2019 Governor's Arts Awards

Distinguished Arts Leadership
Award Recipient: Bente Torjusen, Lebanon

Bente served 30 years as Executive Director of AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon until her retirement in 2016. She joined AVA when it was located in a small space on the second floor of the Dartmouth College bookstore. When required to move, she had the vision to take AVA to the former H.W. Carter and Sons overalls factory in nearby Lebanon, where the organization added artist studios, teaching studios and large gallery spaces, renovating the space to earn LEED Gold Certification. Bente’s focus on serving the community led to programs not just for artists and AVA’s galleries became gathering places for a broad range of local activities. Bente rounded out her career with the LEED construction of the adjacent Sculptural Studies Building to house wood, metal, clay and stone art instruction, which is appropriately nicknamed “The Bente Building.” Bente’s support of artists and the arts is best described by artist John Kemp Lee, who said: “She is the person who, more than anyone else in this region, has made being an artist a viable option.”

Last updated: October 29, 2019