should support the venue even if that means only ordering a soda and giving the bartender a few bucks.” Strange Brew Tavern is at 88 Market St., Manchester; the Thursday Night Laugh Attic starts at 9 p.m. (8:15 signup).

Jam at an open mic

KC’s Rib Shack (837 Second St., Manchester, ribshack.net) has a popular open mic happening every Tuesday that also offers an extended set from a local performer. Pembroke City Limits (134 Main St., Pembroke, pembrokecitylimits.com) has an event every month on the first Wednesday hosted by Sharon McKinney. The village venue is a solid supporter of local music, with many original performers playing there, and owner Rob Azevedo is a tireless advocate for independent artists.

Want poetry, man?

Head over to Stark Brewing in Manchester for the weekly Slam Free or Die poetry open mic and slam on Thursday night at 8 p.m. in the venue’s back function room. Open mics are held at every event, while poetry slams are several times a month, with a $3-$5 sliding scale cover charge. In September the venerable event, which began at the Bridge Street Café before moving over to the Mill District, celebrated 20 years. Nationally known poets have been known to stop by for what’s usually an uplifting experience. Visit slamfreeordie.org.

Andrew Pinard on arts support at the state level, slashed to $150K/year
“It’s been a struggle. I spent 13 hours one day at the Statehouse alone for the SB2 budget hearings, and it was a punch in the gut for most of us in the state. [Legislators would say,] ‘We’d really like to support this’ and then vote the opposite way to destroy the level of arts funding. An argument can be made, ‘oh, no, we support and we saved arts funding in New Hampshire,’ but $150,000 a year barely covers the cost of one employee … and losing the arts funding, meaning the matching funds at the federal level, has a significant impact, more so in rural and outlying communities [that] rely on getting 10, 12 or 15 thousand dollars a year.”

Give a vote of confidence

One of the talking points often heard from opponents of public funding for the arts is that it’s “a want, not a need.” Keith Coughlin, Executive Director at New London Barn Playhouse, finds that short-sighted.

“We are enriching our communities all over the state with what we’re able to offer,” he said. “We are driving the economy and tourism, and we’re also just making our state better, right? We talk about attracting and keeping young people, attracting employees to hospitals or the colleges…. They’re being driven by what their community has to offer them. If we’re not supporting the arts and culture, we’re just taking that away from our communities.”

New London Barn contributes in ways that aren’t as high-profile as, say, their summer stage series but are no less vital. Take for example the Caregiver Play Project, inspired by a program that gave caregivers the skills to work with dementia patients using improv. It’s grown into a production set to have a staged reading in the spring.

Unfortunately, earlier this year, the Barn received word that it lost its Improv for Caregivers funding, which put the effort in jeopardy. Fortunately, an avenue to appeal was available, and in August they received word that it was a success, though Coughlin noted, “we haven’t seen it yet officially.”

Coughlin had this to say about how individuals can help: “Participate in a way that shows this is an important fabric of the communities we live in.” That can mean giving money, or volunteering. “Support may be big or it may be small, but it very much impacts an organization, even like the Barn. We often say that ticket sales cover approximately 60 percent of our operating costs and the rest comes from donations and support, votes of confidence from our community that say, ‘We believe in what it is you’re doing and we want you to thrive.’”

Events ahead at New London Barn include a screening of Rocky Horry Picture Show on Halloween night, a night of comedy Friday, Nov. 7, starring Jim McCue of Boston Comedy Festival fame, along with Ryan Gartley and Greg Boggis, and an evening of folk tales with storyteller Simon Brooks on Nov. 14. Tickets are available at nlbarn.org/fleming.

A bit far-flung but definitely worth the trip is a performance of Romeo & Juliet by Amplified Arts in Plainfield, on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 (tickets $10 and up at eventbrite.com). The reason it’s a good idea to go is that it’s happening in the tiny hamlet’s Town Hall, which has a three-dimensional stage backdrop that was painted by Maxfield Parrish in 1916, and restored during the 1990s following a vigorous fundraising effort.

Find art everywhere

Art galleries exist everywhere, even when they aren’t explicitly given that name. The halls of hospitals and the lobbies of apartment buildings are frequently filled with paintings, sculpture and the like. So here’s a thought for art activists: If there’s a space that could use some spice, advocate for a transformation.

Joni Taube of Art 3 Gallery in Manchester has contracted with institutional clients for more than four decades, and filled their walls with art by mostly regional creators.

“Art is the final thing,” Taube said. “When someone’s doing a space, it’s the art that warms it up and makes it a home or makes it a place of business where people want to come into. I go in as a consultant to help them figure out what’s the best way to, one, give exposure for artists, but also to make their space aesthetically the way they want it to be.”

Art 3 Gallery, at 44 W. Brook St. in Manchester, is open weekday afternoons from 12:30 to 4 p.m. A new show, “Shifting Lights,” will open in early November. The name was chosen because it “sort of suggests both the physical beauty of light and motion and the broader human experience of change, perception, transformation,” Taube said.

Gallery at the Block, located on Elm Street in Manchester in the lobby of the Bedford Block Apartments, takes the idea of using a semi-public space to bring attention to local artists and foster community. Recently, the gallery held an Urban Art Exhibit and invited a DJ to perform. “Through exhibitions and community gatherings, we aim to support creative expression, spark meaningful conversations, and promote the cultural vitality of our neighborhood and beyond,” they write on their website, galleryattheblock.com.

Talk to artists

The art world doesn’t have to be daunting. Glimpse Gallery, next to the Statehouse in Concord, is a friendly, warm space run by Meme Exum that hosts bimonthly shows. The next is Oct. 11 and features works from Mark Ruddy, Justin Smulski, Darren Taylor, Kevin Kintner, Sharon Boisvert, Benjamin Archibald and Robyn Whitney Fairclough. Glimpse offers good entry-level prices for novice collectors, but that’s not why Exum wants folks to come to an opening.

“Some people think, ‘I have to buy if I’m going to support the arts,’ but that’s not the case,” she said. With Glimpse, you’re supporting a community. Talking to the artist about their art is lifting them up and giving them an opportunity in itself. So it’s not, ‘Oh, just buy art.’ Come to the opening. Spend time with us. That’s all it is. And then if you want to buy art, that would be awesome.”

Galleries can also be great places to learn. Mosaic Art Collective, located next to the Palace Theatre in Manchester, hosts shows like the Halloween-themed “Exquisite Corpse” exhibition opening Oct. 11, but also offers classes in things like working in watercolors, acrylic painting, and art instruction for home-schoolers, all led by Mosaic staff members.

Walk around

Another good way to experience and support art is by taking it to the streets. Manchester offers a couple of art walks. One, launched recently by Mosaic Art Collective owner Liz Pieroni, focuses mainly around the theatre district. MHT Art Walk is more far-flung, with almost 40 locations stretching from the Factory on Willow to the Currier. For the latter, there’s an online map at orbitgroup.com/art-walk. Finally, a mural tour led by Arts Builds Community can be booked on their website.

Speaking of murals, Positive Street Arts in Nashua received kudos at the Creative Economy Summit for its work using urban art “to build strong communities through educational workshops, community events, and artistic services.”

The organization has an online store offering framed versions of their street creations, along with swag, and a Zeffy donation page. Those thinking big can commission a mural. Positive Street Arts has helpfully placed a price calculator on its web page, positivestreetart.org.

Have a beer and some art

Learn what your favorite craft brewery is doing to support the arts. This can include booking indie musicians, holding comedy nights, hanging works on walls for artists to sell or, in the case of To Share Brewing in Manchester, offering the premises to arts groups.

“To Share holds our artist talk when we do the mural festival,” James Chase said. “They’re so supportive, and they have a gallery right there too.”

Kate Saunders, Director, League of NH Craftsmen, talks about its early role in economic growth
“A lot of people don’t know that the League was formed as we were coming out of the Great Depression, and the League actually worked with the state. It was one of the first programs that was created to be a stimulus to help the state reemerge out of a really difficult financial time. So it was actually in partnership with that state support. It’s a different era now, but it’s a legacy that’s 92 years old.”

Look at the library

Walking the walk is Symphony New Hampshire, which has a number of outreach programs in addition to the classical music performances it offers in Nashua at Keefe Auditorium and the city’s Center for the Arts, the BNH Stage in Concord and Manchester’s Rex Theatre. Symphony NH’s Executive Director Deanna Hoying sees local libraries as vital touchstones.

“Not every city or town has an opera house or a theater, but they almost always have libraries as cultural gathering places because they do a lot of programming,” she said. “Symphony New Hampshire has done performances for small ensembles for the Nashua Public Library, and we provide discounts for library patrons across the state.”

Hoying also considers the New Hampshire defunding of the arts as short-sighted.

“I think it is an uninformed statement when they say it’s a want, not a need, because they obviously are missing the economic part of this, and we have certainly presented all that,” she said. “I think there’s still … this idea of arts being charities, that we’re not businesses. This is not unique to arts; I think nonprofits in general often are looked at in some way as second-class citizens. We’re businesses. We employ people. We pay the taxes. We provide services.”

She was encouraged by the unity on display at the Creative Economy Summit, and hopes that it helps send a message about why the arts matter that may not be top of mind, but critical in a time of social divisiveness.

“I think people forget that our arts spaces are probably one of the last places that are open to everyone. We are not political. If we’re celebrating, we’re laughing, we’re crying, we’re feeling, we’re doing all these things together as a community. I think that often is lost…. We need even more to be able to have opportunities to do something together that we can all agree on.”

Hoying continued, “Finding these ways to still keep our community together are even more important when we know there are a lot of forces out there that are trying to pull us apart. And so arts spaces, whether it’s your local theater, opera house, museum, even going to see your kids play at their band concert … all those things are bringing us together because it is that neutral thing we’ve all decided is important enough that we’re going to get up off the couch and go do it.”

Featured photo: “Sassy Sarah Vaughan” by Darren Taylor, on display now at the Glimpse Gallery in Concord.