Exhibits

Exhibitions of folk and traditional arts are a way to see and learn about our heritage up close.

Over the years, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts has contributed to and sponsored several exhibits:

Shaping Our Heritage: The exhibit featured artwork by master artists and apprentices and photographs of artists in their workshops and communities representing 16 years of Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grants. The exhibit provided the opportunity to learn more about the important craft, music, and dance traditions being preserved by talented artists in New Hampshire.

SurBois: Franco-American Woodcarvers of Northern New England A project of the Franco-American CENTRE Franco-Américan, produced in 1996. Curated by Winnie Lambrecht, Folk Arts Coordinator, Rhode Island Arts Council. Accompanied by a 48-page catalog with various contributors. Photos by Gary Samson and other contributors.

The exhibit focused upon traditional Franco-American woodcarvers living in three states that share a border with Canada – Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The exhibit featured work representing 44 traditional woodcarvers. It opened at the Franco-American CENTRE Manchester, New Hampshire in 1996 before traveling to several other locations in New England.

The cover of the
Sur Bois catalog
features
"Carving Boy"
by Louis St. Gelais
of Laconia, NH.

A poster from the
exhibit featured
"Dancing Limberjack
Twins"
by Maine artist
Fred Légére.

Deeply Rooted: New Hampshire Traditions in Wood A project of the Art Gallery and the Center for the Humanities at the University of New Hampshire, produced in 1997. Curated by Jill Linzee, Traditional Arts Coordinator, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. (1993-1997) Accompanied by 54-page catalog written by Jill Linzee and Michael P. Chaney, with an introduction by Burt Feintuch. Photographs by Gary Samson.

This exhibit focused upon the heritage working in the woods and wood crafts in New Hampshire. It featured the work of five traditional craftsmen: ash basket maker Newt Washburn, boat builder Jeff Fogman, decoy carver Fred Dolan, dog sled maker Jeff Johnson, and fiddle maker Marcel Robidas. The exhibit opened at the Art Gallery of the University of New Hampshire, Durham in October, 1997.