Community Calendar

THROUGH LINE
September 5 – November 23, 2024
Reception: September 19, 5-7pm

Works by Carly Glovinski, Lynne Harlow, Katherine Mitchell DiRico, Rachel Perry, Patricia Rangel, and August Ventimiglia

THROUGH LINE celebrates basic mark-making as a foundation for the remarkable. Each of the six artists on view explores line through the lens of their distinct practices and mediums, ranging from marker to string, chalk, and even dirt! Together, they apply their shared interest in using lines as the basis for their work to boldly illustrate how understated, rudimentary marks can be explored more deeply. Collectively, the artworks on view act as tributes to the mark, celebrating the multitude of ways lines can be made, manipulated, and made monumental. In dialogue with one another, thematic commonalities or through lines between the works emerge and bring the exhibition into focus.

The featured artists shake up flat presentations of line, most breaking the plane entirely to render gesture and form in physical space. While their mediums are vast and divergent, each artist enters the conversation through painstakingly repetitious, modest, and slow gestures. They amass into vibrant works that arrest the viewer just as quickly as they entice them to slow down and look more closely. Through drawing (on and off the wall) digital media, sculpture, and installation, THROUGH LINE reminds us that simple lines are the basis of what can truly shape anything.

Jeffrey Augustine Songco
Society of 23’s Conservatory
January 2 – March 7, 2025

Society of 23’s Conservatory is an immersive, site-specific installation that combines photography, video, and sculpture in a multisensory experience. Jeffrey Augustine Songco captures the look and feel of a conservatory meets greenhouse during the sun-drenched days of summer, as he invites visitors to explore themes such as friendship, perfection, non-native, and exoticism. The greenhouse becomes a backdrop to Songco's camp exploration of a complicated relationship between his identity as an American of Filipino ethnicity and the colonial American behavior of conspicuously collecting “exotic” plants during the US rule over the Philippines from 1898-1946. Through the scope of florals and bouquet arrangements, Songco "plants" visual clues and non-verbal messages throughout the space, inviting viewers to reflect on their own personal and cultural origin stories and consider the constructs we create and dismantle for ourselves.

For the last fifteen years, Songco has continued to make artwork based on the Society of 23 — a fictional brotherhood of 23 mysterious gentlemen all portrayed by the artist himself. His artwork examines the construction of his personal identities and their relationships to the actual society in which he exists.

Gallery Hours: Tue-Fri: 9-5, Sat: 10-4. Reservations required

Join us every Wednesday for the newest comics issues from Marvel, DC, and all of the top publishers.

Subscribe to make sure you get your favorite books! All subscriptions are at least 10% off. With four subscriptions per month you get 10% off all comics issues, collections, and manga. With 10 subscriptions (or a membership and any subscriptions) save 20%!

The 16th New Hampshire Literary Awards are now open for nominations. These prestigious awards recognize outstanding published works about New Hampshire as well as works by New Hampshire natives or residents.

All entries must be a first edition published within the eligibility period (January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2024.) All submissions will be read and evaluated by a panel of judges vetted and assembled by the NH Writers’ Project Literary Awards Committee Chairperson.

The Pre-Dead Social Club will host “We Wish We Knew That!—Emergency or Not?” on Wednesday, April 2 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at New Hampshire Theatre Project in Portsmouth featuring panelists Eric Jaeger, EMS educator, paramedic and attorney, and Kate Tuttle, geriatric nurse practitioner. The discussion will be facilitated by Laura Cleminson, Founder of the Pre-Dead Social Club.

This discussion is an opportunity for people to feel more prepared, rather than panicked, when a loved one’s time comes. Unknowingly, individuals can undermine their loved one’s end-of-life wishes by calling 911 or performing CPR. The roundtable discussion will cover the realities of a 911 call, common mistakes and misconceptions, legal and medical protocols that override personal wishes, and how to prepare now—for when.

The mission of the Pre-Dead Social Club is to bring fresh energy to vital conversations about dying and death, fostering understanding among individuals, loved ones, and the professionals they rely on. Through events such as this one, they are working to cultivate clarity, build confidence, and advocate for compassionate, personalized end-of-life experiences.

“While understanding the realities of dialing 911 is important for everyone, the outcomes we are looking to positively impact with this ‘We Wish We Knew That’ discussion are related to caregivers and other family members as well as individuals with life-limiting or terminal diagnosis or who are on their end-of-life journey,” said Laura Cleminson, facilitator and founder of the Pre-Dead Social Club. “The guest speakers are looking forward to discussing specific situations with audience members in order to offer clarity and bolster their confidence about how to best plan ahead.”

Eric Jaeger is an attorney, paramedic and EMS educator. He holds a Bachelor of Science from MIT and a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School. Eric is also an American Heart Association CPR teaching faculty. For ten years, he was the EMS educator at the Exeter Hospital emergency department. He lectures frequently, including at national and state conferences, including on issues related to DNR and Advance Directives.

Kate Tuttle is a geriatric nurse practitioner affiliated with a regional hospital and provides home-based care. Through this work, Tuttle has witnessed resuscitation attempts and ICU outcomes that have made her passionate about the importance of clear decision-making and proper documentation for those wishing for a natural death. She is dedicated to helping patients and families navigate these difficult conversations and ensuring that individuals’ wishes are respected.

Facilitator and Pre-Dead Social Club founder Laura Cleminson is an INELDA-trained death doula, hospice volunteer, public speaker, entrepreneur, and a member of the NH Health Care Decisions Coalition. Through her own experiences with death and working with individuals and families facing death, Laura recognized others, like herself, who were also in search of opportunities to have these important “die-a-logues” but didn’t know who to talk to outside of a religious institution, medical facility or a grief session. Seeking consistent opportunities to explore and better understand dying and death (before a serious diagnosis) with others, Laura created the Pre-Dead Social Club in 2023.

Tickets for “We Wish We Knew That!” are $10 per person and advanced purchase is recommended. The New Hampshire Theatre Project is located at 959 Islington St #3, Portsmouth, NH.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.predeadsocialclub.com.

On April 2nd, join us for a fun evening of networking and to hear live pitches from the five semi-finalists who submitted Innovation Challenge applications proposing innovative initiatives focused on recruitment, retention, and sustainability in the health care workforce space in New Hampshire. After presenting their pitch to the audience, our semi-finalists will get live on-the-spot questions and feedback from the judges. Food and (non-alcoholic) drinks will be provided to all attendees.

Andru Volinsky, lead lawyer in the Claremont, NH, school funding case, in conversation with Becky Rule (author and television host of NHPBS "Our Hometown") join together at Gibson's Bookstore to discuss Volinsky's new book, The Last Bake Sale: The Fight for Fair School Funding.

This is the story of how we treat our children. Why is education funding in America so unequal? As the lead lawyer in the Claremont, NH, school funding case, Volinsky offers a better path forward. Combining litigation with public engagement and direct political action to change public policy on education and advance the public good. Change can happen, and The Last Bake Sale shows us how.
• A behind-the-scenes glimpse of the considerable legal efforts mounted to improve one state’s school finance system
• Ties in decades of U.S. legal and political history involving public education from Brown vs. the Board of Education to the current moment.
• Public education as a cornerstone of democracy

Start the new year, right! Sing with Joanne Connolly and the men and women of Con Tutti! “We have some fun and upbeat music to ring in the new year! We will sing both a cappella music and great gospel and African tunes accompanied by a gospel band! I can’t wait to start up this powerhouse season of singing!! We will begin this new session on Wednesday, February 1, at South Church in Portsmouth. It’s a great time to join us,” says director Joanne Connolly, “as we celebrate the human spirit in song!” exclaims Connolly, “We have a wonderful community of singers who enjoy the music, and the connections we all make through singing together! There are no auditions, and music reading is not required……just a desire to sing!”

“This past December we had such a very fun time singing and celebrating the solstice! And now we look forward to ushering in 2023!”adds Connolly.

Calling all singers to join the fun, the laughter, and , of course , the music making with Con Tutti beginning February 1st from 7:00 to 9:00 at South Church, 292 State St., in Portsmouth. To register or to find out more about Con Tutti, please e-mail Joanne Connolly at joannasing@aol.com

Questions? Contact Joanne Connolly at 207-408-7523

Start the new year, right! Sing with Joanne Connolly and the men and women of Con Tutti! “We have some fun and upbeat music to ring in the new year! We will sing both a cappella music and great gospel and African tunes accompanied by a gospel band! I can’t wait to start up this powerhouse season of singing!! We will begin this new session on Wednesday, February 1, at South Church in Portsmouth. It’s a great time to join us,” says director Joanne Connolly, “as we celebrate the human spirit in song!” exclaims Connolly, “We have a wonderful community of singers who enjoy the music, and the connections we all make through singing together! There are no auditions, and music reading is not required……just a desire to sing!”

“This past December we had such a very fun time singing and celebrating the solstice! And now we look forward to ushering in 2023!”adds Connolly.

Calling all singers to join the fun, the laughter, and , of course , the music making with Con Tutti beginning February 1st from 7:00 to 9:00 at South Church, 292 State St., in Portsmouth. To register or to find out more about Con Tutti, please e-mail Joanne Connolly at joannasing@aol.com

Questions? Contact Joanne Connolly at 207-408-7523