2 Nashua Organizations Receive NH Council Of Arts Funding

CONCORD, NH — Two Nashua-based arts organizations were among 20 groups named last week as recipients of 2023 Arts for Community Engagement (ACE) grants from the New Hampshire State Council of the Arts.

City Arts Nashua (CAN) and the Nashua International Sculpture Symposium (NISS) each will get grants between $1,000 and $6,000. In total, the 20 recipients will split $89,705 in funding.

According to the N.H. State Council on the Arts, the grants are designed to support art projects that engage and benefit New Hampshire residents and communities through the arts, especially people who are underserved and underrepresented.

The projects also should encourage cross-sector community partnerships, stimulate local economies through cultural tourism and enhance the vibrancy of New Hampshire communities and quality of life for New Hampshire citizens, the group said.

Among the eligible projects are: performances, exhibits, community murals and art-making.

According to Bonnie Guercio, a mixed-media artist representing CAN, the organization received the ACE grant in support of its 2023 ArtWalk. Guercio did not reveal how much the organization received.

ArtWalk, the annual weekend-long celebration of the arts in downtown Nashua, will be in its 19th year in 2023. Guercio said the organization is planning its largest ArtWalk ever next year after the event was scaled down in recent years due to the pandemic.

"We provide an opportunity for visual artists and craftspeople to show and sell their work either in their studios or in shops or other venues downtown," Guercio said about the free event. "The event showcases local performing arts groups, musicians, writers, poets, makers, and arts and cultural organizations."

According to those affiliated with the NISS, Nashua is the only city in the U.S. that hosts an annual international sculpture symposium.

This year's event lasted from May 12 to June 4. Next year, aided by N.H. State Council of the Arts funding, NISS will welcome three new international sculptors for the symposium, according to organizers.

The sculptors will spend three weeks creating their artwork outside of Picker Artists, located at 3 Pine Street, and members of the public once again will be invited to stop by and see the sculptures come to life and engage with the artists.

"NISS is dependent on grants to carry out its mission," Tanya Prather, NISS sculptor liaison, told Patch. "The ACE grant, among others, enables us to host the symposium and elevate the awareness and appreciation of public art in Nashua throughout the year."

Prather added: "The New Hampshire State Council of the Arts has been a long-time collaborator through its grant funding."

Prather did not reveal how much money NISS received in the recent round of funding from the N.H. State Council of the Arts.