2006 News Archive

October–December NHAA News

[sitemap graphic] Yes, We've Redesigned the NHAA Site!

We've spent the last few months rethinking and redesigning our web site to better address the business needs of the organization and, hopefully, do a better job of promoting our member artists. You've already navigated to this page, so you probably already have a feel for the redesigned site's organization.

Do you enjoy looking at art? Our home page now randomly displays members' artwork. The gallery page will give you a taste of the current Levy Gallery exhibits, as well as NHAA exhibits at other venues.

If you're a member, you'll find prospectuses, drop-off dates and other calendar information on the info page, along with links to NHAA documents, other opportunities and a member directory.

The new resources page has links to regional art resources, as well as to some sites our members have recommended.

News and information about our organization are available via the links at the top of the right column, along with an online form page so you can more easily contact us.

Use that contact page to send us comments or news items, and to let us know if you have any technical problems with the new site (be sure and let us know what web browser you're using). For the best user experience we recommend using a standards-compliant web browser like Firefox or Opera.

Our web site will continue to evolve over the coming months. We have some exciting additional capabilities planned, so stay tuned!

NHAA Accomplishments in 2006

The NHAA has accomplished a lot during 2006! If you're interested, we have a Word document that you can download and read:

Lisa Polay Lisa Polay Hired as Executive Director

At its September meeting, the Board of Directors approved the hiring of Lisa Polay as the Art Association's new Executive Director. She will start on November 1, 2006 to have a month of transition with Angus before he retires on December 1.

Lisa comes to us after nine years at the Museum of Modern Art (NYC) as a Design and Production Manager. In that role she went around the world overseeing art reproductions, exhibition materials, and original designs sold through MoMA. She has worked with artists, curators, and technical people to interpret and make the art accessible to a wide audience.

Independent of the job offer, Lisa had decided to make the Portsmouth area her home after visiting here for many years. She likes the more intimate scale of this area and wants to put down roots here. She is an avid photographer and has several personal projects she wants to pursue and complete.

She has a B.S. degree from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and majored in marketing and public relations. After graduation, she worked in advertising and marketing both in New York and Seattle.

"We are excited about Lisa joining us and to have her expertise and energy working on our behalf," said Bob Thoresen, President of the Board. She will be meeting members over the next several weeks after she settles in to her job.

Artist Forum — New Member Orientation

New Member Artist Forum: On Wednesday, October 25 at 7PM, new members are invited to come to an evening program, whether or not they have been members since 2004 or are new to NHAA. Logistics of the New Member Exhibition (Jan 3–28, 2007) will be discussed. Bring your questions about the organization to help you to become active participants.

Sunapee 2006

NHAA received lots of compliments on its new tent installation at this year's Sunapee Fair. Visitors particularly liked the structure that ran down the middle designed by Tim Christensen-Kirby. Award winners were: First Prize: Grace Cooper; Second Prize: John Weidman; and Third Prize, Terri Donsker. Members of the League Board were the jurors. Congratulations to the winners. NHAA gross was down $5,000 probably due to the bad economy and higher gas prices. Our image was enhanced by the painted red panels, the new portfolio stands, and the mounting of the show by the Hanging Committee. This year for the first time NHAA has lighting, the show juried for prizes, and an ad in the Fair Guide. Also, this is the first time sponsors were obtained and appreciation is given to an anonymous donor for new portfolio racks, Ocean National Bank, and Southern Wine & Spirits of New Hampshire.

NHAA artists should realize that the tent is rented from the League for $11,000. This fee, combined with the electricity costs, signage, U-Haul for moving panels, prize money, ad in the Fair Guide add another $2,400. These budget expenses came to about $150 for every exhibiting NHAA member no matter how good or bad the economy is. It's a tremendous undertaking, and we all did our best. Thanks go to Harold French who drove the U-Haul both ways, the painting committee—who worked in unbearable heat, and all the cheerful volunteers—especially the Administrator, Angus Locke, who was there every day. This summary was written before the committee meeting in order to have the report in this newsletter before the deadline.

– Jane Kaufmann, Sunapee Committee Chair

The Sunapee Committee will begin to meet regularly in January. For information, please call Ellen Friel at 673-0320.

Thank You!

NHAA expresses great gratitude and appreciation to the many members who, through consistent individual and collective volunteer acts, add to the richness and success that defines NHAA. Throughout the year we mention members who give above and beyond their special talents for specific tasks, responsibilities, and jobs. But on the heels of Prescott Park, Sunapee, gallery painting, hanging exhibitions, facilitating shows, exhibition receptions, Board responsibilities, and desk duty, the list became too long to enter individual names. Therefore, please accept thanks for myriad jobs well...excellently... accomplished.

Accolades to our long-time co-conspirator Jack Pollard who was responsible for taking the Newsletter teams' copy, then shaping and designing it for publication for at least ten years. His unfailing patience and good nature made it always a pleasure to work with him. Nothing was ever too difficult or knotty—he met every challenge we delivered and then some, graciously. Thanks, Jack.

27th Annual Jack And Dee Parfitt Memorial Open Juried Exhibition

This year the Board of Directors changed the parameters of this annual. Formerly, this exhibition was limited exclusively to photography. But with the passage of time and with NHAA's continuing commitment to the vitality of all the visual arts, it was decided to expand the Parfitt Photography Exhibition to include all media. Historically, September was the month set aside for this show and, therefore, this enlarged exhibition, open to photography, paintings, drawings, sculpture, and prints, launched the fall season during the month of September.

DeWitt Hardy was the juror. A well-known artist in this area, Hardy is currently an art instructor at Heartwood College of Art in Kennebunk, ME, and also at the Coolidge Center for the Arts in Portsmouth.

The reception was held in conjunction with Art Round Town on Friday evening, September 8, 5-8 PM. The prize winners are as follows: Ed Blake, "Country Road" photograph, Lotte Jacobi Memorial Award, $300; Jim Kelly, "Kool for Cats" mixed media, First Prize, $300; Gail Chandler, "The Eyes Have It" collage, Second Prize, $200; Ann Trainor Domingue "Standing in the Shadow" acrylic on canvas, Third Prize, $100.

Prize moneys were donated by D. D. Cook, Builders, Piscataqua Savings Bank, and an anonymous donor.

Prescott Park Arts Festival Report

The exhibition was held from June 22 – August 20 at the historic Sheafe Warehouse. There were 137 artists represented in this show juried by Norman West, Curator, Ogunquit Arts Collaborative; Art Instructor, Heartwood College, Kennebunk, ME.

Every Friday afternoon of the eight weeks duration, there was an artist volunteer who demonstrated work. Six of the participating artists were hired to staff the desk and answer questions. Works of 57 artists sold, totaling just under $7,000 in gross sales.

Generous support from Fred and Donna Seigel and Winthrop, Inc., Fisher Scientific International, Inc.'s charitable foundation, provided funds.

Art 'Round Town

Portsmouth Poet Laureate program has invited Art Round Town galleries to participate in "What is Home", its current topic. As part of the Art for Holiday Giving Exhibition, artists may depict this theme in one of the works they are exhibiting. These works will then be presented together as a salute to this community program.

Window Walk: From September 29 – October 12, Art Round Town galleries are hanging work in 32 businesses in the loop that is considered downtown Portsmouth. Each storefront will show one picture properly labeled from one of the member galleries. On Friday, October 13, the works will be returned to their respective galleries to hang for the Art Round Town regular evening opening. The Levy Gallery will donate a percent of its commission from the sale of any of these works to the Market Square Steeple Fund. Friday, October 13 is the reception for the Joan Dunfey Annual Exhibition from 5–8 PM.

President's Report

Since the last Newsletter, many important events and actions have occurred that bear mention. A summary appears below.

Sunapee Fair. After several months of successful planning by a very dedicated Sunapee Committee, ably chaired by Jane Kaufmann, a completely redesigned venue was installed for the Fair. New display panels with a new lighting system were crafted by Tim Christensen-Kirby. They became the center spine of the new display system that was developed for the entire tent. An anonymous donor gave 65 new racks so that a unified image was presented. We received many complements from the staff of the League about the improvements that we made. Even though the revenues were down slightly from last year, in comparison to the overall fair, we did very well. I want to thank Jane Kaufmann and her Committee for their excellent and dedicated work. Jane agreed to this important work for one year, so we are now looking for a new chair for that vital job. I also want to thank Angus for all of his effort as well. As in the past, he has made sure everything goes flawlessly—everything is set up, tags are printed, volunteers coordinated, deposits made, and most importantly, artists are paid within a day of the sales being made. Thank you again Angus.

Summer Intern. Elisabeth Conroy, who served as our intern this summer, did a wonderful job in helping us move our records into the computer age. She was responsible for computerizing many of our membership, patron, and other records. She also set up e-mail files for our members who have them so that in the near future we will be able to send the Newsletter electronically instead of by snail mail. Elisabeth also assisted in the set-up of shows, observed the jurying process, and assisted with the Sunapee show. As a result of her computer savvy, she also helped the staff deal with computer problems, recommended a new high-speed internet provider, and link the new computer system that we have installed. Thank you, Elisabeth, for all of your help.

Currier Show. As most of you know, the Currier Art Museum is closed for construction for the next eighteen months. I discussed with them having the show in their downtown Manchester venue, but they said it was too small. I happened to discuss the problem with Vicki Wright, Director of the UNH Art Gallery. After thinking about it, she offered the UNH gallery as an alternative venue for the show. We met and quickly worked out a schedule and all of the details. I want to thank Vicki for her generous offer and for being so supportive in this effort to make sure there is continuity for this important annual event.

Financial Reporting. Our new treasurer, Brett Heppler, has done a very professional job in restructuring our financial reports to make them more transparent and readable. He has also set up a new format so that we can track our revenues and expenses for each major show. Thus we can tell how each show did financially. A monthly report is available at the gallery for anyone to examine, and Brett is available to answer your questions.

Bob Thoresen, President