AVA Gallery Honored with NHBCA Artsbuild Community Award
AVA Gallery and Art Center is not just a pretty face, though it is that, too.
On May 6, 2024, AVA was recognized for its community-building programs when it received the Northeast Delta Dental Artsbuild Community Award at the New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts’s 40th annual gala held in Manchester NH.
NHBCA noted the long list of AVA’s programs that strive to bring art to everyone, both alone and in collaboration with other local non-profits.
“AVA Gallery and Art Center was awarded the Northeast Delta Dental Artsbuild Community Award for its free community programs, including the Art Lab for adults with disabilities, Senior Art, Community Arts Open Studio for young children [better known by its apt acronym CAOS] and caregivers, Art Stop afterschool program, Art Reach for the homebound, and more. Collaboration with the Special Needs Support Center has bolstered both organizations and fostered lifelong learning through the arts.”
AVA’s Executive Director, Shari Boraz, in the company of AVA’s Education Manager Nick Gaffney and Dr. Kendra LaRoche of the Special Needs Support Center, accepted the award with these words:
“As AVA celebrates its 50th Anniversary, and 34 years in downtown Lebanon, we’re proud to be known as the place where creativity is celebrated, and community thrives! AVA is dedicated to all aspects of the visual arts including art classes for every age and ability, art exhibitions, and community programs for residents and visitors of the Upper Valley. Last year AVA collaborated with at least 15 other nonprofits and social service organizations to make the arts accessible to residents of the 25 cities and towns that we serve in both NH and VT.”
Congratulations to AVA and all who share in the work that is recognized by this award. The Upper Valley is proud, and appreciative.
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word..