We're excited to announce the launch of our brand-new Youth Arts initiative! High-school students from throughout northern New Hampshire are invited to apply to be part of our pilot program in Bethlehem this summer, which will offer an opportunity to work with wonderful professional artists – painters, a photographer, a poet and an eco-artist -- to create work inspired by nature. Click here to learn more about the summer program – and plans for the fall.

The Arts Alliance and the White Mountain National Forest are pleased to welcome Susie O'Keeffe as the WMNF Artist in Residence for 2014 as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Learn more about Susie and her work here, and check back soon for details about public programs and opportunities to get involved.

Cultivate: Presented in conjunction with our "Extending the Dance Map" effort, registration is open and tickets are available for Cultivate, designed to nourish and support community by 1) creating a space for contemporary dance to take root, develop and flourish, and 2) encouraging a conversation to develop between artist and audience. The festival now includes four full days of dance workshops for all levels, free dance classes for kids, three evenings of performances, a town-wide art walk, and HORIZON, Bethlehem's first Screendance Festival, amongst other events. Learn more and sign up here to participate in Bethlehem's own dance festival.

We're pleased to be one of the partners for this year's two summer ArtWalks in Gorham. The first takes place Tuesday, July 15, from 5-8pm, rain or shine! This event includes artist demonstrations, local art for sale, a farmers market, local musicians, and shops and restaurants open and offering specials. Enjoy everything Gorham has to offer! Sponsors include the Town of Gorham, Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce, WREN, and Northern Human Services. Learn more here.

We invite all those interested in the culture, history and heritage of the White Mountains and the relationship between arts and the environment in our region to join us for the first White Mountain Arts Experience September 21-23, 2014, at the Omni Mt. Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. This fundraiser, to benefit the National Forest Foundation's "Treasured Landscapes" support of restoration work on the White Mountain National Forest as well as the Arts Alliance's new Youth Arts Corps and Arts & Nature programming, will offer participants a wonderful fall-foliage getaway full of opportunities to learn about and engage with the mountains and forest through hands-on arts activities, classes and demonstrations as well as hikes, walks and tours with renowned artists and field experts. Contact us for more information at info@aannh.org or call 603-323-7302.

Save the dates – October 31 to November 2, 2014 – for the 2014 New Hampshire Arts Education Partnership Conference, which will be held this year at the Barbara Harris Conference Center in Greenfield, NH. The conference, presented by the NH State Council on the Arts in collaboration with the Arts Alliance and other partners, will include keynote presentations, hands-on workshops and creation of a community mosaic.

Would you like to show "Mother Nature's Child," the award-winning documentary illustrating the importance and value of children's engagement with the outdoors, in your school or community? We're continuing our partnership with the Appalachian Mountain Club, NH Children in Nature Coalition and the UNH Cooperative Extension to make the film available for public viewings and discussions. Contact us at info@aannh.org if you'd like to show the film or learn more about it.

Thank you everyone! Click here to view a slide show of the evening.

What a great conference! Stay tuned for conference images, videos and follow-up conversations on our Facebook Group. For conference handouts, click here. And click here to watch the video of "The Irreducible Core Essentials in Activating Creative Potential," the keynote address by Eric Booth.

The Weeks Act Legacy Trail is a new, self-guided driving tour of the White Mountains; you can check it out at www.weeksactlegacytrail.org. Helping travelers along the way are an audio tour and print tour as well as an online virtual tour and mobile tour customized for smart phones. You can also stop at a Forest Service visitor center to pick up a free trail brochure. Named after The Weeks Act, the watershed conservation legislation of 1911 that led to the creation of the National Forest System, the tour spans 100-miles and stops at 40 signature White Mountain destinations. Destinations are categorized by eight themes: Art and Literature, Conservation History, Ecology and Nature, History and Cultural Heritage, Kids and Families, Recreation, Scenery and Photographic Opportunities and Water. Each site is fun to visit on its own; together, they contribute to a meaningful understanding of the past, present and potential future of these protected lands The Arts Alliance is proud to be part of the team for this important project.

We're proud to be coordinating partner for the New Hampshire Arts Learning Network, a collaborative of individuals, organizations and groups with a common interest in arts education, working to support quality arts learning for all students in New Hampshire. Please join us on the network website to share information, resources and services; find out about arts education news and events; learn about federal and state policy and how local education agencies fulfill policy requirements; and access arts education advocacy tools and ideas. On the site you'll also find a toolkit to help you invite an elected official to your school or community arts site to witness first-hand the power of the arts in learning.



On Stage in the White Mountains Promotes Performing Arts Organizations
Check Out Our On Stage Google Map

Summer in northern New Hampshire is all about lakes, mountains, swimming, hiking - and spectacular music, theater, poetry, festivals and more! Check out this online map for listings of 25 Arts Alliance member organizations involved as producers or presenters of the performing arts. (To help you get to them, use our Google map; click here to see the On Stage map and find out more about these terrific organizations.).


We've Gone "Social"!
Become an Arts Alliance Fan on Facebook

The Arts Alliance is now on Facebook. Find us at Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire. Check out our postings and join us as a fan. We'll be keeping you up to date on events happening around the region, and invite you to let us know what you're thinking about.




Northern New Hampshire History and Heritage: A Map & Guide

The Arts Alliance, in collaboration with partner organizations throughout our region, has produced a brochure that serves as a map and guide to historic sites throughout the North Country, from Plymouth to Pittsburg. It includes a brief history of our region, great vintage photographs, and a comprehensive listing of historical societies, museums, and heritage sites.
We are in the process of adding a new "History & Heritage" section to this site, with additional information and links to related websites. We invite you to visit it – and comment on it – now, by clicking here. Free copies of the History and Heritage Map & Guide are available. More...



HandMade in the Northern Forest:

A guide to fine art and craft traditions in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York showcases our region through 13 driving tours that traverse the beautiful landscape and inviting towns of northern New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont and New York's Adirondacks and Tug Hill region. The Arts Alliance is a proud partner in this regional endeavor.
HandMade in the Northern Forest's 365 listings – among them Arts Alliance members like the ARTS Gallery, Chapel Arts New England, Contreras Gallery of Fine Arts, League of NH Craftsmen (Littleton), and Old Mill Studio – showcase a wide variety of craftspeople, from basket weavers and potters to painters and stained glass artists, furniture makers, woodworkers, blacksmiths, sculptors and others inspired by the landscape. It features studios where visitors can watch artists in action, as well as galleries, restaurants, inns and special attractions such as museums, historical sites and working farms. Each chapter includes colorful maps, local lore and detailed contact information for each listing. More...

ArtsNorth Cultural Event Bulletin

The North Country – from Plymouth to Pittsburg – is brimming with a wealth of arts, culture and heritage offerings and events not only during the summer, but throughout the year. In an effort to increase awareness of the programs, places, and performances that highlight our cultural lives, the Arts Alliance has designed an ArtsNorth calendar bulletin for you, your friends and your guests. To see our most recent Events E–Bulletin – and to sign up to receive new ones, click here.

ArtsNorth Calendar

Check the ArtsNorth Calendar for upcoming arts and humanities events all around our region. You'll be amazed at the variety and quality of programs. And let us know about what's happening in your school and community so that we can help spread the word.

AANNH Events & Programs

Go to our AANNH Events & Programs page to learn about and find registration forms for current Alliance offerings and ongoing programs and partnerships. We'd also like to hear what cultural programs you'd like to see in your community, and to help you make them happen.

Email us if you'ld like to receive our Fall/Winter Roster of Programs for Schools & Communities. It will be available by email and in hard copy at the end of September.

Visit Our Online Arts Gallery!

Check out the AANNH Online Arts Gallery, providing a web presence and links for North Country artists, arts businesses, galleries, and cultural organizations of all kinds.
The gallery has been made possible through the generous support of the Northern NH Foundation and the NH State Council on the Arts and the invaluable partnership of TechLink NH.

Click here to enter and view our Gallery. Be sure to click on the artwork for a better view- And visit often as the gallery grows, to learn about our region's talented artists, dedicated organizations, and exciting arts businesses.

Join us in our online Gallery: If you are an artist in music, theater, literary arts, visual and media arts, interdisciplinary arts, or crafts--this is a great, low-cost way to show and share your work to potential presenters, purchasers, patrons, or publishers. If you run an arts business or organization, here's a chance to reach artists and arts lovers in our region and beyond, and to show your support for, and involvement in, northern New Hampshire's cultural future.
To download a gallery information sheet in MS Word format, click here. Download the individual artist gallery registration form here and the organizations & businesses gallery registration form here.

North Country Cultural Plan

The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire and its partners have been working to develop a regional cultural plan for the North Country, with the goal of offering strategic and realistic recommendations for action that can be taken at the regional, sub-regional, local and agency levels to enrich cultural life, improve access to programming, and increase educational and participatory opportunities in the arts and culture throughout northern New Hampshire.

The process is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the NH State Council on the Arts and by generous donations from Public Service of NH and the Citizens Bank Foundation

Download the plan.PDF. Your suggestions, and ideas are most welcome – please call us at 323-7302 or email info@aannh.org-- with questions and comments.